Self-checkout lines can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. If you are one of those shoppers who only have limited items to buy, self-checkout could make the payment process much faster compared to waiting in line for the cashier’s turn. Unfortunately, these machines force customers into doing something they should not – working for their point of purchase without getting paid!
Put aside the fact that self-checkout machines put customers in charge of a task formerly completed by cashiers; they can be convenient for certain shoppers. Should you, however, always use one when shopping? A criminal defense attorney recently enlightened TikTok with the huge risk one might take while using a such machine to finish their purchase at a store.
Protecting her TikTok followers from facing prosecution in the court of criminal law is Carrie Jernigan’s ultimate goal as a criminal defense attorney. She insists that people who utilize self-checkout machines are at risk of committing shoplifting – an act they would prefer to avoid. By dedicating her life to defending those wrongfully accused, she has become an advocate for preventing such crimes before they even occur.
Recently, individuals have been arrested for failing to scan an item at a self-checkout machine. Shockingly, the police are treating these “suspects” as if they intended on stealing from the shop and charging them accordingly – disregarding the notion that everyone should be regarded as guiltless until proven otherwise. This is taking things too far!
In the past, stores took a lenient approach when it came to shoppers accidentally forgetting to scan an item at the self-checkout machine. They actively allowed customers to go back and pay for what they overlooked before moving on with their day. Unfortunately, today this same mistake carries stricter repercussions as establishments are beginning to enforce strict punishments even if no malicious intent was present.
“These are the people that I genuinely think just forgot to scan an item,” Jernigan stated. “It is usually something that was on the bottom rack of the cart … and when they are walking out, asset protection stops them. They let almost all of these people either scan and pay for the item, or just let them go, but took the item they did not pay for.”
By 2023, stores will no longer be lenient to those who try to take away items without paying. Shoplifters won’t get the benefit of the doubt – as opposed to customers in self-checkout lanes – and every customer’s behavior will be closely monitored.
“They have lost all sympathy, and they are just taking a ‘Tell it to the judge’s approach,” Jernigan stated.
Jernigan is determined to make sure no consumer gets thrown in jail for simply forgetting to scan an item at the self-checkout. With that goal in mind, she hopes her TikTok video will reach millions of potential customers who shop via this method.
“It is something that [happens when] asset protection is doing a quality-control check, or inventory that weeks, days, months later comes up short,” she stated. “So they will begin watching hours of video.”
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