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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:
Scotschic · 27/09/2017 12:49

Personally I love self service if I'm not needing cigarettes or booze and I get annoyed with people that queue up at the main till when they don't have to, if you can operate a smart phone then surely you can operate a till?!

I can even 'look up items' like bakery+fruit items and find exactly what I'm looking for, but -and its a big but- a member of staff always has to come over after I've added a look up item-just to make sure I'm not robbing them I expect- so I don't see the point of being able to look it up if you need assistance in the end anyway, I think this needs changed.

I do worry that more+more jobs will become obsolete with these tills :[

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 27/09/2017 12:53

I do worry that more+more jobs will become obsolete with these tills :[

Please read the full thread where many of us who work in an environment with self service tills have said they don't reduce jobs in the slightest; they simply free up staff for other jobs.

Scotschic · 27/09/2017 13:00

I should have added that the self service takes too long to accept your change, it should be instantaneous imho.

They will eventually be on point though.

Scotschic · 27/09/2017 13:00

I did albeit after I had posted!! Duh!!

NannyRed · 27/09/2017 15:38

I hate them but I doubt they will go away now.

I seriously want to smash them with a cricket bat when they say " unexpected item in packing area" or when a machine asks "are you sure?" When I tap to say I bought my own bags.

I asked the assistant who had to remove my security tags from my gin. "Has anyone attacked one ☝️ f these machines he?" He said no but I know it's only a matter of time before someone goes full John Cleese and beats one of the machines or goes all Michael Douglas in Falling down.

Purplemeddler · 27/09/2017 15:52

I find them useful for small shops when I only have a few items. And I do get rid of cash in them though they have beaten me at my own game and when I had paid 5p too much it gave me the change back in 1p pieces!

BUT: it is a pain you can't use your own bag and bag up as you go in some of them

It is a pain that everything has to be weighed (not all shops do that) and so if you have something very lightweight it calls an assistant

You can't buy age-restricted goods without it calling an assistant.

There is no "back" button if you make a mistake, you have to call an assistant.

The theme, you still have to call an assistant so what's the point?

And if there's a queue I am not using self-service. I use self-service to beat the queues. If there is a queue I want a person to serve me.

And of course they're an excuse not to employ more people! The big M&S at Waterloo station is now self-service. Before that they had 10+ people on the tills. I suspect they have about 4 supervisors now.

Purplemeddler · 27/09/2017 15:59

And there's no way there are any more staff milling about stocking shelves and the like. There may well have not been redundancies but I very much doubt they've replaced people as they've left.

There definitely seem to be fewer people in the Sainsburys in my local town centre. It could be that they're all in the warehouse etc so i don't see them. But it's not the case that there's am embarassment of staff looking for things to do and customers to help, the few staff that there are seem busy to me.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 27/09/2017 16:20

Purplemeddler Where I work we definitely need a lot more staff than we did before we switched to mostly self service because there are now more positions.

As for retail shops, the staff are freed up to do other jobs, and yes, the staff are replaced when they leave the same as they were before.

Please don't spout ignorance when you don't know what you're talking about.

phoenix1973 · 27/09/2017 17:48

My partner attacked one in the early days. I had to remove him.
He's proficient now.
We've got 2 Poundland . I use the one with humans on the till. Its less depressing

FrancisCrawford · 27/09/2017 17:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShizzleYoDrizzle · 27/09/2017 17:56

I love them SOOOOO MUCH. I can buy my carbtastic hangover scran without Sandra giving me a knowing look.

Madbum · 27/09/2017 17:57

The one at Morrison’s shouted so loud at me today it made me jump then it snatched my notes out of my hand at the feeder thing I nearly lost a finger to paper cuts.
Had to go home and have a lie down.

MehMehAndMeh · 27/09/2017 18:00

Ones in the supermarkets round here always need cashier intervention. They confessed in one that it's because the scales on the bagging area don't get re-calibrated often enough.

troodiedoo · 27/09/2017 18:00

Seems like shop workers are falling for clap trap that management are telling them Hmm

Of course you're going to be replaced by a robot. Maybe not today while we're in the early adopter phase. Amazon are developing unmanned supermarkets ffs!

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 27/09/2017 18:12

Seems like shop workers are falling for clap trap that management are telling them

Or it could just be that we work there and know the staffing levels.

Where I work, which isn't exactly retail but adjacent to, we couldn't operate now on the staff we did before when we were regular tills only; we've had to hire another twelve, and that's still understaffed.

Akire · 27/09/2017 18:21

Waitrose ons can't cope with you using your own bag or theirs, or throwing it into a bag on the floor. You have to balance it all on the scales then pack it.
It also can't cope that some products like gluten free bread get heavier the staler they are. So a
300g loaf will weigh 320g so alarm bells and flashing.

TheDayIBroke · 27/09/2017 18:25

Self service tills are a blight on true customer service. The tills where I shop are truly awful, and the staff member runs around dealing with various errors and alerts, all the while fending off nasty comments from some very fed up customers who blame the staff for the machines not working properly.

The staff have said that they do impact on staff numbers, as they don't replace those who leave. It appears that the store operates with minimal staff. One sick call and they're screwed.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 27/09/2017 18:31

The staff have said that they do impact on staff numbers, as they don't replace those who leave.

That may be true of the store you shop at (there are always exceptions, after all), but it's certainly not true of mine, nor any of the ones the retail workers on this thread have mentioned either.

Scotschic · 27/09/2017 18:44

My mum works in a supermarket (none that are mentioned here) and she too has said self service is impacting on staff; less are needed and eventually this is going to be the same for every supermarket, just watch this space!

RunningOutOfCharge · 27/09/2017 20:44

Well I’ve just employed 5 new people to train up on checkouts.... 2 exclusively for self service

I’m 25 hours UP now, but we need the staff to man the machines....to empty the dispensers..... to fill up with change.... to maintain them and do accompanying paperwork

THEY ARE NOT TAKING JOBS!!!!!

RunningOutOfCharge · 27/09/2017 20:45

whattodo thankyou!!!! Another voice of reason!

sall74 · 27/09/2017 21:15

I love the fact that when I go in first thing on a Monday morning to get my supply of bananas for the week they only cost 1p for some reason!
(Presume it's something to do with it being the start of the week and the price per kilo hasn't been calibrated yet or sumfink).

Seeyamonday · 27/09/2017 21:21

I swear (in my head) at them!! I hate them, "please take your items", give me a fucking chance you piece of shit, "unexplained item in bagging area", how the fuck can it be unexpected? You've just scanned the fucking thing! "Do you want to bag this item"?, no I'll just take the fucking thing and tuck it into my knickers!!

PumpkinSpicexx · 28/09/2017 05:17

I hate them too and I work in retail!

In our store staff leave and are sadly not replaced. Instead they encourage existing staff to train for other departments and become multi-skilled so that they can jump on a till etc when asked to. They understandably hate it as they have to immediately stop what they are doing on their own department.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 28/09/2017 09:51

Only use them for a few items, never for a bigger shop. They really irritate me when I have my own bag, thanks, but there's already something in it which I've bought elsewhere. Even something small, or my umbrella. So I have to take whatever it is out before putting bag in bagging area, otherwise it thinks you've nicked something.

If I remember - not often - I just put my bag on the floor, and bag everything later.