The sign says “gates will open automatically”, so I assume they will (Coles wouldn’t lie to their customers), and go through them at speed. Sometimes they don’t open and they get slammed with a trolley. Too bad, so sad. Sometimes they don’t open and I have to push them open with my hand or more usually kick them. On the rare occasion that a staff member notices or even gives a shit, I tell them to log a fault because the gates are broken.
this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025
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I've hit them with my powered wheelchair several times. They've also tried to close on my chair but they do seem to pop open if they close on someone/thing.
Dunno about the legalities but I have had this happen. Walked in to check if they had a product. They didn't, so I left. Gates decided "Nope, fuck you. Spend some money, pleb." Staff member saw and swiped me out tho, total non issue.
I figure they malfunction often enough that it isn't a big deal for them to do that.
What exit gates?
I've seen them in the city Coles, but my suburban Coles doesn't have them. I assume they install them as a deterrent for shoplifting. Which I guess says that not enough people in my area are shoplifting to justify these things.
I hate cameras watching my face and the overhead one that can't handle me doing something unexpected like trying to scan 4 milk cartons at once a lot more than these gates. I've also never seen them actually close though. My attitude might change if they closed on me.
The gates are tied to the cameras. They do motion tracking and gait recognition (but they swear they don't do facerec) to track you through the store, and attempt to recognise whether you've made a payment. If the system determines you haven't, they don't open.
Jesus fucking christ.
I've seen people just walk out with trolley loads and no one stops them. But the average person gets treated like they're a potential fucking bank robber.
Holy shit. Nope. Rarely shop at either.
@prettygorgeous I avoid Coles now because of these fucking things. I have yet to see a Woolies with one though?
Honestly, ALDI as much as possible, or farmers markets where they exist
I haven't seen them at my local Woolies (the Coles has just had them installed), but my Woolies has these trolleys that lock up the wheels if they think you've pinched something. I've never seen it before but I saw it the other day; this lady leaving the store had the wheels stop working as she went to leave and she thought the wheel was stuck or something so she was confused and gently jiggling the trolley to try to get it to go, then this loud alarm went off. It was very weird and felt a little dystopian tbh.
@PeelerSheila jeezus! That sounds horrifying.
Glad I generally use a pram if I go to woolies but this totally puts me off going there too.
Yeah I buy most of what we need from Aldi or the fruit and veg store. I only go to Colesworth for the things I can't get elsewhere
For a product you must pay before the gates open the way
In the states we have a fire Marshal and code. You cannot block egress points. If it requires staff to unlock and/or creates a choke point for people leaving in an emergency, it would be gone in a hurry.
Your puny gates cannot stop the power of the great one! I am a righteous GIANT! Who already paid for their shit anyways....
Legally, I believe it would fall under the tort of false imprisonment. You can search for that in your state.