EMPLOYEES at Walmart have come forward to make claims that shoppers are so frustrated with self-checkout kiosks that altercations are turning hostile.

New anti-theft technology placed in several of the retail giant’s locations around the United States has allegedly been the cause of the tense interactions.

The tech will immediately pause and alert staff nearby if a problem is detected, per Business Insider.

That problem is often an unscanned item, which results in an illuminated light above the kiosk and a text sent to employees, who then attempt to approach the customer to resolve any issues.

Walmart reportedly stressed to staff that they are strongly prohibited from accusatory language against customers if an item is unscanned — but several employees told the outlet that shoppers immediately go to the defensive, which sometimes leads to aggression.

Mendy, a frustrated employee who spoke with the publication, claimed that some situations became so tense that customers would throw merchandise at her for intervening.

Although Joe Pennington, a Walmart spokesperson, explained that the tech is essential to mitigating theft risk despite customer backlash.

“As with other retailers, theft is always a challenge, and we’re always looking for better ways to tackle this issue,” Pennington told Insider.

“This includes enhanced technology at our checkouts.”

He added that employees were trained to ensure “a safe and enjoyable shopping experience” was had by customers.

Even so, several other Walmart employees who chose to remain anonymous or to be listed by only their first names who spoke with the publication also argued that the anti-theft self-checkout tech was causing problems in shoppers’ experience.

“It’s really uncomfortable, and it becomes, like, a safety issue,” an anonymous Illinois employee explained of confrontations with customers about scanned items.

Another Walmart worker from Missouri added that their initial response isn’t to place blame on the customer but on the self-checkout station instead.

“Don’t blame the customer. Blame the machine,” they noted.

“The policy is to take the item away from them and tell them something like, ‘Oh, I think the machine didn’t scan it.'”

The employee continued: “And if they don’t want it, then we take it away. If they do want it, we scan it.”

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They explained that they’d been working with the self-checkout technology for at least two years, and updates to the systems resulted in immediate replay footage of customers scanning items for them to see.

The video footage allegedly upsets many customers, according to the employee.

“[It] feels more confrontational than it was before because it’s right there — the evidence is right there,” the anonymous worker said of the anti-theft feature.

She explained that employees aren’t prepared for “de-escalation tactics” to calm frustrated customers who believe they’re being accused.

Other former staff like Dominick Haar, 20, argued that the technology is very effective at detecting items that aren’t scanned but echoed that Walmart employees aren’t prepared to handle the negative reactions from customers when they’re stopped.

“It was personally uncomfortable for me to notice somebody purposefully not scanning an item,” Haar explained to Insider.

 “I just personally felt weird going up and trying to find the right words to put together.”

Haar continued that Walmart should take measures such as scripts for possible scenarios where a customer is upset to help with the de-escalation of tense self-checkout situations.

Walmart employee Patti Leroy claimed that the self-checkouts remain more of a problem than they’re worth.

“I think it created a lot more stress for the employees, not to mention customers that just want one-on-one personal conversation when they go to the store,” he noted.

“With the right training on how to approach it positively with the customer, they get better results.”

Leroy added: “The honest-mistake customers usually are fine as long as the SCO host is friendly and not accusatory in the interaction.”

“Mostly those who are trying to scam the registers are the ones who get upset the most.”

The U.S. Sun has contacted Walmart for further comment on the details of employees’ training for self-checkout interactions.

Self-checkout technology is becoming so advanced at retail giants like Walmart, that former employees like Athenia Camacho (@obeygoddess) stressed online that there’s virtually no way someone could get away with stealing at kiosks.

“They can see everything you’re purchasing and everything you’re scanning, so I highly recommend not stealing from Walmart,” she said in a recent TikTok video.

For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of how Target shoppers have called out the retailer’s “dystopian” anti-theft measures in some stores.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on the supposed Kroger self-checkout boycott, as some shoppers claim the store was “once great.”