Self service checkouts in B&Q

Why go to a self service store if you need staff to just pay for what you've selected?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)
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I had a considerable degree of trouble with a Tesco's staff member at Broughton regarding their automated checkouts.

One arrived to find that Airbus had failed to be advised of my coming, so I did the usual and called locally for coffee and papers while the issue was sorted.

Went to check out my stuff at Tescos.

I was prompted for the number of bags used.

I had already hit the "no bags" button at the start.

I called the lady over and pointed out I didn't need a bag anyway, so why make my desired purchase conditional on applying a negative to the purchase of a product I had no intention of buying anyway.

She stated it was only for carriers, when I went on to point out that Tesco's had goods that I wanted even less than carrier bags and I should have the preference of declining those also, she failed to see the logic totally.

Sadly the diversion got a little tedious after around ten minutes, the poor lady wasn't into philosophy, so I felt a little "short changed" on the transaction due to Tesco's choice of bargain basement staff.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

If Tescos are legally obliged to ask me to deny the possession of one specific product, then why not more obvious products such as water. As it rains rather a lot in Broughton and one tends to get covered in the stuff, then sureley it would be more appropriate to ask if a customer had helped themselves to the Volvic?

As I pointed out to Tescos's idiot, I was less in need of a 50" TV at the time, so why not bring that up as a specific.

I did not bully the idiot. I do often have differences of opinion with all manner of people both as a member of the public and professionally. I bully no one. I am more than happy to let the stupid morons carry on blindly in whatever fashion they wish.

I also tend to use the linguisic niceties, that are so lacking now.

Disagreeing with an idiot is not bullying.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

Or volunteers in a charity shop :-)

Reply to
Scott

That is the problem :-)

The people that write the software foruse by real people don't get out at all!

I had a new Mazda some years back, first day out.

Remote unmanned secure site and I left the car for five mins to give an instrument a tweak.

There were a few flies about, so I closed the car door with the keys still in the ignition.

Returned to the Mazda to find it locked!

What dumb idiot would find it useful to add that ridiculous feature?

I had to wait hours on site for someone to come with a key!

Bloody junk.

Useless car anyway, the turbo's packed up all the time, wrecking the engine in the process.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

That only refers to bags which you might have brought yourself, perhaps? I can't remember the dark days when disposable carrier bags were still available in Tesco's.

And of course you were entirely in the wrong. It is very sound commercial and legal practice to formally ask you whether you have taken any of the bags presented and available for your use. It would be so if Tesco were merely ensuring that you had no excuse for failing to pay them a sum owed by claiming ignorance of the arrangement. It is doubly justified by the fact that Tesco have a legal obligation *not* to give you free carrier bags. There method of fulfilling that obligation by asking for a formal declaration is perhaps a little weak, but to do or say nothing would be to drive a coach and horses through our whales' only possible salvation. Had I been around you might have had this explained to you.

Secndly, bullying shop staff is not very attractive behaviour.

Reply to
Roger Hayter

That's a similar issue to Morrisons. Even if you say 'I have brought my own bag' often you still get 'Unexpected item in bagging area'. It seems to work okay in Sainsbury's.

Reply to
Scott

You might have had better grounds for complaint in our local Co-op, which still makes one declare the number, or absence, of disposable bags used even though for over a year they have neither provided nor stocked such bags. As a co-owner, however, I endure this on the grounds you can't get the IT staff nowadays, for some reason.

Reply to
Roger Hayter

I didn't see the bags. I didn't want one, so I have no recollection of whether the bags were there or not.

I believe I am perfectly within my rights to demand that If I am interrogated as to whether I have not bought something, then more appropriate choises should be made.

The proximity to the point of purchase is nothing to do with it. My need for water might be considerable as I traipse around the isle and as even Tesco's might supply water free, isn't it logical that water should be chosen as a commodity the customer needs a "warning" about.

The likelyhood of a customer inadvertantly " lifting" water is probably greater than that of taking a carrier as the water drinker may not have any other goods to carry out and even if they had consumed 50ml of Volvic, then the use of a carrier would be challenging to say the least.

If you are applying legal requirements to a shop to get the client to state what they had not bought, then the puplic would have a field day. Not a single POS would be free for months.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

There is no tap at the till. So far as bottled water, or almost any other movable item in the shop, is concerned all the usual protections agains theft still apply.

The bags were stacked at the 'scanned' side of the till. The bags were held in such a way as to invite you to put shopping in. Even if they had a barcode it would be an inconvenient reversal of workflow to scan them. The previous policy of providing them free might lead people, incorrectly in my opinion, to believe that taking one without paying was not theft. You need a system for people to record if they have taken bags - the honest ones anyway. Plus the more conclusive reasons I have stated above.

Forcing a person to indulge in a prolonged, absurd conversation at work without being rude to a customer is bullying in my opinion

Have you considered a sig separator?

Reply to
Roger Hayter

<snip>

We rarely do our grocery shopping outside of Sainsbury's and if we do probably wouldn't use the self checkout for more than just a couple of 'std' bits. [1]

In Sainsbury's we just put the BFL on the checkout, beep stuff across and pay, using coupons and scanning the Nectar card as requested.

I also believe it lets you carry on if you have alcohol, just flashes the light for the supervisor to validate you are over 24 or whatever.

Even loose veg are pretty quick to look up / weigh / processes.

Cheers, T i m

[1] Because if we don't know their system and it all goes wrong we can go to a manned till.
Reply to
T i m

I think in Scotland a staff member has to authorise the transaction (or maybe it depends on the licensing board)..

Reply to
Scott

It does throw up a window asking if you're using your own bag. But that often doesn't sort the problem. Perhaps it doesn't like my Sainsbury bag.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

No - it's the law; under 18's may not buy or sell alcohol. The staff member has to check that the purchaser is over that age.

Reply to
charles

They do not sureley have to get the customer to state what they didn't buy?

This isn't good practice and is a means to exploitation when advertisers cotton on.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp
<Snipped>

If you take a bottle of water without paying, you have deprived the company and it is up to the company how much they want to bother checking up on that and in what way. Most people are reasonably honest and will scan each item that they have, but as a "new" thing and especially as some parts of the country had a bag tax while others didn't and the company is legally obliged to pay the government the bag tax on each one (but probably not on replacment bag for lifeones), they presumably think it worth asking a specific question. SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

I guess that a visual check, perhaps from a significant distance, that they appear to be over 25 may permit them to authorise the purchase remotely. At least that is what seems to happen for me.

Reply to
Roger Hayter

An under 18 CAN sell alcohol, but only with the direct approval of someone over 18 for each sale. That is how under 18s can work on the tills, but they need to call someone over to approve alcohol sales. That approval may just mean catching the attention of a supervisor or the person on the next till and getting a nod from them, without them ever coming right to the till.

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

If it were merely a tax on Tesco they might be willing to absorb the cost of the occasional theft or misunderstanding. But they are legally obliged to ensure that the *customer* pays.

Reply to
Roger Hayter

That is certainly done in E&W. In Scotland, to sell alcohol the individual needs to hold a Certificate for Licenced Premises Staff. You don't get one if you are under age.

Reply to
charles

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