I avoid sainsburys beacuse of the awful self-service check outs

[Pickupapen]

Sainsbury's have the worst self-service checkouts IMO

I thought Sainsbury's branded themselves as one of the 'better' supermarkets but the self-service checkouts at my local store are awful. They constantly find faults, and require checking by an assistant because the computer isn't weighing things correctly or god knows what.

Then when you try to leave, you are locked in and have to scan your receipt - which you weren't told to do at the start, so if you haven't printed a receipt you have an akward argument with the assistant, trying to prove you did pay actually, and who hates you because they have already been over to enter their pin number sixteen times at your checkout!

I just don't go in to Sainsury's anymore! I'd rather spend my life savings in Waitrose, keep my dignity, and not be treated like a criminal

The receipt thing is just crazy and illogical I bet that's deterred zero shoplifters!

I’ve started going to the tills with a human on because I CBA with it any more.
Online works for me too!

Mine isn’t like that but I would avoid it if it was! I would hate to be locked in, as you say. It’s a bit guilty until proven innocent.

As you can tell from my name, I do online shopping for the big shop. But top ups, I go and get a self-scan gun. Scan and bag, go through the specific set of tills for scan and go (rarely a queue), scan my receipt and go. Easy!

Does yours have scan and go, @Pickupapen ?

I can't stand the receipt-gates. I usually have scrunched up the receipt and put it absent mindedly in some far flung corner of my bag, and my hands are too full to fish it out. And I resent the underlying assumption that I could be a theif!

The receipt thing works well in our Sainsbury’s - you just take the receipt, which is now always automatically printed, and scan the barcode on it to leave. It’s not hard.

What I don’t like about ours is that they never recognise bigger bags for life, so it grinds to a halt before you’ve even started. Otherwise it’s fine.

Use the manned checkouts and avoid putting people out of a job?

Never had a problem at my Sainsbury’s but I always print a receipt as you never know

I agree wholeheartedly. Their self checkouts constantly fuck up.

My sainsburys doesn’t have the gate. I’ve been to supermarkets that do and agree they are a nightmare. They should automatically print your receipt if they are also going to demand you scan it on the way out.

i use the app to scan my shopping on my phone. Started during lockdown and now wouldn’t do it any other way, very easy and I get checked at the till once a year max.

I’ve never had a problem with them at ours.

Nice idea but a lot of the staff at my local one leave a lot to be desired, including the one who was having a loud convo with her colleague behind her about how rude she often was to customers.

They do automatically print it.

Maybe it is just your local one.

I shop at Sainsbury's all the time, mostly using self scan as we go round the shop. Almost never have a problem. Ditto the other self service tills.

Honestly I would hate to go back to the old way of having to put a big shop through the manned checkout. Just before Christmas our local Sainsbury's had an issue one day with self scanning. We turned up to do the weekly shop and found self scan unavailable, so we turned right round and went to the nearest big Tesco which also has self scan. Thankfully it was a blip and next time was back to normal.

Our local hasn't yet got the gates requiring a receipt, but surely once you get used to the idea you just remember to print it?

I hate the gates. I don't want a receipt for a small shop, it's a waste. If I have lots of shopping the least thing I need is something else to faff with. I resent the implication I'm stealing and surely anyone who wants to steal just buts something cheap and then walks out through the gate. If you push them they beep but they open for you and the staff ignore the noise anyway.

My Sainsbury’s is hell on earth at the best of times. We have multiple ‘receipt gates’ to exit but they get broken on average once a week so they’re not usually an issue.

At least one third of the self service checkouts are out of service and the remainder are usually filthy. But at least they updated the screens in the past year as prior to that, most of the touchscreens were knackered so it took forever to press the button to pay. The whole supermarket looks like it needs a good scrub clean and some serious maintenance.

Where in the country are these gates, I've never seen them

I've never had much of a problem, and I use their self scan hand held things at least twice a week. I love them personally, although scanning your receipt is a bit 9f a pain.

Our local Lidl have also put receipt gates in. It means their self check out tills can be operated in the evening as the gate deters shop lifters. I didn't realise either, put my receipt at the bottom of my bag before packing my shopping. Ohps! The staff let me out as I clearly wasn't the first to do this.

Never had an issue with Sainsburys self check outs.

We have them in our local primani which is no problem as I think most people keep receipts for clothes automatically in case of flaws/fit issues... I almost Never get a receipt for my food shop so this would really bug me! Thankfully we don't have them in our Sainsbury's, and our self service tills are pretty efficient ...

Morrisons, on the other hand! 🤨🤬

I get that but one reads so much about the growing problem of shoplifting these days that I suppose the shops must think it necessary to take extra measures.

Actually I think our Sainsbury's must be more trusting than some. If we buy something that needs a security tag removed, for example a bottle of spirits, then the staff take it away and detag it while we get on with the payment. However, a few months back I was in Aldi buying a bottle of spirits and went through self check out. When the assistant came to approve my purchase I asked if they could remove the tag and I was told they would remove the tag only when I had finished paying and had the receipt to show them.

Sounds like your shop is fine then!

the Morrisons near me does not!

They must vary a lot. The two Sainsburys near us are both the most straightforward self service checkouts around 😆 Rarely have conniptions over weight mismatches (unlike Lidl), the tills automatically print the receipt so you can't forget to ask for one, and there are always staff around to help.

Tesco Metro on the other hand...

i must say it’s never occurred to me to be outraged that Sainsbury’s might think I’m a thief because of these gates. I don’t think that when I buy wine with a security to on it.
It just makes me sad that I live in an area where shoplifting is an issue.

Occasionally I go to buy something for a competition, just because I need a receipt , eg specifically from Sainsburys. If the store does not have that thing I went in for, then I will not have a receipt as I didn't buy anything. What then?!