To think this is why the high street is failing?

[MiamiWindMachine]

I’m off on holiday in a couple of days, so thought I’d go up to the big shopping centre for a couple of last minute things.

In the massive H&M, all the tills bar one had been converted to self-service. The ones on the floor I was on were ALL closed. I went down to the lower floor and there was a huge queue, because no one could work out the machines. There was a step to remove security tags, and people couldn’t work out whether this was only for those plastic tags or if there was some flag on the barcodes for lower value items. Someone else was trying to process a return via these tills. When a member of staff eventually appeared, she confirmed returns could only be processed at a manned till. The customer pointed out that there were no manned tills. The staff member had no idea who to ask about it, then disappeared to find someone, so the queue was getting even longer.

I was on the way out about 15 minutes before closing time and went past M&S. I thought “I wonder if the Bureau de Change is still open” and went to check. The woman saw me approach and had a pained look on her face, saying “Arrgghh, I’ve just cashed uuuppp!” I was a bit taken aback, but said “Oh well, never mind. What time do you close, for future reference?” She then reluctantly admitted that she was supposed to be open until 8, but said “But I do start cashing up at around 7.30”. I was about to ask why when she started saying, “It’s fine; I’ll do it, I’ll do it”, like she was doing me a massive favour. I tried to pay on Revolut and she said “We can’t take those cards!”, as if it was somehow obvious. I asked about Apple Pay and she said, “No, it has to be a proper bank card or credit card”. I therefore went to pay with my credit card and she said, “You do know we have to charge a fee for these, don’t you?” I said I didn’t have a choice given she’d rejected two other payment methods.

I then went down to foods to grab a ready meal and some wine. I went to a manned till as I had alcohol and the girl said, “Oh, could you go to the self-service? It’s just that I’m closing this one”. I asked about the alcohol and she said, “I can approve that from here; it’s just that it’s easier for me”.

I feel like we’re constantly told in the media “Use it or lose it” re: the high street; how sad it would be if we lost the personal touch. From what I could see yesterday, one store has done everything possible to eliminate personal interaction, while in the other, the staff are more bothered about their convenience than the customers’. Is it any wonder that people would rather click a couple of buttons to get something delivered?

Yes - you have to put your bags down before starting, but you can't get on with scanning until a staff member authorises the system to accept your empty bags!

Agreed - the in-person shopping experience is getting worse.

I also find the shops often don’t have as much selection / what I’ve seen advertised / the size I need.

The biggest thing for me though is that I simply do not have time to go out browsing in the shops. We work full time and have young kids. I think a big factor in my local high street struggling is this.

We have some nice brand clothes shops etc but I suspect the women who can afford to use them are probably at work and so order online for efficiency…!

So to hire more staff and give better service therewith be higher prices? Same as 'the government should pay and provide...'means higher taxes

But do people want to pay?

This!! I work in a supermarket and we don't get paid extra for clocking out late so the minute it's my time to go I'm off. Yes it might inconvenience customers but why should I work for free when the supermarket I work for makes literally hundreds of millions. See also customers complaining to me about there being no tills open or just self service. Like I have any input into the staffing or decide to have hardly any people in at busy times so there isn't anyone to go on a till 🫣

I walked out of H and M Edinburgh at the weekend. One till with a person operating it who speng 10 minutes with one customer. There were 3 people in front of me with massive pest of clothes.

Primark was all self service. I told the h
girl I had no idea what to do - cue much eye rolling.

H&M self service is a nightmare. I now only buy the kids pants from there, it’s so bad, and I still had to have a battle of wills with the staff who kept suggesting I use self checkout when I chose to wait for the only manned till. I wouldn’t go at all but DD2 has sensory issues and not those pants will do.

I don’t mind supermarket self service most of the time, because I don’t need a chat, but manned tills are still needed by me for authorising discounted food in large quantities or bulk buying.

I don’t go to the shops much anymore. Too busy, too stressful, and the stuff available seems pretty poor quality.

But realistically that’s not my problem. That’s for her to take up with her manager.

My friend is always telling me this but I just can't see it. I want to buy a dress, say. I walk into town (ten minutes) and try on some dresses. The one I liked from the pic turns out to be hideous on me and/or made of awful cheap material. Another one doesn't fit in my size but does fit in the size up. While there I also see a top I like, try it on, ooh it is nice, buy that and the size up dress.

As opposed to - order the two dresses I liked online and have to send them both back because one isn't my size and the other is awful. Or order in a number of sizes and have to send the others back. Which involves walking into town to the post office.

I love the self pay places. I always choose theme if there is a choice.

It's a chicken and egg situation. Retailers complain that we're all buying online and yet when we try to buy in store they don't have the staff to cope.

But they're not paying her to keep the service open till 8 (because that would mean paying her to stay till 8.30). So take it up with the company.

If you're paying minimum wage, of a limited hours contract, you cannot expect staff to go "over and above".

I was actually really pleasantly surprised by the local high street recently. Quite a few nice new shops have opened close to eachother.
But the market is dying, each time I go there are less stalls. The flower man and fruit and veg man have less and less stock each time.
I do really love looking round the shops, stopping for a coffee or lunch, bit more shopping...it used to be my favourite hobby. But not so much now. I'd never ever dream of going to the west end any more!

YANBU. I can't avoid the conclusion that it is deliberate, to force shoppers online.

Agree that shopping was an experience. It was a nice way to spend a morning or afternoon window shopping in town as there were more shops and variation. Always got a few things from C&A, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Pilot and more independents. Now it's mostly charity shops, vapes, betting and mobile phone shops!

@MiamiWindMachine I never said it was your problem, I just gave you an explanation for her actions. Which bit are you confused by?

But it's catch-22. For example I wanted a bit of kitchen equipment. A utensil. The only place I could buy it in my high street was B&M. Fine, only there is a B&M store in an out of town shopping centre nearer me. No parking costs.

Where would I go? It's a no brainer. I buy loads online simply because there is nowhere near me that sells the items anymore. Wilkinsons going was the final straw for our high street.

Oxford Street in London used to be an experience but it's chains and souvenir shops.

Why would you try to buy foreign currency with a Revolut card? The whole point of it is to have a perfect exchange rate.

I don’t need to take it up with the company. She admitted, reluctantly, that they’re supposed to be open until 8. She’s the one who needs to take it up with the company.

Is she going to call my boss to complain about the overpaid overtime I do? I doubt it.

Our local Tesco has started Scan and Go. Nobody wanted it and nobody uses it so hopefully it will disappear soon.

Why would I not?

So to hire more staff and give better service therewith be higher prices? Same as 'the government should pay and provide...'means higher taxes

But do people want to pay?

Nope

The bit where you want me to negotiate her hours for her.

I am perfectly capable of using self checkout. I just don't see the point. The other day I had 5 items and had to call the assistant over 4 times. The machine won't accept an empty shopping bag without staff approval, I had alcohol and paracetamol, the birthday card wouldn't register in the bagging area.

I feel your pain, @Seeline. Self service checkouts hate me, they seem to delight in doing all the above and then more, like just refusing to scan an item or two and constantly accusing me of putting an "unexpected item in the bagging area".

My malign influence even extends to neighbouring checkouts. In one supermarket, the man at the one next to me kept being told to place his produce on the scales every time he scanned the pack of 3 pairs of pants he was trying to buy...

Yes it might inconvenience customers but why should I work for free when the supermarket I work for makes literally hundreds of millions. Also, these high-paid executives, whose obscene pay levels we are expected to welcome because they're "creating jobs" almost always have as a major part of their remuneration something about "efficiency" which translates into reducing jobs, disguised as "productivity increases".