More self checkouts being allocated

When we do the main grocery shopping we always use ‘scan and shop’…..no queues at checkout and no rush to pack groceries either.
If we pop in for a ‘forgotten’ item then we’d probably use the self checkout tills although I do find them tedious as our store has had new ones installed and they’ve had teething problems.
It’s a sad state of affairs when ‘progress’ means people are losing their jobs though.

Well I don’t think we can stop progress and I like using the self service which I have done ever since it started with my weekly trolly load . the staff who were on the tills seem to all be employed watching the machines that are often far from perfect. we can’t just stay with one method There are now three methods in most supermarkets, the add it up as you go round on the trolly machine, the old style till, and the self service tills. Everyone seemingly catered for.

As shops and supermarket are being squeezed at both ends by at one end business rates/NI/increases in minimum wage/ higher world food prices and at the other by us wanting cheap food at all costs/competition/demand for variety, something has to give and unfortunately it is staffing.
I have used scan and shop for years and would hate to go back to queuing at a till, emptying my trolley onto the belt, taking it off again then packing it (with a queue usually building up behind me) into my bags, heaving them back into the trolley to go back to the car - what a palaver it was.
Now, my bags sit in the trolley, I scan and pack as I go round, I have a running total on the «gun» too, so no nasty surprises at the check out! No queues , no hassle it’s quick and straightforward.
Of course I have every sympathy for anybody losing their job in the cutbacks but when times are tight, twas ever thus.

Well I don’t think we can stop progress

Yes we can. I can think of a few things that got halted[or somewhat].

When my DH somehow erroniously came home and announced that the supermarket I most often use was going all self service, I immediately told him it would no longer be my main supermarket.

I live in a town where people vote with their feet and actions.

I don’t mind scan and shop or self service at all, my only bugbear is that I wish the self service packing areas were bigger, because I’m always struggling to balance things on them because I’ve got too much for the space provided.

I’ve never used Scan and shop so enlighten me🙂

How do they stop people slipping in unscanned items or scanning a cheaper and putting in a more expensive one or scanning 100g of cherries say and then just adding a few more?

Not that I’d ever do such things. I still have prickles of conscience over a small wedge of Brie that lurked unseen in the corner of the trolley.

It just seems the possibilities are endless.

I totally understand why some shoppers need or want to be quick.
I don’t usually need to be and have the luxury of choosing when I go to the supermarket. I think that it is important to keep as many jobs available as possible.
I do end up chatting to others who are queuing and it can be quite entertaining. I can still be quite efficient at loading, packing and paying because I can multitask😂

Is it progress, though? And why should 'progress' be unstoppable? I do prefer manned (or 'womanned') tills. I can work the automated checkouts usually but often have to call for help - as does my tech-oriented husband!

I’ve always used scan and shop it’s so much quicker I find standing in a queue difficult and lugging stuff on an off the belt hurts. So for me it’s better also in a local shop self service. It doesn’t suit everyone I understand that.

Lathyrus3

I’ve never used Scan and shop so enlighten me🙂

How do they stop people slipping in unscanned items or scanning a cheaper and putting in a more expensive one or scanning 100g of cherries say and then just adding a few more?

Not that I’d ever do such things. I still have prickles of conscience over a small wedge of Brie that lurked unseen in the corner of the trolley.

It just seems the possibilities are endless.

They do random basket checks (or trolley checks), so every so often you might get flagged up for one - where an assistant then comes and checks a certain number of items to ensure they've been scanned. Of course there will be people who do play fast and loose with the scan and shop, but I much prefer doing my shopping that way, or using the self service checkouts, even with a trolley load. Much quicker and easier.

It’s annoying having to continually call the assistant over, to swipe her card.

Scan and shop is useful, but I do have to keep in mind to scan.
Sometimes they do a stop and trolly check, but they must lose £££££££.

I use self service tills because there are always queues at the other tills and some customers take a long time chatting to the till operator and packing their bags, but I wouldn’t want to see the till operators lose their jobs.
I would also like to know how to use the scan and shop method. Could someone explain this please.

Fallingstar

I use self service tills because there are always queues at the other tills and some customers take a long time chatting to the till operator and packing their bags, but I wouldn’t want to see the till operators lose their jobs.
I would also like to know how to use the scan and shop method. Could someone explain this please.

It varies from one store for another, but basically you register for it first (in Tesco, you use your Clubcard), then each time you use it, you sign in, take your scanner and just scan each item as you go and put it directly into your shopping bags. Once you've finished, you go to the checkouts, scan a barcode at the till and then pay for your shopping. It's very simple.

Here in Germany, people are notoriously wary of technology. Scan and shop is totally unknown, at least in my part of Germany. Self-service tills are installed in one supermarket but I've not seen anyone use them, although I have in the building supplies store, which also has a couple. Everywhere where I have seen one, there is always a member of staff nearby, constantly seeing to the customers, so I doubt if any jobs are being lost because of them.

I always use scan and shop, I hate to queue.

Provided there are still serviced tills for those who like or need to be served, I can’t see what the problem is. Different systems to suit everyone.

I have used the Waitrose ScanPayGo system for almost 30 years since they trialled it in my local branch, and I love it.

I can’t stand queuing either, but each to their own.

Did people resist self- service supermarkets when they first appeared 🤷🏻‍♀️?

Thanks for explaining that ViceVersa

I am old enough to remember when my mum sat at the counter and the assistant ran up and down fetching items !

I have found different supermarket self service machine act differently.
Lidl, machines very sensitive, even a bit of the handle of my shopping bag, if flopped near the glass "Ray" causes it to stop, staff has to be called to restart it , or if you inadvertently hold a checked product to one side, so you can leave a space to put something else in it stops!
M&S and Waitrose you have to angle correctly, same with Sainsburys.
Tbh Tesco seems the best....

I'm sticking to my big shop every fortnight on line with Waitrose, much easier.

DH and I have just started doing scan and shop at our local Tesco. Prefer it to the self service tills.

Only because we do our weekly shop first thing in the morning, they now only have one manned till open until 9, there’s always a queue, I don’t mind waiting, but I feel guilty about not serving myself.

It’s always the same chap on the till, he’s always pleasant, he says the more people who serve themselves, the fewer staff they’ll be, anyone leaving doesn’t get replaced. He comes in on the bus from another village and he is worried that he will be sent to work at a store many miles away.

Say what you like, it does affect jobs.

Not sure where everyone will be working in time to come.

Can someone tell me what happens when you buy alcohol (or any other age-appropiate product) using the scan and shop method. Does a 'colleague' always have to get involved?

I made a rare trip to sainsburys yesterday and there was only one person on an actual checkout. The rest were self service.

Where it is is quite friendly but it must be really isolating for some people who maybe only speak to that one person on the till iykwim

When in town I occasionally pop into Lidl. They have removed all tills and the girls are really rushed (and rude) if one needs help. IU do as I am partially sighted so usually with bad grace I am helped. I go shopping online, but it is good to see what is on the shelves.

The queue for the self scan is long but does move quickly.

I prefer Waitrose which had to open 4 tills to help the likes of me and many others.