It’s a familiar scene for many Australian shoppers: You’ve got your groceries ready to pay, but there are no registers open.
You have to queue up in the long line to get to the self-checkout area or walk away from the store without making a purchase.
This is why many people have called for more staff members in supermarkets such as Woolworths and Coles.
Australians are becoming increasingly annoyed by the lack of staff members who can help with the packing of their purchases, which is why only express and self-serve checkouts remain open.
One person stated that he was forced to use the self-serve checkout in a Coles store in NSW’s Mid North Coast.
This annoyed the customer, who noted that he was forced to use the self-serve checkout due to the lack of staff members who can help with the packing of his purchases. Commenters on the post shared their anger at the situation and said that they would have walked out of the store if the registers were open. Another shopper also criticized Woolworths for the lack of registers at its Roselands store in Sydney.
He said he tried to talk to a staff member at the service desk, but they didn’t apologize. In response to his post, a spokesperson for Woolworths said that the situation didn’t look like a pleasant experience. They noted that they had talked to the store manager about the issue and hoped that the customers would have a better experience when they visit the store in the future.
Many of the comments that followed the man’s post agreed with his statement, as they noted that there were usually only a couple of registers open and long lines of people waiting to be served. They also accused the store of pushing customers to use the self-serve machines.
One person said that it was too awkward to have a full trolley. A spokesperson for Coles said that its employees were trained to help customers who may need assistance. This could include elderly or disabled individuals or people with children in strollers. They noted that a team member would be available to assist any shopper.
While the staff may be circling the checkouts, many customers of both supermarkets have complained about the lack of assistance when trying to use a shopping cart or multiple bags. One person noted that it was not ideal to have a self-serve checkout as it made it difficult to retrieve items.
In my Woolies, I don’t have enough room to fit a cart and all my groceries on a tiny shelf. The lack of access to the registers makes shopping stressful, and one person noted that they would approach the service desk to ask for a staff member to open a register if there are no available ones.
The added stress caused by the machines not working is not worth it. A spokesperson for Woolworths said that it always provides an option for customers to use a staffed checkout. They noted that some customers prefer to have a team member assist them at the end of the transaction.
The spokesperson noted that although some customers prefer to use self-serve checkouts, others still prefer to have a team member assist them at the end of the transaction. They noted that this service would still be provided at all of the company’s stores.