‘Now I have to wait 30 mins,’ fumes shopper as grocery chain ends self-checkout – but other customers see silver lining

SHOPPERS have mixed emotions after learning their local grocery store has decided to remove self-checkout.

Pick ‘n Save in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced that the removal was to better the customer experience.

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“At Pick ‘n Save, we are always looking for ways to improve the customer and associate experience and ensure a smooth and friendly checkout,” said a Pick ‘n Save spokesperson.

“We are implementing a no-self-checkout pilot at select stores in Wisconsin. We anticipate this change will help us better serve our customers’ needs.”

However, the change is backfiring with some customers.

“So now I have to wait 30 minutes in line for the 2 cashiers on duty. Color me thrilled,” a user wrote under a Facebook post about the removal.

“Alrighty, I’ll spend my money somewhere else, where I don’t have to wait in line and interact with other humans,” said another who claimed they would take their business elsewhere.

Others are looking forward to the change but one key aspect needs to be satisfied for customers to be fully happy.

“Just have enough employees/cashiers at the registers to check out. I use self-checkout, since most time there’s only one cashier working a full-service register and the lines are atrocious!” hoped a shopper.

“That’s all fine and dandy, but then make sure to have enough cashiers to check the customers out,” shared another.

“Hope they hire more cashiers that are quick. I prefer self-checkout because I’m much faster than the cashiers and can bag my items the way I want them,” said a third user.

While other customers were looking forward to being helped by a human rather than work with a machine.

“This is wonderful news! Self-checkouts are awful. I’d rather wait in line and have the help of a human!” a shopper said.

“Good. I’d rather see a person getting paid to work, vs me doing their job for free/no discount,” a customer said in part.

“Thank goodness. I hate them. If you are buying more than a couple items, self-checkout is a nightmare, and they always just have one regular lane open, with a line a mile long….” remarked the pleased user.

AN EXPERTS OPINION

Though the company announced that the removal was due to bettering the customer experience, experts are skeptical.

Dominick Reuter, a senior reporter for Business Insider, believes it could be due to theft which is affecting retailers nationwide.

“This yields quite a few challenges, but one of them is this funny little notion called partial shrink, which is where a shopper, perhaps unintentionally or intentionally, doesn’t scan all of the items in their order,” said Reuter, according to ABC affiliate WISN.

“So some of the stuff goes out the door without having been paid for.”

Many shoppers also believed that could be its main reason for the abrupt change.

“This just means there’s rampant theft,” a user said in part.

“Meaning stores that they are losing money at because people are not checking their items out,” wrote another.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/11522343/pick-n-save-milwaukee-wisconsin-self-checkout-shopper-reviews/