Waitrose incident.

[SensitiveSallySue]

I am not sure if I am being sensitive or if I should complain.

Every Sunday morning I go out for a coffee and read my book, then do the weekly shop without the children. I like to be back before midday so I can spend the rest of the time with my children, including 9 month old baby. We have every supermarket local to us, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Asda, Tesco, and I always use the ‘scan and shop’ to make the shopping as quick and easy as possible. I’ve never had an issue until today in Waitrose. I’ve only used it a couple of times in Waitrose and never for a big shop.

After scanning my entire shop, strategically packing it so it’s easy to unload at home, I went to pay. When I beeped the scanner, it flagged up as needing to be checked. I thought that was fair enough, it happens sometimes, and I haven’t done a weekly shop in Waitrose before using the ‘scan and shop’ option. The worker came over and said she needed to rescan 30/58 items. I thought that was ridiculous, in every other shop they scan a random selection of a few items, not over half your shop. It seemed pointless to me to have even used the option in the first place, but I didn’t say anything and the worker started to empty shopping bags full to rescan items. This was taking ages, but I just stood patiently waiting for her to finish.

Then, she came across one that I apparently hadn’t scanned. I know I did, but it was a yellow sticker packet so I can only assume that it hadn’t registered properly. She repeatedly asked me if I had scanned it, and I repeatedly told her I had but it clearly hadn’t registered.

She told me she would need to rescan my entire shopping trolley, then took me over to a till, and I stood on the end whilst she unpacked every single one of my bags and scanned every item individually. It was completely unsubtle, in front of all of the other customers, and obvious that they were rescanning the entire shop in case I was attempting to steal things. I felt like an idiot and a thief. To make matters worse, I am a small business owner working with children, and had already bumped into several of my clients in the shop. I was absolutely mortified thinking that they may think I am a thief.

I was thoroughly embarrassed and teary eyed, and hastily shoved everything back into bags whilst the Waitrose worker apologised. Half of my shopping is crushed as I was shoving things back into the bags indiscriminately. I promptly paid and left but it has really upset me. By that point, I’d spent around 20 minutes having everything rescanned.

AIBU to think that if Waitrose are going to have a system that is open to abuse, they need to have a solution that doesn’t involve treating customers like thieves? I have never had an experience like this in any other store and whilst I realise they have to protect themselves from theft, surely this is not the correct way to go about. It’s not the Waitrose workers fault, it just seems like a very poor system and they shouldn’t offer ‘scan and shop’ if this is the way they treat customers.

A bizarre post TBH - totally irrelevant how you like to read your book and have a coffee, go home to your kids including a 9 month old etc etc!!

Basically - something didnt scan correctly when you went to the supermarket so when they scanned your items, this one didnt show up. You could have easily been stealing something. They followed protocol.

I have no idea why you were nearly in tears over this.

I have never used self scanners, looks like too much effort, and rarely do a big shop in one go as it’s nearly always self checkouts and I can’t be bothered. I hate it when they hover around you when you’re paying.

I’ve had it in Tesco’s - but they randomly do entire shop scans on the whole trolley anyway.

It’s annoying and frustrating but it’s the procedure they have to follow. You might have forgotten to scan a 50p vegetable, someone else might “forget” a £30 bottle of gin.

I feel for you, OP. The supermarkets installed self-service tills purely as a money saving exercise. They need to acknowledge there will be errors and sometimes thefts.

And they should not humiliate customers in public; there must be a more private space they can do checks in.

Remember OP that you knew you had done nothing wrong. As it turns out there had been a problem with one item... not your fault. The staff member acted quite normally. It is usual at our Waitrose to check a proportion of your shopping standing there at the till. It is quicker than the old way of going through the checkout and is random.

😀 Honestly though, what do you expect them to do? I think if you elect to use scan and shop, you sign up to this sort of treatment. I try to use a human cashier if at all possible, even if I have to wait. I realise that they are reducing staff so this is becoming increasingly more difficult.

The situation is inconvenient, but I really don't think anyone would have been thinking you're a thief, just because you had your shopping rescanned, including your clients.

Personally, I wouldn't use the scan and shop with a large weekly shop. Whenever I've been "randomly" selected for a rescan, it's only ever been for a maximum of 5 items. I thought it was the same for everyone but I guess it's a certain proportion of the number of items.

This poster is just trying to put OP at ease by saying that no one would care or bother to even look at someone having their shopping rescanned.

Self scanning comes with the risk of having to have your entire shop rescanned or something going wrong and having to wait for the staff member to come and correct it - we all know the faults of self service and if you don’t want to have to deal with it or don’t have the time then it’s better to go to a normal till.

YANBU. They are trying to cut back on staff by having these self scan systems. In your position, I think I would simply have declined to pay, and walked out leaving the shopping for them to sort out. And btw, never use that stupid system again.

Is it bad that I'm laughing at the shopping being squashed?
What kind of lunatic squashes their own shopping?
This is peak Mumsnet!
Today OP... you were a thief (even if you didn't realise)

It's quicker to use a self-serve till if you only have a few items. But otherwise I agree, it's easier to go to a main till and get someone else to scan for you. Assuming there isn't a huge queue.

Sadly my local Waitrose has just put more self-serve tills in. "Sadly" because they are the type that mean you have to scan each item individually and put them on the scales, and then have to put everything in a bag at the end. Before, you could scan and put in a bag as you went. Now it takes twice as long.

I never use these scanners. I'm sure I would miss half the items. Technology hates me and never works properly. No it wasn't a nice experience but the point is so many people to try and pinch stuff you can't blame supermarkets for being overkeen on checking folks shopping.

This is really not worth worrying about - other customers doing their shopping would probably not be nearly so interested as you imagine. Although if you didn't remain calm that in itself might make you look guilty.
Don't use scan and shop if you don't like it.

Dear everyone. To be a thief you have to intend to steal. It's not a strict liability offence.

I had this last weekend at Sainsbury’s, with a livid toddler alongside.

My total bill when I went to pay at the self service was £80.02.

After the humiliating rescan of the whole thing on a checkout, apparently I hadn't scanned 3 items.

BUT

The total bill remained £80.02.

No one could explain this to me.

So when they checked - you had an item in your trolley that didnt register/scan properly and you would have left with without paying for as it wasnt added to your bill.

Hence the need to re-scan your shopping as there could have been more items!

Yellow sticker items normally are still scan-able but, if it isnt, just leave to one side and tell them at the end. Don't just pop it in your bag!! Many yellow sticker items are expensive items to begin with and are still expensive (meat for example).

When they first bought this crap system in I thought I try it. I was halfway round the store when I realised I had no idea if I had in fact scanned everything in my rather full trolley.
I had just been chucking things in with gay abandon as if I was going to go through the checkout as usual. (Having forgotten all about the scanner in my hand. )
So I had to go through the checkout anyway.

After that I found it more of a hindrance than a help, scanning things twice in error or some items not going through and I didn't notice. So I've given it up entirely.
I prefer to have a bit of a chat with the checkout person anyway, it can brighten the day for both of us.
But I do wonder about the supermarkets' motive for this -- it's not as if the pay for their shopfloor staff is great and they must be losing quite a bit to mistakes like mine and the OP's, as well as to deliberate theft.
(I'd be more forgiving if they tackled 'shrinkage' seriously. But not that much -- they are still making huge profits. )

Time to do your weekly shop online and only go into store for top ups or yellow stickers. I also have a young family, including a baby, no way do I have time to give up half a morning to grocery shopping. No one thought you were stealing, just unlucky.

Best pop ones sparkliest tiara on next time.

I find that always demands the reverence required.

I hate self service checkouts, unless they are for one or two items.

These companies are Job Stealing bastards. Will always go for a checkout with a real person if I can.

Saying that I mainly do an online shop for weekly big one. There you have the issue that they try and palm off dented tins and short life items unless you ring up weekly and get them refunded. Does generally save a lot of time though.

Agree with these PPs. The Scan and Shop is not a perfect system. You had your shopping re-scanned and went about your day. Really not a big deal just annoying.

• ermine trimmed cape optional as it can get caught in trolley wheels.

Her JOB????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She doesnt fucking work there!!! What a PP said about Stockholm syndrome is absolutely correct

I wouldn't go so far as to call this an "incident"....

I had just been chucking things in with gay abandon as if I was going to go through the checkout as usual. (Having forgotten all about the scanner in my hand. )

I did that too, on the only occasion that I agreed to try it because my child persuaded me. I was worse, because I only realised I hadn't scanned everything because my child told me off. I'll never try it again. I like wandering around in a daydream, mindlessly throwing stuff in. I don't mind waiting behind people, it's really not that long.

While I would be SO annoyed at the waste of time, crying of embarrassment is totally over the top. Are you ok otherwise?