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)

At this rate they might aswell abandon the scanning gadgets as what's the point of it, a whole trolley check wow ..,.
We went to Asda the other day and they did a 10 item check, we had scanned a watermelon to check for the price only and forgot to take it off...so we ended up paying more for our shop as we only noticed back at home.

That’s the implication of what you said. That OP and others should stop plan their life around shit service. Rather than service being of a consistent standard 7 days a week.

But Nd and disabled people have the right to work to if they can so people need to be mindful that sometimes not everything is going to be perfect. And we all need to be a little more patient and helpful. I work in a supermarket and I have a lot of nd/disabled colleagues and its great to see yes they may need a little extra help and they may not be perfect all the time just like everyone else. Op didn't say anything about the worker being nasty or rude just a bit overwhelmed on how to deal with the situation.

The whole trolley checks are only usually done when someone hasnt scanned something so if during your check one of them 10 items hadn't been scanned then then they would of done a full trolley check

Yeah so shit service. The reason doesn’t matter. OP and all other paying customers should get the bare minimum, you know like being served by someone who knows what they are doing.

Also, this has nothing to do with service for ND and disabled.

What OP is describing is generally shit service. Why should anyone except it, disabled or not. Unless you’re a doormat with low standards.

Like I said, the ‘no big deal crowd’ on this thread demonstrate a small but a good subtle example of how people in this country don’t mind being bent over. This acceptance of low standards everywhere including public life is why nothing works in this country.

It has everything to do with it she didn't get terrible service she had a staff member try and help her who became overwhelmed and confused which means their is a high chance that the staff member was nd he wasnt rude or nasty it sounds like he tried his best.

People on here are so weird. One minute its get rid of pip everyone should be working the next minute I cant believe i had to deal with a nd person in a workplace how inconvenient for me what terrible service im going to complain. So basically what people are saying is nd and disabled people should work but not if it impacts your life in any way shape or form. Ok got it

How do you extrapolate that staff member was ND. The armchair medical professionals on here speak with such confidence that it’s unreal. Is that your answer to everything and everyone. That they must be ND.

Dont which thread you’ve been reading by the OP basically describes shit service by he supermarket. You’re making up your own story about the staff member bing ND.

Because adults dont just stand their looking confused. Its not shit service at all he was polite throughout he was just confused and overwhelmed

The fact is though that Sainsbury's shareholders are in receipt of the money they save from not providing adequate numbers of staff. You must be one of them if you are truly happy to have a whole trolley of goods re-scanned as they are too miserly and greedy to not man tills! Who the hell has the time to do that anyway. I don't use the scanner thing but if I did and this happened to me, I would just abandon the trolley of goods, it is appalling customer service. It irks me that you have to use the receipt to exit their stores now, let alone all this.

Self service is seen as a given now in all supermarkets and they feel entitled to your time to have maybe one member of staff to man so many tills, you are expected to do the work and wait and wait. I think my local Waitrose is best for being efficient in this area but all the others are taking the Pee frankly! It's ashame with Sainsbury's as it is one of my favoured stores but the inefficiency is as bad as Asda!

I would have left it all for them to sort out - that’s their job, after all. The staff member would have got someone to help you. It’s him I feel sorry for, obviously he had shit training. You should have told him to get the manager or someone else.

You (and some others here) are unreasonable to suggest that checks shouldn’t happen, if I’m understanding you correctly. I take it you’ve heard about the current shoplifting epidemic? Although the occasional checks have been in place for literally decades now.

It is about a large corporation expecting customers to adhere to a policy which they have not bothered to establish the resource to see through ie if you want someone to empty their trolley, give them somewhere to do it NOT THE FLOOR

if it was you wouldn't have explained about why you were there and your son and ASD.

There are 2 issues, one is the overwhelm that the situation caused. That is being addressed - if clumsily - by everyone saying that if you want to teach him, choosing quieter times and fewer items of shopping would be a better tactic. More of the kind of thing he will need to do himself. FWIW i think it is great that you are already thinking about this and i hope it helps.

The other issue, the one you seem more keen to discuss (because you are feeling attacked about the other?) is that it happens. And when it happens you simply put it back on the staff member and say: so how is this to happen, i will not be scrabbling around on the floor. And if they are still baffled you tell them: either you get a 2nd trolley and scan from one into the other, or you take it through and unmanned till.

The moment was difficult because your son was with you, but if you bear that in mind for next time it will help.

yes, yes, i am guilty of assuming "son". I will hand back my feminist badge.

There is an issue about self scan and so on: and that is instead of just accepting shit service, we could give instant, clear, polite feed back. I have done that when i've been directed to self checkout only to find that for the paracetemol and alcohol i'm buying i need to get staff over. Twice (I'm wise to them now, first time they have to come i make them check my basket for other problematic items. i get a bit of pushback on that sometimes, but i am polite and make them do it anyway). If we meekly accept badly designed systems, the powers that be will assume we are ok with it.

Psychic powers at their finest. To read a stranger’s post on the internet about another stranger and diagnose them with ND. Only on MN.

To not understand other people have problems and people arent perfect so instead of just being nice and helping. Just whinging and complaing is also classic mumsnet

If you use the smart scan then you have to prepare to rescan things. The staff don’t make the rules but they do haven’t follow them, even if you think the rules are ridiculous. A good lesson for your child to have learnt how to handle a situation like that as I imagine they’ll be doing it alone at some point. YABU.

Exactly its part of the terms and conditions when you sign up to use it

No one thought to get another trolley to just put the checked items in?

However, i do agree the staff levels need to be adequate for this to happen.

I don't do self check out for large shops.

But I don't think they really wanted you to put your shopping on the floor. Rather, the shop assistant was to green to know what to do.

Also just because a person ND doesn’t mean they should be exempt. There are many health conditions and disabilities where rescanning would be a phaff but the rule applies to everyone.

Wouldn’t you get a 2nd trolley in this case? Or ask the staff member to get it if you don’t want to leave your shopping unattended?
Or ask to have the check done at a till?
Sounds like a non-issue to me to be honest.

both rather missing the point the OP was making in that there was no facility to do this without putting things on the floor. The staff just need to be trained, that is all

It's a shitty situation and I'd probably have just abandoned the lot, because the least the supermarket can do is take control of the situation and present a mechanism for doing the (necessary) checks, instead of standing there shoulder shrugging. At the same time, there's a part of me that thinks shit things happen and collectively we need to have the resilience to deal with these curve balls when they happen. You had a bad day and a cry, and I hope you feel better now. This stuff happens and sometimes it catches us at the wrong moment, but we have to be able to move on and maybe just accept life isn't always ideal.

This happened to me in about 2021. Full trolley check twice in a row. Haven't used self scan since.

Right. And we all negotiated those freely, didn't we? 🙄

Yanbu OP. Supermarket shopping is mostly shit. Pricing all to cock and the customer expected not only to do tasks previously undertaken by the corporation and included in the cost of goods accordingly but also to give up their own time when the systems designed by the corporation create additional problems. I mean, who'd have ever thought that self service would lead to an increase in shoplifting?