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Facebook feeds across Australia have been flooded with posts shared by disappointed shoppers.
The reason is that large retailers have massively introduced self-service checkouts. People report their own goods.
Not only that, but there is often an employee checking them to make sure the receipt matches the merchandise in their bags.
It makes people feel like thieves.
“Dear #Kmart , #Coles , #Woolworths etc. etc. and all other stores that have self-checkout checkouts,” the post begins.
“Now you have to pay us for self-service.”
Major Australian retailers including Kmart, Coles and Woolworths have been attacked over self-service checkouts in an open letter shared widely on Facebook.
In the text, the author states that an employee of a well-known chain checked receipts as customers left the store.
“I didn’t want to be a part of this nonsense, so I just crossed the starting line and left.
I heard the clerk call after me ‘ma’am’ as I continued to walk and raised the receipt over my head as I walked out of the store,” the post reads.
People accuse big retailers of forcing customers to be cashiers.
“You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back where they were before.
“I’m not interested in proving that I’ve done your work for you. You want me to be a cashier with no training, then that’s your problem, not mine.
“Don’t audit me for a position you refuse to hire for.”
The Coles chain was among the major chains named in the Facebook status update.
However, some decided to point out that not all supermarkets have switched to self-checkout.
“IGA and Aldi still provide customer service at checkout,” wrote one person who shared the post.
Since appearing on the social media platform this week, the post has been shared by multiple personal accounts, as well as directly on the pages of Kmart, Coles and Woolworths.
Many of the posts shared were flooded with comments agreeing with the open letter.
“Yes, not only do you have to do their work for them, but you also have to wait 10 minutes for someone to check the price while the stupid machine in the background keeps asking ‘are you done yet?’ I’m over it,” commented one shopper.
Another wrote: “‘I prefer people’ is my general response when asked to use the self-checkouts.”
“Can I get a staff discount for doing my own checkout?” asked someone else.
The open letter comes after Woolworths faced criticism for installing new technology at self-service checkouts to track customer purchases.
A Woolworths spokesperson responded to the viral open letter in a statement to Yahoo News Australia, saying the supermarket giant provides its customers with “multiple ways to shop”.
“We are focused on providing our customers with multiple ways to shop with us, keeping in mind their ever-changing needs,” the statement said.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, many customers have chosen safer and more convenient ways to shop in their store, which include self-service checkouts.”
The spokesperson added that customers “always” have the option of being served by a teller.
“However, if customers prefer to be served by a member of staff, this option is always available through our service desk or other serviced checkouts.”
Coles and Kmart have also been approached for comment.
2023-10-26 06:22:00
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