More self checkouts being allocated

I have never used scan and shop, as I am a technological half wit. I confess, that I do a lot of my shopping on-line (predominantly due to mobility issues), which is very frustrating, as himself has difficulties with translation, eg: loaf of bread = muffins; laundry liquid = dishwasher tablets; ketchup = chilli sauce and last week, Tesco had no loo rolls at all!!

Whatever happened to the days when Safeway's would p rovide a packer at the end of the checkout AND there would be the unconditional offer of the shopping being taken to your car?

Also, in more honest and trustworthy times, the person in the queue behind me would offer to unpack my trolley, whilst I packed at the other end of the conveyor belt? I was always extremely grateful and said "Yes please". It also speeded things up!

We do our once a week shop at Tesco, get there around 7am - first checkout operator start time at ours. There are usually two tills open by the time we are ready to go through and always queues pf 3/4/5 people with trolleys at both while the SS tills next along may have one or two people buying a few bits. How anyone manages to go through the SS ones with a trolley full I don't know. Whenever we have tried to use one there is always some hold up because something is wrong.

Our local Sainsbury doesn't open manned checkouts until 9am. So on the rare occasion we go there it has to be a mid morning visit.

Our local small Lidl store doesn't have any SS tills at the moment, but the larger one across the town does. We started to use that when it first opened, but when they stopped manning tills most of the time we switched back to the old smaller shop.

If I'm going to be buying from a store I want to be served not do it myself. Would be interesting to know how much stuff gets "lifted".

We do our weekly shop (Tesco) early too, like Calendargirl. During lockdown we went at 6am when the shop opened, but now we go after 7.30 as the first till with a real person doesn't open until 8 (last week it was 9 ). When that till does open, there are always people who prefer to use it. We're retired and so have time to wait and want to keep local jobs open, like others on this thread.

We also wait in M&S in a queue for a real person, and it's interesting that as soon as a new till opens up, there is a queue for that one too.

I don't like self-service tills, as apart from the jobs issue, something always seems to go wrong. If manned tills disappear completely, we will use self-scan, but I hope that never happens.

Astitchintime

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.

The one and only time I was persuaded - warily- to try Scan'n'Shop was the day there was a massive digital glitch on the shop's system.

Scanners stopped, card systems stopped and it was glorious chaos.

Oh, for the days when we used to shop at Home and Colonial.

Well Ambergran I am one who is concerned about jobs and I very very rarely shop online. I can’t be the only one.

Casdon

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.

My supermarket has 3 self-service conveyor belt tills - as well as scan & shop and the usual self-service stations.
It's a very popular option, & great if you've a large trolley load & don't want to feel rushed packing it all up just so.
When they first opened a man probably late 70's wandered up & was about to unload his trolley when the (really nice) assistant warned him it was self-service. He swore at her! (I didn't hear, deaf, but she was really upset & I asked what he'd said).

We use scanners wherever we can - much faster and much easier. If it's just a few things then the self checkout. There are rarely problems these days, mainly I think because we've got used to using them.

I wonder how many of the people concerned about retail jobs mainly shop online these days - the main cause of the closure of thousands of high street shops and the loss of thousands of jobs.

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 regular checks, we actually had one on in Sainsburys on Saturday; they used to check the whole trolley but now they select seven items at random to check if they have been scanned. It is such a good system, our bags are in the trolley so we scan items and pack them in the bags as we go round, the bags are ready to transfer into the car after we have paid.

I agree that there needs to be a choice.
And surely installing self service tills is costly so I don’t think getting rid of staff on tills makes much sense.
I prefer self service but am supporting bukkie in her efforts to make her displeasure known with regard to getting staffed tills replaced. For those who prefer this, just as some prefer to speak to an actual person in a bank, it is important that their complaints are taken seriously.

My local Tesco have just very recently introduced self serve trolley checkouts..

ViceVersa

I understand what you are saying, Bukkie, hence why I said it is important that there should always be a choice for people to use self-scan/self-service tills or a manned checkout. However, while you are saying you tell the shop staff you know it's not their fault, it's those same stuff who then have to go round putting all your shopping back if you abandon a full trolley load.

Yes but it evidently makes Bukkie happy.
I do think there should be both. or even all four-self serve, scan and go or manned till, or online delivery.

But I’m always (not) amazed by people who refuse self serve tills, who don’t preserve jobs by using public transport to go to the supermarket or to the bank to draw cash to keep bank cashier jobs by refusing to use card or ATM.

I just feel so sad the cafe isn.t open anymore. Nice to get a coffee after a big shop and little break. But there is a Costa nearby and I think custom has gone there a bit.

the Morrisons over the other way still has a super cafe and cheap meals too, I'm just attached to my habits.

BlueBelle

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.

Yes, thats true in my local big Sainsbugs, and currently it actually works well. They always have someone on a till until later in the evening, but if you get stuck some young person comes along and will do it for you 😊.

Those working on the tills are sometimes disabled, btw, in one way or another (some sunflower badges or lanyards, or clear need to stay sitting).

The Walmart in my town put in a huge section of self checkouts a few years ago. This year they have mostly all been removed leaving just a small area of them and have gone back to manned checkouts.The reason being the shoplifting was becoming out of control.

Bassoues no you take your shop to the self scan till, scan the whole shop onto the till in one go (its stored in the scanner as you shop) then pay with your card or contactless.

I've never done the self scanning as in going around with a scanner. However i I would do self scanning would I still have to go to a till to wait to pay? Which is a tad self defeating

I assume any chilled or frozen products have to be thrown away from an abandoned full trolley, as I think they have no idea if they have started defrosting or similar.

Recently read that’s what happens to such products ‘dumped’ in another part of the store, if a customer changes their mind and can’t be bothered to return it to the correct shelf.

I understand what you are saying, Bukkie, hence why I said it is important that there should always be a choice for people to use self-scan/self-service tills or a manned checkout. However, while you are saying you tell the shop staff you know it's not their fault, it's those same stuff who then have to go round putting all your shopping back if you abandon a full trolley load.

Mollygo - Exactly, the satisfaction of leaving the full trolley is more than worth it. I accept some people like self service and self scan but I don't. Why should my choice be taken away from me? And why should people with mobility issues, visual impairment, loneliness and other hidden issues by cast aside like they don't matter. They are equally entitled to the shopping experience they deserve. I always make a point saying to the shop assistants I know it's not their fault and how much I appreciate them and this ridiculous decision for self scan comes from head office. My parents know a manager of a small local supermarket and he told them shoplifting has gone up considerably since self checkouts became commonplace. People only scan one item if they have two, put expensive fruit and vegetables through as carrots etc...

Now I am on my own I find it utterly depressing to do a self-scan shop and come out without having spoken to a soul. The cafe has closed in the one I use most so there is no human interaction at all. There is usually just one manned till which always has a queue so even if I used that, there’s little chance of a chat because there’ll be people behind wanting me to get a move on.

S/S is very good for getting in and out quickly, though, and I like not having to unpack the trolley etc.

I do self service if I have 5 items or fewer. Never used Scan and Shop on principle and as I’m retired, I really don’t mind waiting in line for a ‘manned’ checkout. I’ve no real health problems, so out of the trolley onto the belt and back into the trolley is fine by me. Still got to get it into the car, home and unloaded whichever method. DH couldn’t get home delivery during Covid, but if the time comes, I’m willing to try again.

I've used scan and shop for years - mainly in Sainsburys. Very easy these days and when you scan your Nectar card, special offers (for things you regularly buy) are shown on the screen.

I also remember going to the grocers shop with my Mum and sister. There was a chair next to the counter for folk to use whilst the assistant fetched each item by item. It would close on Wednesday afternoon and all day Sunday. Different world. Just imagine if no progress had been made?

I always use self scan and have done for years. That way, I can scan and pack my items in the order I want to according to shape, size and delicateness and at the speed I want to rather have them coming at me fast down a conveyor belt, piling up in a heap at the end.

I can also check prices as I scan, which you can’t do if you are having to hurry to pack as someone else scans, plus I can treat fruit that bruises more gently.

With self-service there will usually be multiple tills open so, unlike staffed tills, you don’t feel rushed or guilty holding up the person behind you who chose that queue to join. I’m no slouch but I like to do things at my own pace and not at a pace dictated by someone else.

The saving jobs argument is a non-starter as supermarket staff are often rotated to a multitude of jobs e.g. shelf replenishment, pick and pack for online shoppers, bakeries and deli counters, customer service tills, sales of tobacco and lottery tickets or back room jobs we never see like dealing with stock as it arrives. I don’t imagine there is a ever a shortage of job to do in a busy store.

Bukkie

I refuse to use them. I have left full trolleys to prove a point. Waitrose always open tills. I always think about a conversation with a lovely checkout man in Tesco a couple of years ago who said an old man told him he came in every day for a few bits rather than get them in one go because it was the only human interaction he got.

Whereas I consider it a win if I actually manage to go and do my shopping and get in and out of the supermarket without any human interaction.
PS: I'm saying that a bit tongue-in-cheek, as I realise that for some people, any bit of human interaction they can get is very welcome. The main thing here is that people should always have the choice between the self-service/self-scan and a proper manned checkout.

Casdon

Honestly Bukkie, the biggest crime you’re committing by doing that is wasting your own time and effort in filling a trolley, because you’ll only have to go and do the same thing again to get the shopping you need?

Yes but it makes her feel good. 😄