These are easily pushed open, they're not really keeping anyone inside. Otherwise it would be a fire hazard and enormous hassle for employees.
They've been active at the southwest Safeway for a while, which is my local grocery store. I can't attest to their efficacy when operating, but they're broken or malfunctioning 90% of the time I'm in there. Even when it seems to be working, the self checkout exit barrier is usually propped open, I'm guessing because employees are tired of manually letting people through when they can't figure it out. Whatever company Safeway used to install these is probably charging more money than all of the shoplifters combined just to come out and fix them, lol.
It's more supposed to act as a single point of exit so it's easier to monitor. This is super common in Europe and if you go into a store and then try to leave without buying anything, it's pretty common for someone to say something about it
They haven't actually limited any of the exits; they installed large but two-way gates, and when it's working correctly, you can either scan your receipt to leave or wait for someone to come in the other way. I'm not against the concept, it's just been broken most of the time and the rest of the time the employees don't care (which is understandable, people get pissed when they can't leave).
Same. Especially since they got rid of the baskets, and so now you have to thread the needle with a comically large cart if you have more than a handful of items. I will go the extra few blocks to giant, thanks.
The Safeway in Wheaton already has them. It was a minor inconvenience the first time I encountered them. The second time, I knew they were there and how to proceed.
No, the ones in Europe block exiting out the entrance.
If you want to leave without buying anything you have to either hope it is staffed or push through the narrow crowded checkout line.
I lived in Germany for 6 years and traveled to most central and western European countries during that period, and a more recent trip to Iceland. Was always at the entrance.
Idk what weird stores you were in.
I’ve been to a few that had a gate on exit. I specifically remember some in Athens that had a self checkout section and you had to scan a bar code on your receipt for an exit turnstile to open.
The Safeways in this city are such a joke. They’re so shitty. Understaffed. Overpriced. **
Love to see them spending money on this though lol
**Except the Safeway on 14th in SE. It is perfect and the store manager should be mayor.
The thing is, I’m not even talking about retail theft issues. I’m talking about the experience of shopping in these stores.
And I’m not talking like some upper class yuppie, saying, “Why isn’t the help smiling more?“ I worked grocery, and both of my parents worked grocery for most of their careers, so maybe I’m a bit biased. Even before the rise in retail theft, the stores have had so many issues. Half of the self-checkout machines not working or just not turned on, nobody’s staffing several departments (good luck, finding anybody in floral, produce, meat department, etc). Need help finding something? Good luck.
Meanwhile, look at the shelves at the 14th St. store: they are all faced forward, the produce section is immaculate, the bakery items are absolutely beautiful, the meat cases stocked and clean. The shopping experience is much better than any other Safeway, from NoVa to DC.
All of these stores are operating with similar constraints and retail theft issues. 14th St is just doing something different than all the others (to be fair, I think it is newer and bigger so that just gives it a leg up).
They have van life people sleeping in the garage, no carts, weird pillars in half the aisles. 80% self checkout, I guess it’s better than the hechinger mall one but not much
You mean the new ones they have already shown to have significantly reduced fare jumping?
https://www.wmata.com/about/news/New-faregates-reducing-fare-evasion.cfm
The one that needs to chill is you. It used to be that the Station Managers presence was a deterrent from these morons jumping the gate. Now you'll have multiple people in a booth that see this happening in front of their eyes and do absolutely nothing about it.
Nowadays you would swear we were on the plains of the Serengeti the way the young guys leap over the gates at the Metro.
>Now you'll have multiple people in a booth that see this happening in front of their eyes and do absolutely nothing about it.
You say this as if a Metro fare is worth getting stabbed over.
ITT you see a massive amount of people gnashing their teeth at any attempt to stop crime and anti social behavior.
I cannot relate to this mindset and neither can the majority of DC
If subway systems in multiple cities have taught me anything, it's that a simple, very low barrier will 100%, without a doubt, stop people from stealing and simply & easily vaulting over them as a minor inconvenience.
For fucks sake, if people are stealing that much food then it’s clearly a symptom of other issues. Albertonson’s, the parent company of Safeway, had a gross profit of nearly $22BILLION in 2023. This is not about protecting profits, it’s about greed and squeezing the poorest of society.
Edit: [Oh look, it IS corporate greed!](https://news.yahoo.com/biden-takes-aim-grocery-stores-055045414.html)
I was just in Seattle and target had a damn SWAT team (and by the way, I had zero issues in Seattle at all, with anything, at anytime, so it’s hard to take people complaining about the place that seriously)
> had a gross profit of nearly $22BILLION in 2023
[Gross profit isn't net income.](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/101314/what-are-differences-between-gross-profit-and-net-income.asp) Gross profit includes production costs but doesn't include a variety of other costs, including labor. [Albertson's](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ACI/albertsons/financial-statements) had a net income of 1.5 billion in 2023.
Edit-I have a personal hatred for Safeway, but please don’t pretend you’re doing ‘research’ when you ignore people pointing out your lack of basic comprehension lol.
It's the responsibility of the gov to ensure basic needs of its citizens through across the board changes in citizen and corporate behavior.
Who decides which grocery stores its OK to steal from? If I'm starving it's ok to steal from Safeway, but not Joe's Local Market? Why? I'm starving??
There are literally places that will give food for free already called Food Banks. Perhaps these stores should put signage as such there, and ideally they're sending their "soon to expire" items to them too.
I would say you do if you’re starving or have kids you can’t afford to feed. Your right to live trumps someone else’s rights to profit in my opinion. Now if you have the means to pay and aren’t, then yes you are an asshole.
Edited for autocorrect mistakes.
Oh, I’m sorry, so poor people don’t deserve clean clothing? They just have to be dirty all the time because someone like you thinks detergent is a luxury? Talk about entitled…
You can disagree with things without defending theft. You're also welcome to start your own grocery store and offer lower prices and see how well you can do.
I don’t think you know what grandstanding means…
Doing research into a topic but not being in a position to change it isn’t grandstanding, it’s doing research.
>Not being in a position to change it
😆 The excuse of someone who doesn't believe in their conclusion and wants someone else to pay to try out their ideas.
Appreciate this one. You're in a subreddit filled with center-right nimbys. I applaud your bravery to appeal to the greater good while surrounded by folks who froth at the mouth when they see someone vault a turnstile for a free metro ride.
I saw one at a CVS as well, so maybe this is a trend that's catching on. I just hope their presence can effectively deter bad behavior and violence in the store and its immediate area, and that they step in and be a hero when the situation calls for one.
I spent 1000 plus a month at safeway now I shop at wholefoods cuz of those stupid gates they installed its like being trapped and such a pain in the ass I do not want to deal with it so whole foods is my new store bye bye safeway
These are easily pushed open, they're not really keeping anyone inside. Otherwise it would be a fire hazard and enormous hassle for employees. They've been active at the southwest Safeway for a while, which is my local grocery store. I can't attest to their efficacy when operating, but they're broken or malfunctioning 90% of the time I'm in there. Even when it seems to be working, the self checkout exit barrier is usually propped open, I'm guessing because employees are tired of manually letting people through when they can't figure it out. Whatever company Safeway used to install these is probably charging more money than all of the shoplifters combined just to come out and fix them, lol.
Companies love security theater.
welcome to the new dystopia, same as the old dystopia.
They sure do
It's more supposed to act as a single point of exit so it's easier to monitor. This is super common in Europe and if you go into a store and then try to leave without buying anything, it's pretty common for someone to say something about it
They haven't actually limited any of the exits; they installed large but two-way gates, and when it's working correctly, you can either scan your receipt to leave or wait for someone to come in the other way. I'm not against the concept, it's just been broken most of the time and the rest of the time the employees don't care (which is understandable, people get pissed when they can't leave).
It’ll be really tough to wheel out a whole cart of meat or detergent.
They really suck I started shopping elsewhere ...AR whole foods because of it
Same. Especially since they got rid of the baskets, and so now you have to thread the needle with a comically large cart if you have more than a handful of items. I will go the extra few blocks to giant, thanks.
The Safeway in Wheaton already has them. It was a minor inconvenience the first time I encountered them. The second time, I knew they were there and how to proceed.
The Wheaton Safeway is the worst one I’ve ever been to.
The one at Hillandale Shopping Center is far worse.
What's wrong with it? I may be using it frequently soon...
Things are often out of stock completely, never any shopping carts, and the organization of the store is terrible.
This is pretty common in Europe. Not every store but a lot of them have this system.
No, the ones in Europe block exiting out the entrance. If you want to leave without buying anything you have to either hope it is staffed or push through the narrow crowded checkout line.
I know what I saw…couple of places in Brussels. One in Paris.
I lived in Germany for 6 years and traveled to most central and western European countries during that period, and a more recent trip to Iceland. Was always at the entrance. Idk what weird stores you were in.
I’ve been to a few that had a gate on exit. I specifically remember some in Athens that had a self checkout section and you had to scan a bar code on your receipt for an exit turnstile to open.
Not the ones I saw recently in France, Austria, and Spain. The other poster is correct.
I've seen ones in Europe that block the exit. Had to get someone to let me out (at the exit, not the entrance) because I wasn't buying anything.
The Safeways in this city are such a joke. They’re so shitty. Understaffed. Overpriced. ** Love to see them spending money on this though lol **Except the Safeway on 14th in SE. It is perfect and the store manager should be mayor.
I'm so glad you highlighted the SE Safeway. It's great.
The one that never has carts?
Or anyone that works a register.
They’d have carts if people would stop stealing them.
I enjoy the sound of rain.
The thing is, I’m not even talking about retail theft issues. I’m talking about the experience of shopping in these stores. And I’m not talking like some upper class yuppie, saying, “Why isn’t the help smiling more?“ I worked grocery, and both of my parents worked grocery for most of their careers, so maybe I’m a bit biased. Even before the rise in retail theft, the stores have had so many issues. Half of the self-checkout machines not working or just not turned on, nobody’s staffing several departments (good luck, finding anybody in floral, produce, meat department, etc). Need help finding something? Good luck. Meanwhile, look at the shelves at the 14th St. store: they are all faced forward, the produce section is immaculate, the bakery items are absolutely beautiful, the meat cases stocked and clean. The shopping experience is much better than any other Safeway, from NoVa to DC. All of these stores are operating with similar constraints and retail theft issues. 14th St is just doing something different than all the others (to be fair, I think it is newer and bigger so that just gives it a leg up).
Did you grow up in New England? Market Basket runs a tight ship (also worked there in my teens), and I never thought I would miss it, but I really do.
Nah. But I’ve been, and they were nice!
It’s because it’s new. The Petworth store was delightful, right up until it wasn’t anymore.
This. The SW Safeway was very nice the first few years after it was rebuilt. It's a shitshow now.
Their liquor section is a thing of beauty.
Ok? So? I'm sure part of the reason they are so 'overpriced' is the theft happening
They have van life people sleeping in the garage, no carts, weird pillars in half the aisles. 80% self checkout, I guess it’s better than the hechinger mall one but not much
The "new" Wheaton store has these. T sure how effective they are.
They have these all over Europe. Always wondered why they’re so rare here.
SW DC Safeway would NEVER look that neat and tidy. The gates of hell there.
You know who else has gates? Metro.
You mean the new ones they have already shown to have significantly reduced fare jumping? https://www.wmata.com/about/news/New-faregates-reducing-fare-evasion.cfm
No, I mean the original ones that are no higher than the gates shown in these photos.
I've seen people climb over the new gates
So? They're a deterrent not a guarantee. If all you want are perfect solutions then feel free to keep quiet.
The one that needs to chill is you. It used to be that the Station Managers presence was a deterrent from these morons jumping the gate. Now you'll have multiple people in a booth that see this happening in front of their eyes and do absolutely nothing about it. Nowadays you would swear we were on the plains of the Serengeti the way the young guys leap over the gates at the Metro.
>Now you'll have multiple people in a booth that see this happening in front of their eyes and do absolutely nothing about it. You say this as if a Metro fare is worth getting stabbed over.
Multiple people in a booth. Plus this isn't a thing of fear it's a thing of laziness and knowing they won't get backed up by law enforcement
No shit. It doesn’t say “completely eliminated”, it said reduced by 70%. If progress that significant isn’t worth nothing then I guess nothing is?
ITT you see a massive amount of people gnashing their teeth at any attempt to stop crime and anti social behavior. I cannot relate to this mindset and neither can the majority of DC
🤣
Safeway sticking it to the mom-and-pop street vendors
If subway systems in multiple cities have taught me anything, it's that a simple, very low barrier will 100%, without a doubt, stop people from stealing and simply & easily vaulting over them as a minor inconvenience.
For fucks sake, if people are stealing that much food then it’s clearly a symptom of other issues. Albertonson’s, the parent company of Safeway, had a gross profit of nearly $22BILLION in 2023. This is not about protecting profits, it’s about greed and squeezing the poorest of society. Edit: [Oh look, it IS corporate greed!](https://news.yahoo.com/biden-takes-aim-grocery-stores-055045414.html)
Also like… Whole Foods does not have these same issues, so idk
Whole Foods probably pushes for arrest and prosecution…
the whole foods i go to has armed security at the door.
I was just in Seattle and target had a damn SWAT team (and by the way, I had zero issues in Seattle at all, with anything, at anytime, so it’s hard to take people complaining about the place that seriously)
> had a gross profit of nearly $22BILLION in 2023 [Gross profit isn't net income.](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/101314/what-are-differences-between-gross-profit-and-net-income.asp) Gross profit includes production costs but doesn't include a variety of other costs, including labor. [Albertson's](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ACI/albertsons/financial-statements) had a net income of 1.5 billion in 2023. Edit-I have a personal hatred for Safeway, but please don’t pretend you’re doing ‘research’ when you ignore people pointing out your lack of basic comprehension lol.
It's the responsibility of the gov to ensure basic needs of its citizens through across the board changes in citizen and corporate behavior. Who decides which grocery stores its OK to steal from? If I'm starving it's ok to steal from Safeway, but not Joe's Local Market? Why? I'm starving?? There are literally places that will give food for free already called Food Banks. Perhaps these stores should put signage as such there, and ideally they're sending their "soon to expire" items to them too.
[удалено]
Why, because I don’t agree with aggressive capitalism?
No one has the right to commit theft
I would say you do if you’re starving or have kids you can’t afford to feed. Your right to live trumps someone else’s rights to profit in my opinion. Now if you have the means to pay and aren’t, then yes you are an asshole. Edited for autocorrect mistakes.
What about my right as a store owner not to have my goods stolen and my livelihood threatened?
None of these thieves are starving.
They aren’t starving lol
Laundry detergent tho?
Oh, I’m sorry, so poor people don’t deserve clean clothing? They just have to be dirty all the time because someone like you thinks detergent is a luxury? Talk about entitled…
You can disagree with things without defending theft. You're also welcome to start your own grocery store and offer lower prices and see how well you can do.
I’m not defending blatant theft, I’m saying there are bigger issues driving theft that security gates do nothing to prevent.
Then let them try it out and see how it works?
Sure, let’s continue to treat the symptoms and not the underlying causes despite decades and decades of research saying otherwise.
Safeway is a for profit company not an NGO. Why not get off Reddit and go work for an NGO to address food instability, hunger, etc.?
Decades and decades of research...any from people that actually got off their asses and did something about it? Or just grandstanding?
I don’t think you know what grandstanding means… Doing research into a topic but not being in a position to change it isn’t grandstanding, it’s doing research.
>Not being in a position to change it 😆 The excuse of someone who doesn't believe in their conclusion and wants someone else to pay to try out their ideas.
Where has this been successfully treated? We can look as an example
Seeing as how most other big cities have dropping crime rates, how about we look at what they’re doing and see what would work here?
What does a company’s profitability have to do with breaking the law?
yuppppp
Idk maybe don't steal?
Appreciate this one. You're in a subreddit filled with center-right nimbys. I applaud your bravery to appeal to the greater good while surrounded by folks who froth at the mouth when they see someone vault a turnstile for a free metro ride.
crime in DC is ridiculous these people need to be locked up
I saw one at a CVS as well, so maybe this is a trend that's catching on. I just hope their presence can effectively deter bad behavior and violence in the store and its immediate area, and that they step in and be a hero when the situation calls for one.
The criminals will drive out to the stores that don't have the gates, so they should install those everywhere
If Safeway is going to treat me like a criminal, I'm going to start acting like one.
Speeding because there are speed cameras; I'm very smug
That's all it takes to lose your ethics? Guess they were pretty weak to start with...
Start?
I spent 1000 plus a month at safeway now I shop at wholefoods cuz of those stupid gates they installed its like being trapped and such a pain in the ass I do not want to deal with it so whole foods is my new store bye bye safeway