'Traumatized' shopper finds out there's something called 'Costco jail' after self-checkout mistake

The application of technology in retail has come a long way, but with self-checkout systems, shoppers argue that things are going overboard. The backlash against self-checkout is growing, and stores are starting to dial back. One of the few flaws of the technology was discovered by Costco shopper and TikTok creator Ethan (@ethanpearl_), who was allegedly put in a virtual jail for no fault of his own.

In the now-viral video, Ethan shared that he got in trouble while shopping at Costco after a worker made a mistake while checking him out. The creator claimed that he was traumatized by the experience at the self-checkout desk.

Costco has been struggling to curb shoplifting due to vulnerabilities in the system. Thus, the store now puts workers at the self-checkout desks, making it less of a 'self' checkout experience. In Ethan's case, the worker scanning his items accidentally left out one for which he got flagged at the exit. “Currently traumatized because the Costco cashier at self-checkout scanned all my items for me but missed one," he wrote in the overlay text.

He further added that the store held him in for 20 minutes while they made sure he wasn't attempting to shoplift. "I ended up in Costco jail with security for 20 minutes," he said. He explained that the security checked the surveillance video, and all of his cards before letting him out of the "Costco Jail". In the end, he was given a clearance slip mentioning the details of the item that he wasn't charged for and the security personnel's signature at the bottom.

Several viewers took to the comments sections to share stories of Costco's stringent behavior. "I quit Costco when they told me I was using someone else’s card. (I wasn’t) I was bald from chemo and sick as hell. I just walked out and never went back. So humiliating," @radiofreeamy shared.

This falls in line with the warehouse retailers' crackdown on membership sharing. Last year, Costco put in policies and scanning systems to check membership cards and photo ID people before they are let into the stores. Even Ethan shared a similar story, in which he was accused of identity theft.

Many shared stories of Costco's negligence as well. "One time I bought three things and I went to a regular checkout lane and they double-scanned an item. The door person caught it. Wonder if they investigate that deep when it’s the other way around smh," @ck543m shared. 

Many pointed out that self-checkouts are redundant if they need workers to scan items. "Doing self-checkout and then the cashier coming over to scan my stuff was literally my 13th reason when I went like WHAT'S THE POINT," suggested @_maribear.

However, Costco may not have a choice but to place a worker at the self-checkout lanes. Last year, BBC reported that several retailers were scaling back on self-checkouts citing concerns about theft and rising losses. Some retailers cited theft as a motivator for ditching the unstaffed tills. A study found that retailers utilizing self-checkout technology faced greater losses, which were nearly twice the industry average.

For more videos about experiences at retail stores, follow @ethanpearl_ on TikTok