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?

I hope my Aldi does this, I despise how they throw things at you at lightening speed.

I know they have to, but it creates anxiety that generally stops me shopping there!

Aldi and Lidl have to be the worse supermarkets ever to get served in. I'd kill for some self-service tills.

You really don't have a clue. It's great that your MIL and Mum have such active social lives, but there are many elderly people who feel quite isolated, don't know about these groups, don't have friends, family or people to encourage them. Getting to a supermarket is different - they need to eat so of course they will make the effort to get there.

Also many elderly people have mobility issues, confidence issues, health problems generally. Or just don’t enjoy groups.

Exactly. The lack of empathy from some posters is astounding.

The Sainsbury’s we use has options

So smart shop where you scan as you go, self scan and checkout staff

So if people want to chat they can. Although not sure how often the chat happens other than hi

it’s not quiet though, there are plenty of staff in the aisles and often they’ll be chatting to each other

Seems a good mix to me. If someone needs social interaction they can or be zen and not it’s fine

I'm surprised it took so many checkouts away. Our local Aldi has 6 self service but still has 4 normal checkouts which is perfect. I wizzed in to buy something for lunch and was out again so quickly! The self checkout are obviously not designed for a full shop at our Aldi as there's not enough space to put more then a couple it items.

This is the same model as our waitrose. Self service for a basket and proper till for a trolley. Works well 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'd use Aldi more often if ours had self service tills. The speed at the checkout is too stressful. I only go there with my husband so we can both catch the items as they come flying at us. I use scan and shop at Sainsburys because it's less of effort than unloading a full trolley and repacking again.

Self service is fine when you have a couple of items but I certainly don't want to be faffing about weighing loads of fruit and veg myself and a large trolley full

Ha ha that made me laugh! 😉🤣. Apologies it's my favourite breakfast and I haven't had it for ages as on slimming world ☹️

You can talk to the self-service till... I do. Things like;

Yes I brought my own bags,
What's the matter? Just read the bar code.
But I have put it in the packing area,
I don't want to take it out,
It's only bloody paracetamol,
There isn't 'someone on their way' they're chatting to the security man.
I don't want a nice day.

@magicthree I don't mean to sound uncaring. I honestly do not 'get it' as people might say.
My mum actually went through a terrible time with anxiety and other issues and it was going to a basic coffee morning that really helped her.
Surely if an elderly person wants someone to talk to then going to a group of their peers - who possibly will become friends - is better than talking to someone who works on the till )who nice and chatty as they are) is just a stranger in the supermarket and is making small talk because they have to.
As for the mobility issues - if they can get to a supermarket why can't they get to a community centre?
Supermarkets are mostly in town centres or on the edge of towns. A local community centre is more likely to be on a housing estate where people live - sounds easier to get to if you ask me.
As someone who has suffered from anxiety/loneliness in the past the idea of chatting to the person on the till actually for a while filled me with horror. What can you actually talk about other than the weather and how the price of loo roll has gone up again? You can't talk about anything personal.

😆

I said 'it's only bloody paracetamol' just yesterday!

Say ffs to it a lot too

For some people the interaction/ chat at the supermarket is important, esp. (but not exclusively) older people who live on their own, loneliness can be an awful thing.

@tiger2691 I agree that loneliness can be an awful thing (not just for older people) but a supermarket is a supermarket - not a social group which might actually have people and resources to help with loneliness and other life issues.
Yes a sales assistant might chat - but it's just polite small talk (I spent 2 decades as a sales assistant).
What personally saved me from a lot of anxiety and loneliness in recent years was social groups etc.

As I said, some people find groups difficult. I have a friend in her early sixties would never go to something like that. She lives alone without many friends. She sees her elderly mother and son and goes to the gym. She would not enjoy a group where she felt she had to talk to several people she didn’t know. Some people are like that. A brief chat when you know you can easily get away is less intimidating.

I think people are missing the point about social interaction. If I pop out to the shop and my friendly postman says a few words, my neighbours acknowledge me and the shopkeeper has a smile then it makes it feel like a community, people feel visible and included. If everyone walks round with their head down, no acknowledgement, no eye contact - it's kills a community.

People shouldn't have to join a special club to feel human.

People don't go to the supermarket BECAUSE they're lonely, but eye contact and a smile is just good for you. I'm lucky I have lots of friends and family and a close work team, the self service supermarket is the only place I go in my day that makes me feel shit.

Do Aldi have self service now? I used to hate the long queues there, and I'd avoid it completely if I only wanted a couple of things . That's great news tbh.

Agree even though I mostly order groceries online. But my local library has become automated. I hate it. Previously, the librarian used to recommend books, tell me about an interesting new book in the genre or just generally chat about books. Now she has disappeared and I interact with a machine.

Gen Z are going to have serious social anxiety with everything being done online and by machines.

@JaneFondue It occurred to me last night that the next generation (primary aged now) are going to have very few skills with interacting with people outside of their school and home. Are they going to lose all the nuances of social awareness, patience, manners, respect? I dread to think how that's going to pan out.

@Ishouldbeoutside the good thing about lots of social groups though is you don't actually have to be social.
You can sit quietly with a cup of tea taking it all in and hopefully gain confidence to eventually chat. Groups are usually run by people whose job (volunteer or paid) it is to be welcoming and make people feel comfortable.
That's not the job of a supermarket.
But it seems some of us will have to agree to disagree about this.
I will just say one more time - in my personal experience attending groups (parent groups when my daughter was tiny, the PTA groups, parenting advice groups, social groups connected with my hobby, even tagging along to old lady bingo with my mother in law) has given me more confidence and less anxiety than shopping in a supermarket ever did.

I prefer self service. Don't like the small talk

It’s been happening for a while.

My local one does
I think maybe 8 self service for baskets and then about 6 normal checkouts
Lidl had them too when I popped in

What Aldi are you shopping at? the cashiers at mine don't utter a single word to me.

...and I love it! It's part of the reason I shop there 😁

The ideal interaction for me is a polite nod of the head, possibly a 'hi' when I walk up to the till. Silence as they scan. Silence as I pack. A '30 pounds today, pal'. I tap my card. I say thanks. I leave.

Perfection, give me this over inane small talk any day.