Booths is getting rid of their self service checkouts.

Aveline - I patronize various grocers for all I’m looking for and need. There are kids bagging your groceries if you go through a regular checkout lane.

Some of those kids (could be adults too) simply don’t have the smarts to pack a bag correctly because they are in a hurry.

That’s when I took over - at the self-checkout.

Possibly the only conversation they had all day, but .

Yes, Im sure I am the only person some customers have spoken to for several days!.

Just been to Booths and waited 14 minutes (from when I eventually started timing) to be served. Chose a queue where we were third (out of 5 eventually, which meant we couldn’t move). First person went through no problem. 2nd person finished unpacking the trolley onto the conveyor belt, moved along and slowly packed their 10 items away, then discovered they had packed them on top of their purse.
Slowly unpacked enough items to enable the purse to be retrieved, then slowly repacked the items, all the time carrying on a conversation about the weather and the expected visit of DGC and where they were going to plant the tray of flowers they had bought.
Located card to pay, then asked for cash back. Discovered that they had got a credit card out instead of a bank card, so swapped the card. Waited till the money was handed over then asked if they could have some of it in £1 coins.
Got the coins and put them carefully in the zip pocket of the purse and the card in another pocket. Took the receipt that was offered, opened the purse again, folded the receipt into a pocket and eventually moved away to start readjusting the packing in the shopping bag.
The assistant was polite and cheerful. We said nothing, but just waited patiently. Possibly the only conversation they had all day, but . . .
If only there had been a self check out . . .

I don’t use self service checkout. Happy to say our local pound land have got rid of theirs and are back to cashiers.

Personally I prefer self check out as my main shop of choice is Sainsburys and I use the scanners for the smart shop. The main advantage is that you can then access the 'my nectar prices' which are personalised reductions for nectar card holders. It saves me significant amounts if I plan to buy what is on offer each week and is the only way to access the reduced prices. I also do frequent smaller shops so it wouldn't work so well if I did a big weekly shop.

It can be irritating if they do a rescan check at the till but I realise not everyone is scrupulously honest so they need to do it. I don't usually pack as I go because of that, so the rescan is quicker. I can also count my items at the till to make sure I didn't forget to scan something. They have recently introduced barriers that require you to scan your receipt to get out, but that still doesn't check you scanned everything so is just an irritation.

Shoplifting is becoming an increasing problem so a couple of weeks ago I was shocked when the alarm buzzed as I left the shop. I asked the security guard if it was me that set it off but he simply waved me out. When I got to the car I realised I had failed to leave my scanner behind so had to take it back in. The security guard seemed not to give a s***! I hope they are getting something useful from him as he certainly didn't seem to be doing a very good job.

Too many different posters for me to quote them all specifically but here are my responses, particularly where my "I don't huff and puff..." comment has been quoted:

*In a previous, similar thread on queuing, some time ago, I was wrongly ticked off for impatience. The poster acknowledged they'd made a mistake and apologised, for which I was grateful. I was just heading a similar response off at the pass! 😅

Aveline Sainsbury's Smart app users do get money saving offers on everyday products they buy regularly. You need Nectar membership for this. Some people think this is wrong because not everyone is 'tech savvy' so can't save in that way. I save a good bit on those offers.

The most annoying thing I witnessed in a supermarket recently was the man who had brought his elderly, but perfectly mobile mother along to get her shopping. He was hustling her along, wouldn't let her push her own trolley and telling her, as she reached for something, "No, you don't want that, you've got one in the cupboard already! No, you don't want that (her preferred brand). This one is better value... Etc. etc." I felt like slapping him but I suppose she brought him up to be bossy! He knew what was in her cupboard! 😮

Aveline

What is a Just walk out supermarket?

The sort FP patronises !!

I don't understand. Why would your things get 'crushed and smashed' at manned checkouts?

I love self check-outs!
• No waiting
• You can pack your items without things getting crushed and smashed
• You know which bags contain certain items
• You’re In and Out!

Practice makes perfect. Maybe not for everyone. It’s very orderly when YOU do it. Some chains here are evaluating their check-outs. I hope they never go away.
USA Gundy

Thanks Mollygo. Well blimey! Definitely not for me. Could suit some shop lifters.

Booths ?!

Well done Booths. Wish I had one near me. Always thought you should get a discount for using self-service, as you’re doing job for free at that shop.

Aveline

What is a Just walk out supermarket?

The only one I’ve used is Amazon Fresh.

How to shop in Amazon Fresh

Our stores are powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology which automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves but there are several ways to enter and check out at an Amazon Fresh store.

Customers can either walk in and browse as normal or use the Amazon app to enter by simply tapping the basket, pressing ‘In-store Code’ and scanning the QR code. If you use the app, when you’ve finished shopping, we'll email you a receipt and charge your Amazon account.

At select Amazon Fresh stores in the UK, you can enter through a gateless opening without the need to scan and identify yourself – and no Amazon account is needed. Instead, once you’re done shopping, you can exit by scanning either your in-store QR code or payment card at the exit gate.

I hope they keep some self service checkouts. I am panicked by manned tills, and wouldn't shop there if all the self service tills go.

I don't use self service checkouts because I can't hear them. I wouldn't know even if they were screaming at me, so from a disability point of view, manned checkouts are a must.

RosiesMaw

^Just to add, if I am in a queue, I don't huff and puff, roll my eyes or tap my foot^

Clearly not a fully paid up member of Gransnet then! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

I never did on the outside, but inside…… I once made a NYresolution to be more understanding and patient and it seems to be working. I do often wonder why people don’t expect to pay and put all their shopping on top of their handbag/purse/wallet.

I mix and match with tills/self service. Today I used a manned till in M&S as I had quite a bit of stuff. It turned out that I knew the young woman on the till so we had a brief ‘hello, how are you?’ conversation.

Then in Aldi I had only two items so I used the self check out. No problems there, unlike last week. I had a big shop then and the attendant repeatedly had to come over to ‘ping’ the machine. He said it was because I had quite a lot of fruit and veg and when you put lighter weight things such as salads/packs of herbs into your bag it doesn’t recognise it and keeps asking you to put it in the bag when you already have.

I’d quite like to self scan, which I was doing in the 90’s when there was a pilot study in the area we lived in. I don’t dare self scan nowadays because Dh comes with me and I find it so distracting with him wandering off with the trolley or putting in random items that I haven’t seen I’m scared I’ll be accused of shoplifting.

What is a Just walk out supermarket?

Aveline

A thought occured to me - are shops who have replaced staff with self service tills passing on the savings they've made in wages to customers? Have they reduced their prices along with reducing their services?

I doubt it. The same question comes up every time this issue is discussed and they’ve been in place so long now that any initial savings will have long disappeared.
Far more likely that they’ll put prices up to cover staff wages if they reverted - and Booths is already expensive enough.
I don’t use home delivery, I do use serviced tills, self service tills and scan and go tills. I’ve even ventured into a Just walk out supermarket.
How many posters mind, as long as all shoppers have a choice?

Well done Booths, will keep people in jobs and give customers the personal touch, much needed. Hope others follow.

leeds22

My Booths cloth shopping bag carries the logo: 'Cumbria not Umbria'. I don't use the self service check outs anywhere, including my local Ripon Booths.

Ripon Booths has no self service tills.

I always use the service option as I'm very inept (and very slow) at self-scanning. I also enjoy passing the time of day with the check-out operators. As a regular in my local Waitrose & Sainsbury I have got to know many of the staff over the years. Self-service is a great choice for many and it's important that there is a choice. Full marks to Booths and good publicity for them!

Our Tesco has self scanners and I much prefer to do that. I have time to pack my bag as I go round the store and very rarely have to wait for a till to complete the payment. In and out in no time and can’t stand having to wait in a queue and then feeling pressured to get my bag packed quickly and move out of the way. Aldi may not yet have self service tills but at least there’s space to move away from the till and pack your bags.

Just to add, if I am in a queue, I don't huff and puff, roll my eyes or tap my foot

Clearly not a fully paid up member of Gransnet then! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

As I need to use the disabled buggy and can need help to even get things onto the checkout , there is no way I ever use self service. I am a customer spending money in the same way as the ablebodied person so I have no intention of ever using self service. Well done Booths, wish there were more Booths near me right now.