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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

"Self Service" Tills

38 replies

karriecreamer · 07/12/2017 14:26

In a supermarket this morning, buying a few small items at a self service till and it flagged up a call for staff. No one came, so I had a look around to see their staff member basically doing a "one to one" with an old woman and a full shopping basket, who clearly hadn't a clue how to work the self service till. The guy was basically doing it for her. I went over to ask him to come and clear my till call, and he basically told me to wait. So a few minutes later, he was still faffing around with her, and most of the other tills were flashing red and being ignored too, so I just got fed up and walked out leaving the shopping. Surely, if customers aren't capable, they should be using the "manned" tills and not holding up everyone else, and if staff are having to help for so long, they should at least attend to other calls too and come back to the problem customer after they've cleared the calls.

OP posts:

EB123 · 07/12/2017 14:28

I never understand why people who can't use the self service tills insist on using them.

wasonthelist · 07/12/2017 14:33

In my local ASDA there’s no option a lot of the time.

Glumglowworm · 07/12/2017 14:36

This annoys me as well. If the shop is going to insist on forcing people who don’t have a clue to use self service then they need more staff to approve sales and fix the errors their shit self service tills constantly generate.

JD360 · 07/12/2017 14:44

I totally agree but as someone who works on one sometimes you get training and are told that if you are with one customer then you shouldn't stop and serve another until you are done. Silly really of you only needed a second but it's what they tell you to do Incase anyone is a secret shopper.

MickeyLuv · 07/12/2017 14:50

I don't agree that they should leave another shopper mid-scan to come and assist you. The shop should have more than one assistant if they are trying to push people towards self-checkout.

DratThatCat · 07/12/2017 14:55

I work on the self scan tills. In that situation I would have directed the customer to a manned till, or if there were no manned tills open I would have nipped back and forth to clear the other red lights. We have a one minute window to clear a red light so if there's only one member of staff on, then it's inappropriate to be spending all our time with one customer. It does annoy me when customers come to self scan and expect the staff member to put their shopping through for them. The clue is in the name - 'self' scan.

buttercupmeadow · 07/12/2017 14:56

I think we should all boycott the things. Everything's geared up for there being no jobs in the future. I don't want that kind of future. If we all stopped using them they'd have to get rid, simples.

Fuckit2017 · 07/12/2017 14:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

crazycatgal · 07/12/2017 14:59

The staff member should have taken the customer to a manned till if she didn't have a clue how to use the self service checkouts.

SottoVoc3 · 07/12/2017 15:02

Gosh. People are so intolerant. This elderly person just needed some help. I’m sure once someone has taken the time and patience to show her what to do, she’ll be able to manage on her own next time.
I’m not a huge fan of self- issue in shops or train stations or libraries- but that’s not the issue here. Show a bit of compassion for an elderly person just trying to get to grips with the technology....

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/12/2017 15:06

I'm sure it only took a few minutes. No one has an enormous shop to put through on self scan.
I think it's inconsiderate to dump shopping at the till, thus holding others up?

Sometimes I start getting annoyed and then think Hang on this is just minutes to wait, no one is too busy to wait patiently a while.
(unless you're in labour or something).

It's a modern phenomenon that we're all far too impatient because technology can be quick. For eg, getting irate when a computer screen takes more than a second to load.

Sending you some chilled vibes OP.

wasonthelist · 07/12/2017 15:11

I think we should all boycott the things

I mostly do this. Every time this comes up on here though I am surprised at all the people who prefer to deal with a machine instead of a human.

RestingGrinchFace · 07/12/2017 15:13

The staff member should have called for someone to help.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/12/2017 15:15

I love the self scan simply because it adds all my shopping up as I go round and I'm on a strict budget.
It's not because I prefer robots to humans.

FreudianSlurp · 07/12/2017 15:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

crazycatgal · 07/12/2017 15:28

@FreudianSlurp The whole point of self service is for you to do the scanning and packing yourself. The assistant is there to help with any problems that occur with any of the self service tills, not to do someone's packing and shopping. That's what the manned tills are for.

FreudianSlurp · 07/12/2017 15:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

crazycatgal · 07/12/2017 15:33

@FreudianSlurp If you're disabled and don't have access to the other tills then that's completely different. In this case the assistant should help you and also call a colleague over to deal with any of the self service problems.

FreudianSlurp · 07/12/2017 15:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

scottishdiem · 07/12/2017 15:38

Isnt OP the precious important one? Serve me, serve me!

Not having enough staff on is a problem, as is only having self service tills open sometimes but if that was your reaction then you have a really twisted view of the world.

buttercupmeadow · 07/12/2017 15:38

The Op isn't "entitled" for simply wanting an assistant to overcome one of the many hurdles that face us all at self service. It's the people that demand an assistant to scan their whole shopping at self service tills who are "entitled". Go to a manned till if you're not capable of the basics.

user1499722317 · 07/12/2017 15:38

I had an older lady yesterday who started using my loading space by mistake on an auto till. She insisted my paper was hers! It was all good natured and we laughed about it. I told her she was invading my space, which she was. I am also old but she was a bit older. Just glad she didn't take my £25 iTunes card.

FreudianSlurp · 07/12/2017 15:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/12/2017 15:40

It must be a hard job assisting on those tills what with all the tutting, glaring and impatient sighing from customers and complaints that the bloody machine has stopped working, as well as customers dumping shopping and storming out if there's a hold up!

ChelleDawg2020 · 07/12/2017 15:43

If you're not able to use the self-service checkouts, don't use them. If there are no manned checkouts open, fair enough, but the point of self-service tills is that you are able to serve yourself. The assistant isn't there to scan your shopping for you, (s)he is there to authorise alcohol, fix weight errors and help if something won't scan / has wrong price.

The OP was not being unreasonable, the person hogging the attendant was. To be fair, it's as much the attendant's fault as the other customer's - they should have directed them to a manned checkout instead of scanning everything for them.

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