Aldi now searching empty bags

Pollycat

You debate so eloquently in support of shoplifters.

That is exactly what it means. 

If you would object to the strip search then having nothing to hide means that, in that example, you do indeed have something to fear. 

For you the bar is a strip search, for others it may be having someone poke through their bags, for others it may well just be the situation, the feeling of being accused (even if that wasn't the intention) or having an interaction they don't wish to have with another person.

No it doesn't.
It means "It means I don't have anything in my bag that I haven't paid for so it's OK to ask me if you can look in my bag."

And - obviously - anyone would object to being strip-searched at the till. 
So it isn't my 'bar'.

 Talk of shoplifting may lead to talk of society not having the values it once had, perhaps having such large companies encouraging over consumption, paying staff peanuts whilst earning billions and then getting those staff to engage in unfriendly  (from a service perspective) activities such as accosting customers to poke through their bag isn't a great advancement for society either.  

Shoplifting is a crime.

I support a shop's action to stop it (except being strip searched at the till, of course.  )

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Pollycat said:

You debate so eloquently in support of shoplifters.

I debate (hopefully so eloquently) in support of the freedom not to have the wishes and desires of others imposed upon others where it may be unjust.

I'm not sure if your comment is a negative connotation attached to my viewpoint in order to discredit it or a genuine perception of my position  

Pollycat said:

No it doesn't.
It means "It means I don't have anything in my bag that I haven't paid for so it's OK to ask me if you can look in my bag."

And - obviously - anyone would object to being strip-searched at the till. 
So it isn't my 'bar'.

Sorry but the term "if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear", or words to that effect, means there is no line and that you are happy to allow anything to occur because because you have nothing to fear.

You obviously have nothing to hide, but you do have something to fear so the term shouldn't be used, ever really. 

Pollycat said:

Shoplifting is a crime.

I support a shop's action to stop it (except being strip searched at the till, of course.  )

What about facial recognition software base upon a list complied by the supermarket at the whim of anything without independent process of review or complaint given it's naïve to assume we live in world where everyone or each situation is judged justly? 

Pollycat

I have nothing to hide.
I have nothing to fear.
I am not a shoplifter.
I have no fear of facial recognition software (although it seems a bit silly to suggest that any shop would implement "facial recognition software base upon a list complied by the supermarket at the whim of anything without any process of review or complaint".

We are moving away from the point of the thread. 

CRISPIANNE3 said:

We went to a retail park on Saturday to do our usual weekly shop at Aldi.   I arrived at the checkout with three bags for life and were placed on top of the shopping. They were completely flat as they had nothing in that at that point. The checkout operator said he wanted to search the bags because they has a shop lifter last week who tried to get away with £300 worth of shopping before running off.  So because of that incident I assume all shoppers are now treated as shop lifters. 

I have phoned Aldi and they advice this is not their policy and are going to. investigate and promised to call me back. I will update when I here back. 

The majority of posters don't agree with the OP.
I think the OP has made the wrong assumption.
"So because of that incident I assume all shoppers are now treated as shop lifters."
If they had asked to look in my bags, I would not assume that all shoppers are now treated as shop lifters. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Pollycat said:

I have nothing to hide.
I have nothing to fear.
I am not a shoplifter.
I have no fear of facial recognition software (although it seems a bit silly to suggest that any shop would implement "facial recognition software base upon a list complied by the supermarket at the whim of anything without any process of review or complaint".

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/26/facial-recognition-cameras-in-uk-retail-chain-challenged-by-privacy-group

Already here, in principle you would only end up on the list if you deserved it but we live in the world where there are a lot of emotionally imbalanced individuals and there is the (remote) possibility of a member of staff taking a dislike to you for no just reason and you ending up on the list.

Thus you have something to fear. 

Pollycat

I have nothing to fear.
I am not a shoplifter.

I would not be on a list of "individuals who have been “identified and evidenced” as an offender, including those who have been banned from the store"

These people have committed a crime.
This store - imho - is taking reasonable measures to stop them committing another crime.

I am not a shoplifter.
Thus I have nothing to fear.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Pollycat said:

I would not be on a list of "individuals who have been “identified and evidenced” as an offender, including those who have been banned from the store"

"He/she swore at me"

Brie

I would object to any search of any sort if it targeted someone of a particular sort - young mothers with children, ethnic type, whatever.

Someone might object to a search of any sort if they are particularly sensitive to close social interaction.  So they wouldn't want to be searched and may also not want their bags to be peered into.  This doesn't mean they have done anything wrong - just that they can't abide the intrusion for whatever reason.

Personally - if someone wants to check my bags I'm fine with that.  Same if they wanted me to turn out my pockets.  Frankly I don't blame them.  I'm not a thief but I have a tendency to wander about filling my shopping bag in a shop to take to the till with the full intention of emptying it all ready to be dealt with by the cashier.  More than once I've got beyond the cashier and discovered something in a bag.  Likewise I tend to jam things in my pockets - my stuff, not shop stuff - my wallet, phone, and all those dead batteries that I need to drop off.  So I wouldn't be bothered if they wanted me to prove I've nothing in my pockets.  I would however object strongly if anyone decided to help themselves by opening my bags without asking politely first. And pockets or my jacket or whatever are completely out of bounds if they want to be all touchy feely.

On the lighter side....years back when I first went to London I went to a Charing Cross bookshop and found something I needed to buy.  And then I spotted something interesting in what I thought was a display and went to have a closer look.  What I actually had done was exit one book shop and enter another with merchandise from the first.  Fortunately I made it back to the first shop without being tackled.  

What was more embarrassing was when I always used to set off the alarms at Tescos.  Every blinking time I exited.  Always had my bags checked, nothing ever in them and I guess I look innocent enough that despite the alarms going again on exiting the police were never called.  After a couple of months of this I discovered that the bras I had purchased while somewhere foreign had a security tag concealed in the tag with the instructions (which I ignored) to remove before wearing.  

Pollycat

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Pollycat said:

I would not be on a list of "individuals who have been “identified and evidenced” as an offender, including those who have been banned from the store"

"He/she swore at me"

I don't swear.

And you don't know why people have been banned from the store.

Pollycat

Brie said:

I would object to any search of any sort if it targeted someone of a particular sort - young mothers with children, ethnic type, whatever.

Someone might object to a search of any sort if they are particularly sensitive to close social interaction.  So they wouldn't want to be searched and may also not want their bags to be peered into.  This doesn't mean they have done anything wrong - just that they can't abide the intrusion for whatever reason.

Personally - if someone wants to check my bags I'm fine with that.  Same if they wanted me to turn out my pockets.  Frankly I don't blame them.  I'm not a thief but I have a tendency to wander about filling my shopping bag in a shop to take to the till with the full intention of emptying it all ready to be dealt with by the cashier.  More than once I've got beyond the cashier and discovered something in a bag.  Likewise I tend to jam things in my pockets - my stuff, not shop stuff - my wallet, phone, and all those dead batteries that I need to drop off.  So I wouldn't be bothered if they wanted me to prove I've nothing in my pockets.  I would however object strongly if anyone decided to help themselves by opening my bags without asking politely first. And pockets or my jacket or whatever are completely out of bounds if they want to be all touchy feely.

On the lighter side....years back when I first went to London I went to a Charing Cross bookshop and found something I needed to buy.  And then I spotted something interesting in what I thought was a display and went to have a closer look.  What I actually had done was exit one book shop and enter another with merchandise from the first.  Fortunately I made it back to the first shop without being tackled.  

What was more embarrassing was when I always used to set off the alarms at Tescos.  Every blinking time I exited.  Always had my bags checked, nothing ever in them and I guess I look innocent enough that despite the alarms going again on exiting the police were never called.  After a couple of months of this I discovered that the bras I had purchased while somewhere foreign had a security tag concealed in the tag with the instructions (which I ignored) to remove before wearing.  

And that's what I said up-thread:

Pollycat said:

I wouldn't be happy if they had singled me out to search my bags - and would want to know their reason why I'd been chosen - but if it was something that they were asking everybody, I don't see it as worthy of a complaint.
I arrive in Aldi with an empty personal shopping trolley and reach the checkout with a basket usually full.
I wouldn't object if the cashier wanted to look inside my trolley to make sure I'd not got a couple of bottles of gin in there.

Pollycat said:

I would rather a shop try to deter shoplifters by whatever means they deem necessary (even if that is asking to search their bags) than me and other innocent shoppers having to pay for the shops' losses by paying higher prices.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Pollycat said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Pollycat said:

I would not be on a list of "individuals who have been “identified and evidenced” as an offender, including those who have been banned from the store"

"He/she swore at me"

I don't swear.

And you don't know why people have been banned from the store.

"Yes you do"

On the 2nd sentence I'm pretty sure you'd get banned for swearing at the staff (and rightly so). 

And you highlight an important point, people who are accused of something they have not done tend to overwhelmingly defend themselves, the feeling of something unjust pushes you to seek what is right, combine this with the frustration of the situation and not playing on home ground (in this hypothetical you'd be standing the supermarket now being told you are banned for swearing) and likely to have more than one person present who is "against" you, all of which means you are likely to be less composed, less logical with your thoughts and more likely to present yourself in an appearance where it's easy for those negative connotations to be attached to you.

Maybe, unbeknown to you, the staff member who claimed you swore at them is seeking justice for their friend's, son's hamster who you offended on social media (at the school gates, down the pub or wherever it is you speak to others). 

Maybe the person serving mistakenly thinks you gave them a dirty look or talked down to them and so thinks you deserve to be taken down a peg or two and you end up on the list with a false complaint of swearing.

You always have something to fear because we do not live in a just world.

Back to the core of the topic, the wishes of a global company shouldn't trump that of the individuals freedom not to be accosted and have their personal space and possessions poked at by random people who aren't qualified nor have the authority to do so ad setting the expectation that it's acceptable for this to occur isn't of benefit to the majority IMHO.