That did make me laugh 
I envy them having that confidence tbh. Imagine how it would turn out if he was innocent. That would always be in the back of my mind if I was in that position, even if I was sure I’d seen him do it.
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I could not agree more Euey.
First and foremost, I used to love going to my local hardware store. They knew me, they helped me with my project and they gave me information that was useful. They also knew that I spend thousands and thousands of dollars with them each year. Hardware stores have now been ‘eaten up’ by Bunnings, so we are forced to go there and endure their horribly lacking advise. The other day a new employee told me I had to use silicone to fill the holes in the 80 year old window I was restoring. This was after patiently waiting for 10 minutes to get some advise and have a chat about the best way to go about this project. When I asked to see a manager, she assured me that nobody else would be able to tell me anything else. Today I wanted some bags to protect my grapes from birds. They barely knew what I was talking about. When I pointed out that their ‘only choice’ of 2 sleeves for $4.80 seemed a little pricey, they assured me that this was because ‘we don’t sell commercially’. How many bunches of grapes do they think grow on 1 vine? After spending 40 minutes fruitlessly searching for what I needed, I was then stopped at the door and asked to show my tiny bag. It gave me the absolute shits. First of all they take away my beloved hardware stores, now they are accusing me of stealing from them!
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Try your local Growers Co-op, Ag suppliers or look for the same online if you live in an urban area and the drive is too far.
Our local Co-ops also have franchises with one of the hardware store chains or buy stock from them. Some would say that Bunnings is cheaper, but not necessarily given their dominance with certain product lines.
The other benefit of the local Co-ops which do not search my bag is that it takes a quarter of the time for the shop. The Ute is at the front door, and the aisles don’t go for miles. Not OK if you are short your 10,000 steps, however there are far more pleasant places to walk using the time saved by not going to Bunnings.
P.S.
I’m continuously seeking out and trying alternatives to Bunnings, given the need for a cut lunch or coffee and muffin for sustenance on the journey to their nearest outlet. Bag searches optional!
I have a local plumbing supplies run by an ex-plumber which is great and almost reasonable for pricing. Another larger chain further on is great for service but expensive if you cannot get trade pricing.
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The Bunning I usually visit also asks to see my docket and stamps it, before I leave the store.
I don’t expect expert knowledge from the staff any more, sometime they don’t
even know the right isle a product is in
and I wander around having to ask more than one ‘assistant’ for direction
before finding the right place.
Now I look things up online before
getting there, it’s a lot easier 
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Good tip as Bunnings has some rather confusing logic on where some items are located. When they are on the shopping list I check on line to be sure there is what I need and plenty in stock.
Better to avoid them where possible, although in many areas of our larger cities or regional centres! It’s which Bunnings will I go to today? Bunnings now also have Trade only outlets too!
P.S.
With Coles about to come to the town up the road to compete with the IGA and Woolies, it is only a matter of time before the three local area Co-ops and two hardware stores are on the ropes? And a number of other local smaller product suppliers put at risk. But Bunnings will save us all money???
They local communities have kept MacDonalds and their like out of the region. Bunnings may be a stretch too far? It is true, the locals of the Glass House Mountains and up the range at Maleny may be a little different. No need to search my handbag or theirs to prove it either.
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The Bunniings experiences are curiously different and reflect a shop is only as good as its staff and how enabled they are by senior management.
Most of the staff in my local, a small Bunnings as they go, are helpful as well as usually know substantially more than I about products and what I need and tips on how to.
There is a ‘greeter’ at the door. Some people walk up to him/her to get their receipts checked, but I never have and have never been asked to. I can only assume somebody who understands customer relationships was appointed the manager, and so long as the P/L is on target or better and the losses are under projections they are given leeway in how they operate.
My only peeve is that excepting for weekends there is a single manned checkout that is also the returns/complaints desk, and the self serves with a helper-staff standing by them. I realised one could check out anything from the manned tools register and regularly do so when there is a line at the returns/complaints desk.
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Sounds like the baby Bunnings in Mudgee.
Help/Returns/Information desk is the only POS during the week. Checkouts on weekends only.
Our local big Bunnings is great. We can usually ask any employee where any product is located and they can not only say which aisle but whereabout it is in the aisle.
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When it comes to ‘logical’ grouping of goods in Bunnings, a supermarket or any other vendor with a large and disparate inventory there is not one, there are many logics. What goes with what is fairly subjective. Even groupings like garden vs tools, or chilled food vs delicatessen, is to some extent arbitrary. Ask 100 people how to arrange all that inventory and you will get at least 100 answers.
If you look at it more scientifically and try to cluster things together based on several criteria you discover two things; the outcome depends on the choice of criteria and often there is no way to select the best set, and even if you get consensus on the criteria there are anomalies. For example you can group things in certain clusters (aisles, fixtures etc) and find that those in different clusters have more in common with each other than it does with some other members of the cluster that it has been assigned to. You can rearrange the cluster boundaries ‘til the rocks melt wi’ the sun and each time get the same anomaly somewhere else.
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Yep, which is all I was suggesting. My logic and Bunnings logic does not always align. Neither of us are wrong. Just different.
Which is my way of justifying my view point before checking online for stock! Or worse, swallow male pride and ask the staff for directions.
Need a plastic pot? Two locations in the outdoorsy garden area and another inside on the store racking.
Cafe and toilet nearby for refreshments before the long trek back through timber and then to the checkout. Timber mouldings are one item Bunnings usually have plenty of and in shorter lengths than the nearest specialty timber merchant.
No bag check or docket check if you go through the one manned, sorry personed, register on the way out.
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Ours does, there is a staff member of the exit door which checks all dockets and items on leaving. If one does the self serve, the attendant there stamps receipts. For all other registers (inc. the ones for returns or warranty claims), the exit attendant checks and stamps.
We must live in a higher shoplifting area.
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… everyone is a criminal in 2019.
Our local store scans receipts with some kind of intelligence bolstering barcode scanner at the cheerleader location … ahem, sorry, where the greeter is. I walked through the other night with 3 items in my shirt pocket, and a receipt for 3 items in the same pocket (tool section, I’m told that is not a reference to management), and one item in my hand, with receipt - they scanned the docket in my hand and looked at the one item and said ‘one item - have a good day’ …
Everyone was happy I guess … that makes it ‘effective’ and ‘right’ …
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Perhaps not. I don’t think it is my weathered face that discourages the conversation necessary.
The greeter/door patrol at the Bunnings we occasionally visit seems to be very aware of who is going through the staffed checkouts. No need to waste time on us. The keepers of the exit approach others, perhaps with a tool store docket and bag in hand, or timber from the trade desk.
Perhaps some stores have happier and better trained staff?
Stamping the docket is a bit of a mind game? They all have date and time stamps.
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I believe that stamping the docket is to prevent persons returning to the store empty handed and leaving with another of the product previously purchased the same day without paying fot it
Certainly JB HiFi ensure that every docket is stamped at the exit.
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Except when they don’t…had that a few times.
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JB HiFi obviously know that you have an honest face and won’t pull the “buy one, get one free” scam on them.
Or else they are a bit slack at your local store.
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Stores…I visit at least 3 depending on where I am at the time of need.
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I have definitely seen this happen before. As usual though the fix is simple.
have enough staff and people might get spotted stealing
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The reason for checking / stamping purchases is primarily to stop staff members conspiring with associates (customers) to steal from the business.
My issue is I have already paid for the item. I OWN it and I don’t have to prove it to anyone.
The argument that it’s store policy etc is garbage.
Hi @ozwild, welcome to the forum.
Speaking to one of the managers at Bunnings, there are two reasons for stamping…
- the first is to ensure that goods leaving the store have been paid for, and
- the second is to ensure the docket/tax invoice is not reused.
The same manager indicated that they have had significant theft from either customers walking out (driving) of the store without paying and from customers leaving the store with their paid goods, only for the same customers to return and steal the same goods using the same docket.
Stamping shows the goods have been paid for and have left the store.
While you may know you have purchased the goods, others will not know this is the case. To prove one has purchased the goods (and is not shoplifting), one needs to provide the docket when asked as evidence the goods have been purchased.
Not proving it anyone may be akin to telling the police where to go when they ask for one’s licence to prove one’s identity. Maybe as one knows who they are, they should not need to prove to others?
As indicated earlier in this thread, most of us are law abiding citizens who are impacted by thise who chose to do the wrong thing. If everyone was in the same boat as us, then many of the authoritarian measues implemented in society by organisations, government and individuals would not be needed. I do look for the day when such occurs, but until such time, one has to accept entry conditions to stores such as Bunnings if one choses to shop there.
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That is completely true. However, for most legal purposes, the shop owns the space. So if they choose to prohibit shoppers who don’t comply with store policy then they have that right.
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