Are quick errands a thing of the past? The fact that retail stores keep their goods under lock and key has recently become a point of contention for consumers.
Customers used to be able to quickly dash into a store to buy one or two things they needed that same day, but retail giant Walmart has been accused of making its products less accessible to the average customer.
How it should work vs. how it works
When an item is behind safety glass, a customer usually has to press a help button. The help button should to summon an employee to unlock the item so the customer can purchase it. However, customers have highlighted some shortcomings of this system. For example, one customer said she waited nearly an hour for an employee to help her. In addition to the long wait times, customers have also complained about irregularly locked items and employees unlocking items only to pack them into smaller security containers. Walmart delivery customers have even received items that were still in their security containers.
Locking items is one of Walmart’s theft prevention measures. However, according to Axios, locking items can have negative effects on the stores themselves, such as lost sales. We’ve seen customers get tired of waiting and leave the store early without buying anything.
Text for help? Hmm, that’s new
However, that isn’t stopping Walmart from implementing these measures. According to popular TikTok channel @thedirtythirties, Walmart has added a help text feature to at least one of its stores.
The TikToker simply needed some pimple patches. “I came in here because I clearly have a pimple on my face,” she says, pointing to her cheek.
When she entered the cosmetics department, she was shocked. “Everything is locked,” she says, panning over the security glass with all the cosmetic products behind it.
There is a sign on the glass that says, “Need help?” Behind it is a number where you can send a text message asking for help.
“And I have to text someone to get help?” asks @thedirtythirties.
@thedirtythirties further expressed her anger in the caption, writing, “Wally World is going wild for this.”
Her video has been viewed over 131,000 times.
@thedirtythirties Wally World is crazy about it #walmart #wtf #annoying ♬ Original sound – The Dirty Thirties
The opinion of the audience
Walmart customers who saw @thedirtythirties’ video said locked items keep them from shopping in the store – and in this store. “I just order whatever I need that’s locked away to pick up. I don’t wait for anyone to ‘help’ me. I just wait for the order to be ready in the comfort of my home,” one said.
“My makeup remover was locked at Walmart, so I just walked down the street to Target and got it there because it wasn’t locked there,” another person said.
“They locked the curling irons away. When I asked an employee, he said they had the key in the electronics area and I had to get it. I just went home and ordered one from Amazon,” wrote a third.
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