Has anyone else noticed how deathly quiet and depressing . . .

[trythisforsize]

supermarkets become when they change over to self service tills?

My aldi used to be really lively and chatty but 2 weeks ago they installed 10 self service checkouts and only one normal checkout left. . Now it's like a morgue. I hate going there. I stopped going to a local sainsbury's due to this.
Shopping in silence makes me feel depressed, self conscious and generally crap.

I'm going to shop elsewhere where it's mainly proper checkouts.

The way shopping has gone is sad isn't it?

It's the eerie quietness I'm talking about here. Walking around a supermarket with no noise is a really weird

I've never EVER known an eerily quiet supermarket. Even with the self service and less staff, It's still intolerably busy, busyling and noisy to me. Being barged about, rudeness and constant bad manners - I HATE supermarkets. I'd kill to shop somewhere eerily quiet!

Agree totally.
Surely self service tills are also a shoplifter’s dream??

I agree, I always use the self scan, it is so much quicker and easier. I don't go to the shops to chat to people I go to buy what I need.

So what other sometimes more productive work have the (at least 18) cashiers at my local Aldi been redeployed to do?

They are not present in the store at all

I agree OP. AI will completely change how we live, it's massively worrying. Self check is just one thing, wait till yiu want to see a doc and it's a machine you stand on that does all the assessments etc and issues treatment. Then when you go for physio it's a machine not a person.

So many jobs will disappear too. Not just shop jobs but every part of society. Accountants, lawyers, estate agents, builders etc...

Neurodiversity is paving the way for humans cope with the future with little people to people interaction.

It's awful.

Thankfully I won't be here to suffer it....!

And I hate it when I choose to use a manned checkout, but I'm stood there for a lifetime waiting for the staff and customers to wrap up their inane chinwagging, while the person behind me is getting just as annoyed but taking it out on me with the constant huffing and ramming theory trolley into my back!
Supermarket shopping isn't a social occasion, stfu and let the rest of get through this god awful ordeal as quickly as possible pls. If you wanna chat, meet up with a friend and go for a bloody coffee or something!

Nobody goes shopping just to chat. I don't have time for it but a few words as you're packing doesn't hold anyone up, and no-one's forcing anyone to pass the time of day - it's just friendly and human.

Being friendly doesn't take up anyone's time. It's just nice to have contact with your community - no?

18 checkout people ? Not a chance. I don't think Aldi has that many lanes open in the entire country !!

I’ve never noticed a change in noise levels whether they’re self check out or not. They’re hellish places no matter what kind of check out they have.

Customers using trolleys are no longer allowed to use the self-service tills in my local Aldi.

I don’t mind self-service tills as long as they are designed to do the job as swiftly as possible and work properly. There’s
always nearly an issue with Aldi’s self-service tills, so you ultimately end up having to talk to a staff member to assist you anyway.

As far as I’m aware, Aldi does not facilitate online deliveries for their general food items.

Tip:
Only buy fresh meat from Aldi if you plan to use it within a couple of days, otherwise it almost always goes off. I guess that’s how they keep their prices low.
I have a family member who works there. They do their family big shop there, but buy their fresh meat elsewhere.

Self service till means job are being lost. Yes they are convenient but I much prefer to go to till that is mannered by a human than to have people lost their job

They don't work 14 hour shifts! Full timers work a seven hour shift and swop, 5 days per week, that's two people per day per checkout for 5 days. Our Aldi had 8 checkouts and open weekends too - use your noddle!

In fact thinking about it there were at least 20 possible more

I've no desire to chat to anyone in the supermarket.

If the silence is bothersome then wear headphones and listen to something that cheers you up.

Anecdotally, there seems to be a clear generational divide on this subject.

I cannot lie, I love the new self serve tills in Aldi. LOVE THEM. Less waiting, less getting food thrown at me at the end of the till, and the staff weren't friendly anyway (too busy). Now I get through quickly and easily.

The Aldis near me have had self service a while. I am not a chatter and want to get through quickly but I do think we have lost something, paying in supermarkets is like some horrible gameshow now. People shouting at you to move down, use that till, other customers shoving in or telling you you're being stupid for not noticing a free one. Scanning everything yourself, did you need to weigh it, things not being recognised, loads of screens to move through about bags and payment types. Red lights going off everywhere. One poor person being run ragged trying to help everyone.

This , it’s the only way to shop in store .

Absolutely love them.

Self scan around the shop is best, (after delivery or click and collect) rather than having to handle everything 2 or 3 times. Inane chat with people I don't know bores me silly, although I always exchange a bit of chat with till operators when I have to use them. Anything and everything we say them must be reapeated a hundred times per shift, so I'm relieved rather than upset or surprised when they are not interested in chatting. So long as they are not rude.

No local Aldi uses them yet but we have a new Lidl on the way, so hopefully that will

The self service space isn't big enough for a full shop - complete PITA!!

That's sorted with the self scan, as you go around the shop

@trythisforsize I'm not suggesting that I will be unfriendly it is just that the quicker I can shop the more time I have for things that I feel are more important

I usually do too but the last day in my local tesco there were none at all open. I did an awkward march up and down the entire row of tills until one eventually opened. They let in about 3 people and closed again. Another woman came up and tried to queue, they said they were closed. She said "well my only option is to leave my shopping here then" so another till opened up. It was actually a bit off putting and I'd think twice before going back there. I don't like self checkouts

Much prefer self checkout and scan and go. People queue up the aisles at our local massive Sainsbury’s. The queues have at least 8 people in front of you at any time. The self scan is usually empty, I scan going round, straight through the self scan and I’m done with my shopping already packed.

Self checkouts are rubbish for someone like me who is disabled. I often rely on a bit of help from the cashier, although I can manage alone with a small shop it's difficult.

It's also another example of older people having digital road blocks put in front of them. Supermarkets really need to keep manned tills for some people, and a choice of self checkouts for those that prefer them.

I have stopped shopping inside my local Asda now as it's only got a couple of manned tills open, usually with queues for them. I now resort to getting my shopping delivered from Asda, and I can ill afford the delivery fee.

Thankfully my local Tesco still has a decent amount of manned tills and is a nice peaceful place to shop. They now get my custom over Asda most of the time.

What is it’s with all the pressure to make inane chit chat with the cashier , beyond basic civility no conversation is required if you don’t want it ?
Those machines are taking away peoples jobs and possibly the only human interaction some people might get all day.

Self scan saves my sanity. In and out as quickly as possible.