Schnucks thinks I'm a shoplifter...Part 1

So a few weeks ago I bought (key word bought) a bottle of Jagermeister at Schnucks. Now, I don’t drink the Jagermeister so when I saw this bottle I thought it would make a really cool gift since it had this cute zippered coozie thing and a giant shot glass on top. I spent over $150 in groceries that day.

Since January I’ve spent over $700 at Schnucks. I spread my grocery shopping over Trader Joe’s (out where I work), Shop’n Save, Save-A-lot (two blocks from my house) and Vincent’s in Soulard. After this incident, Schnucks may be off the rotation.

I took the bottle to my friend’s house to wish her ‘Happy Birthday!’ And we go to open the bottle and realize the thing I thought was a giant shot glass was really some security measure that should have been removed by the checker before I left the store. Now I feel like a total jack @$$...embarrassed that I didn’t notice it wasn’t a shot glass.

Of course I offer to take the bottle back to Schnucks to get the cap removed. Luckily I went on a Saturday after my yoga class so I was very calm and centered. I take the bottle back to customer service and explain that I bought it as a gift, thought it was a shot glass etc. She asked if I had my receipt. I said no, I don’t save my grocery receipts, I never plan to return food. She said she can’t remove the cap without the receipt.

Now I’m sure that the loss from shoplifting can be significant on a retail store. And clearly the cap is there to deter the stealing. The customer service rep defended the checkers and said they are trained to remove the caps…as if they are 100% perfec t and would never ever miss a bottle. In my mind I’m thinking that 1) she doesn’t believe that I bought this and thinks I’m a shoplifter and 2) she’s not empowered to make a judgment call, even if she did believe me and remove the cap.

What made matters worse, was a typed and laminated card taped next to the customer service window talking about how grateful Schnucks is for their customers, they exist to serve us, blah blah blah. It wasn't an official branded communication from the corporate office. It was typed on a note card, laminated and taped to the window...well-intentioned, but amateur. And I wasn't on the receiving end of that proposed level of customer appreciation.

I figure out that I made the purchase on October 30th and that I spent around $150. She runs the transactions for the day to see how many were approximately that amount. She calls someone and is on the phone for a few minutes. The longer I stand there, the more embarrassed I get.

Finally she comes back and says that IT does not have enough time to run all the detailed receipts. I either need to find the original receipt or bring in my credit card statement and she can find the transaction.

You know that nervous feeling of embarrassment where you feel like you’re going to cry? Well, that’s how I felt. I just bit my tongue and left.

I am confident they will remove the security cap when I bring in my credit card bill with the exact amount. I’m very curious to see if they will apologize for the embarrassment and inconvenience. Stay tuned…