self service tills and disability

[Beetrickspotter]

I really struggle with the self service tills. they are just a little bit low. I am fairly tall and can't bend. so it's a bit undignified, I have to bend at the knees. but you scan them onto the too low platform and THEN have to pick them up from too low platform and put them back in trolley. and by that time I'm in agony and need to lie down

anyone else struggle with self service? I'm fed up with shopping. it's so hard to get a delivery slot and Lidl and Aldi don't do deliveries anyway, so you have to pay a lot more for shopping at Tesco etc

Can't you use the normal tills? I refuse to use the self service check outs they give me the rage!

I think you just need to stick to using the normal tills, and don't shop anywhere that doesn't have them. I can't think of any shops except at the train station which are self scan only.

I have a different disability and i love self service. I now won't shop anywhere that doesn't have self scan.

OP raises an interesting point. It would be interesting to contact the supermarket (head office) and ask for a copy of the assessment they did to ensure they were complying with the equality act for a start.

In my very long experience there's a 75% chance the reply will be "Do what ?" in writing, which can be the start of a wonderful relationship.

(If you get the answer "we asked our kids to imagine it" then you could also get some vouchers 😀)

So don't use self service?

Me too!

a number of people have said 'dont use self service'...more often than not the normal checkouts are not open. I always ask to use normal tills and am told, only self service is open

yes I agree back killing horrors

😁😁😁
I could do this, couldn't I.
I suppose the 'presence' of the normal tills, would be the answer. but they won't open them even when asked. I presume they are too understaffed.

that isn't to say that they are NEVER open. but 1) it's not predictable and 2) they are mostly closed

The thing is, if you made them aware of your disability then they’d likely serve you at the manned till and open it for you if it’s closed. I appreciate you may not want to announce that, but maybe it is worth emailing in or calling and asking to speak to the manager

I think you should be making complaints OP. You shouldn't have to, of course. If they are going to cut costs to increase profits by moving towards machines the least they can do is facilitate everyone and have multiple height options.

I can imagine regular shopping is tricky too, all that lifting and twisting. I'm able bodied but quite short and I find so many things tricky, I can only imagine your position. Car parks for example, I can never reach the ticket machine and need to unbelt and get out of the car, this drives me crazy and I've often wondered how incredibly difficult it would be as a wheelchair user.

It would be a "reasonable adjustment" to provide a manned till for you. However that would require an assessment had been done. As I say, my experience is a lot of companies (and NHS sites) have no idea what the equality act entails (I can only assume too busy counting money or inventing different ways to shit on their staff). Therefore they will not have undertaken an assessment of changes and operations under the said act.

If they are going to cut costs to increase profits by moving towards machines

Then they are unlikely to have undertaken an assessment ...

Have you asked them to help you at the till due to your disability then?

One place that is good (unfortunately not for a food shop) is Primark. They have a till you just go straight to, the next available member of staff comes over and serves you so no queuing, very little waiting and good service.

Self service tills hate me. I have stood pressing the screen over and over while it totally ignores me and then the assistant finally wanders over a does exactly what I had been doing and it works. I now refuse to use them and just approach the “minder” staff member or customer service staff and ask them to do it for me. Which they’ve always done.

Not always an option. I live near a smaller version of a main supermarket and they very rarely open up the tills. There are other shops but a 20 min walk away and not always convenient when you just want a bottle of milk.They will occasionally if it's someone doing a larger shop. But what most likely happens is there are shop staff stood around chatting then you get passive aggressive attitude from them if god forbid you need to use a till or something triggers the self service till and they have to come over and help you.

no I have not. presumably if there aren't staff to open normal till, then there aren't staff to help me exclusively. but more than that, I would be embarrassed

Definitely worth raising with the stores. In my local Sainsbury’s I’ve seen them offer to open a till for someone in a wheelchair. It might be that people don’t remember not all disabilities are visible, which makes it even more useful to make shops aware of the issue.

Have you ever worked in a shop? Honestly someone needing help because of disability/injury is not a problem at all. It’s what you are paid for.

It's an interesting question tbh. I often have to have a walking stick for balance which I don't use if I have a trolley, but you can't keep holding on for balance if you are dipping up and down repeatedly. I never use self serve because of this but end up waiting a good 30 minutes plus to be served on the one manned till (with everyone else).

some are definitely better than others aren't they. I used Lidl mostly and was suprised when I went to Tesco that they don't glitch out so much

all the same, it is humiliating to ask.... particularly after already asking for a normal till and being told, no

There are options but not in the likes of Aldi and Lidl. I must admit I've never had a situation where there are no tills open.

If you use any other supermarket use the hand held scanner or your phone and scan as you go so need for un and re packing.

Lidl and Aldi are the closest. I could get to Tesco or Sainsbury's but 1) they are so much more expensive and 2) I like Lidl