Famously ~struggling~ retailer Coles (who turned a profit of $1.1 billion over the last financial year) has been caught doing the most to stop shoppers from snagging a deal.
And by that, I mean, well… you know what I mean. One local Coles store decided to install a million cameras to seemingly crack down on people helping themselves to groceries.
A Melbourne resident shared a snap on Reddit of the Coles store in Epping, Victoria, where dozens of security cameras could be seen hanging from the ceiling by the checkouts.
“Got enough cameras Coles Epping?” the text reads on the photo.
Nope, nope, nope. (Image: Reddit r/melbourne)
The Redditor joked in the caption that they didn’t think their local Coles had “installed enough cameras”, saying there is “so much room for more!”
If someone from Coles is reading this, that’s what you call sarcasm. Don’t give yourself a pat on the back! We hate this!
The post has had over 1,400 upvotes and attracted hundreds of comments from disturbed customers.
“All the cameras make it feel kinda dehumanising in a way. Yesterday when I went to the supermarket, I paid at self-serve and a person had to come over because it came up with a thing that said ‘suspected item not scanned’ and it filmed me taking money out of my bag to put into the machine,” one person wrote. “Just seeing footage of myself like that was a bit odd. It feels dystopian in a way.”
“Looks like they really hate their customers,” another added.
“All that to capture ‘thieves’ but the real thieves are [the] company/CEO/billionaires. $13 for cheese? That’s almost 30 minutes of my life for one week’s [worth of] cheese,” a third pointed out.
“It’s so they don’t miss a moment of the daylight robbery going on in their stores,” another joked.
“I get that cameras are necessary but why so many? I mean they could achieve the same thing with so fewer. Is it just to deter theft? Kind of creepy,” a Redditor added.
Some Redditors reckoned the cameras weren’t all to deter theft, but some were to keep an eye on their staff. Which is just as fucked, honestly.
“Soooo fun fact, a bunch of those are directly over the tills so that they can check whether the staff are stealing cash customers are being given the correct change,” one claimed.
“Many of these cameras are actually to monitor staff and what they’re doing at the tills. Some stores have surveillance technology that recognise mistakes made by staff that then alerts the managers,” another said.
The real crime is that this trolley of groceries probably costs $500. (Image: Getty)
Coles responds to camera backlash
In a statement given to PEDESTRIAN.TV, a boot licker spokesperson defended the company’s security policies.
“While most of our customers do the right thing, unfortunately, a small number don’t,” they said.
“The safety of our team members and customers is our top priority, and we have a range of security measures in place to reduce theft from our stores including security personnel and surveillance technologies such as CCTV.
“Any CCTV footage that is recorded, is done so in line with all relevant laws and Coles’ Privacy Policy.”
The spokesman also said that older stores – such as Coles Epping – required additional cameras and sensors to support loss prevention technologies and services used in store. In the newer and more recently renovated stores, there are fewer cameras as they are made with this technology in mind.
“Like most businesses and public spaces, we use surveillance technologies in accordance with stringent privacy laws, and we have strict protocols in place around access to the footage,” the statement finished.
Still, considering Coles’ massive profit margins, the use of cameras seems a bit excessive. I would very much like to get off this dystopian ride straight to hell, thank you very much.
Feature Image: Getty
The post A Coles Store In Melbourne Has Been Dragged Online For Its ‘Dystopian’ Use Of Cameras appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
