Walmart Greeters Will Return to Their Front Door Post

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It's been three years since Walmart's beloved "greeters" have been stationed at the chain's front doors. Walmart moved most greeters away from store entrances, asking them to wander the floor, tidy shelves, and help customers, but is now questioning that decision. The Wall Street Journal reports that Walmart will return greeters to their front door posts at 300 locations as a trial in order to help prevent theft.

Walmart founder Sam Walton created the greeter post in the 1980s to welcome customers and serve as "a warning to the thief," as he wrote in his autobiography. In recent years, though, Walmart execs balked at the costs associated with greeters.

But when greeters were moved away from the doors at Walmart employee Barb Gertz's store in Colorado, thieves got brazen. "People started walking out the door with cartloads of stuff," Gertz, an overnight stocker, told WSJ.

Walmart's also adding employees known as "asset protection customer specialists" to some stores. In addition to a friendly hello, they will check receipts of exiting shoppers at the door and look over items being returned.