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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to hate self service tills

178 replies

thewooster · 26/09/2017 12:05

I know they have their uses and sometimes I have used them when desperate but I'm so clumsy and useless with the damn things.

Today I went to Poundland and they have removed the manned tills apart from one and replaced with self service. One grumpy assistant (and I dont blame her for being grumpy) was sorting out the same old problem with customers and I pondered whether to wait in the massive queue at the manned till or go self service.

I opted for self service because I needed to get the bus quickly and oh my god I messed it up by scanning my item twice and then I put my quids in and it wouldn't accept one. Grumpy assistant had to come over twice to help me.

I got really stressed out and it's happened to me in Sainsburys too where I keep putting unexplained items in the bagging area - is it me?

I know self service is the future but can't they keep a few more manned tills for people like me? I suppose it saves money but I actually put some items back on the shelf in WH Smith because of their self service till.

OP posts:
Walkingdead11 · 26/09/2017 20:21

Someone has to okay your wine....and matches......utter crap!!

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 26/09/2017 20:23

I always queue and refuse to use them. If there is no other option I always hunt for a member of staff and ask them to serve me.

So you'll deliberately find a member of staff who is already busy and make them serve you when you can serve yourself?

Self-service means people are losing jobs or being devalued and given 0 hour contracts.

Nope, it doesn't mean anything of the sort. We recently got self service and need twice as many staff as before, as you have more positions since you don't have fewer people running around like headless chickens.

Don't spout what you don't have a clue about!

troodiedoo · 26/09/2017 20:56

What is the point of self service tills then if you need more staff?

Chestervase1 · 26/09/2017 20:58

I am left-handed I seem to get in a terrible state

ShiftyLookingBadger · 26/09/2017 20:59

I LOVE them. The less interaction I need to have with a human being the better Wink

Original poster
thewooster · 26/09/2017 20:59

So self service tills need twice as many staff? I don't understand this logic!

OP posts:
PeterBlue · 26/09/2017 21:01

Don't mind self-service pay at pump petrol pumps 'cos they work but I hate self service tills, and especially Sainsbury's ones with a passion. You are not alone.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 26/09/2017 21:06

What is the point of self service tills then if you need more staff?

For us it's to free up staff to focus on other jobs that previously you had one person doing, whereas they really are more than a one person job.

So self service tills need twice as many staff? I don't understand this logic!

We previously had five tills. We now have two tills (generally only one unless it gets very busy); but six self service. This frees up the staff to focus on other jobs, and since there are more positions available, more staff are needed.

(Of course I am only talking about my particular company; I can't speak for everywhere.)

Lenl · 26/09/2017 21:07

it's frustrating being in a queue watching someone paw cluelessly at the screen
Ahaha oyster exactly this.

I love them. But so many people don't apply a teensy bit of common sense, panic and then hold everyone up.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 26/09/2017 21:07

(When I say my company, I mean the company I work at; I don't actually own it as it's one of the biggest companies in the world Grin)

FiveBoys · 26/09/2017 21:08

I just cant do self service and I apologise to the staff who end up helping me sort things out.

Bluelonerose · 26/09/2017 21:08

I HATE them too. I swear I have a ghost that follows me to self service tills and then is the "unexpected item in the bagging area" Angry coz there's nothing else there!!

Escapepeas · 26/09/2017 21:11

I love self-service tills. I use the quick check at Waitrose every time I go there. There are always big queues for the normal tills and never enough staff so I can be in and out in minutes without having to queue for 15 mins at the cigarette counter as everyone buys lottery tickets, phone top-ups and two baskets of stuff.

JennyBlueWren · 26/09/2017 21:18

Are you my mum? They never work if my mum is there. I use them a lot and the only time I had a problem recently (apart from when my mum was last up) was when I only realised after paying that I didn't have a bag and had to scan a seperate bag through as a different "shop". I had put my few items on the floor. It couldn't weigh the bag and the assistant was mildly amused/frustrated by my solution.

Middleoftheroad · 26/09/2017 21:18

The work of the Devil, I swear.

NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4 · 26/09/2017 21:24

It's not so bad if they are staffed properly. Our local Co-Op now has them but I have never used then yet without an issue arising - and then the only person available to sort the till out is the cashier who is serving her own customers!
I was queueing in Waitrose today when 4 of the 6 people in front had issues on their tills and were looking around in vain for a member of staff.
I called over to the assistant on the tobacco counter but instead of calling for someone - she simply shrugged & held her hands up.
They were still waiting when I had scanned & left the shop.

Justgivemesomepeace · 26/09/2017 21:27

I always have an unexpected item in my bagging area. Its always my 4 yr old son who won't stop climbing on it/leaning on it/trying to take things off it every single time.

Bubblysqueak · 26/09/2017 21:35

Not keen on self service but love the scan as you shop in Tesco so much quicker and easier.

woodhill · 26/09/2017 21:36

I hate how it is suddenly occurring in the post office for parcels. I want to be served. The costs are still the same.

EllebellyBeeblebrox · 26/09/2017 21:39

I like them when I can give them all my 2ps shiftily. Don't know why I feel the need to do this covertly, it's still money but still feel slightly guilty.
I also shamefully once had such a nightmare with one in Tesco (and the poor attendant was having a bad day too I think) when I got home I checked my receipt I had got away with a free jar of horseradish and a Father's Day card Blush

Original poster
thewooster · 26/09/2017 21:48

The Post Office self service is the work of the devil. I cannot use them even after the assistant spent time going through the screens with me as I tried to get postage for a large letter. Never, ever again.

OP posts:
goshthatseemsalot · 26/09/2017 21:49

I find intelligent adults who cannot operate simple technology tedious. At the entry point to self service there should be a simple test to eliminate those who cannot decipher simple instructions so can be siphoned to keep checkout staff in jobs. Those who pass the test can continue to use self service efficiently and speed their way out of the shop without tedious small talk along the lines of "hmm those tomatoes look nice."

TyneTeas · 26/09/2017 21:54

Is there a maximum amount of loose change you can get away with putting in?

Would hate to try to put in two quid's worth of 5ps for it to either decide to reject the lot, or worse, churlishly return the amount in 2ps

Oysterbabe · 26/09/2017 21:56

There is no maximum that I have discovered so far and have used a lot.

theresamustgo · 26/09/2017 21:58

Hate them, every single time I have an issue. ike personal contact. Don't like fact I am being made to work. Next am I writing my own newspaper? I keep finding them in more and more shops, like some creeping disease.

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