Impossible to be served by a human being in Tesco

MarkBargain

I try to avoid Tesco stores generally, but did go in the one opposite Liverpool Street station today to get some shopping. I noted that all the normal checkouts had been replaced by those awful automated machines, and the only person serving was at a '5 items or fewer' tobacco counter. As I had about 10 items, I had no option but to use a machine to check out. It came up with errors messages causing a red light to flash but no staff came over for some time so I was left frustrated. Some shoppers with trolleys were loading quite a bit through those machines.

When did we decides as a society that:

A) We would scan our shopping ourselves for free?
We would not employ checkout operators meaning fewer jobs for the British economy and probably therefore less tax income, a higher benefits bill and a bigger national deficit?

I won't be going back in that store.

Chickabiddybex

When we demanded the cheapest prices.

Nilrem

Chickabiddybex wrote: »

When we demanded the cheapest prices.

Pretty much it.

"self service" tills tend to take up about half the room of a normal one, and even when they've got an attendant, it can be one member of staff for 4-8 of them (or more, I was in one the other week with about 16 of them).

Given some people will drive miles to save a penny a litre on petrol, or get some groceries for a few percent less anything that drops the staffing costs for supermarkets is a big thing:( (IIRC staffing and electricity costs are the highest ongoing non stock costs for many supermarkets, and they can't do much about the leccy bill, but the staffing one...).

Having said that, although it's usually offered at supermarkets I can't remember the last time I said yes to "do you need help packing?".
Although the self service tills are the bane of my shopping life in one of my local stores - I can go in and have it go wrong with almost every item at times (the self service tills at another store seem to work fine).

HappyMJ

MarkBargain wrote: »

I try to avoid Tesco stores generally, but did go in the one opposite Liverpool Street station today to get some shopping. I noted that all the normal checkouts had been replaced by those awful automated machines, and the only person serving was at a '5 items or fewer' tobacco counter. As I had about 10 items, I had no option but to use a machine to check out. It came up with errors messages causing a red light to flash but no staff came over for some time so I was left frustrated. Some shoppers with trolleys were loading quite a bit through those machines.

When did we decides as a society that:

A) We would pack our shopping ourselves for free?
We would not employ checkout operators meaning fewer jobs for the British economy and probably therefore less tax income, a higher benefits bill and a bigger national deficit?

I won't be going back in that store.

I don't pack my own shopping. I let the members of staff do that for me whilst I get my money ready...nor do I use self checkout for any more than a few items (at those times I don't use a bag so no packing required).

We all want cheaper products so they have installed self checkout and customers generally have embraced it.

keyser666

Would be good if the OP actually gives a few more facts regarding that store. I would hazard a guess that store easily has more than 40-50k customers a day and is a Tesco Metro so you get an idea of the size of the store. The self Service tills are exactly what that store needs, to go in at lunch time you can easily be waiting 5-10 mins to use them, all depending.

burnleymik

I must admit to being a little pedantic when it comes to this. If I am in my local Tesco and one of the staff tells me to take my items to the self service checkout I always ask "is it cheaper if I do", to which I obviously get the answer "no", and as such I always thell them I would prefer to keep someone in a job.

Never had any of them protest after that.

The fact is, regardless of us wanting cheaper goods, that will not happen, all it will do is increase the bottom line profits of the large supermarkets.

Coopdivi

Chickabiddybex wrote: »

When we demanded the cheapest prices.

The cheapest prices, generally, tend to be in stores like Aldi and Lidl which don't, to my knowledge, have self-service tills.

dacouch

I went into the Tesco Metro opposite Liverpool St Station last week at lunchtime.

There are about 20 self service tills and 8 normal tills, the queues were massive and they also have a screen displaying how long the queue will take. It becomes a bit annoying when the screen displays 120 seconds, then 150 then 180 and then 210. In normal circumstances I would have walked out but could not avoid using it

JReacher1

I quite like the new scan and shop at tesco where you scan each item as you put it in your basket and just pay at the end. I also like the automated tills and have no trouble using them.

Some people just can't cope with using technology.

JReacher1

HappyMJ wrote: »

I don't pack my own shopping. I let the members of staff do that for me whilst I get my money ready...nor do I use self checkout for any more than a few items (at those times I don't use a bag so no packing required).

We all want cheaper products so they have installed self checkout and customers generally have embraced it.

You're too lazy to do your own packing? It's people like you that make the queues so long and forces people to use the automated tills.

I hope they squash your bread!

MarkBargain

It was a busy Tesco Metro store and I couldn't see any normal tills at all.

The shopping is no cheaper for using self-checkout and I would argue that the sole purpose is to maximise the supermarket's profits at the expense of people who would like a job as a checkout assistant rather than claiming benefits.

I have no problem with technology as such, I just hate the impersonal aspect of these machines and feeling that I am doing the shop's work for them and depriving someone of a job.

Oh well, the store will be one person less busy in future as I won't go back.