Asda's new "hybrid checkouts" - good or bad?

Starrystarrynight

I've been avoiding my local Asda, which sounds just like the OP' branch. As some posters have said, it seems to be just a cost cutting/profit maximisation exercise, with little thought for us customers, or the staff who'll be out of a job.
Also, the artificial till voices give me a bad head!

Anatidaephobia

DPJames wrote: »

Avoid them like the plague. They slow things down immensely. Imagine the chaos at Christmas time if all the tills were self serve!

But they're not.

There is a mixture of self serve tills and manned tills.

The only time I've ever seen self serve tills only and no manned tills is in Asda if you shop at about 3am - the manned tills are closed but there are about three members of staff (and hardly any customers) hanging around the self serve tills waiting to help.

Anatidaephobia

Starrystarrynight wrote: »

I've been avoiding my local Asda, which sounds just like the OP' branch. As some posters have said, it seems to be just a cost cutting/profit maximisation exercise, with little thought for us customers, or the staff who'll be out of a job.
Also, the artificial till voices give me a bad head!

In fairness, lots of customers like self service tills, so it's not completely an anti customer satisfaction exercise.

terra_ferma

I hate them, I use them when I'm forced to, and it takes longer than with the manned ones (unless you have 4-5 items and there's a long queue) .
My local co-op doesn't keep manned checkout open any longer, so I have to use them and it's a pain. They stop and/or give error messages for most loose items like bread rolls, often doesn't recognise yellow stickers, and I was told I would have to queue again at the customer service till because the yellow stickered bananas didn't have a barcode (as if it was my fault, not much customer service from my lovely local co-op staff as usual...).

I've see the ones at Asda, but I've not used them because I think it would take longer to use those than to go through a normal checkout, can't be bothered. However if the staff who help didn't make me feel like I'm bothering them every time the machine gives an error message, like the do at the co-op, I might give it a try.

DPJames

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

But they're not.

But imagine if they were. And imagine the chaos that would ensue at Christmas time, or bank holidays, or on any busy day really.

My point being that they slow things down, A LOT!!

They've took about four normal tills out here and replaced them with these self serve monstrosities. Going from 30 customers an hour down to 10. At Christmas, the queues are going to be going out the door!

They're TERRIBLE!

terra_ferma

DPJames wrote: »

They're TERRIBLE!

...and they shout at you...

meritaten

so when are they going to get to get customers to stack shelves I wonder?????????
before long they wont bother with shelves - it will be 'help yourself from the pallets'.

DPJames

Or turn up, select from a catalogue what you need, you know? Like in Argos? It all turns up in a wheelbarrow. And you then pay the £5.99 'Throw your stuff in the boot' service.

Sounds 'bout right.

[Deleted User]

Do we have to help ourselves from the pallet before we unload the lorry or after?

Anatidaephobia

DPJames wrote: »

But imagine if they were. And imagine the chaos that would ensue at Christmas time, or bank holidays, or on any busy day really.

My point being that they slow things down, A LOT!!

They've took about four normal tills out here and replaced them with these self serve monstrosities. Going from 30 customers an hour down to 10. At Christmas, the queues are going to be going out the door!

They're TERRIBLE!

If I walk into my local supermarket on Christmas Eve and there are no manned tills whatsoever, just self service tills with long queues, I'm sure I'll be complaining - but not until/unless it actually happens