Fed up with supermarkets

[SelfScanHell]

Sainsbury's reduced me to tears today.

Our DC has recently finished GCSEs so we decided to move from the usual online shop to taking them to learn how to do a shop in real life. They are autistic and can struggle in busy environments.

It was challenging but we managed to do a whole week’s shop using the ‘smart scan’ (they’ve used it before and prefer it) and got to the check-out. A few hiccups but managed with headphones and music. In the past we’ve had the ‘items needs to be checked’ thing every other time we visit, and just put up with 10 items being checked, never an issue.

Today we had the message, only 1 staff member seeing to about 20 check-outs. Other staff just said ‘sorry I can’t do that’. New staff member eventually appeared and told us the WHOLE trolley needed checking - an overflowing trolley with a week’s shop for a whole family. There was nowhere to do this, nowhere to move the stuff from our trolley, no extra bags, no counter space, just the floor for space to move the shopping to. No suggestions of how this was to be done. I was left standing by the trolley piled with food, next to a confused DC with the staff member just staring at me.

My first instinct was just to abandon the trolley to them. I should have said ‘OK I’ll go for a coffee and you do it’. But I wanted to manage the situation for my DC and felt sorry for the staff member who looked clueless, standing there blankly with no way to achieve this. So off we went to join a new queue for a normal till and do it all over again. Thankfully my DC managed, I’m so proud of them.

After getting the shopping into the car, and DC settled with music, I went back to complain at this new ‘whole trolley checking’ rule without the resource in place to do it. Plus, I’m lucky as my DC managed this time, what about someone else who is standing with a mountain of goods with nowhere to put them. After being given the manager’s email to send a complaint to him, I went back to the car and just started crying. Sometimes it’s just too much. First attempt at a full Sainsbury’s shop for DC has taught them they might be expected to pile their shopping on the floor to be checked (no way that’s happening).

I am tempted to ask if all ND people should avoid Sainsbury’s, but being less antagonistic I’ll ask, AIBU to say:

• If Sainsbury’s have to start checking everything in a packed trolley they should provide the staff and space to do this (not on the floor)

Although I have commented I havent voted as you have quite a number of issues in the OP so its difficult to vote in that respect

I personally wouldnt agree with items being put on the floor, Im fed up with supermarkets, all shops (The Range Im looking at you...) with such small areas to load up items you're buying, its impossible to use.

But people are probably voting on the perspective of you perhaps being unreasonble in terms of your general expectations of the checking.

@soupyspoon I understand your logic re starting with multiple smaller shops, but without moving house (closer to shops) or reducing work patterns, or other changes which can’t happen, it needs to be a weekly shop.

Totally agree about Supermarkets understaffing. And I presume they’re all on minimum wage. When you hear about the big supermarket’s annual profits it must sting if you work there.

Fair point. I’d hoped to make it easier by putting a clear question at the bottom. However as it was a looooong post, and I regularly don’t get to the end of long pieces of text … Must remember to be more succinct 🙂

I am not sure why you are making it look like it was something you needed to do? If it comes up with a trolley check, whether a few items or a full trolley re-scan, that is something the member of staff will do/manage, are you saying they instructed you to scan the items in front of them and putting them on the floor?

Supermarkets should either trust people or not allow self scan. It totally ruins the point of self scan. It pisses me off as anyone doing it is trying to speed up their shop. I get Ocado online.

I meant in terms of 'teaching' him, you dont need to do your weekly shop, or a weekly shop.

You can assign him 30 quid or something and work out with him, what he would need for 21 meals (breakfast lunch dinner), what would he go round and pick. Most of that food will be incorporated into your own household so it wouldnt be wasted. You can do that at the same time as your own weekly shop, its just that you have a separate basket for him.
It wouldnt however solve the problems encountered with the trolley but you might have been able to pay for the basket, get him into the car and then go back for the troublesome trolley later.

But essentially, supermarkets are a scam in our midst, they present as if they are doing us a favour but are actually quite toxic on a number of levels. Going off tangent now.

You made it your problem
should of just left them too it or sent them for another trolley to transfer it all into

checks are selected at random I’ve been selected once it’s not great but the inconvenience is made up for by the number of times I’ve sailed through

Well to be fair, I have peri brain, very little goes in!!

Yes its not reasonble for food to be unpacked on the floor, I agree with that.

Completely agree.

it is ridiculous not to give you somewhere to unload and repack your shopping, or to direct you to a queue at a regular checkout.

In this scenario? I give them one opportunity to come up with a solution that doesn't involve me scrabbling round on the floor (such as they go and get a 2nd trolley) and i will go to another checkout as long as i don't have to go to the back of a queue of more than one person.

Otherwise? they can keep their stuff and i go elsewhere.

OP probably you're better off teaching your DC to do online shopping?

It seems obvious that the staff member needs an empty trolley to load the checked shopping into. I'm sorry this was so stressful for you but your DC coped well.

YABU for going on a Sunday. If you or family members can't handle chaos the Sunday is not a good day. I would have gone a week night.

How are 41% of people so far saying you are unreasonable? I can only imagine they aren't actually reading it and are just voting thinking that you are asking whether supermarkets should be able to do checks.

Here it is again, for those that might have missed it:

"If Sainsbury’s have to start checking everything in a packed trolley they should provide the staff and space to do this (not on the floor)"

How can anyone disagree specifically with this? It beggars belief.

This happened to me in Tesco recently. I felt like telling then to scan it all. I don’t get paid to be a supermarket checkout worker

Sainsbury’s only check the WHOLE trolley if when they’ve checked the assigned however many items and something hasn’t been scanned. Normally it’s 5 or 10 items and if something has been missed then you have to go to a staffed checkout 🤷‍♀️ we’ve all made self scanning mistakes, it’s just one of those annoying things

I feel for the staff members too as I’m sure they wouldn’t choose to do it.
Its the head office management who need to come back to reality, rather than chasing profit.

Do you evict low standards for everything you spend your money on. Maybe you should raise your bar.

Huh? Is this for real. So instead of expecting decent service, OP should stop shopping on sundays?

Incorrect.
Previously we’ve had the 10-item check.
Today it went straight to whole trolley. Never had that before.
At least you now know it may be in your future too.

The responses on this thread just about sum up with psyche of people in this country. Doormats who will put up with even the most shit service and standards. It would make for an interesting social experiment to test how much these doormat mentality folks are prepared to be trodden on. What would be their breaking point. When would enough be enough.

Cue the defensive responses about ‘oh but it’s just a supermarket trip’ , ‘oh but it’s not a big thing’.

a supermarket trip is no big deal, but the attitude displayed on this thread shows a prevalent deep seated mentality of bending over happily.

I never use the self scanners but getting a whole trolley check is always a risk. You should have just gone through the normal checkouts in the first place if it was likely to be an issue for your son.

My DC appreciates the self-scan facility (those who understand ASC will know) and previous 10 item checks have been easily managed.
I had never anticipated being asked to empty a whole trolley with no provision to do so. Have you planned for this on your shopping trips?

I would’ve just left it all. I don’t see the point in offering the service then them making it more time consuming than if you had just queued in the first place . That would’ve been far too much faff for me . If they expect customers to serve ourselves then they should take the hit when it comes to shoplifting .

Who wants their shopping put on the floor of the supermarket ?!!

I say this as an ex Sainsbury’s employee but not supermarket .

Sainsbury's staffing on tills at the minute it seems a nightmare. I don't do scan and shop but I do use self check out and quite often when I've got something that needs age verification I'm left for ages waiting for a staff member to attend to me, it's getting really bad.

FFS this is a thing that sometimes happens and is hardly one of life's challenges or hardships. You imply your DC should be exempt, even though they were fine. Yes it's a little more inconvenient, but it doesn't happen to everyone every time and you don't have to use the scanner.