A viral video shows a Walmart shopper allegedly bagging dozens of products without scanning them at the self-checkout, but when confronted on social media, the man came forward to set the record straight, claiming he was simply doing his job.
Bill Astle was filmed May 12 by another shopper at the Green Mount Commons Walmart in Belleville, Illinois, where he allegedly loaded multiple items into a packed shopping cart without paying, or at least that’s the way it seemed to the other customers in line.
The 14-second video of the incident has since gone viral online, with millions of social media users expressing outrage over the man’s apparent audacity as he allegedly took the items in plain sight, ignoring witnesses and security cameras.
“This man is literally just stealing everything,” says the woman filming the video, who has not been identified. “He ain’t scanning sh–t. So open about it, look at the screen, nothing ringing up.”
As one might expect, the response on social media was swift and unrelenting.
“This is why Walmart is getting rid of the self-checkout,” said one outraged commenter, taking aim at the often frustrating process of scanning your own groceries and bagging them. “This idea backfired hard on them. Theft is through the roof.”
Many voices blamed Astle for driving up costs for honest, paying customers.
“This is why the rest of us have to pay an arm and leg for the small things,” the commenter said.
But Astle dismissed the barrage of allegations, saying people were overreacting and jumping to conclusions about his true role in the incident.
He even got in front of news cameras to tell his side of the story.
“I’m not a thief. I’m being pictured and painted as a thief on the internet,” Astle told news station First Alert 4 a day after he inadvertently ignited an online furor.
Astle explained that he was at Walmart as part of his job with the retail giant’s delivery service called Spark.
According to Astle, Spark delivery drivers use an app to take personalized orders from online customers. They use their phones to scan items while shopping, and then the app bills the customer for the payment.
“Everything is done off the phone, so when we get to the register, we’re not actually scanning a single item,” Astle explained, clarifying why he was bagging the items without scanning them like a regular customer.
In other words, Spark workers only need to use the checkout kiosk to bag the merchandise, leading to a huge misunderstanding in the situation involving Astle.
Neither Walmart nor law enforcement investigated the allegations, and Astle continues to be employed at the store, indicating he was telling the truth.
He also posted two receipts from his work inside the store as further proof that he wasn’t stealing.
Astle said he was surprised by how fast the video of him went viral, prompting some viewers to call out the St. Louis Battlehawks as Astle wore an official team shirt in the footage.
“Please control your fans,” one person wrote, tagging the United Football League club.
Astle said he hopes the mischaracterizing video clips can be removed.
“Ideally, trying to find a way to get them pulled down,” he said.
Since the incident, Astle said strangers keep interrupting his work at the same Walmart, asking if he’s the guy who was stealing in the video.
“I’ve had customers say, ‘Hey, didn’t I see you on the internet? Didn’t you steal items?’ And then I have to explain to people what I’m doing,” said Astle.
Astle said he was disappointed that the video ended before showing him purchase a bouquet of yellow roses that he got for his wife, but the video did capture the flowers in the cart at the checkout, further confirming Astle’s version of events.
“Had they continued the video for another 30 seconds, they would’ve seen when I got done with the Spark delivery order, I scanned two dozen roses,” he said.
