Really long..really interesting. (Virginia story)

[CoolBreeze]

Rick is the Gandhi of receipt-check deniers. He writes in with a story of how he bought a 37 inch TV from Walmart and was able to successfully say no to the receipt checker blocking his way with his body. Rick did this by calmly and reasonably explaining his position to the assistant manager who showed up and by ignoring everyone around him who was trying to provoke him. Sometimes the quietest voice speaks the loudest.

Rick writes:

“
After work I stopped by the Walmart to pick up a TV for my girlfriend. After circling the whole store in search of the bathroom before realizing it was right next to the entrance, I made my way back to the Electronics section and picked out a TV quickly. I wanted a midsize Vizio, so I chose the 37" 1080p Eco model. I purchased the TV with my debit card at one of the rear registers about 20 feet away, and walked to the front of the store carrying the box in both hands.

I made it through the first set of doors into the front atrium of the store, but before reaching the outer doors I heard a man say "Sir?" I turned and faced Tony, the receipt checker.

Tony: May I see your receipt?
Me: No thanks!
Tony: Oh, ok.

I turned and continued walking towards to automatic doors. Tony called again, so I turned back.

Tony: No, I need to see your receipt.
Me: No thank you!
Tony: What do you mean?
Me: I mean no thanks; I'm walking to my car with my purchase.
Tony: Well, I need to see your receipt.
Me: I just purchased this TV in the back of the store. I don't need to show you a receipt.
Tony: Yes, you need to show me your receipt.
Me: Actually, state law dictates that once I pay for something, I don't need to show ownership of it. I just paid for this TV, the receipt is in my pocket, but my hands are full, and I don't feel like getting it out. I'm going to leave now, thank you.

At this point Tony has positioned himself between me and the door. As I step towards the door he places his hand on the box in my hands and lightly pushes back, preventing me from moving.

Me: You cannot prevent me from leaving the store with my purchase. Please move out of the way.
Tony: I can't just let you leave the store with a TV without checking your receipt.

At this point a woman, who has been standing with her family near some vending machine starts throwing snide comments at me such as "Just show him the receipt; it's not that hard" and "god, you don't have to be such a prick about it." This continues on for the rest of my "stay" here, but I choose to ignore her.

Me: Are you unlawfully detaining me?
Tony: I just want to need to see your receipt before you leave.
Me: I have paid for this, I have the receipt, but as I have said, state law protects my right to not need to prove ownership of something I have purchased. You cannot physically prevent me from leaving the store. I am now going to leave the store.

I try and step around Tony, but he again pushes on the box in my hands to prevent me from moving anywhere.

Me: Are you illegally detaining me?
Tony: Yeah, if that's what you want to call it. (Realizing he just said something bad) Listen, Walmart policy says that I need to check your receipt.
Me: Then Walmart's policy is in violation of Virginia state law. They should have informed you that you don'tneed to see a receipt.
Tony: (Misunderstanding me) How could they have told me already that you'd bought this?
Me: No, when Walmart trained you, they should have informed you that you can't force people to show their receipts. You can only ask.
Tony: I'm just a first-class worker, I don't know about any of that.

Now I am starting to fill like the prick the woman near us keeps calling me. This atrium has two exterior doors on opposite sides, so I turn around ready to walk towards the other door to leave, but another receipt checker has walked up at this time. I can't remember her name, so I'll refer to her as S, since I believe that's what her name started with.

S asks me what's going on, and I explain that I'd like to take my purchase to my car, but Tony is demanding me to show a receipt. S agrees with Tony that I need to show my receipt for "purchases like this". I give her the same explanation I gave Tony, that by state law, I don't need to prove ownership of something I just purchased.

Me: You are welcome to check the security tapes to verify that I just purchased this TV at one of the registers in the back, but I don't need to prove ownership.
S: You need to show your receipt before you leave the store.
Me: According to state law, I don't.
S: Well I'm sorry, sir, but that's Walmart policy.
Me: Then Walmart's policy is in violation of state law.
S: It's not that hard to show a receipt.
Me: No, it's not hard at all, but state law says I don't have to. I'm going to leave the store now.
S: No, the store manager is coming.
Me: When is the store manager coming?
S: The assistant store manager...
Me: When is the assistant store manager coming?
S: Yeah, she'll be right here.
Me: Ok.

I finally put the box on the floor. (Woman: "Now just take four fingers, put them in your pocket, take out the receipt..." I'm mentally yelling at her, but completely ignore her externally.) After waiting (what felt like) 2 minutes the assistant store manager appeared around the corner. S walked towards her, and I waved at the store manager to show I wasn't threatening nor uncomfortable with her arrival (in fact I welcomed it.) S pointed towards me and walked somewhere else, but Tony stayed behind me the whole time. I can't remember the assistant store manager's name, either, so I'll refer to her as M.

M: Hello, sir, how are you today?
Me: I'm doing fine, but I'd like to leave the store with my purchase.
M: Well, what's the problem?
Me: Tony, here, says I can't leave unless I show my receipt.
M: Do you have your receipt?
Me: Yes, but I just purchased the TV in the back of the store and had my hands full with the box, so I didn't want to take it out. Tony physically prevented me from leaving the store. Now I'm refusing to show me receipt for the principle of the matter. State law dictates that I do not need to prove ownership of something I have purchased, meaning I do not need to show a receipt.
M: Hmm. (She thinks for a bit.) Where did you buy the TV?
Me: In the back of the store.
M: (Thinks a bit more.) There are two registers in the back.
Me: *sigh* I purchased the TV at the register closest to the front of the store. There was a man checking out with his family at the register nearest the rear of the store. I paid for the TV with my debit card, and then picked up the TV myself. The cashier asked if I was going to carry it, and I said "yes, it's light." I then walked to the front of the store.
M: (Thinks a bit more, taken aback at the detailed report.) Ok, sir, it is your choice to leave the store with your purchase.
Me: Thank you.

I pick up the box, turn around, and tell Tony to "have a good night" as I exit the store.

The thing is, I bear no ill will towards the Walmart employees. They were simply not educated as to their role and lawful restrictions. I thought Walmart would have fixed this issue after all of the heat they've gotten about it over the years, but clearly this store didn't get an internal memo. The situation could have definitely gotten worse. I'm almost glad the second checker arrived, as I don't know what Tony would have done had I tried to exit the store through the other door. (He is an older gentleman, so I don't think he would have tried to tackle me, but if he had actually placed a hand on me or otherwise gotten more physical, I would have been placed in a very awkward position.)

I don't think an email to a Walmart executive will do anything. I'm open to any advice on how to inform this store's management about the situation, so that they can properly train their employees. I feel badly about my interaction with Tony and M, since the honestly believed they were doing their jobs. I feel like I should stop by and give them gift cards for performing admirably in the tough situation Walmart has put them in, but that might be received poorly.

http://consumerist.com/2011/03/calm-man ... ckers.html

[Scott Reppert]

I take it he realizes that the same TV is at Sam's for the same or near the same price with higher quality components, doesn't he??

Combine his story with my statement above and the bottom line is: don't buy a TV at Wal-Mart...

[Greg Goodfellow]

And the most telling part: 's' and 'm' was involved...

Yep. Don't buy a TV at Wal-Mart (or 'WalMarts' as my mother-in-law refers to a single store).

[tvnewsfan]

Rick sounds like the biggest douchebag to ever walk the earth. He seems like one of those guys who goes to a restaurant and eats his entire meal but tells the waiter that it tasted bad and he wants his meal for free.

Bottom line. Don't be a pathetic asshole. Be an adult and show your receipt. His argument about the "law" is lame and a bit creepy.

[The Interpreter]

Sounds like something Mark would do.

Yes, that Mark.

And then...the lawsuit.

Remember, it happened at Wal-Mart...and it acted like Mark.

Eerie.

[Big Media]

Yeah... show the damn receipt and stop giving the blue-hairs a hard time. Jeez.

[Ace Purple]

I'm curious how the Virginia law is worded relative to other states -- and I'm a bit surprised that the major stores there haven't lobbied for a modification to the law. Verification of the purchase of an item while still on the store premises seems more than reasonable.

[AmpedNow]

While he may technically be in the right, it doesn't negate the fact that he still sounds like a colossal asshat.

I take it he realizes that the same TV is at Sam's for the same or near the same price with higher quality components, doesn't he??

Combine his story with my statement above and the bottom line is: don't buy a TV at Wal-Mart...

I don't get this... Isn't the same TV and model number at Best Buy the same as in WM? They are roughly the same price everywhere at retail.

If WM gets "cheaper" electronics than other retailers without fully disclosing that, then that seems to me like a potential scandal. I expect my Samsung HDTV purchased at WM to be the same as the Samsung at Best Buy, Sam's, Target, etc..

[jag]

But can't a retailer sell a given product below the "manufacturers SUGGESTED (emphasis added) retail price"? Some chains can afford to make less per unit on what people want, while making more on what people need.

[genlock]

Model numbers for the same object sold by different major chains usually have slightly different modifiers.
This is to assure that the unique model sold at Best buy has a price that cannot be compared exactly to
the exact same thing sold at Sam's. Guaranteed lowest price, get it?

[AmpedNow]

Yes, but I always assumed that WM had lower prices because of the sheer volume of TVs they sell compared to other retailers. That would lower the supplier cost, which they pass on to us--in theory.

Not because they purposely cheapen the quality.

Extending this logic, does this mean their iPads and laptops are also "cheaper" than what other retailers sell?

[The Interpreter]

You assume incorrectly. WalMart relentlessly DEMANDS suppliers lower costs so they can reduce the selling cost at retail. If that means cutting corners or quality, so be it. Rustler jeans sold at KMart, Target and elsewhere have watch pockets. See for yourself. Go to WalMart....the identically appearing Rustler jeans sell for less there. And are four pockets, not five. (Labeled as such, too). And sell for slightly less. Of course, you also get slightly less.

Examples abound on the shelves. When you are the world's largest retailer, you can demand product be made just for you...and they do and they do. Even CD's (remember them?) sold at WalMart often differ from those sold at retail. They get "cleaned up" from time to time, and artists get two choices...accept this, or not get sold at America's largest retailer.

[Scott Reppert]

Other definite example of this: automobile tires. My boss was in the car business for 30+ years. Manufacturers make tires SPECIFICALLY for Wal-Mart...at a lesser quality, so as to be sold for less. And the product number modifier is a correct statement. My Vizio TV was a like a V97804-T at Wal-Mart and a V97804-J at Sam's. That's telling the unknowing that it is the same TV. That's telling me that it is the same TV with cheaper components inside. I even warn some people that are shopping in the TV section at Wal-Mart (they're usually close to the Hot Wheels, you know) to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

[jag]

So, in more ways than one, less really is more.

[Big Media]

I remember reading an article about Snapper, the mower company, and their refusal to continue doing business with Wal-Mart because they were forced to reduce the quality of their mowers to such an extent that it was no longer a Snapper---rather, it was a generic Wal-Mart mower with a Snapper label.

Not surprisingly, a lot of Snapper mowers and trimmers were returned to the stores forcing Snapper to resell those refurbished returns at a substantial loss.

This "remodeling" for Wal-Mart is very well documented and includes virtually everything in the store, from toothpaste to hammers.

[AmpedNow]

While this might be something that many suspect, it's not common knowledge. I'm surprised the union types who complain about their employee conditions haven't blown the lid off of this one.

Personally, I's almost never go to WM if I had more choices. But, in many places, it's not that easy.

[Scott Reppert]

I could get by without going if not for the fact that they have the fastest rotating stock of Hot Wheels...

[CoolBreeze]

I go often hoping to take photos of Mark Hallburn.

[lastone]

Kroger sells the most "Hot Wheels" in the united states. So states the VP of this district. That doesn't mean they have a "good selection" though.

[Lester]

Let's get back on topic: Rick is a dick-hole. (The other good adjectives were already taken.)

Hopefully lots of people looked at him, and he felt really important during this encounter. I'm sure it made up for all the mommy hugs he never got.