In The News

[up_all_night]

Father furious he had to go through self- serve checkout

A busy dad has slammed his local supermarket after staff decided to close their manned registers leaving him to wrestle his entire weekly shop through the self-service checkout while keeping an eye on his son.

www.dailymail.co.uk

*SNIP*

I know one of the poeple responsible for the redesign of the KMARTs and I outright told them I don't like the design of self check out in the middle of the store. I didn't even intend to be rude or impolite, I couldn't help but say it was crap with out thinking.

I reckon close to a third or a quarter of the times I use the self check out in COLES I need to get a shop attendants attention, standing around like an idiot because it didn't register a light item being put in the bad.

I honestly don't mind using it in the super market, but I shop frequent but small amounts. Live walking distance from the store. Yet out supermarkets and urban design is based around people driving and doing big shops weekly. Which they are not designed for.

 

[Isee]

I know one of the poeple responsible for the redesign of the KMARTs and I outright told them I don't like the design of self check out in the middle of the store. I didn't even intend to be rude or impolite, I couldn't help but say it was crap with out thinking.

I reckon close to a third or a quarter of the times I use the self check out in COLES I need to get a shop attendants attention, standing around like an idiot because it didn't register a light item being put in the bad.

I honestly don't mind using it in the super market, but I shop frequent but small amounts. Live walking distance from the store. Yet out supermarkets and urban design is based around people driving and doing big shops weekly. Which they are not designed for.

The only times I have used self service at a supermarket is when I was staying in Melbourne for work and there was a supermarket right next door so I would pick up a few things for the week. or If I quickly rush in and literally am buying 1 item. other than that I would rather be giving a person the employment.

 

[Converse]

I know one of the poeple responsible for the redesign of the KMARTs and I outright told them I don't like the design of self check out in the middle of the store. I didn't even intend to be rude or impolite, I couldn't help but say it was crap with out thinking.

Spot on mate! That's the exact same thing I was thinking when they did that! What the hell is it with that design? It's sort of screwed up and wacko when you think about it, you have just paid for your items in the middle of the damn store then when you walk out you have to show the door employee your receipt and what you just bought from that same store! It's just absurd, the damn checkouts should be at the front on the way out of the store like they used to be so you don't have to prove to the front door security people the items that you just purchased from that damn store. Anyway like I said I won't ever be shopping at k-mart ever again. I can get almost any items that they sell at k-mart from other more sensible set up retailers.

The only times I have used self service at a supermarket is when I was staying in Melbourne for work and there was a supermarket right next door so I would pick up a few things for the week. or If I quickly rush in and literally am buying 1 item. other than that I would rather be giving a person the employment.

Seriously there has been the odd occasion where I have used the self serve checkout, it's always been when I was in a rush and only had 1 or 2 items and all the regular checkouts had massive queues and I just want to be out of there in a hurry. But at least with Coles for now around here they usually always have at least one regular checkout operator open if you don't want to use the self serve, unlike what that poor bloke went through in the news article over in Perth.

 

[Converse]

After talking about k-mart and there recent upgrades to the self serve checkouts in the middle of the stores it actually reminded me of some other major retailers that also have the checkouts in the middle or at the back of the stores. First one that I used to always go to back in the 1990's alot when buying CD's was JBHIFI. They have always had where you pay for the items in the middle of the stores and some were even at the back of the store. I always remember having to get whatever you just bought ready for the person standing at the entry/exit door to check your receipt on your way out.

Another retailer that has always had their checkouts in the middle of the stores is Myer, but at least with them they don't have any door employees or security guards waiting at any of the exits to check your items that you just bought on the way out. But even still at least JBHIFI and Myer still have dedicated employees who work the checkouts. Still much better than the new k-mart model of we no longer serve our customers at all anymore. It's all gone to self serve.

Cheers!

 

[up_all_night]

Another retailer that has always had their checkouts in the middle of the stores is Myer, but at least with them they don't have any door employees or security guards waiting at any of the exits to check your items that you just bought on the way out. But even still at least JBHIFI and Myer still have dedicated employees who work the checkouts. Still much better than the new k-mart model of we no longer serve our customers at all anymore. It's all gone to self serve.

Hol' up. Myers has workers that work the checkouts? I tend to do laps of the floor from check out to check out which is unattended. To the point where I don't want to buy the item any more as I am frustrated at no staff. Then I'll find a staff member on the floor and they get annoyed you bothered them because they aren't on checkout.

I have a severe lack of a range of clothes that fit well post COVID lockdowns. I have mountains of cloths yet everything is too big. Yet I will go to Myers and do an extensive look through the men's department. Trying on endless shirts and can't find anything that bloody fits me well. Everything is so narrow in the body. Too tight under the arms on the chest, try sizes and then suddenly a massively billowing giant smock.

Then I leave the store defeated and look around the shopping centre and can't concieably understand how they stock any item that fits anyone walking around.

Also current season fashion in Myers and David Jones is gross at the moment.

For some kind of guide as to me, I bought some t-shirts in Country Road yesterday that were a nice fit that were Medium slim fit. I'm not some weird monster shape. Around average height but broad shoulders.

It's good to be on a multi-year continuation of gradually slimming down and getting more muscular, but it kills me when it comes to clothes. The local Brotherhood of St Laurence does very well out of my donations.

 

[Sweetgeek]

I do my big shops and my small shops and when I do my big shops I find it extremely frustrating when I’m directed to use the self serve checkout. I don’t mind them really because I can be in and out at my own pace with a basket of items, but when it’s a trolley of items it won’t work. Like the above said, I need to be attended to due to weighing issues and taking and placing items back on to make room etc. and then told to take bags off because full and then again needing the self serve assistant help there to login to approve. Really it would have been easier just to do all of this on the normal registers and not do a balancing act with my groceries. In saying all this, there’s an Aldi near me that now has self serve and honestly I love it. Waiting in the queue in aldi’s when only needing a few items can be unbearably boring so I think the new addition of the self serve is great.

I agree with the Myers jab too. I go to three counters before getting the odd worker that pops out to finally serve you. Even when calling up- you no longer get through to the store you want but rather after a million “press 1 for blah, press 2 for blah” rounds, they finally direct you to the store in which you keep getting transferred because most departments don’t even answer. I largely do online shopping anyways but I do choose click and collect for some things too.

 

[Converse]

Hol' up. Myers has workers that work the checkouts? I tend to do laps of the floor from check out to check out which is unattended. To the point where I don't want to buy the item any more as I am frustrated at no staff. Then I'll find a staff member on the floor and they get annoyed you bothered them because they aren't on checkout.

You know your probably right mate! The last time I actually bought something at a Myer store was so long ago that I can't even remember what I bought from them now, but we are talking possibly over 10 years ago now, and even then sometimes I would have to walk around the store to find a register that had someone that was attending it to get served. These days I only just really walk through the Myer store to go to other stores at the shopping centre...lol

 

[Converse]

In saying all this, there’s an Aldi near me that now has self serve and honestly I love it. Waiting in the queue in aldi’s when only needing a few items can be unbearably boring so I think the new addition of the self serve is great.

Ok none of the local Aldi's around here have any self serve registers yet. So do they have a dedicated Aldi employee watching over everyone using the self serve? So how does one go about also buying an Aldi plastic bag and going through the self serve checkout? I would also possibly use this if I have just a few items and want to get out of there fast, and it might be easier to place a plastic bag on those metal hooks and fill the bag yourself than quickly trying to fill the bag on a normal register.

Anyway I just hope they don't go down the same path as the other major 2 supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths) and it ends up becoming more self serve registers and less actual attended registers.

 

[Mooseface]

Ok none of the local Aldi's around here have any self serve registers yet. So do they have a dedicated Aldi employee watching over everyone using the self serve? So how does one go about also buying an Aldi plastic bag and going through the self serve checkout? I would also possibly use this if I have just a few items and want to get out of there fast, and it might be easier to place a plastic bag on those metal hooks and fill the bag yourself than quickly trying to fill the bag on a normal register.

Anyway I just hope they don't go down the same path as the other major 2 supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths) and it ends up becoming more self serve registers and less actual attended registers.

Interesting. So far I haven’t seen any self serve registers in Aldi and I am in Germany. They could be in the big cities like Berlin anf Frankfurt I guess.
I am however seeing the order on the panel McDonalds systems these days.

 

[Sweetgeek]

Ok none of the local Aldi's around here have any self serve registers yet. So do they have a dedicated Aldi employee watching over everyone using the self serve? So how does one go about also buying an Aldi plastic bag and going through the self serve checkout? I would also possibly use this if I have just a few items and want to get out of there fast, and it might be easier to place a plastic bag on those metal hooks and fill the bag yourself than quickly trying to fill the bag on a normal register.

Anyway I just hope they don't go down the same path as the other major 2 supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths) and it ends up becoming more self serve registers and less actual attended registers.

There is sometimes a person overlooking the self serve section, but not permanently if that makes sense, they do help if there are issues but mainly they watch from afar. So far I’ve only seen someone there with me a handful of times and that was only because someone needed assistance. There are cameras specifically looking there though.

As for bags, you scan to purchase and place on scale, pretty much similar to the coles and woolworths checkouts. Although I found their one easier to manoeuvre for some reason. I have seen people complain but again they load way too many items on it when they should have used the registers instead. What’s worse is no one directed then there, they choose to use it. And yes there are hooks on the back, so you would have to unhook bag and place another, where’s I think the coles/Woolies ones you hook on the side? I can’t remember now because target, kmart also have self serve as your only option now as well.

I much prefer it to waiting in line for those few items. So far it’s the only also store I know that has it. It’s still dominated by the registers though. All registers regularly in use too. So definitely not the pushed option which is great.

 

[Sweetgeek]

Interesting. So far I haven’t seen any self serve registers in Aldi and I am in Germany. They could be in the big cities like Berlin anf Frankfurt I guess.
I am however seeing the order on the panel McDonalds systems these days.

I guess it might be just in Australia? I did a quick google search and surprisingly it won’t become a thing, only a few stores have dedicated it to this system which is a shame really.

 

[Meglos]

I pretty much hate the self-service checkouts.
I get flustered and never have enough space to put anything - like I put my wallet and phone and something I bought somewhere else down, and a message will beep at me saying "REMOVE ITEM FROM THE BAGGING DEPARTMENT!" or whatever.
And within seconds of getting to the checkout, the lady who stands there scuttles over and starts doing it for me anyway, like she either thinks I'm way too slow, too incompetent to do it myself or I'm going to try to put avocadoes through as lemons.

And yes, JB Hi Fi with their checkouts at the back, and you often beep when you leave the store with your paid for items, and everyone stares.
Target are similar, only you can never find any staff at all, and when you hail one down they roll their eyes at you when you approach them because they are not working the checkouts.

 

[Sweetgeek]

I pretty much hate the self-service checkouts.
I get flustered and never have enough space to put anything - like I put my wallet and phone and something I bought somewhere else down, and a message will beep at me saying "REMOVE ITEM FROM THE BAGGING DEPARTMENT!" or whatever.
And within seconds of getting to the checkout, the lady who stands there scuttles over and starts doing it for me anyway, like she either thinks I'm way too slow, too incompetent to do it myself or I'm going to try to put avocadoes through as lemons.

And yes, JB Hi Fi with their checkouts at the back, and you often beep when you leave the store with your paid for items, and everyone stares.
Target are similar, only you can never find any staff at all, and when you hail one down they roll their eyes at you when you approach them because they are not working the checkouts.

The middle of the shop registered/self serve make no sense. So easy to steal items this way. I’m actually want to hear from someone how this became a thing and how it was decided to position it this way. Because I would say more people steal this way?

 

[up_all_night]

And yes, JB Hi Fi with their checkouts at the back, and you often beep when you leave the store with your paid for items, and everyone stares.
Target are similar, only you can never find any staff at all, and when you hail one down they roll their eyes at you when you approach them because they are not working the checkouts.

As you get older, you really notice how the staff at the front of shops like JB treat you better. Instead of wanting the investigate your bag. They tend to just wave you through.

The most awkward thing with the beeps is when there's no one there. You look around for a staff member. You know you haven't accidentally shop lifted. You pause for a moment and then just walk on. With the ever-so-distant fear a security guard will come running you down.

 

[Kingston]

I know one of the poeple responsible for the redesign of the KMARTs and I outright told them I don't like the design of self check out in the middle of the store. I didn't even intend to be rude or impolite, I couldn't help but say it was crap with out thinking.

I reckon close to a third or a quarter of the times I use the self check out in COLES I need to get a shop attendants attention, standing around like an idiot because it didn't register a light item being put in the bad.

I honestly don't mind using it in the super market, but I shop frequent but small amounts. Live walking distance from the store. Yet out supermarkets and urban design is based around people driving and doing big shops weekly. Which they are not designed for.

Self checkout is for quick service with a handful of items not for a cart full of items. They’re the equivalent the old express lane for those with 10 items or less.

 

[Mooseface]

I pretty much hate the self-service checkouts.
I get flustered and never have enough space to put anything - like I put my wallet and phone and something I bought somewhere else down, and a message will beep at me saying "REMOVE ITEM FROM THE BAGGING DEPARTMENT!" or whatever.
And within seconds of getting to the checkout, the lady who stands there scuttles over and starts doing it for me anyway, like she either thinks I'm way too slow, too incompetent to do it myself or I'm going to try to put avocadoes through as lemons.

And yes, JB Hi Fi with their checkouts at the back, and you often beep when you leave the store with your paid for items, and everyone stares.
Target are similar, only you can never find any staff at all, and when you hail one down they roll their eyes at you when you approach them because they are not working the checkouts.

I pretty much hate them too. Unless I have like one or two items that do not need weighing or anything complicated. I don’t know how much money it really saves the companies anyway. People possibly do put avocados through as lemons - or whatever. I have seen people sometimes get frustrated and just give up and leave their stuff there.

 

[Mooseface]

I pretty much hate them too. Unless I have like one or two items that do not need weighing or anything complicated. I don’t know how much money it really saves the companies anyway. People possibly do put avocados through as lemons - or whatever. I have seen people sometimes get frustrated and just give up and leave their stuff there.

And not good for people with an impairment.

 

[bleachy_dude]

Self checkout is for quick service with a handful of items not for a cart full of items. They’re the equivalent the old express lane for those with 10 items or less.

They are slowly removing the serviced checkouts though. I feel like soon we won’t have that option.
My local coles now has self serve checkouts with long conveyor belts designed for large shops.

In regards to the checkouts in the middle of the shop, there must be some researched reason for doing this. The benefits must outweigh the disadvantages (such an increased theft). Also isn’t it true that staff on the door have no power to do anything if you are actually stealing other than ask you nicely? They are just there to deter opportunistic thieves as opposed to predators.

 

[Sweetgeek]

All this talk about self serve and registers we’re showing our age I think. I still stand by I don’t mind the self serve ones. Especially places like target where you don’t need to even take them out of your trolley and can use the scanning device for your items. Some people enjoy it and some don’t.

Through end of high school and through my uni days I worked on the registers at Woolies and then big w (transferred to a store opening close by). One time I had this one customer who bought these 27c 64 page book and asked to buy each separately as he didn’t want ro pay for the rounded up extra 5c. Did my head in when I realised I had to do this for over 10 books. My supervisor smiled at me discreetly and warned me not to insult the guy by asking to just pay for the extra. In this case I would have been glad for him to use the self serve machines and go through the trouble himself. I did get some characters though and enjoyed the regular ones with their stories, and crappy old men who would always remind me they purposely waited in my line to see my face- you know I wanted them to go use the self serve machines too. I’m sure there are many cash register people who would gladly say they want some customers to use them too.

 

[Meglos]

Also isn’t it true that staff on the door have no power to do anything if you are actually stealing other than ask you nicely? They are just there to deter opportunistic thieves as opposed to predators.

Pretty much.
My brother works at a Coles Express, and he isn't allowed to touch a customer.
If someone shoplifts, he can ask them if they are going to pay for that, and some will throw it back in embarrassment, but if they are brazen enough to go through with it then they get away with it.
He can refuse them service the next time he sees them, but that often causes more trouble than it's worth.