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Sainsburys Smart Shop - shopping with fear and loathing

(71 Posts)
sandelf Thu 23-Jan-20 17:13:29

The queues have been getting longer in a clear attempt to get us to 'do it ALL yourself'. So for the last few shops we have used Smart Shop. The only contact with a human being is when something has gone wrong - you feel like an idiot. Today we thought we had finally got a shop with the things we meant to buy, in the bags, in a reasonably orderly state. Only to find we are selected for 'rescan' - they do it again. AND somehow I'd not got the coleslaw to scan - now I feel like a thief and as it was on his card I've made OH look like a thief too. Feel tainted by the whole experience. What do others think about these changes? I liked the idea of seeing the shopping go through someone else's hands and then paying. Far less chance of accidental theft.

BBbevan Thu 23-Jan-20 17:27:56

Is that the same as Tesco Self Scan? We put anything we cannot scan to one side and call an assistant at the end of our shop. Easy to sort out. DH did once buy 2 identical shirts, and scanned one twice. That caused a problem as they have different stock numbers !,!!,,And every now and then they check 9 items in your basket. It usually goes well but sometimes not.

Callistemon Thu 23-Jan-20 17:40:59

Having done a small shop before Christmas and getting caught I refuse to go into a very large Asda which has introduced self scan.
Never again!!

harrigran Thu 23-Jan-20 17:48:07

I will not use the self scan thingies, I have enough stress in my life without having to do the shop assistants job as well. If they want my money they can b****y well work for it.
Sainsburys lost a sale of about £100 this afternoon because the shop is so chaotic we went to Morrisons instead.

sandelf Thu 23-Jan-20 17:48:50

I know it's not important 'in the grand scale' of things - but its training us not to care about people.

Urmstongran Thu 23-Jan-20 17:57:10

I can use the self scan. But I don’t. I like to give a person a job.

Remember the days when stopping at a garage meant someone came to your pump?

Use it or lose it.

TwiceAsNice Thu 23-Jan-20 18:16:03

I refuse to use scanners in supermarkets. I like interacting with a person

Oopsminty Thu 23-Jan-20 18:18:56

Hate them

They bring me out in a cold sweat

LadyGracie Thu 23-Jan-20 18:26:15

I'll only shop where they have them. I hate to queue.

rosenoir Thu 23-Jan-20 18:27:06

I always self scan, never had a problem and like the way you can pack as you go.

NotAGran55 Thu 23-Jan-20 18:49:29

I’ve scanned in Waitrose for 20 + years and wouldn’t shop anywhere else . What a pain having to queue for a till , get it all out of the trolley and load it all back in again . Getting held up by people nattering to the checkout staff, faffing around finding their purses etc . Life’s too short - in and out in no time at all with a scanner . Probably have a re-scan every year or so ?

Callistemon Thu 23-Jan-20 19:04:14

Our Waitrose doesn't have scanners suitable for trolleys full, moremfor baskets or just a few items.

Callistemon Thu 23-Jan-20 19:04:50

I like to have the choice

Cabbie21 Thu 23-Jan-20 19:05:32

I avoid self scan tills for two reasons.
1. I don’t want people to lose their jobs.
2. I always have problems and have to wait for a person to come to my rescue.
Contradiction?

JuliaM Thu 23-Jan-20 19:59:41

I have tried the self scans but really struggle with them due to arthritis in my hands and knee joints resulting in me using a powered wheelchair. At least with the assisted tills l could place my few things on the belt and someone would pack them into my bag at the other end and even hang my bag on the special hooks on the rear of my chair if asked nicely. My other bugbear is the extra high shelves where it's almost impossible for a shorter person to reach anything down from. This has now resulted in my main food shop now being done on line and delivered to my door at a time to suit me, and no incliment weather to cope with on a bad day. There are still jobs being kept to do this, both in the picker who gathers the goods together, and the delivery drivers who are soo good at delivering it to my door. If l had one small gripe about this service though, l wish they would develop a reusable basket system to replace the plastic carriers they used to use, a large shop handed over the doorstep one item at a time, it's far more time consuming than the old system.

tanith Thu 23-Jan-20 20:11:30

I always self scan I can’t be doing with queuing either I get rescanned every couple of months never have a problem also pay with Tesco pay+ which works well too.

grannyticktock Thu 23-Jan-20 20:13:44

Just to clarify: Smart Shop is different from self scan. You have a hand-held scanner and take it round the shop, scanning each item before placing it in your own bag. Then when you get to the till, all you have to do is pay.

But in order to discourage cheating, they do some random checks and re-scans, particularly when you're new to the system, so you have to be prepared for this.

Xander Thu 23-Jan-20 20:45:33

Hate self scans. I never used them. Like the interaction with people on till.

M0nica Thu 23-Jan-20 20:48:13

I do not use scanners because I know that I would always forget to scan some items, so I would always want my shopping checked afterwards, just to be sure I wasn't inadvertently shop-lifting.

Barmeyoldbat Thu 23-Jan-20 20:55:47

Urms, I haven't always agreed with you but this time I absolutely do. I always try to use a real person, `people need jobs and if we use the self scan we will eventually put people of of work. People who need to work as the pension age has increased, young people need the work to pay for Uni and so on. If I had my way I would ban them.

tanith Thu 23-Jan-20 21:46:11

grannyticktock what’s the difference between the two? I self scan in Tesco and use Tesco pay when paying on my phone is that the same as Smartshop?

MiniMoon Thu 23-Jan-20 22:23:25

Even if I only have a couple of items, I am prepared to stand in a queue of people, to be served by a real person. I will not put anything through the self service till.

Hetty58 Thu 23-Jan-20 22:27:01

How will people cope when there are no more tills and everything is self-scan? I prefer to order online anyway for most things so won't notice the difference.

JenniferEccles Thu 23-Jan-20 22:34:27

Surely there is enormous potential for people to effectively shop lift by not scanning every single item?

I guess we all indirectly pay for that though as that possibility would be built into the price.

We can be certain the stores themselves wouldn’t be out of pocket though.

I am not usually in a desperate hurry to finish shopping so I am prepared to wait a short while at the till.

My local Waitrose is a very friendly place and the staff get to know the regular customers.

It’s a pleasant place to shop.

grannyticktock Thu 23-Jan-20 22:35:30

Tabitha, no, smart shop is different. You take a hand-held gadget when you enter the store. As you take each item off the shelf, you scan it and put it into your own shopping bag as you walk round. When you are done, you go to the till and simply hand in the scanner gadget and pay (by any means you choose). It means you don't have to unload your trolley and then pack it all up again, because your packing is done as you walk round the shop.