Anne Fritz/Taste of Home
Does Costco actually inspect what’s in your cart versus a receipt that quickly? Not really – here’s what’s really going on.
Costco is an amazing place. Between the popular Kirkland products and the free samples, it’s the place to be. After waiting in line and going through the checkout, having to stop for a staff member to check your receipt is kind of a pain. Does Costco really need this extra layer of security?
Yes, it turns out. The receipt check helps reduce shoplifting, which in turn helps Costco keep prices low. It also ensures you’re not overpaying or underpaying for what’s in your cart.
Why does Costco check receipts? To prevent shoplifting
If you’ve ever shopped at Costco, you know employees keep a close watch on the entryways and exits. Customers need to show proof of membership on the way in and leave with receipts that match shopping carts. Costco CFO Richard Galanti states the store’s shrinkage rate— which includes shoplifting, cashier or administrative error, and supplier fraud– has largely remained the same for years, likely due to checking receipts.
Can a Costco employee actually check everything in a full cart in just a few seconds? In the past, reports swirled about a “secret code” on receipts that employees look for. This Reddit thread from 2018 says that receipt checkers used to look for a two-digit code on the end of the member’s ID number that indicated a receipt was printed that day. It would be impossible for thieves to reuse old receipts, because the code would not match the two-digit stamp assigned for that day.
After visiting a store multiple times in one day ourselves, we can verify that this theory is not true. Costco receipt checkers give the receipt a quick scan, then slash it with a marker to make sure that receipt isn’t used again.
Here’s the secret: Costco employees aren’t looking too closely at your receipt vs. what’s in your cart. The slash is what helps deter future theft: You can’t reuse a marked receipt to take a cartload of items on your next trip!
To check for accuracy
Surprisingly, Costco receipt checkers do look at the prices. According to a post published by SFGate.com, employees check receipts to ensure that everything was correctly scanned.
“It’s pretty simple,” Kevin Heuer, general manager of the Costco in San Francisco, told SFGate.com. “We want to make sure they’re not getting overcharged and they’re not getting undercharged. It’s not to target thieves. Ultimately that might happen without someone paying for something, but if there’s an extra item in their basket, that’s not their fault. That’s our fault. Sometimes checkers forget to ring items placed on the bottom of the basket.”
Regular Costco shoppers have verified this through Reddit » …
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