As the nation’s largest off-price retail chain, Ross prides itself on its ability to allow customers to, “Dress for Less.” But more recently, the American department store has placed new measures to assure customers aren’t dressing… for free.
However, not all shoppers are happy with the new implementations.
After an unsettling shopping experience, Angela Szot (@dropitlikeitsszot) turned to TikTok to voice her side of things immediately after she left the store. Posted on Sept. 19, Angela amassed a crowd of over 37,600 views and 2,158 likes, with many viewers sharing their POV as well.
Sitting in her car, Angela looks toward her phone camera and tells all.
“I just had the strangest experience at Ross,” Angela began.
What happened at Ross?
Explaining that she only needed to grab a few pairs of socks from the store. Angela describes it to be an overall slow morning for her local Ross.
“I finally paid attention to the first person who was in front of me, and she was like, ‘Keep your receipt out. The person at the doors is going to check it,’” Angela recounts.
Though confused, Angela abided, believing that the store was mimicking tactics used by both Costco and Walmart.
“I was like, well, the person at the door’s right there. There’s only one cashier, you [can] see everything that’s happening right here? But OK,” Angela said.
“So I bought my socks and I got to the door, and I gave [the receipt] to her. She takes it from me, reads it up and down, then she takes my bag away from me,” Angela says.
Allegedly, the worker then proceeded to go through the contents of Angela’s shopping bag, checking that it aligned with her receipt.
“Thankfully, I only had two pairs of socks. But like I said. We’re at Ross.”
Having shown her shopping bag to the camera for reference, Angela puts it back down in her passenger seat and makes her final statement.
“That was yucky. I didn’t like that,” Angela concluded.
However, viewers were surprised by the interaction after hearing Angela’s testimony. Rather, they shared their similar experiences, proving that this may be a part of a larger movement for Ross stores.
It’s not an isolated incident
“My favorite Ross is like this now. Like why does a shopping experience feel like prison now,” one commenter said.
“My local Ross has stanchions and a bouncer letting people in like it’s Studio 54,” another commenter added.
The list of similar stories goes on. Some viewers even shared what they are doing to try and detract from these allegedly intrusive shopping experiences.
“I never stop for places to check my receipt unless it’s Sam’s or Costco,” a commenter added.
Though while such store precaution may add a minute or to the trip, these store’s may be on to something.
In 2022 alone, retail stores, like Ross, reported to have lost over $112 billion in gross revenue and $84.9 billion in fraudulent sales. So it’s no surprise that the beloved store is increasing their security measures.
Yet, despite such a large loss, it was found that only 2% of shoplifters are caught, with the average shoplifter being arrested only once out of every 100 incidents.
Just last month, the Daily Dot caught wind of a similar shopper-employee interaction during receipt checks. However this time the exchange was allegedly racially motivated.
Though it was found that the employee was not following correct store protocall, the shopper still left the store feeling uneased.
@dropitlikeitsszot 🧦🧦🧦 #ross #rossfinds #rosssecurity #costcobutnot #lossprevention #yucky ♬ original sound – dropitlikeitsszot
That being said, it seems as though an overall increase in security at these large stores may be at hand. So, it’s important for shoppers to stay alert and keep this in the back of their mind as they go about their daily business.
The Daily Dot reached out to Angela (@dropitlikeitsszot) via TikTok direct message and Ross.
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