Waitrose self service

I wouldn't mind doing the zapping thing if it gave me discount on my shopping but as I have to pay the same price as those at the checkout I'll have my shopping zapped for me, thank you very much!!

I'm not sure about self service tills meaning less jobs in Waitrose. I think there's plenty of scope for spare check out staff to be moved over to Click and Collect. Our local branch also does a dry cleaning service which has to be staffed.

My main problem with using a self service till for my self scanned shopping is that I still have to get someone to put my partner discount through. I used to have the same problem in M&S but they've changed their tills so you can put your staff discount card through yourself.

merlotgran the point is there is no queuing at the checkout to get your shopping zapped , you zap it as you go put it in your own bags as you go then just one click and your whole shop is scanned into the till pop in your card and voila, you are done. It literally takes a minute or two, no queuing no packing and no chatting.. so much less hassle.

I agree the no packing thing must be an advantage because I'm a bit OCD about having things in the right order to make it easier to unpack when I get home.

I'm a nightmare in Aldi. I take up far more space and time than anyone else on that bench at the end where you can pack your stuff. DH gives up and waits in the car!!

I absolutely refuse to use self service tills, why should I pay premium prices and do the work myself. When assistants try to coax me I ask if they are trying to talk themselves out of a job.

harrigran because its quicker saves you the hassle of queuing and waiting and then packing and chatting... you probably do the packing yourself anyway.. wouldn't you want to NOT QUEUE? maybe you actually enjoy queuing?
I think I've said enough on this subject

An experienced till operator can put my shopping through in a quarter of the time it would take me. When there are plenty of volunteers to do their own work than the queues at the other tills are shorter anyway. I take a little man along with me to do the packing and if he is not there I get a minion to pack for me.

We have three of the big named supermarkets in our area. None of them have zappers. DD's Tesco had them when she lived in Surrey, that's the only place in the UK I've seen them. If they had them locally I would use them.

Has anyone noticed that at Waitrose they used to randomly re-check your whole shopping trolley as a way to stop theft. I haven't seen anyone checked in say the last 18 months, I wonder if they have stopped that procedure.

Why would they be for 'younger people'?
I disapprove because I think it does people out of jobs, but they are here to stay so I use them if busy.
I think you should get a discount if you do the work yourself!
My main irritation is that I use my own bags but you can't already have things in the bag. It all takes time as I have to say I use my own bag, then pile it up without a bag and only put it in once I have paid!
I was somewhat annoyed in W H Smith yesterday when it was pouring with rain, I had all my shopping from the market and was expected to use one to buy a paper. I told the assistant I hadn't enough hands and she did it for me.

I was going to ask about shoplifting. And what do you do if, as I often seem to do, you change your mind about something after it's zapped? Otherwise I quite like the idea - provided you still see a checkout person to pay as not doing big weekly shop I often use cash.

You can use cash or card on them. They are not for weekly shops- just for small amounts. An assistant hovers for problems so they sort you out. They are quite sophisticated - you scan the item and the machine knows what it weighs.

I used a Waitrose scanner for the first time last time I shopped. I liked being able to see the running total of what I was spending, and I like the idea of being able to pack your shopping as you go rather than have to do it at a till, often in a rather hurried fashion if there's someone waiting their turn behind and the checkout worker is zapping things through faster than you can pack in a proper fashion. I'm not one of those people who just chuck things in bags any old how. With a scanner and a self service checkout you can go at your own pace.

I hate shopping. Anything that makes it less stressful for me is just fine.

The way to remove the item is to find the item you want removed by using the up and down arrows then click the word remove and then (the thing I sometimes forget to do) rescan the item and voila it's gone.

I have not used the Waitrose scanner as you shop- I am only talking about the checkout scanners.

Thanks. I shan't feel as stupid now if I come across them! Our local supermarkets just have cashiers but occassionally we venture to the bigger stores to stock up on booze. They have the self service checkouts - which I hate, disapprove of and mess up when I can't avoid them. But zappers sound better. Who knows the present may reach Norfolk yet!

I would use a zapper if they had them in Asda, but I refuse to use the recently installed self service checkouts with conveyor belts for large trolley-fulls. These are different to the ones for fewer items. If asked to use these I politely refuse. The staff have told me that some of their hours have been cut, and some vacancies not re-filled. When I shop, on a Tuesday morning, the manned tills are usually well supported and the others almost empty. I actually like to have one customer in front of me, giving me time to unload my trolley in the order I prefer for packing, before reaching the till.

I really like the full size self service tills - or rather I used to, but since nearly all my boring stuff is bought on line I only shop for fresh stuff and then use whichever method seems quickest.

And - just realised - as you shop online you can see your bill all the time.

(Nonu you were joking about self service etc. just being for young people, weren't you?)

I didn't know that self-service zappers existed. Waitrose where I live has self-service tills that only take cards so I use the assistant.
I do use the machines in ASDA or Morrisons but I end up shouting at the machine. The worst bit is 'please place item in the bagging area' when you can't get the bag open or are too slow. Bloomin' thing blinks and calls an assistant who is inevitably busy. I much prefer to be served by an assistant and only use 'self-checkouts' when there are huge queues and not many waiting for them.
My favourite time for supermarket shopping is about half an hour after opening time when the initial rush has died down, generally in the week when it is quiet. I'm just old-fashioned!

Can't stand self-service tills. Like harrigran I refuse to use them as I want real people to keep their job and the local Tesco staff have stopped trying to get me to use them now - presumably because they're fed up with being lectured to!

I have used the self service tills and didn't find it any quicker because the darn thing went on about some object that I couldn't see so I had to call over a helper but had to wait as he was dealing with a similar problem nearby.

Since then I've refused point blank and they probably think I'm a dinosaur - but it doesn't stop them taking my money!!

These days though I generally get Ocado to call - easy to order, no bags to pack, goods arrive sorted and bags returned. Bliss

I refuse to interact with a machine. I have this theory that technology has hugely complicated life without giving any benefits. Faced with a screen when I want to get money or shopping or tickets, I make so many mistakes that a real human has to come to my rescue and I tell myself I'm safeguarding their jobs.

I loathe the way the self service ones tell you what to do grrrhhhh!!
Might try zapping next time, will certainly give the shop assistants plenty of work, sorting me out!

I have tried just about every permutation, but found I really missed just being able to stop and queue and zone out for five minutes and people-watch and have a nose at their shopping.

Also there was rarely a time when I didn't need help in some form. Buying alcohol always seems to need intervention for some reason. I always felt like a criminal when my trolley was checked after zapping. Also I felt more rushed, I liked having time to sort my bags as I packed them at the proper checkout.

So now I have most of my shopping delivered. I don't think I'm too old for that. Although online banking can be a pain in the butt. Anyone who hasn't zapped before can have the whole process explained to them, if you go to the queries desk. I feel very smug when something hasn't worked, you have to have an assistant and they almost harrumph because they are SO busy, and then they can't get it to work either.