To think Primark shouldn't have got rid of their tills for self service.

[Netcurtainnelly]

No manned tills in Primark apart from exchanges and refunds.
Card only self scan now.

What is this obsession with everyone wanted to get self service?
It's not for the customer at all.

Even though I never shop at Primark, I do not want it easier for anyone to steal from them.

I am with you OP, it is not for the benefit of customers even though some people prefer self service.

I pay myself in carrier bags.

How do self service tills make it easier to steal?
If you're stealing you generally don't go anywhere near the tills.
You shove it in your bag and walk out.
(I'm not a former shoplifter...but I am former retail staff)

Exactly! If they want people to use them they should offer a discount. I prefer in person checkouts, especially if I have fragile things, as they have paper to wrap them in, which I can't see at the self service tills

It completely removes the human element. Loses people their income, promotes an ever increasing solitude life for people, discourages people interactions, removes chit chat for lonely people, makes life for older people very difficult, promotes losing cash in society which is an whole other issue to name a few things.

Our local Wilko had 2 self service tills and one till with a person. The queue for the person was always very long. I loved the self service tills . They had someone watching both so if there was a problem you had instant help. They went bust and now we have a Bargain Buster which only has 1 till in total and that is manned. The queue is huge on a Saturday.

Nearly everywhere has counter service not self service for clothing. Primark isn't a supermarket. It's not known for having lots of helpful staff hanging around to offer assistance. Counters humanise it

Most people prefer self service. I do.

Love a self checkout and will always choose them first. I used to work on tills so I scan really quickly (there is a knack to it). All I want when shopping it to pay and get out. Our co-op has one manned till that always has a queue and about 6 self service that you don’t have to wait at.

You can also claw the scan and go gun from my cold dead hands. I remember in our massive Sainsbury’s the queues at the tills were right back into the aisles. I just swanned past and was out in a few minutes. My bags are already packed as I go as well.

Sorry clicked Yabu in error but I totally agree with u it’s just manic now, and god help us when there’s a gift card to be used as it’s torture, never work, have to wait on the moany woman coming over to moan what I’ve done or not done, then wait for the receipt to not scan as usual to get the hell out. Hate it.

For groceries, but clothes buying rarely offers this option

All our nearby Primarks still have both, every single time I’ve used the self serve, it’s said a member of staff has to check the number of items before payment , bit pointless having self service if someone is still checking every time you use them, though I do appreciate this may just be my luck rather than the norm

@Denim4ever @CoralOP shops like Primark NEED floor staff. They are essentially a type of department store and as someone who previously worked in a similar shop you need people on the floor. Not on the tills.
Primark needs to keep their stock tidy, replenished and organised. They need to be able to help customers find products. They need to be watching for shoplifting. None of that can be done if they are stuck behind tills.
You also get more opportunities for talking to and help customers when on the sales floor.
On the tills you have to scan, bag and take the payment - quickly so you can move to the next customer in the queue.
You can't give much assistance when on tills because you can't leave the till to take them to the relevant department to help find a product.
I would much prefer 20 members of staff on the floor with a load of self service tills than 20 staff stuck behind tills and no help on the salesfloor.

H and M, Matalan and Uniqlo have self service.
Possibly Next too. M+S I think as well.
I buy most of my clothes from Primark and supermarkets so I can't really speak for any other clothes shops.

I meant in general when I said “these tills”. I don’t shop in Primark. But Zara, etc I can’t get the tags off.

Love self service. So much quicker and I can fold clothes the way I want rather than them being shoved in a bag.

Self service queues also move far quicker than stamdard queues, mainly because most of their users prefer efficiency.

The new Zara self service tills are the best. Leave all your items on the shelf and it brings them up on screen - no scanning required. It's brilliant.

They do, in the form of the goods being sold cheaper than they might if more staff had to be employed.

As a neurodiverse person I love self-service tills, there are times when I really struggle to have the energy to interact with people and I hate feeling like I'm being rude to someone working hard. Machines don't care.

My pet hate is when staff stretch the neck of the garment to take the coathanger out from the top, instead of underneath.

Well on self service you get to move the hanger yourself 😁

When I left college many years ago I didn't expect to be a checkout operator at Tesco once a week - but there we are. Occasionally I work at Waitrose, and a while ago I did a very brief stint at W.H. Smiths for a birthday card.

We recently had a scanning pillar box installed not far away, so I'll be working for them now too, I suppose. 🫥

Really irritates me that you queue for ages to be herded into the tills pen then every second person has their bags rifled through and then you have to scan your bleeding receipt to get out of the pen. Seriously, if I'm going to nick your £2.50 t-shirt im not going through all that rigmarole first!

You can put one thing through I suppose but not the others.
Asda are well aware they loose money at self service tills.
People not putting everything through and another truck which I won't mention

It's inevitable now, and while I do feel that jobs are being taken by a self serve till, realistically what can I do? Most places have them now and I will choose a till if there isn't a mahoosive queue, but self serve is definitely quicker. Maybe because the tills are for refunds and exchanges mostly and they take time to do.

Anyway, I hate going to a shop where I haven't yet used the self serve. Honestly I'm like a mad momma trying to figure out where to put the stuff, on what side, where to pack and I always get it wrong, usually when someone is behind me waiting for my spot!

That's why it's not always quicker, staff often have to help anyway.

Totally.