Latest news with #Goldpinemusic
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Walmart slammed for robot parking lot security guard
Customers have slammed Walmart for its use of a robot security guard. A shopper known as Goldpinemusic on TikTok recently posted a video of the machine roaming around a Walmart parking lot. The TikToker joked about the security robot keeping the rough Walmart streets safe and asked the guard what its name was. The machine answered her question by stating it did not have a name yet. Walmart's robot security guards began appearing at select stores in 2018. This led a commenter on the video to accuse the retailer of 'doing everything but paying workers.' 'Yeah they laid off the human security guy,' another commenter responded. 'Waste of money. They need more cashiers and less self checkout,' another person wrote. Walmart has implemented various technological measures to modernize its stores, including secret codes on select products and new AI technology in Sam's Club . Walmart began using robots deployed by Bossa Nova Robotics in 2015 to make sure shelves were fully stocked, accurately priced, and labeled. The robots were tested in a handful of stores in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and California. The tests proved to be a success, and by 2017, the robots were used in 50 stores. The shelf-scanning robots made their way to at least 1,000 locations in 2020, and by then, Walmart had begun adding security robots to select stores. Multiple states began implementing what's known as 'Lot Cops' in parking lots. The robot security guards are mobile, solar-powered security systems used to film illegal actions. 'Well, I thought it's the police, you know? Now they really can see what you're doing out here, really,' Hawaii resident Lynn Tavares told KHON2 in 2018. Alabama residents expressed their support for the security guard robots while speaking with FOX 54 , because of higher chances of crime crackdowns. Besides robot security guards, some Walmart stores have implemented self-checkout tools to decrease the chances of card skimming . The company has also found unique ways to lower Walmart crime rates, which includes anti-theft packaging in meat aisles . Walmart is also busy working on its $9 billion makeover for 1,400 stores . About $1.6 billion of the investment was used for 650 US locations , which is all part of the chain's 'Stores of the Future' initiative. But the retailer is also facing some backlash for raising its prices as a result of tariffs . Current workers have leaked photos showing the cost of select items had risen 80 percent . has reached out to Walmart for comment about its robot parking lot security guards.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Walmart customers rage over this new security feature: ‘Waste of money'
Walmart is rolling out a new security initiative — and shoppers are not happy with the corporation's latest attempts at curtailing crime in store parking lots across the country. A customer in Bentonville, Ark., posted a TikTok video that captured the robot security guard patrolling the store's parking lot. Advertisement The now-viral video featured the TikTokker, Goldpinemusic, following the robot around the parking lot, asking it questions like 'What's your name?' Nearby shoppers appeared equally interested in the corporation's newest security guards, as evidenced by one woman in the video who was seen kneeling on the pavement to try to take a close-up photo of the roaming robot. The bizarre scene depicted in the video quickly amassed online attention and reeled in thousands of views and comments. Advertisement Amid the tariffs, rising prices, and supply chain disruptions affecting businesses across the country, Walmart has recently been under criticism by customers. 'We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,' warned Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on a mid-May earnings call. This latest robot-related expansion, as seen in the TikTok video, only sparked further outrage. 'That's why the prices are gonna be going up,' said one viewer. 'Pricing fluctuations are a normal course of business and are influenced by a variety of factors,' a Walmart spokesperson previously told The Post. Advertisement 3 TikTok user goldpinemusic spotted a new robot security guard in a Walmart parking lot. goldpinemusic/Tiktok Many additional commenters also expressed disappointment in the corporation. 'Walmart will do anything and everything to not pay somebody,' posted one user. 'We should have kept our local grocery stores in business,' another disgruntled commenter wrote. Advertisement 3 Walmart shoppers also worry that new robot security guards will record license plate numbers and other personal information. Xinhua/Shutterstock Walmart originally began testing the efficacy of robots in select stores in 2015, when they were first used to stock and label shelves. In the years since, the company has continued to utilize new and improving technology in robotics, AI, and surveillance in an effort to modernize stores, keep up with competitors, and offer guests a positive shopping experience. In an effort to prevent and more efficiently report parking lot crime, Walmart began installing lot cops — tall solar-powered security towers manufactured by Live View Technologies — in parking lots in select states. 3 Lot cops aid in increased parking lot surveillance. Getty Images Though they're stationed in Walmart parking lots, the bulk of the surveillance footage captured by these Walmart lot cops goes to local law enforcement in the event of a criminal incident. 'The information is actionable, whether it's getting a license plate off a vehicle. All of that functionality is in the platform,' Live View Technologies Director of Business Development David Studdert told WHNT19. 'Mostly I see litter, [people] throw trash all over the place. I have some friends who experienced car break-ins, too,' Hawaii resident Makakilo Richard Suzuki told KHON2 regarding parking lot crime. Advertisement Much like lot cops, which solely serve as surveillance and crime deterrents, the Walmart robot security guards are intended to increase visibility in parking lots, and as many commenters suspect, are operated remotely by loss prevention staff working inside stores. While many users expressed displeasure at this costly surveillance expansion, others extended a degree of understanding toward Walmart. 'Definitely not the first of its kind,' one commenter wrote. 'The hospital my wife works at has had robots like this for the past five years.' For now, the Walmart robot security guards are only stationed at select locations across the country, but as commentators on the viral TikTok noted, perhaps this move is simply another potential recession indicator.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Walmart slammed for robot parking lot security guard: 'Doing everything but paying workers'
Customers have slammed Walmart for its use of a robot security guard. A shopper known as Goldpinemusic on TikTok recently posted a video of the machine roaming around a Walmart parking lot. The TikToker joked about the security robot keeping the rough Walmart streets safe and asked the guard what its name was. The machine answered her question by stating it did not have a name yet. Walmart's robot security guards began appearing at select stores in 2018. This led a commenter on the video to accuse the retailer of 'doing everything but paying workers.' 'Yeah they laid off the human security guy,' another commenter responded. 'Waste of money. They need more cashiers and less self checkout,' another person wrote. Walmart has implemented various technological measures to modernize its stores, including secret codes on select products and new AI technology in Sam's Club. Multiple customers believed the robot security guards were a 'waste of money' Walmart began using a robot named 'Tally' in 2015 to make sure shelves were fully stocked, accurately priced, and labeled. The robots were tested in a handful of stores in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and California. The tests proved to be a success, and by 2017, Tally robots were used in 50 stores, according to New Atlas. The shelf-scanning robots made their way to at least 1,000 locations in 2020, and by then, Walmart had begun adding security robots to select stores. Multiple states began implementing what's known as 'Lot Cops' in parking lots. The robot security guards are mobile, solar-powered security systems used to film illegal actions. 'Well, I thought it's the police, you know? Now they really can see what you're doing out here, really,' Hawaii resident Lynn Tavares told KHON2 in 2018. Alabama residents expressed their support for the security guard robots while speaking with FOX 54, because of higher chances of crime crackdowns. Walmart tested a handful of robots used to make sure shelves are fully stocked, accurately priced, and labeled in 2015 Besides robot security guards, some Walmart stores have implemented self-checkout tools to decrease the chances of card skimming. The company has also found unique ways to lower Walmart crime rates, which includes anti-theft packaging in meat aisles. Walmart is also busy working on its $9 billion makeover for 1,400 stores. About $1.6 billion of the investment was used for 650 US locations, which is all part of the chain's 'Stores of the Future' initiative. But the retailer is also facing some backlash for raising its prices as a result of tariffs. Current workers have leaked photos showing the cost of select items had risen 80 percent.
