Spalding Sainsbury's shoppers voice frustrations at new self checkout layout
Frustrated shoppers have voiced concerns over a new layout in Spalding’s Sainsbury’s store.
The Holland Market store has cleared out a number of its manned checkouts and replaced them with a new self service area.
The new section is closer to the toilet area in the supermarket. On Monday evening, the nine pre-existing self checkouts were closed.
On our Facebook post reporting the alterations, reader Sara Woodrow described them as ‘horrendous’.
She added: “The self checkouts are fine if you have a small basket, but any more and they are useless.”
A number of shoppers voiced concerns about Christmas time, when a higher volume of visitors will have to go through the self checkout system.
Some also aired disappointment at a decrease in human interaction.
Rik Garner said: “I want to be dealt with by a person, not a machine. It makes one’s day to be served by someone who has a smile and some banter while also working.”
Sue Wilson added: “I feel sorry for the older generation who struggle with this technology. They are going to have to queue longer to get a person to help them. I think they will lose a lot of loyal customers.”
Tina Young wrote: "I started using Sainsbury's a few years back when Morrisons had no staffed tills in the evenings. We left a full trolley and walked out as they offered to show us how to use the self service.
"I am not employed by the supermarket therefore I want a human being being paid a wage by them or offer me a percentage discount on my shopping for doing so."
Tracey Copping added: "I went in this morning and it’s terrible, only four proper checkouts! This will only cause chaos, during busy periods and will take custom away from them!"
The same number of staff will reportedly continue to work in Sainsbury’s despite the changes.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We regularly review the services available in our stores to make sure we offer the most convenient experience to our customers.
“This month, we will slightly increase the number of self-service checkouts at our Spalding superstore so that we can meet customer demand for this service.
“Our colleagues are on hand to help anyone who may need support using them and we continue to offer manned checkouts for our customers who wish to use them.”
