Those Thieving Gen-Zers

 

by Pa Rock

Paying Customer

Back in late October I posted a piece in this space entitled "Aldi's is on the Highway to Hell!" in which I pissed and moaned over the fact that my local Aldi's market has recently installed six of those awful self-checkout systems, and now has (usually) one lonesome human also running a checkout line for technology-resistant fellow humans.  I am opposed to self-checkouts because they deny jobs to hard-working people who need and want the dignity afforded regular employment.  The self-checkouts at my local Aldi's are enjoying brisk use, and the local economy suffers because of them.  

Although I haven't set foot inside of a Walmart for over thirty years, I understand from people who still shop there that Walmart has also begun using the job-stealing devices.   That's not surprising for Walmart which has never had a reputation for being employee-friendly, but it is disappointing when it comes to Aldi's.

But, that was last month's news.  This month there is still more buzz generating about the self-checkout revolution, and not all of it is praiseworthy.  The loan marketplace Lending Tree has recently released a study based on the results of a survey of  2,000 US consumers between the ages of eighteen and seventy-five.   According to the results of that survey, 31% (nearly one in three) Gen-Zers (those in the survey from age eighteen to twenty-six) have stolen items while going through the self-checkouts - compared to 15% of shoppers of any age who admitted the same crime.  

Almost a third of young people steal through the self-checkout kiosks, and to make matters even more stark for business owners, 44% of those say they plan to continue doing it - and 37% say they would do it to save money on groceries or healthcare products.

So it all boils down to basic math.  Does a store save more by adding self-checkout kiosks and eliminating salaries compared to the amount of money it loses through increased five-finger discounts at those same kiosks?   The thievery apparently reached such a high level in New Mexico that Walmart began removing the self-checkouts from some of its stores.   Other businesses report that they are keeping the machines but adding extra-security personnel to watch them - so perhaps self-checkouts can create jobs after all!

Sometimes picking the pockets of American workers can have a downside!