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?

If companies aren’t paying staff after finishing time then the staff needs to report them. I threatened this once and we started to get paid after that.

I was in the largest Boots in my area a couple of weeks ago.
There used to be 5 till points, which could be staffed.

Now 4 of these tills are self service, and the one that is staffed is for collection of parcels and returns etc.

WE need to put our unhappiness in writing, prefer by letter, to the store/s and Head Office.

and we should fill out these blooming customer satisfaction bit on the back of our receipts - yes ' we ' are supposed to be saying how wonderful it all was and to name helpful members of staff ( who often get an instore ' reward ' if mentioned x times ) but we really do need to let the store know how it is really !

I think there have always been people who can't think out of the box and show initiative.

But it seems to be much more common now that people just go 'no'.

Another pet hate is when people - who clearly are either not the driven kind or inexperienced - don't offer to ask someone else?

The number of times I've said, can you please ask someone else and then they've sorted it on the spot.

Why on earth wouldn't you ask your colleague first before you say 'no can do'!!

I shop at my local Asda and always use the hand held scanner. Or at least I try to. I go once a week for the big shop and in the last two months every time they have either been out of service, not enough charged handsets available or they have failed as soon as I’ve picked them up. As I’m logged into the system I can’t get another handset for 30 minutes by which time I could have completed my shopping. I’ve downloaded the app which does the same thing but it either refuses to connect or drops the signal as you’re going round. This results in missed items and your whole shop having to be rescanned and repacked. Several times the scanner has failed to connect to the till at the point of payment which means it all has to be scanned through the self scan checkout.

Except that these checkouts are also often slow or not working. And if they are “working” then they seem to want to check every third item in case you’ve not placed it perfectly in the bag and the weight is off. Or someone has to come and check that you are old enough to buy alcohol or medication. I really feel for the single member of staff they have who has to deal with all this. Interactions at these tills seem to take twice as long as shopping at a manned till ever did. I notice that they are now opening more in-person tills (which always have an queue) and there is a notice saying that the number of self scan tills will be reduced so there is clearly customer demand.

So no, I don’t think refusing to use these things is ignorant. I think installing absolutely loads of them without thinking through the business model is ignorant. I think not listening to what your customers want is ignorant. These things are great when they work but there seems to be little contingency if they fail. Have them as an option but if they’re all you offer and people don’t like them will vote with their feet and take their cash elsewhere.

I buy 90% of everything online now. I will only buy whwn its free delivery/ returns and have no qualms about adding extra items to my order that I will return, in order to get above the free delivery threshold.

But what do you mean? You just scan your stuff. She shouldn't have rolled her eyes at you but I genuinely don't understand how you can have no idea what to do. It's basically playing shops.

Yea but there are quite a few counties out there where cash is preferred over card, especially for smaller amounts. If I had wanted to pay for a bottle of water in some of the shops I went to in Cambodia, I'd have been met with a confused look and a refusal. Same with a pack of samosas/cup of chai on the train in India.

That’s a bit entitled. Just go earlier next time.

Well, it is 2024 and honestly, it's more shit here than a former Communist Czechoslovakia.
And no, I cannot go back for personal reasons, although I would walk back barefoot. ☹️

Ha.

As an ex small independent retailer with a niche who had to give up my bricks and mortar shop at the beginning of the year, I agree with many points already raised. Just for the record, Fuck Temu for a start, and fuck people who would take pictures of my stock, Google to find it cheaper in front of my face and then exit empty handed while telling me what a wonderful "experience" they'd had.

So another thing that I noticed - the more I posted online via social media, all upbeat and personal and "building my brand" (retch) the fewer customers I got, - but the more online fawning - even from the community I was catering to. There's a bizarre disconnect between real world and virtual world in retail I find. It's almost like the whole "manifestation" shtick as well - as my takings plummeted my customers were all "Oh, be positive, keep going" and I fucking fell for it.

I tried new stock and opening hours and events etc etc and nothing bloody worked. As a result I'm in debt, and after 7 years mine and my late DPs dream is down the swanny.

I'm pretty bloody bitter actually. I only needed to take 200 a day, five or six days a week to keep myself and run the business. Couldn't even do that.

The main culprit of all this is progress - people's expectations are sky high but for the lowest possible price, and that comes online. Instagram woyld have us believe independent retail is all wonderful and actually it's not. When you realise that people can buy identical products from Temu et al cheaper than you can buy from wholesalers, you realise we're truly in the sodding upside down.

And no, buying from Temu to resell doesn't work because you still have to make a profit to survive because that's kind of how it works, which seems to surprise people.

My town is now dominated by all stripes of beauty shop and barbers, coffee shops, basically only things you can't get online, but even they close down and re-open on a regular basis. Only pubs are coining it. In between are boarded up department stores and a few "emporiums" with little stalls that cannot sustain a full time living after even that rent is paid (I explored that option and would have been lucky to break even).

So, adios retail. Well done fuckwit local council for screwing up parking, favouring student accommodation in central locations over anything else etc etc

M&S bailed out about three years ago and their big store remains empty.

I miss community, creativity etc etc. That's all gone now. I'd love to still be running my shop, but corporations, online and council mismanagement have totally changed retail in so many ways, and frankly at 55 I'm too old for this shit.

Anyway, sorry fir the rant - good to get it off my chest because I've run out if bloody "gratitude" and "positivity".....

"Ignorant"? Do you mean awkward?

@GoldenLegend no, ignorant. They're incredibly simple and there's no reason why the vast majority of the population can't use them.

And on top of this... try to get in and out of the damn place without picking up a parking/bus lane fine. Yes I know it's the drivers responsibility but going there for years and all of a sudden there is a new bus route/lane with very little signage. Sooner the town centres are gone and kier builds them into high rise flats and council estates with the new 1.5m houses he has promised the better, then I will never ever need to go there again, bring it on.

That's why the scan and go system is so much better

I much prefer the self check-outs as they are more efficient. Once You've done a shop removing tags once, it is easy.

I think there are lots of reasons why high streets are failing and, as other's have said, the poor service is both the cause and the effect of it.

It's not particularly pleasant to 'go shopping now' - whereas 20+ years ago, it was a typical Saturday morning activity and one I remember with fondness. But I wouldn't do it now - it's often far too much hassle, too expensive and too uncomfortable to.

But, OP, at least they seem to have given you and the rest of us a reason for a good moan - which you appear to have enjoyed! 😁

Exactly.

The other poster is assuming she finishes / doesn't get paid after 8pm, when nothing has been said to actually indicate that.

In every shop I worked in the staff on the final shift of the day would finish and be paid for half an hour after the shop closed to finish off with any customers, cash up and tidy up. And the reverse for the first shift of the day; staff would start inn advance of the shop opening.

It's just good sense.

I don’t bother because shops never have my size. The level of stock is too low because they don’t want to risk having too much.

CF

The employer should be paying them for any extra time obviously so the problem is with the employer and not the customer.

I'm on the continent and this kind of thing is much more common here e.g. being in the library and the lights being switched off 20 minutes before closing time because they want to you to go.

Are you the self checkout expert, of course others can use them, many like me don't want to. The thread is about failings of the high street and that is one of them.

"In every shop I worked in the staff on the final shift of the day would finish and be paid for half an hour after the shop closed to finish off with any customers, cash up and tidy up. And the reverse for the first shift of the day; staff would start inn advance of the shop opening.

It's just good sense."

It is, but it wasn't the case when I was a teenager and my 13 year old friend worked for Kwik Save. They had to stay until everything was clean, but weren't paid for it. It was terrible exploitation of youngsters.

I’ve just moved from UK to America and the shopping here is amazing - I’ve managed to find everything I want for my new house and loads of other things all in shops in my town, they’re clean and the staff are really helpful. There are also loads of indie businesses (mom and pop shops) as well as big box stores like Target. even the mobile phone shops are far nicer and more helpful than the UK. So it can be done! I’d say things are more expensive here though, but tbh I’m happy to pay a bit more to have a constantly really good experience.

You have no evidence to actually suggest that is the case though.

In every shop I ever worked in the shifts were deliberately timed so that staff were there before and after opening hours. e.g. your shift would be 1-5.30pm on a Sunday even though it closed to customers at 5pm. This was just good sense so that staff could finish off with any customers, cash up, and then tidy up.

I'd be very surprised if that wasn't happening somewhere as big and established as M&S. And tbh if the person on the Travel Money counter is exempt from and is only paid until 8 and then expected to cash up that it will only be because she's in a position that's more responsibility and better paid than the other shop workers.

I suspect the poster is making an erroneous assumption, simply as I know someone who does this job, they are paid the additional time. The employee simply wished to cash up early so she could leave straight after 8. And likely gets away with it most times too , it’s likely she knows she seldom gets people in post 7,30, so cashes up so she can make a swift exit.