"Individual assessment" Banned from the store for croissants - Coop doesn't fine all thefts equally
A forgotten croissant during self-scanning gets comedian Julia Steiner into trouble: She is banned from Coop and has to pay a fine of 150 francs. blue News asked the supermarket chain.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- After unintentionally stealing a croissant, comedian Julia Steiner was banned from Coop for two years and fined, which triggered public criticism.
- Coop refers to internal guidelines and emphasizes that each case is assessed individually, but remains vague on details of procedures and penalties.
- Consumer protection groups and customers are calling for more fairness and technical improvements to self-checkout systems to avoid unintentional errors.
There is a lot of excitement after Gipfeli-Gate. "I think Coop has gone too far. After all, we're talking about a purchase of 175 francs. So 1.20 or however much the croissant costs won't make the difference," writes blue News reader "Maeve" in the comments to the article about comedian Julia Steiner, who forgot to scan a croissant while shopping and was summarily punished by Coop staff with a two-year ban and 150 francs in compensation. Consumer protection also accused Coop of disproportionality and a lack of tact.
And what does Coop say? Caspar Frey, head of the media office, states at the request of blue News: "At Coop, you have to pay for every product you take out of the store. Anything else is theft." On the phone, he expresses surprise that something so banal even needs to be said.
Not every theft has the same consequences
When asked whether every theft - regardless of the value of the goods or the number of products paid for - has the same consequences, he says: "We assess each case individually according to our internal regulations and directives."
In concrete terms, this means that although there are fixed coop-internal rules, these are to be understood in the same way as the law, where each individual case is also examined and different penalties may be imposed. These "internal regulations and directives" are the basis for all decisions, and all store employees are informed about them, says Frey.
Those who are not informed are the public. blue News asked Coop several questions about the content of the regulations for dealing with self-checkout errors, but received no answers. "Details on security-relevant aspects" could not be communicated. It remains unclear how exactly the spot checks are carried out, what happens afterwards and in which cases which fines or bans are issued.
«Random checks are part of the rules of the game»
Head of the Coop avoidance office
Regarding random checks in general, Coop spokesperson Frey says: "They have always been part of the payment process at the self-checkout tills and are an integral part of a standardized process." They allow Coop to offer this payment service reliably and securely. "Random checks are part of the rules of the game that our customers know."
A lot of responsibility for customers
In the comment columns, however, many customers are concerned. blue News reader "Stitchbird" writes: "That's exactly what I'm afraid of, that I'll forget something when I'm shopping alone." That's why she queues at the checkout, even if the line is long. If her husband is with her, they won't put anything in the cart that the other hasn't seen and has therefore been scanned.
For consumer protection, this is not a sustainable situation. "The responsibility for not making mistakes lies too much with the consumer," Sara Stalder from Consumer Protection told SRF in May 2025, which reported on a similar case. She points to retailers abroad that have more intelligent self-checkout systems that can measure the weight of the purchase, for example.
How quickly is a ban imposed?
Coop does not wish to comment publicly on the specific case of comedian Julia Steiner. It also remains to be seen whether the two-year ban is a rather drastic or standard measure.
In previous media articles on similar incidents, it has been reported that retailers tend to issue a ban rather quickly. Take Aldi, for example: if a theft is discovered, the retailer tells SRF that it issues compensation and bans. And: "Regardless of the value of the stolen goods, we always report all thefts." Migros, which, like Coop, otherwise tends to keep a low profile on "security-related issues", quotes a Zurich store manager on its website: "Repeat offenders are banned from the store and we call in the police."
As sketchy as the topic remains, the fact is: if you don't want to run the risk of experiencing a croissant-gate first-hand, you should take extra care when scanning - or queue directly at the cashier.
