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?

We seem to be turning into a nation of anxious introverts who dislike engaging with people - on mumsnet anyway.

Will supermarket workers be deployed into other jobs, or will they be made redundant?

I prefer to put my shopping through a manned till, and will continue to do so as long as I can.

I agree. I have been around for a long time and am bamboozled by all these anxious introverts who can't stand engaging with an actual person. I've not met any in real life though.

I too will use a manned till as long as I can - and where I live many people still seem happy to do so.

Nope, not depressing at all, if I can get round the supermarket without speaking to a single person it's perfect.

A Decathlon near me is now self service only. I would think people would probably like help with buying sports gear.

@JaneFondue

Same as my branch but there’s always someone on the shop floor to ask for help if necessary.

It just makes the whole shopping experience so sterile now.

People are losing so many soft skills these days by barricading themselves in their homes and only venturing out eyes down so that they don't have to engage with anyone.

I appreciate that anxiety is absolutely debilitating. DD really struggles, but it seems like no-one is prepared to try and step slightly out of their comfort zone these days.

It's why I go to my local spoons!

Also dislike self service tills, in fact i will gladly stand in a queue rather than use one.
We have Aldi Lidl, Asda, Tesco and Waitrose, all have both self service and manned tills.
I chat with those on the tills, have got to know quite a few cashiers in different supermarkets, in my opinion i pay enough for my shopping i want someone to ring it up and help pack it, in fact id like someone to take it out of my trolley and put onto the conveyor belt too! (tongue in cheek)

Our Decathlon self serve IS brilliant though. You just throw your stuff in a sort of pit and it does the rest. Magic.

A Decathlon near me is now self service only. I would think people would probably like help with buying sports gear.

In fairness to Decathlon I have always found their staff available to advise (enthusiastically) if asked.

I agree.

I looove the self service I used to dread the small fall the cashiers put you through as it was completely unpredictable. If I get the choice of a person or a machine to give my money to I choose the machine

I agree that self service tills are taking jobs away from people. But I always prefer using them as I hate making small talk with cashiers, which I realise is not a healthy attitude! My local Lidl have installed self service tills which are fantastic if you only have a couple of things which saves having to queue behind someone doing a massive shop.

It is rather sad, people so unwilling to just chat to the checkout person; it's normal, we're social animals. I dread to think how we will develop as a society.
Also, why should we checkout our own shopping? Supermarkets haven't reduced prices; if we buy flat pack furniture, it's cheaper, because we are doing some of the work ourselves. If Sainsbury want me to scan, they can pay me.

I prefer self-service tills when I only have a few items and I need to be in and out ASAP, but I also enjoy chatting to staff at the manned tills whilst I’m being served. I’ve been shopping at my local Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury’s for years, so the staff know me and we almost always tend to exchange more than ‘Hi’ whenever I see particular staff members.

I guess it depends on the person’s personality, the time of day, if you’re having a good day or not, how much interaction a person generally receives in a typical day, etc.

Constant background noise, back to back meetings or information overload via PC’s/machines at a job all day can understandably leave some people craving quiet time and relishing periods of not having to talk to or hear anyone. Also, having to interact positively with your own children after a long tiring day can be a headache sometimes.

Libraries are popular places to chat to staff. I used to work in Libraries. A lot of lonely people frequent Libraries as the staff can be the source of their only guaranteed chit chat of their day. It‘s a crying shame lots of Libraries have been closed during the last twelve years. It’s still possible to chat to Library staff if you need assistance, even though many if not all now have self-serve machines. I often have a quick chat when I visit my local Library. I reserve a lot of titles for myself and my DC, so we have to interact with the staff when collecting our reserved items. Many libraries still have book/reading groups and many other ongoing activities taking place throughout the year for both adults and children. Take a look online, which I appreciate is not easy for some older people and people who are not IT literate/tech savvy. Some libraries also have basic IT sessions to help people use the library computers, e.g., Silver Surfers, etc.

I enjoy socialising whilst also being mindful that I need bouts of quiet time alone to think, reflect and recharge. I’ve found that walking and immersing myself in nature helps.

Our local co-op employed older people on the checkout and they were very friendly and loved to chat, combine that with equally chatty customers and just nipping in for one or two things would take ages.
Great to talk if there's no-one waiting but long queues would build up which they seemed oblivious to.
It's so much more convenient now there are self service tills.

The best result is to have the option imo

I don’t need a Sainsbury’s staff member to do it for me. I prefer the app but if others do want interaction fine by me.

I agree generally about being social though and I hope people were similarly put out by isolating people as happened in last few years.

You are so right, and I also dread to think how we will develop as a society - there are already far too many people who can't deal with interacting with others, it's troubling.

I also agree that why should we have to checkout our own shopping. The prices go up all the time, I don't see why I should have to do the work as well when I can go to a manned till and have my shopping scanned and packed (I'm not in the UK, they pack here).

@magicthree but a supermarket is a boring place that you need to go to so you can obtain food etc.
Many people have outsourced that already (because it's a tedious chore) by using home delivery.
It's not a social club.
Want human interaction and conversation - go to a place that's for social interaction (pub, church, coffee morning, whatever).

I don't find the supermarket boring, and I would hate to outsource my shopping. I am always coming out with a new product which I see on my journey around the shelves which I would miss out on if I was ordering only what I want, and I'm always running into people I know but rarely see otherwise. Actually, my local supermarket is full of shoppers chatting to other shoppers.

Life is not just about mixing with like minded people at clubs, coffee mornings etc. and I actually enjoy small talk - probably more than engaging in full on converstation with people other than family/friends. I'm a receptionist btw, small talk is my bread and butter!

I just find the MN way of not answering the door, not speaking to anyone you don't know, people having to warn in advance of a visit, or rushing through a shop without speaking to anyone very strange.

I had a father who would say "Good morning/afternoon" to every person he met on a walk to try and get them to respond, so maybe I have a different way of looking at things. I also don't live in the UK, and I suspect we are a bit different here.

I just find the MN way of not answering the door, not speaking to anyone you don't know, people having to warn in advance of a visit, or rushing through a shop without speaking to anyone very strange.

So do I. There is a disproportionate number of extremely introverted posters on mumsnet.

I would find only engaging with the outisde world via my laptop rather sterile and joyless.

We live rurally, and if you come across someone while out walking people always say hello regardless of whether you know them or not. It's pretty much etiquette when walking in the countryside.

@magicthree I suppose everyone is different. For me supermarket shopping is a boring chore along with cleaning the bathroom and changing the bedsheets 🤣.

Ive never had 'a good chat' in a shop, its always been banal drivel or disinterest.

Give me a self-service checkout in a quiet shop any day.

I'm surprised that so many think self-serve checkout is good because it is quicker. Yes it may be, because the queue is shorter sometimes (often not), but the actual time at the till is longer - which is what I like! The checkout staff are so quick that I can't pack quickly enough and have to repack properly afterwards. On the self-serve I can take my time, pile it up in order and pack it properly straight off.
But I do miss the chat with the operator and others in the queue. I usually try to talk to the person supervising the self-checkout, but they're sometimes busy.

I won't challenge you on cleaning the bathroom and changing the bedsheets!! I do like a supermarket visit however, and do it every day sometimes (not a full shop obviously!)