Supermarket Self Service Tills

[najaB]

My local Tesco is terrible for waste, stuff in the clearance section with about 2 hours left in date and they've reduced it by 20% at best.

It used to be the 7pm 'battle' as they would gather up all the stuff around 6pm, stick another yellow sticker on them and put it back out at 7pm. There was always a bit of a rush to get the best deals - one of the cheapest I ever got was some pastries (can't remember now but I think it was pork pies) marked down to 1p. Apparently they couldn't mark them as free as they had to have something to scan. Biggest percentage discount was the big £5 boxes of strawberries marked down to 20p.

Of late I think they've starting putting things out at different times to avoid the scrum.

 

[hexagon789]

Often only 10% discount at my local Tesco, max 20% except evening/Sunday afternoon bread products significantly cheaper.

Tesco usually do 3 sets of reductions
Morning say 10am ish, 12-25%
Afternoon around 2pm, 25-50% ish
Evening around 7pm, blanket 75%

Aldi and Lidl seem to both do 30% during the day and then 70% an hour or so before closing.

Sainsbury's and Morrisons seem more random

M&S used to be the worst for taking off a pittance, but I feel that Tesco are now in this position.

which cleverly don't have sell-by dates on the packages

All the fresh fruit and veg ive seen that supposedly no lonfer has a sell by date does, but it's clevely coded so instead of saying 04/10, it now says something like J4 (J being the 10th letter ie October, and 4 for the 4th). At least I've noticed that with things like sealed bags of apples and pears in Tesco and with bags of carrots in Sainsbury's.

It used to be the 7pm 'battle' as they would gather up all the stuff around 6pm, stick another yellow sticker on them and put it back out at 7pm. There was always a bit of a rush to get the best deals - one of the cheapest I ever got was some pastries (can't remember now but I think it was pork pies) marked down to 1p. Apparently they couldn't mark them as free as they had to have something to scan. Biggest percentage discount was the big £5 boxes of strawberries marked down to 20p.

Of late I think they've starting putting things out at different times to avoid the scrum.

I understand during the pandemic, the unions put pressure on management due to various incidents with reductions being put out and 'scrums' developing, though such incidents have been mentioned before in the media

One staff member I know told me there was an agreement to transition away from putting reductions out to customers and in future items would be offered to staff and charities only.

 

[najaB]

One staff member I know told me there was an agreement to transition away from putting reductions out to customers and in future items would be offered to staff and charities only.

I don't know about the agreement, but they definitely give stuff away through Olio.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

M&S used to be the worst for taking off a pittance, but I feel that Tesco are now in this position.

It would appear that Tesco gives branch or department managers a fair degree of autonomy on reductions, based on recent posts. A shame my local branch seems to be run by skinflints!

 

[hexagon789]

I don't know about the agreement, but they definitely give stuff away through Olio.

Yes, I think could be part of the transition. Perhaps its simply not putting it out on the shop floor or doing the work of labelling items?

It would appear that Tesco gives branch or department managers a fair degree of autonomy on reductions, based on recent posts. A shame my local branch seems to be run by skinflints!

I can ask my friend if they can tell me, but I assume at some point the 'sensitive commercial information' thing comes in and they could get in trouble for revealing too much!

 

[ABB125]

It used to be the 7pm 'battle' as they would gather up all the stuff around 6pm, stick another yellow sticker on them and put it back out at 7pm. There was always a bit of a rush to get the best deals - one of the cheapest I ever got was some pastries (can't remember now but I think it was pork pies) marked down to 1p. Apparently they couldn't mark them as free as they had to have something to scan. Biggest percentage discount was the big £5 boxes of strawberries marked down to 20p.

Of late I think they've starting putting things out at different times to avoid the scrum.

I think I can beat you on that - Osram 2ft LED replacement T8 tubes, retail price £16 or so, discounted to 1p (yes, 1p!) in Homebase. I now have a large quantity of these (and fluorescent ones) in storage. I don't actually have any use for them, but at that price it's too good an opportunity to miss!
In a very dubious return to the correct topic, Homebase don't seem to have any self-service tills.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's not as much about green cred as it is recognising that the vast majority of customers don't want a receipt, so they can save money on paper and wear and tear on the printers. Not to mention the slight increase in customer throughput.

It's called a "win win", the elusive thing business loves. Customers mostly don't want receipts, they mostly just throw them on the floor (=more cost picking them up). You can shout about being green and you can save money. As long as you can still get one if you want one, e.g. are on expenses, nobody loses.

Despite incessant whining from some on here e-ticketing on the railway is similar. Passengers like it, TOCs win by saving money as fewer ticket windows and TVMs are needed, it reduces casual evasion as if you buy one that way by default you likely will anyway even if the barriers are open, and the barcode system provides better tracking of how tickets are being used than paper. And if you want you can still get a paper ticket. Nobody loses.

 

[DavidGrain]

I used to use the self checkouts with the long belts in Sainsburys for my main weekly shopping but they replaced them with self checkout only suitable for baskets so now I always have to go to the manned. I used to like the self checkouts for getting rid of all my small change but do not have much small change these days as I pay for nearly everything by card.

 

[DelayRepay]

Despite incessant whining from some on here e-ticketing on the railway is similar. Passengers like it, TOCs win by saving money as fewer ticket windows and TVMs are needed, it reduces casual evasion as if you buy one that way by default you likely will anyway even if the barriers are open, and the barcode system provides better tracking of how tickets are being used than paper. And if you want you can still get a paper ticket. Nobody loses.

The main difference is that with an e-ticket, you still have a ticket that you can show when required, all be it on your phone rather than paper. At most shops the choice is a paper receipt or nothing (I know some shops email receipts but that's still the exception).

If there was an option to have the receipt sent to your phone, possibly by linking it to your supermarket loyalty card, that would be ideal.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The main difference is that with an e-ticket, you still have a ticket that you can show when required, all be it on your phone rather than paper. At most shops the choice is a paper receipt or nothing (I know some shops email receipts but that's still the exception).

If there was an option to have the receipt sent to your phone, possibly by linking it to your supermarket loyalty card, that would be ideal.

It's totally unnecessary. If it is needed i.e. a suspicion of theft, there are plenty of ways to find out which one you used and recall the transaction, e.g. your card number if you paid card or the CCTV if cash.

Though it wouldn't be too hard to send email receipts or store them in your Clubcard or equivalent account.

 

[DelayRepay]

It's totally unnecessary. If it is needed i.e. a suspicion of theft, there are plenty of ways to find out which one you used and recall the transaction, e.g. your card number if you paid card or the CCTV if cash.

That works if the suspicion is in the same shop. But if I go into another shop that sells the same items, how do I prove it there?

Though it wouldn't be too hard to send email receipts or store them in your Clubcard or equivalent account.

Yes, this is what I would like. I think John Lewis already do this, if you scan your ap-based loyalty card at the till. Very useful because the information is always accessible for whatever reason you need it.

My point is it's not like e-ticketing. e-ticketing is about changing the medium from paper to electronic. With receipts it's generally a choice between paper or nothing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That works if the suspicion is in the same shop. But if I go into another shop that sells the same items, how do I prove it there?

If you're intending to do that, then that's a time to press the button to print a receipt. Nobody is proposing getting rid of that option. All we're saying is that not giving receipts to people who don't want receipts is a sensible way of reducing costs (both of printing them and of picking up the ones that people chuck on the floor).

 

[DelayRepay]

If you're intending to do that, then that's a time to press the button to print a receipt. Nobody is proposing getting rid of that option. All we're saying is that not giving receipts to people who don't want receipts is a sensible way of reducing costs (both of printing them and of picking up the ones that people chuck on the floor).

Indeed. But it would be better if I could have it sent electronically to my phone.

Still disagree that it's comparable to e-tickets, though

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed. But it would be better if I could have it sent electronically to my phone.

Still disagree that it's comparable to e-tickets, though

It's comparable in the sense that it's a business win-win. You do something most customers are more than happy with (I don't want a receipt, I'll only throw it in the bin, and I'm more than happy to use my phone to get a ticket in most cases) and it makes you more profit.

 

[Class172]

In some European Countries you need a receipt to exit the self-scan area barrier, I learnt the hard way.

I too was caught out the first time I came across such a system. They seem to be common in the Netherlands and Belgium. I naïvely assumed that the metal gate to allow me to leave the store was one of those that you manually pushed open, so you can imagine my surprise and embarrassment when the gate had other ideas and I barged into it when it was never going to open. Hence follows me scrambling back to the self service machine to retrieve the receipt before the next customer starts using it!

 

[ChrisC]

Yes, this is what I would like. I think John Lewis already do this, if you scan your ap-based loyalty card at the till. Very useful because the information is always accessible for whatever reason you need it.

This is definitely possible at M&S food stores. I always use my plastic loyalty card in store but if I look on the app all of my receipts are available to view.
I can't find this on the Waitrose app where only my online order receipts are available to view.

 

[RuddA]

This is definitely possible at M&S food stores. I always use my plastic loyalty card in store but if I look on the app all of my receipts are available to view.
I can't find this on the Waitrose app where only my online order receipts are available to view.

Lidl do the same. I have all my receipts on the app. A new option appeared last week so I could switch paper receipts off.

 

[najaB]

If you're intending to do that, then that's a time to press the button to print a receipt. Nobody is proposing getting rid of that option.

Indeed. At present it wouldn't be legal for them to remove it. Retailers have to provide a receipt on request.

 

[jumble]

Does anyone know why Aldi don’t have self-checkouts? Always dead annoying in there when you are just buying a few items and get stuck behind loads of people doing their weekly shop. It’s not very convenient at all for a ‘convenience store.’

Aldi Local near was converted a month or 2 back from all checkouts to all self scan and plenty of them to boot
The staff are extremely helpful for sure
The other big advantage is that if I have forgotten something I can simply go back and collect it mid scan

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed. At present it wouldn't be legal for them to remove it. Retailers have to provide a receipt on request.

I suspect it would be legal to require you to go to customer services for it, but either way yes, it does have to be provided.

 

[route101]

I too was caught out the first time I came across such a system. They seem to be common in the Netherlands and Belgium. I naïvely assumed that the metal gate to allow me to leave the store was one of those that you manually pushed open, so you can imagine my surprise and embarrassment when the gate had other ideas and I barged into it when it was never going to open. Hence follows me scrambling back to the self service machine to retrieve the receipt before the next customer starts using it!

It was Italy for me. There was a Morrisons near me that had a barrier at the exit of the self scans , I thought it needed a receipt to exit but apparently not.