Aldi self checkout- ‘I don’t work here so I’m not going to serve myself’.

[Teegan89]

Woman heard complaining in Aldi because there was a lack of manned checkouts. How do you think they keep their prices so low? I know there is a small percentage of people that struggle to use self checkouts but I think her attitude was crap.

I agree with her!

I won't use them, they're a pain in the arse. The one at our Sainsbury's is seldom manned so when the inevitable red light comes on you're left stood there for ages.

She's not wrong.

Many self-checkouts are totally shit (have the weight slightly off so refuse to accept the item, keep having to call someone over but as there's one member of staff it takes a long time, don't actually accept 'use own bag', can't fit larger or bulkier shopping in the little space) or will only take card. I don't go to Aldi, but the Lidl ones are awful and I always go to the one till with the human.

I mainly use self checkouts. My Mum rarely does as she hates them and thinks it is putting people out of a job, different opinions, neither of us rude about the others view.

I prefer scan as you shop, although it is typical I get selected for a check whenever I have frozen food and want to get it home and in the freezer.

Lots of super old school views on here!

Self service checkouts started commonly appearing 17 ish years ago. You think you’d all be used to them by now.

Scan and shop is so much better

Others may like getting it scanned by staff but I’m glad I can just scan as I go, pay and go

Not Aldi though

Most people have a choice of supermarkets so I don't have much sympathy as they could always shop elsewhere. I found Aldi and Lidl terrible for long queues so I was pleased when they opened self service checkouts as it took away a big negative for me .

It's virtue signalling imo. Def checkouts are so good for neurodivergent people. Different strokes for different folks!

It's only slightly rude if she said it to a staff member. If she was moaning to a fellow customer, not rude at all.

It's a fair comment to be honest. People won't be happy when there aren't enough jobs left because AI or automated systems are doing them all.

Without hearing her tone, we can't say it was rude or not. It is a statment, right? she doesn't work there.
Supermarkets won't keep staff if they don't need them, so I applaud to those who have the patience to queue and help to keep jobs.

Who would work in retail - I wouldn't!

I went into a new Tesco Local and observed the young security guy near the door and thought 'poor guy', along with the other staff, in the coming days they'll have to put up with shoplifters, drunks and no doubt one day, violence -
all in a day's work.

Our local Aldi only has manned checkouts. It closed for a week for a full refit of the store a few months ago and still didn't fit any self-service ones. I've no idea why.

Personally, I like scan and pack, which Tesco has. Scan and pack as you go round, pay and go. I rarely use a manned checkout now except when I am with my mother helping her do her shopping because that is her preference.

It seems rather a brusque comment, but I have some sympathy with the sentiment.

I appreciate that self-service checkout suits a lot of people. I sometimes like using it too but I’d use it more if it weren’t so prone to crashing and seeing ‘unidentified items’ at apparently random intervals. I sometimes wonder whether the poor attendant who has to reset my till/ confirm that I do indeed look over 25 (unfortunately without a second glance!) would do the whole shop more quickly at a manned till.

More importantly, my elderly father, who goes shopping for a bit of conversation, prefers to talk to a real person than a machine.

So while I can see that they are here to stay, I try to use the manned tills in the hope that that will prolong their existence.

Aldis near us has just put in self scan machines but as i do a trolley full shopping there i go to the manned checkout, the rare occasion i buy a few bits at asda i go to the self checkout as being used to the speed of aldi and usually someone with a massive shop at the manned tills its quicker for a few bits

Yes. It's what I call the Ryanair school of Customer Service, and they are all at it.

Asda near me the last time I went in was ALL self service..this is on a Saturday morning FFS. If you want them to open a til you have to find a member of staff and ask them. Good luck with that. I left and went to Tesco instead. Plenty of staff.

Self service tills are a pain in the arse, especially you are a glue sniffing alcoholic like me buying fireworks.

It's all about getting rid of the humans, if that's the case great, let's outsource the board of directors then to India.

My local Tesco put in a self service trolley set up last year , taking out half a dozen checkouts in the process . People don't seem to use it much , there are queues for the checkouts though where you get served by a real person . And this is near a university so lots of younger customers

By that logic, why not have two baggers at each checkout? Or four? Seven?

Or 56 manned checkout lanes in every shop?

Retail businesses exist to make money. Not to provide employment for the maximum number of people.

Schools exist to ensure that people have more opportunities than working in a supermarket on anything more than a temporary basis.

Our local Aldi had a full refit in the summer and now has several self checkouts which are absolutely brilliant. I use them all the time, even with a full trolley.

However, the other 2 ALDIs within a 3 or 4 mile radius had similar refits but no self checkouts. I wonder why! Perhaps our village has less of a shoplifting issue.

I wouldn't willingly go back to using manned tills for a big shop. We do self scan and it is so-o much better. For a few bits I would always do self service.

It slightly amuses me when people object on the grounds that this automation is doing people out of jobs, as if this is the first innovation that as ever been adopted.

Would you willingly go back to the days before ATMs so you could only get cash by queuing up in the bank branch during their opening hours?

Or how about having to wait on the petrol station forecourt until someone was able to fill up your car for you rather than doing it yourself.

And sticking with retail, even before self service tills etc., the supermarket was expecting you to do much of the job yourself by going round with a trolley picking things up yourself, rather than wait at a counter and have the shop keeper select your goods for you.

Things move on. There will be different jobs people are needed for.

That's a bit of a generalisation. What's virtue signalling about it. I want to have a proper choice about when I use self service as sometimes I just find it too much effort depending on what else I have going on. I can not belive how soulless it can be for eg in WH Smiths when there seems to be no one on the shop floor.

I don't mind self check out, but hate that there aren't enough staff to help with all the inevitable glitches

She should go to Amazon fresh then, scan your debit card at entry at entrance barrier, fill your basket, or just straight into your bags and you’ll be charged next day. No human contact at all. I found it surreal, but very quick.

Most staff l know in retail hate it on checkouts and are not losing jobs due to self service ,they just move over to the online side of it which is growing at an enormous rate and are happier for it, as doesn't involve constant interaction with customers. If anyone has ever spent long, monotonous, thankless, tiring shifts on a checkout they certainly won't ever miss it.

I saw someone kicking off in M&S about this and the lad overseeing the tills took no shit. Said serve yourself or leave without being served because the manned checkouts aren’t opening until 9am which was an hour away. The grumpy twat served himself.

I'd have handed him my shopping and left!