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?

@BunfightBetty obviously, but as I said not unrelated.

Hate shopping in store. Hate shopping online.

I haven't worked in retail for years, but it is so fucking shitty that staff do half an hour or so of unpaid work every single day because companies won't pay them to cash up.

I hope it is a bit quicker now that there is less cash around.

@MiamiWindMachine I don't know what you do as a job, but I now have tons of flexibility, my boss doesn't mind what I do just so long as I get the job done and yes, that sometimes involved unpaid overtime. Doesn't compare to working in retail with minimal breaks and on NLW.

Totally this. Business rates are crippling for the high street. It's not a level playing field

I walk out if only self service available

Yes it is snd that will exclude very much older people, people with disabilities and poor people who live with cash.We are being forced online and it's a hugely convenient way of controlling people .It's no way the same as new currency introduction.But people are willing servants to this.

You just need to stop buying your online shop from supermarkets. I use indie companies and they're all great, they have to be because they don't stay in business otherwise. The food quality is a million times better than supermarkets.

I had one problem, once, with literally one tomato, messaged them just to let them know it wasn't the freshest. Literally within a day there was a guy at my door with a bag of replacements at no cost and an apology. Unbelievably good service.

I don’t think OP (or anyone really) needed that ‘explanation’. Most people will be able to take a stab at why a cashier might start to cash out before closing.

The point is that if a service is advertised as available until a certain time, it should be available until that time.

The real fault lies with the shitty companies that don’t pay their employees after closing time, inevitably resulting in employees starting the close early so they’re not working unpaid overtime every day. Then the employees get annoyed when a customer comes in ‘late’ and the customers get annoyed that they’re not being treated well when they have every right to be there.

It’s the classic two little men fighting each other while the real villain sits and laughs and ropes in the profits. It’s the sort of thing a union would step in to sort if they had any power these days.

So true, I used to love a day in town. My city was such a great place for shopping that friends and family would come from London as the choice was nearly as good and you could do it all on foot with lots of pauses for refreshments. Now the city centre is a scruffy depressing dump consisting mainly of nail bars, vape shops chicken shops, and charity shops. Lots of beggars and rough sleepers, it is all so miserable and feels grim. I can't ever see the high street going back to the way it used to be and I think there needs to be a radical rethink about what we want from our town and city centres and how we want them to look.

I f-cking hate in person shopping… never have your size (whether it was when I was a size 20 or now size 10-12). Mr DH is Mr Average has given up chosing shoes first and asking for a size 9 (to apathetic shop staff) and just goes in and ask - ‘what do you actually have in [this colour and] size 9, I’ll try them all on’. My son is 2xl, 6ft3 and size 13-14 shoes. Waste of time shopping in person for him, and my daughter is 5ft4, size 8, size 4.5 shoe and likes non-binary clothing that doesn’t show her vulva off. No joy there either.

I am borderline agoraphobic now as I just cannot face the battle to find a parking space (where the f*ck are these people shopping? I am assuming these people are just in one of the millions of hairdressers and coffee shops); fed up with the diffidence, the insistence that I hand over my email address for the receipt (and the subsequent unending marketing and ‘can you give us a review’ emails - no, if I’ve kept it you can assume it’s fine, if I’m unhappy I’ll return it); the open plan changing rooms (I’m looking at you White Stuff, nothing anti-trans, just that I’m a 50+ meno woman whose lost a lot of weight and is very very self conscious - I don’t want anyone walking in when I’m bent over, bum in the air, while I try on clothes in a varying sizes as I’ve no idea which one I am anymore - oh and why is the sizing so different from one store to another?).

… and by shopping on line for groceries I can compare prices at the point of popping in the online basket, do two smaller ships at different supermarkets, have them deliver for free (usually) at my convenience, having saved money by buying items from cheapest vendor.

But other than that, no idea why the high street is dying.

Wow, you're rude aren't you!

Suppose you want to pay in cash? In a number of Tesco stores around me you cannot pay cash at a self checkout - they are card only.

or am I not allowed to use cash either?

My 15yo kept rolling her eyes at me and thinking I was 'old' when I complained about self service tills in the supermarket. So I did self service with her with a small trolley load. We had light items which the machine couldn't detect, along with all the usual issues that come with trying to shuffle stuff about on the small packing area. Alcohol, a tag, medicine etc. I think she got my point. She uses them with friends to buy a drink and a snack, it isn't going to be the same experience.

Yes, right on. It is painful to go and shop in person these days. It is really exasperating how the service is. I only do online and very rarely click and collect from my local area.

I used to enjoy going shopping. I know I'm in a minority these days, but a day "in town" with money to spend on clothes was something to look forward to. Especially at Christmas when the stores were decorated and there was a buzz in the air. You'd arrange to meet up for lunch with friends or maybe a festive drink. You really can't replicate that with a parcel from Amazon! Our shopping district now looks like a replica of Los Angeles with zombified druggies wandering around, homeless people in every shop doorway and human wee/excrement on the pavements. It's filthy and unsafe.

Yes, it will be a part of it, for sure, it is a bit chicken and egg, as pp have mentioned.

Ignorant? Maybe.

I'm 64, so not that old. However, since I lost my husband I find myself becoming easily muddled. I hope that that resolves, but real old age beckons, so....

There's also the fact that - for some of us - the only human interaction that we get all day is a greeting at a checkout desk or shop counter.

I've been through umpteen changes in my life: decimalisation, credit cards, ATMs, computerisation.

I choose to use the "normal" checkouts because I don't want to get muddled, I want human interaction and I'm hoping that if we keep using those checkouts it might help keep someone in a job.

I'm ignorant. Shoot me.

The hight street is dying because this country has zero active transport infrastructure or decent public transport. If you have to rely on every person bringing with them a 2 ton lump of metal then you will never get the volumes you need to make a vibrant city

Yes, agree with this.

Also, I used to work in shops when I started out, paid a pittance. I'd always - like I think most of us then - would ensure that you do what you need to do even if it means staying on for a few minutes. I remember working OT for no money lots. I think you do need to go the extra mile sometimes but not everyone is that driven I guess.

Also, some of those self service tills are soooo annyoing. One Lidl store I go to, the self service tills keep malfunctioning for virtually every third item you put in the bag. Not just me, everyone the same and only one staff (if you're lucky!) to sort it out. Obviously some issue with the calibration of the weight but really annoying.

Young retail staff are so rude that’s enough to put me off. Not every young person I will accept, but a vast portion of them. Sarcastic, distracted. Lots of rolling of eyes and tutting.

It is very sad to see our town centres are becoming more and more empty and run down. Shopping used to be an enjoyable experience but now it is frustrating, with no sizes in stock, little staff and zero customer service. Then you have boarded up premises with homeless people camped out, concerns about crime in larger cities is it any wonder people just shop online.

Add to that having to pay for bags, so I’m hoofing about a load of bags just incase. Parking is also expensive and frustrating

I went in a well known sports shop for some swimming shoes, men’s were two for 18 and women’s two for 16. I wanted one of each so they wanted to charge me 21. I asked to speak to the manager to try to get both pairs for 17, not a chance!
I put them back and got two much nicer pairs on Amazon for 17. Time and time again I try and support the high street but end up online, mainly due to availability.

Ocado and Waitrose tend to be much better than Tesco, Asda or Morrisons for longer dated fresh items when buying online shopping. I know they are more expensive, but I found it was a false economy to buy from the other online supermarkets.

I'm sorry you went through that.

My own bank has people standing there encouraging you to do everything digitally/on the machines, but at least they have people ready to jump in and help you - they're honestly lovely.

When my husband died 3 yrs ago, I went into his bank in another town. I fully expected to have to make an appointment - that was what happened with the Building Society when my mum died. God bless them, while I was speaking to the girl at the desk the manageress overheard, came straight out and told me to come into her office. Sorted everything out there and then.

A week ago, I saw an article in the newspaper telling us that the branch is being closed down but (Good news!) there will be a banking hub. Useless.

So far my own bank is staying open.

I feel for all the people who are losing their jobs because of it, and if no one is working how do these stores think they will survive in the long run.