What cheeses me off

[prozac]

WCMO. Supermarket self serve checkouts.
Shopped at Big W this morning and the manned (womaned) checkouts were closed. I halied down some managerial type who told me to use the self serve. Told her I don't do self serve, have to stick to principal. She buggers off and so I call over the self serve corale attendant who really had an attitude about helping me out. Real attitude. Just told her she had to do it. Before we know it they'll have us sewing the garments ourselves.

 

[anat0l]

WCMO. Supermarket self serve checkouts.
Shopped at Big W this morning and the manned (womaned) checkouts were closed. I halied down some managerial type who told me to use the self serve. Told her I don't do self serve, have to stick to principal. She buggers off and so I call over the self serve corale attendant who really had an attitude about helping me out. Real attitude. Just told her she had to do it. Before we know it they'll have us sewing the garments ourselves.

Welcome to progress.... I think....

WCMO is the generation most complaining about self service checkouts being the devil of the technology generation when it is their generation who are the decision makers of having installed said self service checkouts because their profits are appeasing the same generation who are shareholders who don't give a damn about anything except profit, profit and profit at any cost, impact on customers or safety concerns be damned (the working anthem of... you guessed it... that same generation).

 

[prozac]

Welcome to progress.... I think....

WCMO is the generation most complaining about self service checkouts being the devil of the technology generation when it is their generation who are the decision makers of having installed said self service checkouts because their profits are appeasing the same generation who are shareholders who don't give a damn about anything except profit, profit and profit at any cost, impact on customers or safety concerns be damned (the working anthem of... you guessed it... that same generation).

Don't misunderstand. I can work the self serve but I refuse to. We are destroying jobs and customer service / interaction. The checkout interaction might be the only personal contact that some people have all day!

 

[Gladstone Tim]

WCMO. Supermarket self serve checkouts.
Shopped at Big W this morning and the manned (womaned) checkouts were closed. I halied down some managerial type who told me to use the self serve. Told her I don't do self serve, have to stick to principal. She buggers off and so I call over the self serve corale attendant who really had an attitude about helping me out. Real attitude. Just told her she had to do it. Before we know it they'll have us sewing the garments ourselves.

Yes, I’m with you. At Woolworths if they don’t have a staffed checkout with a short line I go through to the service desk and put my basket on the counter. If they direct me to self-serve or tell me “we’re not meant to do this” I offer to leave the goods behind, and I always have cold/frozen items.

 

[anat0l]

Yes, I’m with you. At Woolworths if they don’t have a staffed checkout with a short line I go through to the service desk and put my basket on the counter. If they direct me to self-serve or tell me “we’re not meant to do this” I offer to leave the goods behind, and I always have cold/frozen items.

You are entitled to use a staffed counter.

You are not entitled to a short line - not now, not when self serve checkouts were not a thing.

No matter which side of the fence you are on in this, the staff member may well be telling the truth when they say, "we're not meant to do this". I don't believe they will be written up, but difficult questions may be asked. Not that you're obliged to think of them, of course.

 

[ellen10]

My husband is very anti self service checkouts.

One day as I lined up with my basket behind some big trolleys in the queue, an attendant indicated to me to use the self service checkout. I declined and then she came over and said I will process it through for you at the self service checkout. I accepted.

 

[prozac]

My husband is very anti self service checkouts.

One day as I lined up with my basket behind some big trolleys in the queue, an attendant indicated to me to use the self service checkout. I declined and then she came over and said I will process it through for you at the self service checkout. I accepted.

This is me.
I do not work for WW or Coles so I will not use self service and I am very passionate in this position. This is how we have lost our reputation as a great manufacturing nation, instead buying low quality products from China ahead of the more expensive but greatly superior Australian product. Now we have no manufacturing to speak of and we are burdened by Chinese threats. Everything comes with a caveat.

 

[Hvr]

Yes, I’m with you. At Woolworths if they don’t have a staffed checkout with a short line I go through to the service desk and put my basket on the counter. If they direct me to self-serve or tell me “we’re not meant to do this” I offer to leave the goods behind, and I always have cold/frozen items.

And then the staff member either has to leave their post and restock the items, or do the write off process.

I understand if you genuinely cannot use the self serve check out, but other wise it sounds entitled. Often stores cannot get enough staff, or the margins are so small it's only viable to have the great majority of customers use self service.

I much prefer self service because I like to pack my groceries a specific way and I'm generally much faster than a staffed check out. On the rare occasion I need to use one, I find many customers at the staffed checkouts are lonely and want to talk to someone.

 

[dajop]

The other option is if available in your area to shop at Aldi (which still seems to have staffed checkouts even when they have self serve ones available) or IGA. Vote with your wallet.

 

[drron]

And then the staff member either has to leave their post and restock the items, or do the write off process.

I understand if you genuinely cannot use the self serve check out, but other wise it sounds entitled. Often stores cannot get enough staff, or the margins are so small it's only viable to have the great majority of customers use self service.

I much prefer self service because I like to pack my groceries a specific way and I'm generally much faster than a staffed check out. On the rare occasion I need to use one, I find many customers at the staffed checkouts are lonely and want to talk to someone.

I am the same when packing but until recently there was an older Coles employee in the self checkout area. We got on very well and as long as she wasn't busy she would come over and scan my items while I packed them. I regarded it as a win win situation.

 

[lovestotravel]

Often stores cannot get enough staff, or the margins are so small it's only viable to have the great majority of customers use self service.

LOL

 

[MARTINE]

I can see both sides with this one ..

Our local coles is lovely huge light and clean and there are two sets of self serve. The trad ones (about a dozen) and another set of six which are basically your own aisle — and I love it. I pop my things on exactly as I wish in groupings, lovely bay that fits trolley, stacks of room for your bags and items and the belt automatically moves as the groceries are scanned. There is always a (helpful) helper there (one used to work at M&S in the UK - so we always chat about my Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s bags). I am often asked if I want them to open up an aisle but I love this system.

Decisions about self serve are made waaaaay above the paygrade of these pax so I am loathe to take it out on them.

In local Woollies the mega-bays do not exist so unless I have one or two things only I use the human service.

I am not against them but appreciate people may choose not to use. But please don’t be rude to the front-liners who have to manage some awful behavior (not that any AFF would )

 

[prozac]

I can see both sides with this one ..
...
I am not against them but appreciate people may choose not to use. But please don’t be rude to the front-liners who have to manage some awful behavior (not that any AFF would )

Is this aimed at me? I am never rude to supermarket staff. I think I expressed this one was very offhand to me.

 

[MARTINE]

Is this aimed at me? I am never rude to supermarket staff. I think I expressed this one was very offhand to me.

@prozac Absolutely not aimed at you - I try to never insult anyone . I meant it when I said AFFers dont do this but I have witnessed plenty of appalling front line behavior in stores- my point being those who earn the least cop the most

 

[anat0l]

my point being those who earn the least cop the most

I think everyone, no matter what generation, has grown up with and/or lived through knowing this is true and never going to change.

Some people believe this fact should cause us to either shift our thinking and have empathy for the frontliners (unless they themselves are prima facie rude or wrong), and we should instead direct our major ire to the correct people, viz. likely management or leadership. Others believe that frontline staff exist to be punching bags so have at it - it may encourage the frontline to push feedback harder to their superiors, it may encourage them to affirmatively pursue better positions or jobs, or it builds character.

Personally, having worked retail before, it changed me a lot in how I interact with staff, including - to make it relevant here - with airline staff.

 

[drron]

@MARTINE I should have said my local Coles is a relaively new store and has those big bays for your trolley. So much easier.