You can expect to see jewelry or other high-value items locked behind a glass case, but a $10 slice of cheese at a No Frills? Not so much.
While browsing the cheese section at a No Frills, one shopper was surprised to see a sign in place of the product. The printout was placed inside a fridge between bags of Bothwell Squeak’rs White Cheddar Cheese Curds and Babybel cheese.
The image features two types of cheese: a wedge of President’s Choice Spledido Grana Padano and President’s Choice Spledido Parmigiano Reggiano. Each 250 g wedge of cheese retails for $9.99.
The copy reads, “Please see an associate for assistance with this item. Thank you!”
“Yeah, I won’t be doing that,” wrote Vancouver resident Andrew, who took the photo and shared it on Reddit.
He told Daily Hive, “I saw the sign on August 9 at the No Frills on East Hastings Street and McLean Drive.”
In an email to Daily Hive, a Loblaw spokesperson stated, “This is a franchised location, and the franchisee implemented the policy to address theft at their store. Theft is an ongoing issue across the retail sector, having a significant effect on colleagues and customers — impacting prices for everyone.”
Commenters poked fun at the store’s questionable anti-theft method for cheese.
“And suddenly no one buys the product, 100% success anti-theft measure,” wrote Western_Plate_2533.
“PC brand cheese is way too luxurious, and we must lock it up,” stated john_clauseau.
“They’re keeping the fancy cheese under lock and key. This is class warfare,” commented EnflureVerbale.
One fed-up shopper stated, “So instead of hiring appropriate levels of [staff for] loss prevention, paying customers are being inconvenienced?”
However, one shopper stated that it’s not uncommon to see food items locked up at their local No Frills store.
“There’s a No Frills near me which has locked up the Maynard candy for years. Very weird,” stated Acceptable-Basil4377.
Others were more appalled by the price.
“Ten bucks for 250 grams? I don’t think so,” wrote Adrianf1972.