Cashiers should not, and will not prevent theft. They're not paid nearly enough to get in danger, and it is not their job.

I'm sure you can find videos of thefts in San Francisco if you need a visual demonstration. No cashier is going to jump in front of someone to stop a theft.

▲

HankStallone 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

True, but having a cashier standing there waiting to scan your items will prevent most normal people from stealing. Sure, some will brazenly walk right past with a TV on their shoulder, but most people won't.

If there's no cashier and you're doing it yourself, a whole lot more people will "forget" to scan a couple items, and that adds up.

▲

tux3 6 days ago | parent [-]

There's usually a security person or two in the store, looking over the self checkouts. I agree that job prevents a lot of people from becoming opportunistic thiefs, but I'm making a distinction between cashiers and security. Today the store needs both.

▲

delfinom 6 days ago | parent [-]

Pretty sure if a "security person" worked so well, Walmart wouldn't be severely reducing self checkouts at their stores to Walmart Plus members only.

	▲	tux3 6 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		That might be regional, then. I wouldn't say $COUTNRY is exactly a high-trust society, but it's not quite that bad for us over here.
	▲	zahlman 6 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I haven't observed this happening here (Toronto, Canada).

▲

loco5niner 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's not the type of theft they were talking about. Rather, self scanners purposely not scanning items to get them for free, etc

	▲	schnable 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		I had a roommate in college who used to stuff containers of beef into produce bags full of kale, and weigh that on the self-service scanner.

▲

anthem2025 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They absolutely do. It’s not the cashiers being security, it’s having adequate staffing making people less likely to steal. Its not stopping crimes that have occurred it’s just reducing opportunistic theft.

▲

graeme 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

A thief doesn't know what a cashier will do. And a cashier is an eye witness or can yell "hey stop them!"

You're doing the all or nothing fallacy. The fact that a cashier does not prevent all thefts does not mean a cashier does NOTHING for theft.

	▲	dragonwriter 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		> The fact that a cashier does not prevent all thefts does not mean a cashier does NOTHING for theft. Yes, for one thing, it ignores that a very large share of retail theft is insider theft, and that cash handling positions are the largest portion of that. Cashiers absolutely do something for theft.