WIBU to dump my shopping and walk out of Asda?

[wannabetennisplayer]

Today I went to Asda for a shop - running later than planned due to a bus not turning up (which admittedly I can't blame Asda for!) - but still with enough time to do a shop. Long queues at the checkout. I am directed to a self-service till which turns out to be even more temperamental than usual (even if you remove all the scanned items, apparently thin air is an "unexpected item in bagging area") so I have to call for help a few times - and, as usual, there are only one or two poor sods on self-service till duty running around like blue-arsed
flies - and on one of the occasions my till was playing up there were no staff anywhere in the self-service till area (which I would estimate has about 20 - 24 tills) for several minutes. Not blaming them as it is obviously the supermarket who understaffs the tills.

Once I've scanned my items, I try to pay with my card but it doesn't seem to be working. One of the members of staff comes over and tries it a couple of times and then says 'oh, yeah, I think the card reader wasn't working on this one'. Now, if at this point, he had said 'this is the start of a long process to make a card payment', I would have asked him to cancel a couple of items off the bill and just bought what I had the cash for but, he just said 'come with me to make the payment'.

He takes me to the customer service point (again with a long queue) and gives a print out from the self-service till to the woman at the counter. I ask if I'll be expected to queue up again and/or everything will need to be scanned again and he says 'no, just wait next to the counter and she'll take the payment after she's finished dealing with the current customer - and it doesn't need to be scanned again as she's got this slip.' He leaves and then the customer service woman tells me to get to the back of the queue. I explain the situation and that I have already queued up etc but she says that I have to go to the back of the queue. As it's the customer service point, everyone is complaining about faulty electrical items, wanting to exchange items etc so none of them are going to be quick transactions.

As time is ticking on, my options are either to continue to wait in this queue and not make a gym class that I intended to attend later that day or to give up on the shopping - so in the end I emptied the shopping on the customer service counter, told the member of staff that I didn't have time and walked out. Slightly more dramatic than I intended but the bags were mine so I had to empty the contents onto the counter if I was going to leave!

What would you have done?

[DoreenLethal]

Same.

[penny13610]

I walk, every bloody time.
Well done.

[SilverBirchWithout]

I quite like your style. Although, I hope you weren't rude to the staff though, no doubt on low wages, with not enough staff.

[lunar1]

Exactly the same. I'd check your account ASAP through. Adds are shits any there is every chance they have taken the money for each time you tried to pay and put it in their random holding account.

[Hamiltoes]

I probably wouldn't have done that because I wouldn't have had the bottle, but a part of me wishes I was capable of such feats.

[OurBlanche]

Exactly the same.

And when I got home I would have emailed Customer Services and been polite but firm in my disappointment.

[EsmetheWitch]

I've done similar in Waitrose.

I said 'fuck this!' and abandoned my shopping in the middle of the self service area. Wasn't my finest hour

[BathshebaDarkstone]

Exactly the same. Well done.

[Doublebubblebubble]

Yep same. They should have more staff on the tills. (especially during the day and on effing weekends when most people do their bloody shopping!!) I hate self service machines with a passion so actively avoid but if I had to go through what you've been through id have been quite so diplomatic and reasonable as that.

[GudrunBrangwen]

I would have waited, because I really hate shopping for food and the inconvenience to myself would have been greater than to wait and pay for it and possibly be late for something else.

You kind of wasted the whole trip iyswim as you came out with nothing.

[Doublebubblebubble]

Whoops ^ I'm not sure ^

[wannabetennisplayer]

Although, I hope you weren't rude to the staff though, no doubt on low wages, with not enough staff.

No, I'm never rude to the staff on the self-service tills (although I'm usually feeling irritated) because I know it's not their fault the tills are rubbish and the supermarket don't provide enought staff to deal with them. All I said to the customer service woman was something like 'sorry, I don't have time for this' and then tipped out the shopping - but it did feel slightly dramatic/like I was having a hissy fit.

Of course, now I've wasted about an hour of my day and still have no shopping to show for it....

I wonder how often this happens in supermarkets?

[notquitehuman]

YANBU. I know you can't expect gold star service in a cheap supermarket, but Asda seems to be especially bad. My local one is often very understaffed, with people on the cigarette counter having to run over and sort out the self service tills. Maybe if more people stormed out then they'd hire more staff!

[x2boys]

i left my shopping on the checkout when they wouldnt give me more than three bags as the checkout lady told me, i had adequate bags to carry my stuff, given that asda bags are shite anyway and very flimsy and rip easily i wasnt prepared to carry a loads of stuff in the three bags so i left and went to tesco where they gave me as many bags as i wanted!

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

I wouldn't have walked as I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of shopping again, but I would have written a Stringly Worded Email when I got home.

[Pigriver]

I would have done the same. In the adsa local I often use they have removed all but 1 checkout and replaced with more self scanners. Not usually an issue but the last few times I've been in they have not been staffed or if they have the staff member is actually collecting for charity whilst ignoring customers who need help. She only seems to notice you as you walk away from the tills and she thrusts her tin in your face and asks if you want to donate. Last time I was fed up (39 weeks pregnant) and said "no but I did need some help at the tills a minute ago" and walked off.
And yes they are definitely asda staff, wearing uniform and bright yellow filets saying 'happy to help'

[EsmetheWitch]

There was a documentary on Radio 4 about self service and they worked out that we did about 5 billion pounds worth of work a year for companies. Also it's often marketed for 'our convenience'. It was really interesting.

[Pigriver]

*gilet not filet!

[Whatevva]

I would have walked out with the shopping

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

YANBU. If shops want us to use selfservice tills they need to staff them properly. I struggle particularly because I have essential tremor that gets worse when I get stressed, to the extent where I can't physically hit the right button. So I avoid those shops wherever I can now.

[Clutterbugsmum]

I refuse to use them on the ground I don't have both the time or the patience to do my shopping and then have to try to scan it myself.

[DotaDay]

Yanbu
I would have done the same. I'd have let the person on the customer service till know what I was doing and would have politely explained why.

I'm quick to ask for extra tills to be opened. I'm very polite but I can't be doing with waiting around for ages to be served. It's much better to ask than to stand around tutting and getting irritated.

[SurlyCue]

I wouldnt have waited that long

[MrsBertMacklin]

Same - I abandoned shopping in Waitrose not long ago because no-one was manning the self-service tills, the staff in the tobacco kiosk right next to it said they couldn't ring their bell for assistance , the person packing shopping on the other tills said they were too busy to find someone to help so like a PP, I went back to the shopping, waited for another minute, then said Fuck It and left.

Agree with people above - more people needed to supervise self-service tills - one person for every 6 tills needed IME.