Employees at stores with self-checkout stations are fed up with a policy that’s causing chaos at the kiosks. It all revolves around the type of payment allowed at certain self-checkout kiosks, that slows down the waiting lines and makes costumers anxious because of long waiting times. But, wait a freaking second: are not the self-checkout stations supposed to make supermarkets faster for costumers?! What is going on, folks?
Recently, a thread on Reddit revealed just how angry employees are about this particular policy. One user shared an image of a Walmart self-checkout station covered in sticky notes that read “cash only” The response from other Redditors and alleged employees was overwhelming, with many voicing their support for the decision to cover the kiosk in sticky notes. Here’s what’s happening: when credit card readers go down, some retailers force customers to pay with cash only, leading to frustration and even anger.
A Policy That Makes Both Costumers and Employees Outraged
But it’s not just employees who are feeling the frustration. Alleged customers have also weighed in, sharing their own experiences of trying to pay with cash at card-only kiosks, and even ignoring the policy altogether. Despite the inconvenience to customers, most retailers opt for card-only self-checkout stations, citing the cost of including the cash feature. But with reports of theft at self-checkout stations on the rise, is it worth the cost? And should customers be wary of using them altogether?
The self-checkout revolution may be causing more problems than it’s solving, with customers and retailers alike feeling the effects of this frustrating policy. They were created to make supermarkets and stores more efficient, and to cut costs by requiring fewer people to operate the cashiers area. Self-checkout kiosks were once touted as a solution to long lines and poor customer experiences. However, they have since become a major source of frustration for customers and employees alike. Issues with payment options, technical glitches, and theft have all contributed to the decline of the self-checkout experience. Some customers have even opted to, directly, avoid them, citing long wait times and difficulties in scanning items.
Will Self-Checkout Disappear in the Near Future?
Some costumers are already asking the retail chains to remove them permanently, which puts the companies amidst a difficulty, since they will have to recalibrate the costs of losing all the money invested in this technology.
Recently, some supermarkets have started to analyze why the self-checkout machines are multiplying thefts, when they were intended to eradicate this multi-million dollar trouble for the industry. This maybe the reason why some stores only accept credit cards: because it’s much easier to track and find a costumer that “forgot” to pay something from the shopping cart and charge his card after they have already left the store.
Reversing the tendency, it’s possible that, in the near future, retainer chains start to remove the self-checkout stations to replace them back with humans. If this has worked for decades and decades, why are you changing it? As my dad says: if it works, don’t repair it!