I have noticed that the La Grande Walmart has started accosting customers by checking their purchase receipts when the customers are leaving their store. I find that this practice is demeaning and disrespectful to most of the citizens who frequent our local Walmart.

I and most Walmart shoppers in Northeast Oregon are honest hardworking people. Evidently Walmart, to reduce “shrinkage” in its stores, has decided to demean and disrespect the 99-plus percent of their customers who are honest hardworking folks by asking them to show their purchase receipts as they leave the store.

Published statistics tell us that Walmart faces a total shrinkage of around 1.5%. Walmart employee theft accounts for 43% of this shrinkage or 64.5% of the total shrinkage, while shoplifting accounts for 36% of the total shrinkage. The balance of the shrinkage is caused by dishonest suppliers and record-keeping errors.

What these statistics show me is that approximately 0.5% of Walmart shoppers are shoplifters and 99.5% of shoppers are honest and hardworking. For this reason, I have determined that while it is impractical for me to completely stop shopping at our local Walmart, there are very good alternative retailers with good prices who offer excellent service and respect their customers and do not treating them like criminals.

It is my sincere hope that Walmart will discontinue this receipt check business and show respect to the vast, vast majority of their customers who are honest people.

Thomas Berry

La Grande