Ex-Waitrose worker claims ‘respectable-looking adults’ used same two tactics to ‘shoplift’

A former Waitrose employee has said that they saw ‘respectable-looking adults’ use the same two tactics to steal from the shelves of the popular supermarket

An ex-Waitrose employee has revealed that they used to see ‘respectable-looking adults’ thieving from the shelves of one of the nation’s biggest supermarket chains.

Telling their story to the Times anonymously, the former supermarket employee who worked at one of the stores in the home counties, recalls seeing the shoplifters in action.

And, they said they would often see them deploy the same two tactics as they tried to take items from the store: “I’ve seen respectable-looking adults walking around the shop with their self-scanners, pretending to scan.”

While some thieves opted to use scanning tactics others went even further in their attempts: “Some switched labels on the underside of high-ticket items, especially those with peelable reduced labels. Maybe your organic sirloin steaks have the label of a reduced loaf of bread.”

As the ex-supermarket worker reveals their own experiences of witnessing shoplifting, the Chief Executive of Waitrose, James Bailey spoke to the MailOnline about the threat of ‘brazen and aggresive gangs’ and is concerned for the safety of his staff: ‘We’ve invested a lot in security including CCTV, body-worn cameras and public display monitors. But the threat from brazen and aggressive gangs is still prevalent in some stores,’

‘It’s an industry-wide problem that needs industry collaboration before it gets any worse.’

Meanwhile, Mr Bailey’s comments about the threat of gangs, comes as the government are reportedly trying to crack down on shop workers being assaulted and could make it a specific offence with a six month prison sentence. Although, this has not yet been put into action.

The latest round of statistics make for worrying reading for supermarkets as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the highest rate of shoplifting in England and Wales in 20 years. They showed that there were 402,482 offences in the 12 months before September 2023.