To think that the self service tills aren't suitable for a full weekly shop?

[Steaksauce]

I was at the supermarket yesterday. For a few bits (hand basket only). The shop was busy. Big queue at the self service checkouts and this couple caused a massive backlog of people because they took their huge trolley packed to the top into the self checkout bit.
They constantly needed assistance as the scales kept going wrong. The trolley took up the till next to the one they were on. They took up half the till I was trying to use.
And it probably took them twice as long to pay for their shopping this way!

Surely self checkouts should be only for those with a basket and trolleys should sod off to the actual checkouts?

I personally think we should do everything to subvert the self service evil satan tills until they pay fucking staff to serve us properly.

Now I have read this thread, I'm going to load a months shopping onto a self serve at Morrisons and then Shallimar

I used the self service with the conveyor belts that are made for ‘big shops’ once. Never again. I’m still traumatised, it took about 35 minutes to get the whole bloody thing through. The kids were practically catatonic with having ‘nothing’ to do for so long the spoilt little shits

Self service will still need a staff member or two or three. Just in case a minor might by alcohol or someone does something against BB rules..

I HATE them. And I hate what they have done to other staff who would have manned the ordinary tills.

OK, have self service for 10 items or less then. That would be sensible, otherwise a big NO from me. I am calm, and don't mind waiting at a checkout, aren't we all doing the same re the person behind us in the Q!

How could they fit all that in bags on the tiny bagging area? They'd have to take full bags off every two minutes to replace with empty ones, probably sending the tills even more doolally as it seems they're whisking food away without paying.

I like using the conveyor belt ones though, but I never bother unpacking onto the belt - just pull the trolley up, scan, pack and pay.

I hate self checkouts, they really are doing people out of jobs, and I find them such a faff.

I bet the shops have seen a massive increase in shoplifting though.

Probably the saving in staff wages pays for it I guess.

surprisd thy werent told thy co9uldnt use thm in tesco its for baskets and small trolleys only

I hate self service. Always seem to go wrong and need staff to reset and never seem to be anyone to help

Depends what time it was...I went to pay for my full weeks shopping the other day to be told I had to use self service because it was gone 9 and everybody had gone home

I took a trolley to the self service earlier this week but only because my son was sat in it. I only had a baskets worth of shopping. I agree with you OP.

Scan and pack for a shop whatever size is a game changer. Something satisfying about bring able to pay and leave without the hassle of unloading it to then reload into bags to then unload again at home.

Waitrose’s self scan is so good here. Just scan as you shop, bag it, then pay everything at the end.

In my supermarket (Belgium) there is a limit on the number of articles you can take through selfscan. So maybe you use a trolley because you have a few multi-packs of something, but they'll send you away if you want to scan a car-load of separate items. At Ikea same thing, self-scan up to 15 separate articles, otherwise you'll have to go to a regular check-out.

I Don't use them as they are a means of reducing staff. One member of staff tends to oversee about 10 machines.

I Don't use them as they are a means of reducing staff. One member of staff tends to oversee about 10 machines.

That's actually another reason for my awkwardness in using them. I'm cynical about tier introduction (after all if it wouldn't make th supermarket more money somehow, they wouldn't introduce them), so I'll use it how I like.

On other threads about this people have sworn blind that they are not reducing staff.

So why use self-service tills? It's not to improve customer service.

In any event they go wrong so often, or need someone to supervise the purchase eg for bottles of wine or medicine, that they still need staff.

I actually quite like them when I don't have much to buy. But I won't queue for them. Once I was in an M&S in central London and a staff member kept trying to direct me to a self-service till from the queue. I just said "no if I've got to queue I'll be served by a real person, thank you". He was not pleased.

They are ok as an alternative, so people can choose to use them. But it is not ok to try to force people to use them.

It's the same with self-serve in libraries. The staff are told (in Hampshire at least) that a certain (high) percentage of borrowings have to be made via the self-serve. That is wrong. It should be 100% up to the customer whether they use a self-serve till.

The Waitrose machines are better because they don't weigh things, but they are less good because you can't use cash.

I used to work on self service tills in a Morrisons.. when people used to do this, I would just put them on staff mode and keep an eye on them so they didn’t have to faff with the scales. Though usually I knew the people doing it so I’d take over for them if it was quiet.

I’m so glad I don’t work there anymore though. DH works there still and complains massively.

The self-service for trollies let you take bags off as you go without shouting at you . Just wait for the green light on the scanner bit to come one

I’ve seen people do this and it’s very annoying, holds up what is supposed to be a quick checkout. Personally I can’t imagine anything worse than trying to put a trolley load through. I can’t get 2 or 3 items through without them creating a drama and needing someone to come and sort it out.
I do blame the supermarkets though. My local Asda has scrapped nearly all their normal checkouts for these damn things. The couple of remaining normal checkouts always have huge queues while rows of selves service sit empty. It’s totally put me off doing a big shop there now.

I think it depends. If you are good at using them you can put a full trolley through in the time it takes another person to put through five things.

Even when the supermarket bans trolleys from the small self service tills, it's not always easy to police. My DP worked in Asda as a student and yes, they banned trolleys from the small self scans - there was conveyer belt self scans for them - but people would still try to take trolleys through the small self scans and if he didn't catch them quick enough, they'd already have started scanning, or plenty of entitled people would shout at him if he tried to point out that they couldn't use these tills...he even had someone grab an empty basket, empty their trolley into the (overflowing) basket, then leave the trolley in the middle of the self scan. Some people are just entitled idiots.
Our current local Asda has the 'scan as you shop' thing and I think that's a godsend. I have ASD and hate dealing with people, but now I can do my whole shop, scan and pack as I go, no need to talk to anyone unless I end up getting the random rescan message at the checkout stage.

Hmmm... I can get 50 items thru self-checkout fine, without any staff help. As long as I bring my specs so I can type in the occasional 16 digit number .

I do as it's faster than joining the queues for the manned tills. There are 6 tills there and I scan about 25 items. It's fine.