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Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

businessinsider.com

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Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#21

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #19
_heimdall wrote: post #13

This entire article is based on a self report study of 5,000 people. Self report studies are usually unreliable and never tell a clear story. In this case, literally all the study can show is that wealthier respondents self-report having knowingly stolen from self checkout. Is this because they are the most likely to do it? Or are they more likely to tell the truth on a survey, maybe if they feel less insecure in the…

I accidentally stole a drink once because I forgot to scan it, and didn’t realize it until I got to my car. I’m also of income and age that would admit this. It really depends on what question they ask. But ya, self reported surveys are unreliable and can’t be used as real data in even the social sciences. If I can’t actually scan something, I just hit the help button and it gets taken care of. Not sure what is going…

Yep, a few times I've ended up with something that hadn't scanned. A bunch of other times I accidentally scanned something twice without realising. Their app was bad at registering whether something had scanned or not; you would scan something again, and then later it would register the first scan.

One time they did a random check on my bag and found one item that hadn't scanned. They didn't accuse me of theft, but they did block me using their self scan app.

This was actually a blessing, as their app was so frustrating and unreliable shopping became more pleasant.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#22

Post by bombela »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #20

Back in the 1990s Sainsburys (a UK Supermarket) had a version of self checkout where you had special trolleys and big boxes you took home and put in your car and a hand scanner you walked around and scanned items with. You then took that to a till designated for it and they had an algorithm for when to rescan people. The idea people most of the time till time was very short and it was just payment. Usually people got…

In France it's still like that at Carrefour. You need to get a special credit card to get access to it.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#25

Post by seanmcdirmid »

MattPalmer1086 wrote: post #21
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I accidentally stole a drink once because I forgot to scan it, and didn’t realize it until I got to my car. I’m also of income and age that would admit this. It really depends on what question they ask. But ya, self reported surveys are unreliable and can’t be used as real data in even the social sciences. If I can’t actually scan something, I just hit the help button and it gets taken care of. Not sure what is going…

Yep, a few times I've ended up with something that hadn't scanned. A bunch of other times I accidentally scanned something twice without realising. Their app was bad at registering whether something had scanned or not; you would scan something again, and then later it would register the first scan. One time they did a random check on my bag and found one item that hadn't scanned. They didn't accuse me of theft, but t…

I never used self scan apps before, just self checkout.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#26

Post by rzmmm »

twoodfin wrote: post #9

To clarify a bit: In an unscientific survey, those who self-described their household income as > $100,000 were 4% more likely than those with self-described household income Rather than speculate on this “result”, I’d consider it statistical noise.

https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/self-checkout...

Yeah they dont report standard errors or confidence intervals but I can see the >$100,000 income, stealing group is potentially so small there is just high error compared to other groups.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#27

Post by averageRoyalty »

bombela wrote: post #3

When the self checkout machine refuses to scan my item. I am very likely to just steal it. Consider it a payment for my wasted time and doing the work that used to be handled by the cashier.

> Consider it a payment for my wasted time and doing the work that used to be handled by the cashier.

These types of justifications seem bizarre to me. Do we steal fuel because attendants no longer pump fuel? Or rob banks due to ATMs? Do we steal software due to frameworks and automation tools?

If you just want to steal things, steal them. The high horse angle seems crazy to me though. I doubt you shopped at the national chain supermarket you probably shop with minimum wage workers in mind previously. But it's a good moral high ground to hold because you now steal as it's easier.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#28

Post by bombela »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #27
bombela wrote: post #3

When the self checkout machine refuses to scan my item. I am very likely to just steal it. Consider it a payment for my wasted time and doing the work that used to be handled by the cashier.

> Consider it a payment for my wasted time and doing the work that used to be handled by the cashier. These types of justifications seem bizarre to me. Do we steal fuel because attendants no longer pump fuel? Or rob banks due to ATMs? Do we steal software due to frameworks and automation tools? If you just want to steal things, steal them. The high horse angle seems crazy to me though. I doubt you shopped at the nati…

When the machine doesn't work, I have zero recourse. And the single attendant, if available, has none either. Cashiers used to be able to manual pass an item. not anymore. So I can either leave the store without the item, or steal it and leave with what I came for. I choose the second option because it is more convenient. It only happened a couple time so far. The first time the attendant couldn't help me, so I just took it as it was for an urgent repair. The second time I didn't even bother the attendant. I did this in front of the cameras. I would pay if the system let me to.

Re: Rich people are more likely to steal from self-checkout. Why?

#29

Post by averageRoyalty »

bombela wrote: post #28
averageRoyalty wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Consider it a payment for my wasted time and doing the work that used to be handled by the cashier. These types of justifications seem bizarre to me. Do we steal fuel because attendants no longer pump fuel? Or rob banks due to ATMs? Do we steal software due to frameworks and automation tools? If you just want to steal things, steal them. The high horse angle seems crazy to me though. I doubt you shopped at the nati…

When the machine doesn't work, I have zero recourse. And the single attendant, if available, has none either. Cashiers used to be able to manual pass an item. not anymore. So I can either leave the store without the item, or steal it and leave with what I came for. I choose the second option because it is more convenient. It only happened a couple time so far. The first time the attendant couldn't help me, so I just…

> So I can either leave the store without the item, or steal it and leave with what I came for. I choose the second option because it is more convenient.

This logic is the part that confuses me. It's more convenient to steal a car when you're walking, or mug someone than work a shift at your job.

If I walk into a shop with an attendant and their point of sales system is down, I don't start taking whatever I want. Inconvenience doesn't justify crime.

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