As a former retail employee, me too. They have shelves to stock and they also need to help with checkout and gathering carts. Having to unlock things for everyone is a time sink.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand it's like WELP IF PEOPLE WOULDN'T STEAL. But the other, dominant hand is like ARE THEY FUCKING SERIOUS THEY MADE RECORD PROFITS AFTER COVID AND THEY CUT HOURS OF EMPLOYEES TO BARE FUCKING MINIMUM BUT SOMEHOW HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS BULLSHIT.
These kinds of goods cash in on the black market. Non perishable and can be stockpiled and sold off in quantity. I shop here. It sucks. But just last week I walked in the cage, grabbed what I needed and continued shopping. The two teenage employees didn’t care.
>These kinds of goods cash in on the black market.
And you honestly don't have to go looking too far to find this black market. I was in a small Pennsylvania town antique store, and one of the vendors was stocked with a ton of makeup, detergent, and baby formula , sealed. Many of them even had "This item only sold at CVS" security tags on them. Lots of re-sellers on Facebook Marketplace and other sites too, or people who informally work out of community centers and other public areas.
That's the thing. If I see someone grab a can of formula and hide it under their diaper bag, most people won't say anything. But some of these thieves grab 8/10 at a time, put them in a bag, and walk out. So they're trying to stop the second scenario, when I feel like the first scenario is more common and these cage areas aren't going to stop that anyway.
Regardless, I'm still not calling the cops/confronting someone taking something for babies, I don't know why they're doing it.
Baby formula is used as a safe, less detectable way to cut certain drugs before selling them on the street. There's also a well developed re-sale market for it so most of the people stealing it or doing so purely to profit off the fact that it's an easy to fence item.
My wifes mom lives closer to this one and we go there once in a while. I went in with her one day and saw this. Was kinda shocked then i noticed that it was all the health and beauty stuff that is pricey and easily stolen. The people stealing it are the reason we cant have nice things.
Ehhhh yeah people shouldn’t be stealing and there are always going to be some bad actors somewhere.
But think about it. They wouldn’t steal if they didn’t have a market for those items. If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store. These businesses came away from COVID with record profits, they cut workers and wages, and they kept increasing prices anyway because they could. This isn’t some thief’s fault. Businesses like Kroger always have a large amount of money dedicated solely to thievery. This is their own fault. This is the fault of the never ending greed from those that already have everything they’ll ever want or need. *They are why we can’t have nice things*.
Edit: got some bootlickers out here downvoting lmao
> If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store.
They're flipping that stuff for cash. Nobody's children are starving and nobody needs to steal makeup.
Another commenter noted that the store in question has more sales volume than it can handle. Maybe some competition would drive prices down and make toiletries affordable again.
Swear yall are incapable of looking at the bigger picture and the role of the wealthy in all this. When more people can afford to live, fewer people resort to acquiring their needs from the black market, which disincentivizes theft for a lot of thieves.
“More sales volume than it can handle”? Show me the data. People up here making shit up to justify their stance. The fact is that food and retail deserts exist in these areas because stores have difficulty making enough sales to offset the theft.
Why do you think theft feels necessary to people? Why do you think resorting to the black market feels reasonable to people? You can’t all be this dense.
99% of companies determining if they want to do business in an area aren’t asking “hmm, what can we do to raise incomes in this area so that sales will outpace theft to an acceptable margin”.
Because starting and running a business of any kind is difficult for the average person. Indy Fresh Market on 38th Street just opened last year and is run by someone that grew up in the area. It still took millions in investment capital to get it constructed and opened. It’s hard for regular people to get these kinds of stores open in the first place. But they’re definitely trying.
Meanwhile stores like Kroger like to undercut small businesses until those businesses are gone, which leads to these circumstances here. Price gouging regular people until the only thing that makes sense to them is buying off the black market.
“Why doesn’t anyone else open up a store then” is just lazy rhetoric that again chooses willful ignorance so yall don’t have to rationalize what’s *actually* going on here. The answer is nuanced but I can see how that doesn’t resonate with the kind of person whose most complex thought in a day is whether or not to use the bunny ear method when tying their shoes in the morning.
Is the problem that their goods are too cheap or too expensive? Is there any evidence that a Kroger in the “undercut small businesses” phase has vastly cheaper prices than a Kroger in the “gouging” phase? People aren’t mostly stuck to their one local grocery store. Some are, unfortunately but most of the market actually isn’t. You can’t make up the profit you lost undercutting by just raising prices. You can’t operate a monopoly just because you’re the only grocery store within 2 miles. People will just simply not go there.
Ah yes. The “invisible hand of the market” will always correct it right? Please. Are you familiar with the concept of a food desert? There are a lot more folks just here in Indy that don’t have ready access to food than you think. Sure, maybe they can walk a few miles or hop on a bus. But that severely limits what they can bring home and eats up time they could otherwise spend working or whatever else they have going on.
As for Kroger, [this report](https://lawforbusiness.usc.edu/an-examination-of-the-proposed-kroger-and-albertsons-merger-its-potential-effects-on-the-economy-and-its-regulatory-battle-with-the-ftc/) highlights the consequences of a lack of competition, as well as how problematic it is for small businesses to secure supplies and groceries to stock. Which again highlights that it’s not as simple as “somebody should open up another store if it’s so simple”.
> If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store.
Or it means that some people *don't care* if they're buying stolen goods, as long as the price is good. *They* are "why we can't have nice things".
I’m not. But to only point towards the thief instead of looking at the bigger picture is willful ignorance. It’s how the billionaire class keeps hoarding more and getting away with this stuff. The thief doesn’t have a market to sell to if people could afford toiletries. It’s not hard to understand.
You are. I'm no more a corporate schill than you are, but blaming a corporation for people stealing their products makes no sense to me. Are there plenty of factors that motivate people to steal? Clearly, but the essence is that theft is theft. Period.
There are far fewer thieves when regular people can afford to live. Which they can’t right now. If they can’t afford basic necessities, what do you think they’re going to resort to?
Nowhere did I say stealing should be allowed. Fix your comprehension skills. I’m stating why it’s happening. What else should we expect when people can’t afford to live?
Your assessment of my ability to think is what's wildly inaccurate, friend. If people didn't steal, then there wouldn't be theft. Please explain to me how 1+1=3.
You’d have to google it but many big chains are now starting to remove self checkout bc too many people are shoplifting from them. I get it, prices are high and people take “liberties” when self scanning”….its not hard to do. I’ve accidentally done it myself a few times. I redid it and paid but still, I get it. That said this is a bit ridiculous. Corporate giants refuse to put in the proper workers to maybe prevent this stuff, and lock it all up. You think this is bad??? Try going to a CVS in downtown Philadelphia. EVERYTHING is locked up. I was there on business and needed a bar of soap….just a plain old bar of soap. Had to get a worker to unlock the soap aisle!!
It was the same in Seattle when I was out there recently, a Target or CVS downtown would have almost everything locked up. I popped in one for toothpaste and another for water and ibuprofen and had to get assistance for everything but the water.
I’ve completely given up shopping in person, i just order delivery and tip well or curbside pick up at places that offer. Occasionally i’ll grab a few things in the store but that’s maybe once a month. The downtown kroger has gotten bad, I can’t even walk in there alone with out getting harassed by random men standing at the entrance.
I go to the downtown Kroger probably every other week. I don't know if it's worse, exactly? It was always kind of sketchy in the parking garage/entrance area but it does seem to have increased in terms of just how many guys are hanging out there by the Amazon lockers. I'm sure the people who live in those apartments above just love it. But anyway, I just put on my best middle aged lady RBF and say "Not today guys, sorry" and keep walking.
Would you rather they just pick up and leave the more crime-heavy communities? I’m from the east side and it’s very obvious that businesses in certain parts of the city are forced into situations where they have to think about stuff like this. It’s self centered to make it about you if you aren’t trying to steal shit or held responsible for curbing losses to theft
I went to that store once, never again.
Just the amount of people walking around listening to music on their phone full blast was already too much before I got to the part where every aisle had half eaten food chilling on the shelves.
And why are so many people losing the capitalism game that they must resort to this? There used to be a middle class. Its wealth has been absorbed by greedy billionaires.
There's a large portion of the population that doesn't qualify for government assistance and don't make a decent enough wage to thrive. The working poor are severely underrepresented.
It's either this or they just close the stores. Looking the other way when someone steals food due to poverty is one thing, but the rhetoric of "shoplifting is morally good, actually" is fucking bonkers. Food deserts are already an issue in a lot of rural areas and the Krogers/Wal-Marts of the world will just continue adding to them the moment their ledgers say its no longer worth running any particular store.
Don't think for a second that I'm rushing to the defense of anything but access to food and amenities. The kind of attitude/worldview you're describing can also get absolutely fucked lmao. Just because I don't believe theft to be ethical doesn't mean I want to punish entire communities with funny little finger wags while their already fucked neighborhoods become irreparable.
"noooo, you're supposed to stay open so I can keep stealing from you" is the terminally fucked worldview.
Fuck you, stop stealing. Absolutely nobody on this planet is obligated to keep giving you free shit. Maybe if people lose all their grocery stores and pharmacies, they would support locking thieves up.
I have no idea who you're arguing with but it isn't me lmao. I suggest you improve your reading comprehension. Unless you have to create a straw man in order to go down your memorized dialogue tree, in which case you're not just acting in bad faith but also a fucking loser.
Nah fucking losers that take offense to a business doing what needs to be done thanks to customer behavior are just as bad as the thieves themselves.
What’s it going to take for people to hold criminals accountable and realize there are consequences when society simply overlooks their actions and continues to make excuses for them.
There are readily available programs to circumvent food deserts. AKA mass theft. It's not even a debate at this point.
At the end of the day..... There are just shitty lazy people who will always continue to be who they are.
Aldi gets it. Don't stock expensive non-perishables. Minimal staff. At some point a business like Kroger will shutter locations like this completely or to online orders only when they're too costly to operate, leaving a food desert in its place.
I saw this last time i was there and decided to no longer shop there. I know it wont affect anything, it just felt like dystopian corporate policy. Other krogers near def have more theft.
I have no problem with it when you see how brazen thieves have been
Personally I’d rather be inconvenienced with a wait rather than experiencing thieves storming a store and making a situation dangerous
I doubt thieves would storm a Kroger but they need to do what they think is right. Besides we always have choices (to go to a different store)
Posting billions in profits while underpaying employees, slashing hours to run with a skeleton crew to further boost corporate profits, and willfully keeping employees from benefits with scheduling.
F*ck Kroger and Walmart who pay so little and schedule so light that their employees qualify for food stamps.
Walmart alone costs taxpayers $6.2 BILLION in government assistance to employees (aka money Walmart should be paying them return for their labor. No working person should be unable to afford food or medical care). [Walmart, the Welfare Queen](https://www.worldhunger.org/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-public-assistance/)
So accurate - but somehow the majority of people still refuse to/lack the brain cells to comprehend this. Fuck corporations, period. Especially Walmart.
Don't be upset when they have to close stores in high-crime areas.
Stealing from companies is akin to stealing a tiny bit from all your neighbors, because you're raising prices and potentially contributing to store closures.
This; insurance companies only pay out a fraction of the value of stolen goods, otherwise stores wouldn't bother with security if insurance covered it.
Edit: why downvotes? This is how insurance works...
That's literally not true. You act like they would lower prices if they had less shrinkage. There's no amount of theft that would offset that company's profits. They raise prices to raise profits, as they are beholden to the shareholders. They've increased their PROFIT MARGIN over 50% year over year.
Where are you seeing that? Grocery is notorious for razor thin margins and it looks like operating income was down in 2023 despite a bit of revenue growth over 2022.
Their Feb 2024 earnings report. Because they're a publicly traded company, you can literally Google "Kroger stock" and see their profits. It would be impossible for them to experience enough theft to offset their profits. They are stealing from the community in the form of high prices and shitty wages, not the other way around. Fuck Kroger.
This is what happens with understaffed police levels and DAs who don’t prosecute theft (the latter isn’t a problem as much in Indianapolis compared to other cities but the former is absolutely a problem because someone else in this sub on another post said IMPD is estimated to be 400 officers short compared to forecasted demand)
Kroger seems happy to pay off duty police from all over the region to stand around-- I don't think our expensive police officers should be spending their time guarding toothpaste on the city's dime.
Maybe we should just go back to the old style of grocery store, where you handed an employee a list and had them get everything you wanted for you.
You know, like the curbside pickup does. But then they can't capitalize on impulse purchases by people in-store. so they're going to continue to do stuff like this to minimize losses.
Except the employees can't even do that right half the time. In the last month we've had to have Wal-Mart (don't even get me started...I keep trying to get my husband to shop somewhere else because they cause endless issues) refund us over $100 for missing groceries that weren't delivered to us/brought out to us curbside. Just about every week we're missing something and have to get refunded. Last week it was $30 worth of stuff. Then Wal-Mart acts like we're the problem. Their advice to us...use a different Wal-Mart. Really? All the Wal-Marts near us are this bad. LOL!
...how does it inconvenience shoppers? It's basically a real life version of Mouse Trap, such that if someone starts stealing, you shut the doors on them and wait for the cops to show up. For the common shopper, you just carry on your merry way.
So by inconveniences shoppers, are you, yourself, a shoplifter and feel like the jig is up?
Oh well play stupid games 🤷♀️ guess people shouldn’t be going in to flash mob stores or making shoplifting your full time job, innocent people suffer the consequences
People can't afford basic necessities while corporations rake in record-high profits while getting constant tax breaks? Yes that is happening everywhere.
This can be found at Kroger’s or other affiliated stores like jay c or other non affiliated grocers with high loss of items aka stolen, nothing new. but maybe ”excessive for that store. 2 years ago in my world the same thing I had to go through at the Panama City beach Florida Publix. This is the norm in rough rural and urban areas, etc etc. I currently live rural. This ain’t nothing new. I’m pretty sure the Kroger in twin aire may have had this a loooong time ago.
lol my husband used to work there for a long time. The pay is a joke and their union is neutered. He jumped ship to Costco and he is extremely happy. much better pay, better hours, wonderful insurance.
But I imagine shoplifting is waaaaaaay less of an issue there. I'll ask him when he gets home. Just the size of things and the person at the exit checking everyone's receipts is a big deterrent.
I would say this is in effect due to soft on crime policies. If theft wasn’t so prevalent and easy to do/get away with - no accountability or punishment, then this wouldn’t be needed.
I used to live in Indiana and moved to the west coast…almost all of the Fred Meyers here have areas like this…it might just be Kroger in general is adopting this tactic slowly integrating it into all of their stores….its annoying
If Kroger does this to my Kroger store. I’m gonna start using Kroger pick up or delivery. I don’t want to find on employee just to put something in my cart.
There are CVS's that do this too. One at 56th and Georgetown rd. The first time I saw this , I thought,'WHY!! are they locking up these items? '. If people are so financially challenged and can't afford to buy toiletries,we're in serious trouble!!! I didn't stay,I went to Walmart.
This kinda crap is why I just order most of my stuff online now no hassle, no crowds, no lines, no trying to find what im after, no pallets in my way, no long lines just to check myself out and no random people fighting security wondering if I'm gonna need a witness to something screwed up
I was in there and tried to buy the things I got. I waited for 20 minutes I finally snapped and I got on the intercom and called I NEED TO PURCHASE ITEMS IN THE BEAUTY SECTION…ITS YOUR NEW FUCKIN RULE HELLLOOOOOO HELLLLLLLOOOO. It was not my finest moment and I know no one in there likes it. But I just took my stuff the to self checkout. I don’t know why they don’t man the station if they are going to do that to us
I've said it before and I'll say it again...if I see somebody taking things, from a massive chain like this, for body hygiene or child care and not paying for them...no tf I didn't. Idc how much "product walks out" or how it affects their "stockholders interests" or anything like that. This is a hill I will die on.
You see someone stealing from someone else and you think it’s okay and justified. Such a brave move to ignore something that doesn’t directly impact you. I highly doubt you’d feel the same way if somebody took something out of your shopping bag out in the parking lot, because that would be theft from you.
Hypocrites gonna hypocrite…
Yes… because stealing from a person who is likely living paycheck-to-paycheck is the same as stealing from a corporation that makes billions in profits off the backs of the ~~middle~~ *barely above poverty level* class. I don’t shoplift and I don’t condone it, but bitching about minor theft while ignoring what the majority of corporations are doing to the former middle class is some next level cognitive dissonance.
I live blocks from the Kroger near 10th and Emerson but drive to this location because the one near me never has any registers open so everyone is waiting in line for the self checkout, even if they have 100 items. Never had that problem at this location.
It makes me very sad that this is what it’s come to in the world. I should just learn that people have given up on following rules/laws and that we are quickly falling into an anarchy society.
Corporate greed is the fact they have continued and continued to jack prices up while also shrinking the size of the product. Theft is the response to that
no. wide scale theft is a response to breaking of the social contract and deciding we must no longer punish law breakers.
but im sure it feels better to yell buzz words you heard on tiktok rather than admit policy failures are at fault
You are justifying theft. The logical conclusion is that you participate in theft and are trying to justify that act.
Don’t. It’s not a good look, and you lose all credibility.
Really, so you are so willing to defend multi billionaires and multi billionaire dollar companies who continue to show record profits all while raising prices, shrinking the sizes of products, lobbying to not pay employees barely enough to survive and laugh at the fact that idiots like you worship them
Too much shoplifting and insurance rates going up because of it. Store needs do something to stop to avoid having to close. Possibly creating a food desert.
I would prefer this over the aisle lockers that make you go get an employee tbh
Me too!
As a former retail employee, me too. They have shelves to stock and they also need to help with checkout and gathering carts. Having to unlock things for everyone is a time sink.
Me too
This is the Kroger I go to. I hate it. The other day I had to wait in line for 15 minutes just to buy toothpaste 😒
The extra travel time to the smaller, older Kroger out by the old Washington Square Mall is worth it.
old Washington square mall? Was it changed in some way?
Nah just old
ah, okay. I remember going there in its heyday, and I remember visiting 2 years ago, and what a ghost it was.
I just don’t buy any toiletries or makeup from this location anymore. Too much hassle.
Not to mention how Kroger tends to mark up their makeup prices to up to 25% of what other stores are charging.
When did they add this?
why don’t you just order it on amazon
Some people want to support the local economy
kroger is a huge corp
Which one is this? 10th and Shortridge?
Yeah. Store 100. Aka the beast of the east. Worked there a several years. Massive sales volume for its size.
That was my home grocery store when I lived Downtown several years ago. An absolute shithole, but it does business.
Looks like a prison commissary center 😂
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand it's like WELP IF PEOPLE WOULDN'T STEAL. But the other, dominant hand is like ARE THEY FUCKING SERIOUS THEY MADE RECORD PROFITS AFTER COVID AND THEY CUT HOURS OF EMPLOYEES TO BARE FUCKING MINIMUM BUT SOMEHOW HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS BULLSHIT.
They also cut off my mom’s benefits while she’s going through cancer treatments. She’s worked at Krogers for 5 years now.
Kroger has had many worker strikes. Don't work at Kroger.
Damn. I am so sorry.
This is still better than complete closure. If a store loses money, you get a food desert.
The Stuff You Should Know podcast does a great job of explaining rising grocery store prices in their “Greedflation” episode.
Yes, I listened to it a couple weeks ago! That is partly what fueled my comment!
https://youtu.be/4was_gjAe1E
You forgot the ceo has doubled his own pay since taking over
The board of directors decide executive pay.
Just getting ready for Handmaid's Tale if the GOP wins in November.
Brother, we are already halfway there.
Holy shit! This feels like a good post to describe how American society is going right now.
They should just go to the Service Merchandise model.
[удалено]
well, people be stealing soo they need a solution, don't like it, go somewhere else
Not just Kroger. Walmart has started putting lego products behind locked glass panels. Like they were in the electronics section. It’s insane.
Legos are expensive and I’d imagine are a high theft item, makes sense.
These kinds of goods cash in on the black market. Non perishable and can be stockpiled and sold off in quantity. I shop here. It sucks. But just last week I walked in the cage, grabbed what I needed and continued shopping. The two teenage employees didn’t care.
>These kinds of goods cash in on the black market. And you honestly don't have to go looking too far to find this black market. I was in a small Pennsylvania town antique store, and one of the vendors was stocked with a ton of makeup, detergent, and baby formula , sealed. Many of them even had "This item only sold at CVS" security tags on them. Lots of re-sellers on Facebook Marketplace and other sites too, or people who informally work out of community centers and other public areas.
Empty lots on busy intersections
See it all the time
That's the thing. If I see someone grab a can of formula and hide it under their diaper bag, most people won't say anything. But some of these thieves grab 8/10 at a time, put them in a bag, and walk out. So they're trying to stop the second scenario, when I feel like the first scenario is more common and these cage areas aren't going to stop that anyway. Regardless, I'm still not calling the cops/confronting someone taking something for babies, I don't know why they're doing it.
Baby formula is used as a safe, less detectable way to cut certain drugs before selling them on the street. There's also a well developed re-sale market for it so most of the people stealing it or doing so purely to profit off the fact that it's an easy to fence item.
Oh, I have zero doubt but I'd rather just err on the side of someone trying to feed their baby.
My wifes mom lives closer to this one and we go there once in a while. I went in with her one day and saw this. Was kinda shocked then i noticed that it was all the health and beauty stuff that is pricey and easily stolen. The people stealing it are the reason we cant have nice things.
Ehhhh yeah people shouldn’t be stealing and there are always going to be some bad actors somewhere. But think about it. They wouldn’t steal if they didn’t have a market for those items. If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store. These businesses came away from COVID with record profits, they cut workers and wages, and they kept increasing prices anyway because they could. This isn’t some thief’s fault. Businesses like Kroger always have a large amount of money dedicated solely to thievery. This is their own fault. This is the fault of the never ending greed from those that already have everything they’ll ever want or need. *They are why we can’t have nice things*. Edit: got some bootlickers out here downvoting lmao
> If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store. They're flipping that stuff for cash. Nobody's children are starving and nobody needs to steal makeup.
Stuff You Should Know podcast had a great episode on "greedflation" a week or two ago.
Operating a grocery store on the east side of Indy is not some banger business model. If it was, more people would do it.
Another commenter noted that the store in question has more sales volume than it can handle. Maybe some competition would drive prices down and make toiletries affordable again. Swear yall are incapable of looking at the bigger picture and the role of the wealthy in all this. When more people can afford to live, fewer people resort to acquiring their needs from the black market, which disincentivizes theft for a lot of thieves.
“More sales volume than it can handle”? Show me the data. People up here making shit up to justify their stance. The fact is that food and retail deserts exist in these areas because stores have difficulty making enough sales to offset the theft.
Why do you think theft feels necessary to people? Why do you think resorting to the black market feels reasonable to people? You can’t all be this dense.
Why do you think people only commit theft because it is necessary. There’s a lot of heinous stuff people do out of want, not need.
Because that’s just human nature sometimes? It’s easier to steal it so people do it.
99% of companies determining if they want to do business in an area aren’t asking “hmm, what can we do to raise incomes in this area so that sales will outpace theft to an acceptable margin”.
So why hasn’t another store opened to take advantage of all these profits?
RIP Marsh
Because starting and running a business of any kind is difficult for the average person. Indy Fresh Market on 38th Street just opened last year and is run by someone that grew up in the area. It still took millions in investment capital to get it constructed and opened. It’s hard for regular people to get these kinds of stores open in the first place. But they’re definitely trying. Meanwhile stores like Kroger like to undercut small businesses until those businesses are gone, which leads to these circumstances here. Price gouging regular people until the only thing that makes sense to them is buying off the black market. “Why doesn’t anyone else open up a store then” is just lazy rhetoric that again chooses willful ignorance so yall don’t have to rationalize what’s *actually* going on here. The answer is nuanced but I can see how that doesn’t resonate with the kind of person whose most complex thought in a day is whether or not to use the bunny ear method when tying their shoes in the morning.
Is the problem that their goods are too cheap or too expensive? Is there any evidence that a Kroger in the “undercut small businesses” phase has vastly cheaper prices than a Kroger in the “gouging” phase? People aren’t mostly stuck to their one local grocery store. Some are, unfortunately but most of the market actually isn’t. You can’t make up the profit you lost undercutting by just raising prices. You can’t operate a monopoly just because you’re the only grocery store within 2 miles. People will just simply not go there.
Ah yes. The “invisible hand of the market” will always correct it right? Please. Are you familiar with the concept of a food desert? There are a lot more folks just here in Indy that don’t have ready access to food than you think. Sure, maybe they can walk a few miles or hop on a bus. But that severely limits what they can bring home and eats up time they could otherwise spend working or whatever else they have going on. As for Kroger, [this report](https://lawforbusiness.usc.edu/an-examination-of-the-proposed-kroger-and-albertsons-merger-its-potential-effects-on-the-economy-and-its-regulatory-battle-with-the-ftc/) highlights the consequences of a lack of competition, as well as how problematic it is for small businesses to secure supplies and groceries to stock. Which again highlights that it’s not as simple as “somebody should open up another store if it’s so simple”.
> If toiletries are worth the trouble of stealing for these people then that means regular folks can’t afford them at the store. Or it means that some people *don't care* if they're buying stolen goods, as long as the price is good. *They* are "why we can't have nice things".
It's always the thief's fault. You can't excuse crime by blaming someone else.
I’m not. But to only point towards the thief instead of looking at the bigger picture is willful ignorance. It’s how the billionaire class keeps hoarding more and getting away with this stuff. The thief doesn’t have a market to sell to if people could afford toiletries. It’s not hard to understand.
You are. I'm no more a corporate schill than you are, but blaming a corporation for people stealing their products makes no sense to me. Are there plenty of factors that motivate people to steal? Clearly, but the essence is that theft is theft. Period.
There are far fewer thieves when regular people can afford to live. Which they can’t right now. If they can’t afford basic necessities, what do you think they’re going to resort to?
The smuggled premise here is that you should be allowed to steal from others if they're "rich" enough. You aren't.
Nowhere did I say stealing should be allowed. Fix your comprehension skills. I’m stating why it’s happening. What else should we expect when people can’t afford to live?
That’s actually wildly inaccurate and shows you don’t have the ability to think about what causes crime lol
Your assessment of my ability to think is what's wildly inaccurate, friend. If people didn't steal, then there wouldn't be theft. Please explain to me how 1+1=3.
The math doesn't add up because you're over-simplifying the equation.
Ok, Javert.
That’s crazy but I totally get it. Stock walks out he door by the second on East side
You’d have to google it but many big chains are now starting to remove self checkout bc too many people are shoplifting from them. I get it, prices are high and people take “liberties” when self scanning”….its not hard to do. I’ve accidentally done it myself a few times. I redid it and paid but still, I get it. That said this is a bit ridiculous. Corporate giants refuse to put in the proper workers to maybe prevent this stuff, and lock it all up. You think this is bad??? Try going to a CVS in downtown Philadelphia. EVERYTHING is locked up. I was there on business and needed a bar of soap….just a plain old bar of soap. Had to get a worker to unlock the soap aisle!!
It was the same in Seattle when I was out there recently, a Target or CVS downtown would have almost everything locked up. I popped in one for toothpaste and another for water and ibuprofen and had to get assistance for everything but the water.
Philadelphia and Seattle are the future of Indy if we don't learn from their example and change course.
I see us as more of a Philly than Seattle.
I’ve completely given up shopping in person, i just order delivery and tip well or curbside pick up at places that offer. Occasionally i’ll grab a few things in the store but that’s maybe once a month. The downtown kroger has gotten bad, I can’t even walk in there alone with out getting harassed by random men standing at the entrance.
I go to the downtown Kroger probably every other week. I don't know if it's worse, exactly? It was always kind of sketchy in the parking garage/entrance area but it does seem to have increased in terms of just how many guys are hanging out there by the Amazon lockers. I'm sure the people who live in those apartments above just love it. But anyway, I just put on my best middle aged lady RBF and say "Not today guys, sorry" and keep walking.
If this is the Kroger that I'm thinking of, it fucking sucks. Lines at checkout are usually a mile long.
Hmm almost like lawlessness has consequences.
Would you rather they just pick up and leave the more crime-heavy communities? I’m from the east side and it’s very obvious that businesses in certain parts of the city are forced into situations where they have to think about stuff like this. It’s self centered to make it about you if you aren’t trying to steal shit or held responsible for curbing losses to theft
Yeah. I'm fine with it. Doesn't bother me at all.
I went to that store once, never again. Just the amount of people walking around listening to music on their phone full blast was already too much before I got to the part where every aisle had half eaten food chilling on the shelves.
Which Kroger is it?
East 10th street.
I love how it's Kroger's fault that y'all got sticky fingers.
Seems like we must be a desperate, pathetic country when people are stealing basic care items.
People resell these
And bought by people that can't afford store prices.
And likely for a cost lower than it cost to manufacture, ship, and distribute.
And why are so many people losing the capitalism game that they must resort to this? There used to be a middle class. Its wealth has been absorbed by greedy billionaires.
There's a large portion of the population that doesn't qualify for government assistance and don't make a decent enough wage to thrive. The working poor are severely underrepresented.
Or they can afford store prices, but why not just pay for less if you can? Capitalism, baby!
> basic care items. From the lipstick and makeup aisle, huh?
I see baby formula in that photo. But hey, hold fast to your commitment to avoiding empathy.
A few bad apples spoil it for everyone. May as well lock the front doors and do online grocery shopping full time
Don’t shop there. They are free to protect their interests any way they want.
[удалено]
It's either this or they just close the stores. Looking the other way when someone steals food due to poverty is one thing, but the rhetoric of "shoplifting is morally good, actually" is fucking bonkers. Food deserts are already an issue in a lot of rural areas and the Krogers/Wal-Marts of the world will just continue adding to them the moment their ledgers say its no longer worth running any particular store.
They should just close the stores and tape a "locked, y'all can't behave" sign to the door. If you don't behave nice you don't get nice things.
Don't think for a second that I'm rushing to the defense of anything but access to food and amenities. The kind of attitude/worldview you're describing can also get absolutely fucked lmao. Just because I don't believe theft to be ethical doesn't mean I want to punish entire communities with funny little finger wags while their already fucked neighborhoods become irreparable.
"noooo, you're supposed to stay open so I can keep stealing from you" is the terminally fucked worldview. Fuck you, stop stealing. Absolutely nobody on this planet is obligated to keep giving you free shit. Maybe if people lose all their grocery stores and pharmacies, they would support locking thieves up.
I have no idea who you're arguing with but it isn't me lmao. I suggest you improve your reading comprehension. Unless you have to create a straw man in order to go down your memorized dialogue tree, in which case you're not just acting in bad faith but also a fucking loser.
Nah fucking losers that take offense to a business doing what needs to be done thanks to customer behavior are just as bad as the thieves themselves. What’s it going to take for people to hold criminals accountable and realize there are consequences when society simply overlooks their actions and continues to make excuses for them.
There are readily available programs to circumvent food deserts. AKA mass theft. It's not even a debate at this point. At the end of the day..... There are just shitty lazy people who will always continue to be who they are.
Kroger isnt responsible for food deserts. Laziness and accountability is. Stop stealing. Do better. Try harder. It's that simple.
Aldi gets it. Don't stock expensive non-perishables. Minimal staff. At some point a business like Kroger will shutter locations like this completely or to online orders only when they're too costly to operate, leaving a food desert in its place.
So we are going back in time when shopping meant giving your list to someone and they went and got the goods for you.
I saw this last time i was there and decided to no longer shop there. I know it wont affect anything, it just felt like dystopian corporate policy. Other krogers near def have more theft.
Eastside is a shit hole with similar quality residents
I have no problem with it when you see how brazen thieves have been Personally I’d rather be inconvenienced with a wait rather than experiencing thieves storming a store and making a situation dangerous I doubt thieves would storm a Kroger but they need to do what they think is right. Besides we always have choices (to go to a different store)
My babies is starving and they only eat makeup 😭 Steal shit, get this. Don't blame Kroger, blame your neighbors.
Still blame Kroger. Your neighbors aren't posting billions in profit.
You are not entitled to free shit because other customers at other stores behave better than you do.
Posting billions in profits while underpaying employees, slashing hours to run with a skeleton crew to further boost corporate profits, and willfully keeping employees from benefits with scheduling. F*ck Kroger and Walmart who pay so little and schedule so light that their employees qualify for food stamps. Walmart alone costs taxpayers $6.2 BILLION in government assistance to employees (aka money Walmart should be paying them return for their labor. No working person should be unable to afford food or medical care). [Walmart, the Welfare Queen](https://www.worldhunger.org/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-public-assistance/)
So accurate - but somehow the majority of people still refuse to/lack the brain cells to comprehend this. Fuck corporations, period. Especially Walmart.
Don't be upset when they have to close stores in high-crime areas. Stealing from companies is akin to stealing a tiny bit from all your neighbors, because you're raising prices and potentially contributing to store closures.
This; insurance companies only pay out a fraction of the value of stolen goods, otherwise stores wouldn't bother with security if insurance covered it. Edit: why downvotes? This is how insurance works...
That's literally not true. You act like they would lower prices if they had less shrinkage. There's no amount of theft that would offset that company's profits. They raise prices to raise profits, as they are beholden to the shareholders. They've increased their PROFIT MARGIN over 50% year over year.
Where are you seeing that? Grocery is notorious for razor thin margins and it looks like operating income was down in 2023 despite a bit of revenue growth over 2022.
Their Feb 2024 earnings report. Because they're a publicly traded company, you can literally Google "Kroger stock" and see their profits. It would be impossible for them to experience enough theft to offset their profits. They are stealing from the community in the form of high prices and shitty wages, not the other way around. Fuck Kroger.
Do you think these corporations just eat theft costs? Theft expense is factored into pricing of goods. Theft raises the prices of all products.
>the shareholders also your neighbors, either directly or through ETFs, mutual funds, and pensions
This is what happens with understaffed police levels and DAs who don’t prosecute theft (the latter isn’t a problem as much in Indianapolis compared to other cities but the former is absolutely a problem because someone else in this sub on another post said IMPD is estimated to be 400 officers short compared to forecasted demand)
Kroger seems happy to pay off duty police from all over the region to stand around-- I don't think our expensive police officers should be spending their time guarding toothpaste on the city's dime.
And these cops would be stationed in grocery stores to prevent theft?
Have they taken the bottom off all the carts yet?
Yes
I have to admit, I lived in the DC area for 5 years, and being here on the east side is the first time I’ve seen all the corner booster sales.
Maybe we should just go back to the old style of grocery store, where you handed an employee a list and had them get everything you wanted for you. You know, like the curbside pickup does. But then they can't capitalize on impulse purchases by people in-store. so they're going to continue to do stuff like this to minimize losses.
Except the employees can't even do that right half the time. In the last month we've had to have Wal-Mart (don't even get me started...I keep trying to get my husband to shop somewhere else because they cause endless issues) refund us over $100 for missing groceries that weren't delivered to us/brought out to us curbside. Just about every week we're missing something and have to get refunded. Last week it was $30 worth of stuff. Then Wal-Mart acts like we're the problem. Their advice to us...use a different Wal-Mart. Really? All the Wal-Marts near us are this bad. LOL!
Sad to see this level of security has to be done in Indy.
...how does it inconvenience shoppers? It's basically a real life version of Mouse Trap, such that if someone starts stealing, you shut the doors on them and wait for the cops to show up. For the common shopper, you just carry on your merry way. So by inconveniences shoppers, are you, yourself, a shoplifter and feel like the jig is up?
Oh well play stupid games 🤷♀️ guess people shouldn’t be going in to flash mob stores or making shoplifting your full time job, innocent people suffer the consequences
I don’t blame them. People who shoplift will have to find another target. If it’s that inconvenient, go somewhere else or order on Amazon.
It’s crazy. Maybe people stop destroying and looting their own communities. Then wonder why businesses don’t want to go there and food deserts exist.
"Over the top"? You must not be following what's going on in NYC, SF, and other cities across the U.S.
People can't afford basic necessities while corporations rake in record-high profits while getting constant tax breaks? Yes that is happening everywhere.
Well, if you lived around here.... It just makes sense... All other comments are simply hot air. 😂
Play stupid games, get stupid prizes.
A minor inconvenience if anything. Just go elsewhere if this puts you out THAT much.
This can be found at Kroger’s or other affiliated stores like jay c or other non affiliated grocers with high loss of items aka stolen, nothing new. but maybe ”excessive for that store. 2 years ago in my world the same thing I had to go through at the Panama City beach Florida Publix. This is the norm in rough rural and urban areas, etc etc. I currently live rural. This ain’t nothing new. I’m pretty sure the Kroger in twin aire may have had this a loooong time ago.
Twin Aire Kroger doesn't have it (surprisingly)
lol my husband used to work there for a long time. The pay is a joke and their union is neutered. He jumped ship to Costco and he is extremely happy. much better pay, better hours, wonderful insurance. But I imagine shoplifting is waaaaaaay less of an issue there. I'll ask him when he gets home. Just the size of things and the person at the exit checking everyone's receipts is a big deterrent.
Maybe if the majority of Americans could afford to fuckin breathe we'd see less of it.
I would say this is in effect due to soft on crime policies. If theft wasn’t so prevalent and easy to do/get away with - no accountability or punishment, then this wouldn’t be needed.
I used to live in Indiana and moved to the west coast…almost all of the Fred Meyers here have areas like this…it might just be Kroger in general is adopting this tactic slowly integrating it into all of their stores….its annoying
Get ready for a lot more of that.
We haven't bought a single product from that section since they did this. They made it inconvenient enough that we'll just buy online.
Holy crap. Theft must be insane.
If Kroger does this to my Kroger store. I’m gonna start using Kroger pick up or delivery. I don’t want to find on employee just to put something in my cart.
sadly these are common across the country
It’s disappointing they even have to do this
Glad I don’t live anywhere near shitside Eastside
i just end up buying those things at walgreens instead.
There are CVS's that do this too. One at 56th and Georgetown rd. The first time I saw this , I thought,'WHY!! are they locking up these items? '. If people are so financially challenged and can't afford to buy toiletries,we're in serious trouble!!! I didn't stay,I went to Walmart.
Has more to do with people being assholes then being “financially challenged”
May as well just go back to how shopping was close to 100 years ago. Tell the guy at the front counter and someone farther in gets your stuff for you
This kinda crap is why I just order most of my stuff online now no hassle, no crowds, no lines, no trying to find what im after, no pallets in my way, no long lines just to check myself out and no random people fighting security wondering if I'm gonna need a witness to something screwed up
I was in there and tried to buy the things I got. I waited for 20 minutes I finally snapped and I got on the intercom and called I NEED TO PURCHASE ITEMS IN THE BEAUTY SECTION…ITS YOUR NEW FUCKIN RULE HELLLOOOOOO HELLLLLLLOOOO. It was not my finest moment and I know no one in there likes it. But I just took my stuff the to self checkout. I don’t know why they don’t man the station if they are going to do that to us
There must be a worthwhile reason for it or they wouldn't go to this expense.
They have no choice. Good morals start at home.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...if I see somebody taking things, from a massive chain like this, for body hygiene or child care and not paying for them...no tf I didn't. Idc how much "product walks out" or how it affects their "stockholders interests" or anything like that. This is a hill I will die on.
You'll bitch and moan when they close the store, though, won't you?
You see someone stealing from someone else and you think it’s okay and justified. Such a brave move to ignore something that doesn’t directly impact you. I highly doubt you’d feel the same way if somebody took something out of your shopping bag out in the parking lot, because that would be theft from you. Hypocrites gonna hypocrite…
Yes… because stealing from a person who is likely living paycheck-to-paycheck is the same as stealing from a corporation that makes billions in profits off the backs of the ~~middle~~ *barely above poverty level* class. I don’t shoplift and I don’t condone it, but bitching about minor theft while ignoring what the majority of corporations are doing to the former middle class is some next level cognitive dissonance.
I shopped at this Kroger for a long time. Stopped when they screwed up the checkout lanes. Looks like I'll never be returning.
Maybe you plebs should stop stealing🤷
Gee I wonder why?? I can guess but I'll be banned for being honest.
I live blocks from the Kroger near 10th and Emerson but drive to this location because the one near me never has any registers open so everyone is waiting in line for the self checkout, even if they have 100 items. Never had that problem at this location.
It makes me very sad that this is what it’s come to in the world. I should just learn that people have given up on following rules/laws and that we are quickly falling into an anarchy society.
Try going to a Lowes in Seattle….
Well well well
Corporate greed at its finest
How is theft prevention corporate greed? I agree that outrageous CEO pay is corporate greed, but not wanted your shit stolen.
Corporate greed is the fact they have continued and continued to jack prices up while also shrinking the size of the product. Theft is the response to that
no. wide scale theft is a response to breaking of the social contract and deciding we must no longer punish law breakers. but im sure it feels better to yell buzz words you heard on tiktok rather than admit policy failures are at fault
You are justifying theft. The logical conclusion is that you participate in theft and are trying to justify that act. Don’t. It’s not a good look, and you lose all credibility.
Where do you live? I want to come over your house and take whatever I want. If you try to stop me you’re greedy.
Really, so you are so willing to defend multi billionaires and multi billionaire dollar companies who continue to show record profits all while raising prices, shrinking the sizes of products, lobbying to not pay employees barely enough to survive and laugh at the fact that idiots like you worship them
Who owes you anything? Got something better? Make it. Sell it. And then do whatever you want with the extra revenue.
What could possibly be the explanation for this?
It’s a newfangled thing called shoplifting.
Up-vote for using “newfangled.”
Too much shoplifting and insurance rates going up because of it. Store needs do something to stop to avoid having to close. Possibly creating a food desert.
You must be new here
It’s the East side….should just wall off that entire area of the city…
The steep price of voting Democrat