Fort Worth Magazine Travel Store — Attraction in Grapevine

For those that don’t know, this store is “checkout-less” meaning you tap a credit card to gain entry and then walk out with your items without interacting with a cashier. The store is equipped with a massive array of cameras on the ceiling and scales underneath every product. The problem is that this method is not accurate and there is no way to get a receipt whatsoever. Almost immediately after leaving the store I was charged $35, which is higher than I had tallied in my head for the handful of basic items I took, but I accepted it as it was at least within the realm of possibility. Then later in the evening, I was randomly charged another $13. There is absolutely no way I took $48 worth of items (I took a chocolate milk, energy drink, plastic toothbrush, and disposable razor, all of which were $6 or less). Unfortunately I have no recourse as there is no way to get a receipt. This concept should not be trialled on unwitting airport customers looking for basic items on the go, and it should be criminal to randomly charge customers’ cards after their visit with absolutely no way of obtaining an itemized record of the transactions. It is shocking to imagine the amount of money that has likely been misappropriated from customers considering the amount of traffic through this airport. On the plus side, the lone man inside the store explaining the concept was...

Two days ago, I ran into the clear door fences desperate for tampons until a kind, Asian woman explained that I had to charge my card to enter. After mindlessly charging my Apple Cash on my phone’s digital wallet, she proceeded to show me the feminine care area. I picked the least expensive pack (Playtex 360, 8 ct for $9.99) and asked her what to do next to which she said with a smile, “just leave and the system will charge” me. I waived and showed the box to every camera I could see, like an idiot proving to AI that I was only taking the $10 box.

30 minutes after the fact, I realized I had been charged $25. I assumed it was an initial charge that would fix itself.

4 hours ago I complained to Apple that I was charged the wrong amount.

1 hour ago it was corrected to $10.81

I am unsure if it just took this long to correct itself or if this occurred because I asked Apple to intercede. I’d like to think it’s the former, so 4 stars. Better explanations at the store’s entrance and of the charge process is needed. Had it not been for the lovely Asian woman (and I specify the ethnicity because I didn’t catch her name and the White employee next to her just stared at me with no desire to help me understand how to enter the store), I would have given...

If I could give less than one star I would. This place deserves -5 stars. I travel often and have for years. This concept was a first for me and my absolute last. I was completely mortified to be treated as a thief even before I entered the store. If anything ever screamed "do not enter" this would be one of them. I should have followed my instincts and not swipped my credit card to enter. They may as well post a do not enter sign. It was both confusing and demeaning. What kind of a message do they think it sends to the average honest shopper to be treated this way?

I lifted a product from its hanger and down came crashing every product from above it due to the flimsy plastic hook tabs they put on boxes. The "worker" on duty instructed me to put everything in a shelf or I would be charged for them. Okay... get me the hell out of this stupid place. Whoever came up with this idea must have zero people skills and could care less about customer experience. Goodbye to this...