Supermarket Self Service Tills

[DC1989]

Snartshop is good but it seems like having to go and pay at the tills is an unnecessary waste of time. I wonder if they plan on you eventually being able to pay on the app and can just walk out

 

[Mojo]

Snartshop is good but it seems like having to go and pay at the tills is an unnecessary waste of time. I wonder if they plan on you eventually being able to pay on the app and can just walk out

You can do that in the Local shops, in fact it’s actually the only way of paying there, as you can’t go to the checkouts! You have to pay by Apple Pay (no idea how it works on non Apple phones).

 

[Bletchleyite]

You can do that in the Local shops, in fact it’s actually the only way of paying there, as you can’t go to the checkouts! You have to pay by Apple Pay (no idea how it works on non Apple phones).

I wonder if the reason for the difference is that random rescans perhaps aren't done at Locals? I haven't tried it at one but there is one not too far away so I might give it a go.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

From what I recall, if you're using a trolley in Tesco, there is a holder for the scanner, so not an issue.

Baskets were specifically mentioned! Indeed there is a holder in the trolley, but I would suggest not entirely necessary as the trolley holds itself in position by the shelf, awaiting more items, thus leaving one hand for the scanner and one for picking items off the shelf.

 

[Mojo]

I normally put the scanner in my back pocket, screen side in with the handle poking out.

 

[PeterC]

I imagine three hands are required for the hand-held self-scan devices, an attribute which I do not have! One to carry the basket, one to hold the scanner and a third to pick things off the shelf. You could of course balance the basket precariously on the edge of the shelf whilst picking, scanning and placing therein.

Try using a bag rather than a basket

I find it perfectly easy to hold the scanner and one handle of a shopping bag in one hand. The bag hangs open to pop the goods in.

If the load will be too heavy or bulky to hold one handed I put my shopping bags in one of the small trolleys.

 

[Busaholic]

Stuart Hall (former TV presenter) got prosecuted for stealing from a supermarket, although he was cleared in court. Although this was before self-scanning, the principle is similar. If I recall correctly, he forgot to put some items on the checkout belt and left them in the trolley.

Ridhard Madeley was acquitted in 1991 for twice leaving a Tesco supermarket without having paid for his shopping, which on both occasions included quantities of wine. He cited 'lapses of memory' which reason was accepted by the court! Henceforth known as O.J. Madeley by me: just shows what 'celebrities' can get away with!

 

[jon0844]

You can do that in the Local shops, in fact it’s actually the only way of paying there, as you can’t go to the checkouts! You have to pay by Apple Pay (no idea how it works on non Apple phones).

Google Pay also.

M&S also allows you to scan (bar alcohol, tagged items such as clothing and a few other restrictions), pay and walk out with just a few clicks.

As such, I prefer this for just a few items - or even just one item. The receipt remains on screen to show any security guard that might stop you.

I recall Sainsbury's still makes you scan a code to exit.

 

[Mojo]

I recall Sainsbury's still makes you scan a code to exit.

Yea that’s right but it’s the same code you use to “check in” with, and most of the Sainsbury’s that I visit have loads of them around the shop, including on shelf edge signs and even random bits of coloured paper stuck to the support columns!

I’m unsure exactly what the purpose of this action is. Perhaps the intention of the app designer was that the end of shop scan would have been separate, or maybe only located in an obvious location like near the checkouts or by where the security guard waits? Unless it’s just to show anyone monitoring CCTV what you’re up to?

 

[Russel]

I noticed a curiosity in Wilko today, I used the self check out to buy a sandwich, can of coke and two packs of ibuprofen, in contrast to all of the supermarket self check outs, there was no age verification required for the ibuprofen.

 

[hexagon789]

there was no age verification required for the ibuprofen.

There's no legal age limit for buying it, it's simply that most retailers make it a policy to only sell pain medication to (usually) over 16s.

 

[Russel]

There's no legal age limit for buying it, it's simply that most retailers make it a policy to only sell pain medication to (usually) over 16s.

That'll explain it then, I assumed since it was near enough a standard practise that age verification was some kind of legal requirement as with alcohol.

 

[RuddA]

That's the main reason why I stopped using that facility. I got fed up of having my items scanned, and if that happens, there is a risk I have absent-mindedly failed to scan an item, meaning a criminal record.

I once forgot to scan an item in Sainsbury's and it was one of those selected during a random scan of 4-5 items. I had to take the trolley to be scanned at a checkout. For the next few shops I had a random scan performed before it went back to being an occasional random scan again.
As it was my fault I accepted the annoyance and was a bit more careful, not always easy when shopping with two young children.

 

[Silver Cobra]

I noticed a curiosity in Wilko today, I used the self check out to buy a sandwich, can of coke and two packs of ibuprofen, in contrast to all of the supermarket self check outs, there was no age verification required for the ibuprofen.

An interesting quirk at the supermarket I work in is that, like Wilko in your example, we don’t require age verification for ibuprofen, but we do require it for paracetamol. Considering some of the possible side-effects of ibuprofen, I would’ve thought that would have warranted age verification more than paracetamol (though I would say both really require it).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I once forgot to scan an item in Sainsbury's and it was one of those selected during a random scan of 4-5 items. I had to take the trolley to be scanned at a checkout. For the next few shops I had a random scan performed before it went back to being an occasional random scan again.
As it was my fault I accepted the annoyance and was a bit more careful, not always easy when shopping with two young children.

I quite often get a few things in Asda, then some in Tesco as I have to walk past it to get home anyway. If I get a random check in Tesco I have to keep an eye on the staff member in case they see an item in my bags that they can't see on the screen. I also make sure I have my Asda receipt to hand too- so far I haven't been accused of trying to pull a fast one, but it wouldn't surprise me if I was!

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I quite often get a few things in Asda, then some in Tesco as I have to walk past it to get home anyway. If I get a random check in Tesco I have to keep an eye on the staff member in case they see an item in my bags that they can't see on the screen. I also make sure I have my Asda receipt to hand too- so far I haven't been accused of trying to pull a fast one, but it wouldn't surprise me if I was!

I get that feeling of suspicion when I take my bag of Tesco shopping into B & Q! The world is not geared up for people doing multiple shops on foot where they don't (obviously can't) leave their first bit of shopping in the car boot. Or at least when shopping in the out-of-centre places. In a city centre shopping trip you would perhaps expect people to have multiple bags from multiple retailers. I often see people drive from Aldi to Tesco (opposite sides of the road) but they would leave their first lot of shopping in the car. The Toys R Us on a retail park used to have several large signs saying 'no bags, leave other shopping in your car' or similar. Not possible as a pedestrian.

I guess the issue of scan-as-you-shop is that you are possibly placing items in your already part-filled shopping bags rather than into a trolley/basket. I don't use this facility but if I did I would still use a trolley / basket until I had paid at the end. Versions where you pay as you walk round, or even dare to lift an item off the shelf and look at it (Amazon etc) do not appeal to me. I don't see why I should spend my time checking on the accuracy of their systems, possibly a couple of days after the shopping trip, then having the hassle of trying to get a refund.

It is, of course, up to the retailer to prove your guilt not for you to prove your innocence.

 

[Gloster]

I am afraid that some staff seem to believe that ‘loyalty’ schemes mean that you should shop at their supermarket and no other. They might grudgingly accept that if their shop doesn’t sell the item you want you can go to another shop, but not to a competitor.

 

[Dai Corner]

I am afraid that some staff seem to believe that ‘loyalty’ schemes mean that you should shop at their supermarket and no other. They might grudgingly accept that if their shop doesn’t sell the item you want you can go to another shop, but not to a competitor.

I sometimes take bags from a shop other than the one I'm using to see if I get a reaction. I never do.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I sometimes take bags from a shop other than the one I'm using to see if I get a reaction. I never do.

I accumulated quite a stock of Booths 'cloth' bags, with nice patterns on them, which I used for years (decades?) on my Tesco shop. Tesco have/had cloth bags but the Booths ones I accumulated by shopping at their Windermere store on return from holidays in The Lakes. They do wear out eventually though.

Nowadays I always use Morrisons bags of a plastic woven type. They have flat rectangular bottoms which make it so much easier to pack your groceries than the narrow gusset bottomed 'bags-for-life'. They stand up on their own rather than flopping allover the place, plus your shopping remains flat when carried home on foot.

I did get a small number of compliments on the Booths bags - for their nice patterns rather than the supermarket name, but have had no reactions regarding the Morrisons bags.

There is an element in my actions of 'rubbing it in' that competitors do exist.

 

[najaB]

Versions where you pay as you walk round, or even dare to lift an item off the shelf and look at it (Amazon etc) do not appeal to me.

You shouldn't be charged if you pick something up and put it back, the system is designed with that in mind. Where you *might* end up getting charged is if you pick something up and then put on a different shelf. Having recently seen frozen peas defrosting in the laundry detergent section in Tesco, I 100% approve of this!

I don't see why I should spend my time checking on the accuracy of their systems, possibly a couple of days after the shopping trip, then having the hassle of trying to get a refund.

You can open the app and see what you have been charged for before you even leave the store, no different to checking your receipt to be sure that the till attendant scanned everything correctly.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I am afraid that some staff seem to believe that ‘loyalty’ schemes mean that you should shop at their supermarket and no other. They might grudgingly accept that if their shop doesn’t sell the item you want you can go to another shop, but not to a competitor.

In the case of Tesco in particular, that might work if they hadn't massively slashed the number of different products they stock in the last six months! My preferred brand of instant coffee is now only available at Morrisons and occasionally Lidl, the nearest branches of both are a bus ride away.

 

[Iskra]

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.’

 

[WestCoast]

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 definitely have them at some of their City Centre stores, the one on High Street in Glasgow has about 12 of them vs only two manned checkouts. Both of the Lidl stores I go to have them as well.

I assume they only install them where most people do basket shops.

 

[jon0844]

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.’

I find people usually allow you to jump ahead (and I certainly let others do so) and given the scanning speed, I find the queues move pretty quick. They are also pretty good at opening new tills, although sadly that then becomes a dog-eat-dog rush to get there.

What I do find frustrating is the people who decide they're going to pack their trolley at the checkout - but aren't able to do so quickly enough and make the cashier have to keep pausing. They're probably told they can't ask people to pack at the rear of the shop, so everyone then has to wait. Suffice to say, those people are also the ones that finish packing then seem shocked that they might need to pay - and seem to have ensured their purse/wallet is at the bottom of their bag.

I am sure they'll introduce self checkouts at some point in their bigger stores, and I think Lidl already has at larger stores? (Not been in a Lidl for years).

 

[DelayRepay]

What I do find frustrating is the people who decide they're going to pack their trolley at the checkout - but aren't able to do so quickly enough and make the cashier have to keep pausing.

Do you remember the first incarnation of Netto in the UK?

I know someone who was banned for trying to pack his shopping at the checkout. They didn't mess around in there

 

[Mojo]

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 definitely have them at some of their City Centre stores, the one on High Street in Glasgow has about 12 of them vs only two manned checkouts. Both of the Lidl stores I go to have them as well.

I assume they only install them where most people do basket shops.

Aldi made quite a big deal about how they don't have self-service checkouts a few years ago and indeed removed them from branches they previously said they were being "trialled" in, saying that it is quicker to have staffed checkouts and actually having quite a customer focussed approach, with signs up saying that if the queue went past a particular point, they would open an additional checkout.

When they launched their "Aldi Local" sub-brand in 2019 was the first time I saw self-service checkouts in an Aldi. Their shop in Archway opened as a regular Aldi (replacing a Poundland) in November 2018 and only had regular checkouts (but with a shorter conveyor to reflect the smaller shop size) but when it was re-branded as an Aldi Local many of them were replaced with self-service checkouts only a few months later.

The Aldi near me is a full-size one and has just had self-service checkouts installed in the last few months, replacing two regular checkouts. They aren't as bad as Lidl, as Lidl often only offer self-service, whereas Aldi always have at least two regular tills available.

 

[ABB125]

Aldi in Selly Oak has quite a few self-service checkouts. But nowhere near enough for the occasions when about half the student population is trying to buy stuff...

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I am sure they'll introduce self checkouts at some point in their bigger stores, and I think Lidl already has at larger stores? (Not been in a Lidl for years).

Lidl do have self-checkouts at most stores I've visited in the last year- not just the larger ones. Aldi on the other hand has just opened a new store in Dewsbury which has no self-checkouts.

 

[Mojo]

Lidl do have self-checkouts at most stores I've visited in the last year- not just the larger ones. Aldi on the other hand has just opened a new store in Dewsbury which has no self-checkouts.

It was actually the smaller shops that got them first, and the smaller shops in my experience seem to be the ones that have them on all the time and don't have any regular checkouts open at certain hours.

 

[Busaholic]

I sometimes take bags from a shop other than the one I'm using to see if I get a reaction. I never do.

I take Tesco bags into Sainsbury and vice versa quite deliberately, but I like to live dangerously.