Former Walmart employee Parker (@parkerpickers) is urging folks not to steal at the store’s self-service kiosk. That’s because, as other workers for the store have previously stated, the chain knows when you’re stealing.
The TikToker shared an anecdote detailing how quickly workers can assess self-service tomfoolery.
All-seeing Walmart
Parker begins her video by referencing another TikToker who was arrested for stealing from a Target self-checkout kiosk. Parker states she ran a Walmart store’s front end for 11 years—and they always knew when someone was stealing.
“I actually was a team lead on the front end for a while and before that, I was a front-end ZMS,” Parker says. She explains that this position was a “step below” the assistant manager on duty. This person in the position is in charge of cashiers and self-checkout kiosks. She adds that as part of her job, she was flown out to Arkansas for an annual shareholders meeting.
She alleges that in this meeting, Walmart employees were shown presentations on artificial intelligence technology integration. The tech was being utilized in the store’s security systems, and she says there’s no way customers can outsmart it.
“Walmart is a billion-dollar corporation, they know,” she says.
TV at self-checkout
Parker then shares an incident that occurred while she was working at Walmart. It involved a customer bringing a 50-inch TV set to a self-checkout-kiosk, which they scanned themselves. However, one of the store associates received an alert on their handheld device that the shopper scanned a $0.50 bowl—not the TV.
“So immediately red flags are going up for her,” Parker recounts. “And she’s flagging me down because she’s like, ‘I need help. I don’t wanna do the confrontation part.’”
The TikToker shares that on her co-worker’s screen, the customer scanned a 50-cent bowl instead of the TV.
According to Parker, items like TV sets will prompt customers for a serial number on the self-checkout screen. This added level of confirmation ensures that shoppers are being honest about what they’re scanning at the self-service kiosks.
“So I take the handheld and I shut her self-checkout down. Because [employees] can do that,” Parker says. “And if you’re ever in line at self-checkout and your self-checkout just shuts down: we did that. I don’t work at Walmart anymore, but Walmart did that.”
She went on to state that these shutdowns usually occur because employees know when a patron is stealing.
@parkerpickers Why you shouldn’t steal form Walmart. #momsoftiktok #moms #creatorsearchinsights #momlife #momsover30 #stealing #walmarttheft #walmart #shelfcheckout #walmartstories ♬ original sound – parkerpickers
Replacement sticker trick
After halting the shopper’s transactions, Parker says she approached the shopper with a story designed to help them save face. The TIkToker says she told the woman that the system “glitched” and her “whole transaction’s gone.”
Parker then offered to ring up the shopper’s items herself, but unsurprisingly, the customer purportedly told her “Never mind” and attempted to peel off the 50-cent sticker.
“Then I see her start to try and peel the sticker off. No honey boo-boo, you’re not keeping that sticker,” she says to her viewers.
She says, “If you ever have bought the 50-cent bowls from Walmart lately and you notice how hard those stickers are to get off, why do you think that is?”
Target speculation
Parker believes that similar security protocols at Target are what ultimately led to the TikToker being caught. “Target had to have been watching this lady, multiple times,” she says. “They don’t go after you the first couple of times. They let you steal.”
The Daily Dot has previously reported on a TikTok user who claimed that Target will allow folks to continually steal. Then, once a thief hits the threshold for grand larceny (over $1,000) that’s when Target will engage a suspect. Until that minimum larceny amount has been hit, however, the chain will build a case against shoplifters.
In May 2023, The Daily Dot also reported on a woman who claims Target garnered evidence of their shoplifting that spanned months. This course of action, Parker states, is part of the retailer’s long game in banning repeat offenders.
“They want you to get arrested. They don’t want $10 transactions, they want them $500 transactions…them $1,000 transactions,” she says. “I can’t tell you how many people got arrested in our Walmart for stealing.”
The TikToker went on to state that it wasn’t just shoppers, however, but store employees who were also caught pilfering. “And how many associates got fired for stealing,” she says. “Because you are not smarter than the system.”
TikTokers were dubious
One person claimed that Parker’s story was all bunk in an attempt to gain TikTok clout. “Yea that’s a lie. TVs are checked out in the back so maybe try a lie that’s believable,” they said. “The crap yall say for views.”
Another said hearing stories like this triggers their anxiety. “I’m the person who is paranoid that I’ll somehow accidentally steal without realizing it and get arrested,” one wrote.
Someone else remarked that they don’t have sympathy for Walmart thieves who are caught. “I will never feel bad about people stealing from Walmart,” they said.
Others thought it was strange the retailer has invested so much in technological advancement for its security but not upgrades for consumer transactions. “Walmart got A.I. but still doesn’t accept tap to pay makes me mad,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart and Parker via email for further comment.
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