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Sep
3
Some people say yes. Some people, like me at BJs (the warehouse place a la Costco and Sam’s Club) say, not necessarily.
Jeff Hess at Have Coffee Will Write posts a description of a situation in Cleveland during which a customer at Circuit City responded in the negative when asked to show his receipt. He reports that he challenged the Circuit City manager to identify which law allowed the manager to look through the customer’s bags to see the receipt, and then departed.
Jeff is one among several people I’ve met, who’ve let me get to know them, and who have such varied backgrounds – varied in that they’ve done a lot of different things, and varied in that they’ve had so many experiences that I’ve never had. I’m sure my naivete and ignorance blinds them at times, but they always humor me, answer my questions and teach me.
That’s all to say, I respect Jeff enormously, so when he says that this issue – of not being compelled to show a receipt after you’ve purchased something – is violative of constitutional rights, I take his opinion very, very seriously. We even discussed it at dinner tonight.
What do people think? Please read Jeff’s post and leave a comment there, here or at both blogs.
As Jeff phrases it, the question is, “What indignity would you draw the line at?”
My opinion in this particular situation is that I don’t feel an indignity at being asked to show my receipt. But obviously others do.
How about you? Seriously. What do we think about this?
Update: here are some posts from a very quick google search:
Do I have to let stores check my receipt?
Incident with a store called TigerDirect
From the first-person account by the individual with whom the situation at Circuit City evolved:
“Allowing stores to inspect our bags at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates an atmosphere of obedience which is a dangerous thing. Allowing police officers to see our papers at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates a fear-of-authority atmosphere which can be all too easily abused.”
Sigh. Well – this could also be, for me, one of those I can’t judge what I would have done unless I was there. But even then, I’m not feeling the request to see the receipt – which was what started the incident – as creating an atmosphere of obedience such that I feel endangered that there will be abuses of authority. Again – I mentioned at Jeff’s blog, would you say this about having to stop at a stop sign? Or having to wear a seatbelt?
As a parent, I have the responsibility of teaching my kids about when to be obedient and when to question authority, and not fear it or fear speaking up. I have a hard time imagining teaching them to challenge security personnel at retail stores every time they’re asked to show a receipt.
Although, I will say, that so long as the law doesn’t require us to have to show our receipt at any entity other than a membership-style club, such as BJs, which may put the receipt showing requirement in its club membership agreement, then the security personnel should be trained to allow people who they do not suspect of shoplifting to in fact refuse to show the receipt. The security folks should be trained to handle that possibility, and that training needs to include the fact that people, unless under suspicion of shoplifting, cannot be forced to show the receipt.
Looking forward to know what others think.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:04 am September 3rd, 2007 in Politics
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9 Responses to “Is "Receipt Please?" too much to ask?”
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Don’t these stores have detectors that go off if someone attempts to leave with merchandise that they didn’t pay for? If that does not go off, leave customers alone. Your friend handled it as well as one could expect, so kudos.
I don’t know the person to whom this happened at Circuit City, but my son said the same thing re: aren’t there metal detectors. I don’t know if there were but yes, I’m sure in many, many places, that’s true. And how often have you had those go off and the store does nothing!?
Well – this is partly why I’m curious to know what others think. I’m only one person, and I like to know how others view things. Thanks for commenting.
A few comments:
1) In some stores with RFID tags, not all items are tagged, so the detector won’t necessarily go off even if an item is removed from the store without payment.
2) Some stores have signs at the doors that read, “All bags subject to search.” I assume that any store with a similar sign is giving fair warning that there can be a request to show a receipt for any purchase. (The choice would be showing a receipt or having security rummaging through bags.)
3) I, as a paying customer, recognize that shoplifting will raise the prices that I have to pay. I’m in favor of any reasonable actions — carried out in a polite, respectful manner — that reduce shoplifting.
Bottom line: There are some things I consider worth getting exercised about. For me, showing a receipt on exiting a store is not one of them. Besides, patronage of a merchant is voluntary. If I find a merchant’s security procedures offensive, I simply won’t return.
Sam’s Club checks receipts at the door, and it’s designed to help stop theft which costs all of us money. Having two children who worked there, the times they came home telling tales of someone who emptied a box for one product and filled it with DVD’s or smaller electronic items hit home to me why some stores do ask you to show your receipt. Some stores use a magnetic electronic alarm system, some stores like Circuit City and Best Buy make it a practice if you have a large item to ask to see the receipt.
Is it a violation of our rights? Perhaps but then again no one is forcing us to shop at any store that tries to drive down costs by creating such a store policy. The simple solution would be to post a sign upon entering, “You could be asked to show a receipt for your purchase”. Then, those that took umbrage with such a request could shop elsewhere.
Shalom Jill,
I’ve posted our email conversation.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Shalom Lisa,
If a store posted the following sign at the entrance, would you think that would be an OK thing to do?
WARNING: If you are dark complected, of Middle-Eastern heritage or are wearing clothing we find suspicious you will be subject to a search before you are allowed to leave the store.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Jill,
I already left a comment on Jeff’s blog, but this story has hit slashdot…..it’s generated over 1000 comments there.
Folks – here’s the link Rob refers to:
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/09/03/1449200.shtml
Worth a read if you’re interested in knowing the range of emotions evoked by this case.
[...] Here’s what I originally wrote. function toggleview(element1) { var element1 = document.getElementById(element1); if (element1.style.display == ‘block’ || element1.style.display == ”){ element1.style.display = ‘none’; }else{ element1.style.display = ‘block’; element1.style.position = ‘absolute’; } return; } copy and paste… <blockquote>Jeff Hess of Have Coffee Will Write offers this update on a case that had been getting enormous attention nationwide, although the incident occurred in Cleveland. There was to be a hearing today, but Michael Righi writes that the hearing has been cancelled: I have been contacted by… <small><br /> <a href=”http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/09/20/update-on-michael-righi-a-circuit-city-receipt-law-enforcements-reach/”>Update on Michael Righi, a Circuit City receipt & law enforcement’s reach</a> – http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com</small></blockquote> Sphere: Related Content [...]