Scamming or Ignorance?

[MadonnaC]

While standing in line at Walmart selfserve checkout, I was looking around, watching everyone else.

I noticed that the person at the machine next to me was passing the items over quicker than the machine could react, so it was probably only scanning just over 1/2 of them. As I did not notice them rescan any items, I let an employee know.

They pulled them aside, giving an excuse about the machine not working right, and then charged them for the other items.

As they didn't scream/shout/complain, I just thought it might have been a mistake on their part, as opposed to scamming the store.

Did I thwart a scam, or where they too stupid to see not everything appeared on the screen?

[Kika]

It could really be either.

My babysitter (aged 14 at the time) didn't understand how the scanner worked until I explained it to her. So the customer may have just been scanner-ignorant, and not paying attention. (Shocking, right, a customer not paying attention?)

OTOH, maybe they were trying to scam, and just decided to pretend they didn't know when they were caught.

Our Wal Mart now has signs on the self checks asking you to keep your receipt out, and a greeter (?) checks you as you leave. (I only use self-check so they might check the other people as well, I don't know.)

[karma_gypsy]

It's amazing how you could not notice the screen though . . . I'm always watching it just make sure I'm charged correctly.

[Imogene]

Wandered into a WalMart today to get Jello and whip cream. For dessert for the family, I swear. I went through the self-check, and realized after scanning one item that the lane wasn't taking cash. Seeing as I haven't yet set up a new bank card account here in Texas, all I have is cash. The teller came over, asked what was wrong, I told her, she said "No, go ahead anyway..."
But, the lane says it's not taking cash...
"No, go ahead anyway..."
Okay... *shrug*
It takes it just fine. Whatever. There I was, being good by actually reading the signs and she bent the rule for me anyway...

[Kogarashi]

Juwl, she probably let you go because she was right there to catch any problems that might arise from a machine malfunction. I've done that before.

I have a tendency to go fast on the self-checks, but that's because, as a cashier, I have enough know-how/sense to listen for the *beep* that signals that the item rang up, and immediately bag it without having to wait to see if it came up on the screen.

As for the OP, it could really have been either. I've seen some customers who just didn't seem to realize that you had to get the machine to beep when it reads the barcode and would bag an unscanned item without realizing it. Others would end up scanning their item three times because they were waiting for it to show up on the screen, and got impatient when it didn't show up the very second they scanned it. In that case, they usually can't figure out how to void the extra items (because they're not actually reading anything other than that running total line.

OT, I still dislike the customers who void the transaction after the first item because they read the Total line instead of the line the item is on, see the price with the sales tax included, and think they've been overcharged (yeah, lady, by 6%. Fancy that).

[abbynormal]

Nope sorry, I just don't get it. It's not my fault it didn't catch my items. I knew it was trouble when they started putting these things in.

[booger]

we have self checks where the credit/debit reader doesn't work, but we still let card users ring up their stuff. We just pause their order and take to our little podium where we have a working card reader.