You’re not alone if you’ve ever found yourself muttering under your breath at a self-serve checkout. For many Australians—especially those who remember when a friendly face would scan our groceries and ask about our day—the rise of self-serve checkouts has been a mixed blessing.
Sure, they promise speed and convenience, but a recent Coles shopper discovered that the reality can be far more frustrating—and even a bit bizarre.
A regular Coles customer, Shani Chantel, recently took to social media to vent her frustration after a run-in with a staff member at the self-serve checkout.
According to Chantel, she was told it was ‘illegal’ not to scan her bulky pack of toilet paper first. The interaction left her ‘totally flipping out’, and she told the employee in no uncertain terms to ‘get away from me.’
Coles has since clarified that they encourage staff to help customers with larger items to avoid accidental non-scanning.
‘The focus on having our team members scan the bulkier items first also helps to avoid situations where bulkier items are accidentally left in the trolley and not scanned,’ a Coles spokesperson explained.
But, they added, ‘We certainly don’t want our team members to “void” a customer’s shopping simply to have bulk items like toilet paper scanned first.’
Chantel’s experience is far from unique. A recent poll of more than 8,200 shoppers found that 78 per cent of Australians would rather have a human scan their groceries than use a self-serve checkout.
Many feel like they’re doing unpaid work for the supermarket giants, with no discount or reward for their efforts.
‘It is one thing to have to scan this myself and also be an employee here without being paid, but it is another for you to tell me how to pack my bag,’ Chantel said, echoing a sentiment that’s becoming increasingly common.
When self-serve checkouts first appeared, supermarkets promised us a faster, easier, and cheaper shopping experience. But has that promise been kept?
Sociology professor Chris Andrews, who has studied the rise of self-serve technology, said: ‘When we originally designed the modern supermarket, the premise was if consumers did more of the work, the stores would offer them a discount on food.’
‘But for consumers today, self-checkout doesn’t really offer any sort of economic incentive. It just invites you to do work for free for the supermarket.’
Santiago Gallino, a retail expert from the University of Pennsylvania, even questioned whether self-serve checkouts are a ‘failed experiment’.
While they can be handy in places like train stations, he said, they often add frustration and confusion in supermarkets.
It’s not just customers who are unhappy. Some supermarkets quietly roll back self-serve checkouts after discovering they’re a magnet for shoplifting.
Over one in ten Australians admit to stealing recently, and about 5 per cent confess to pinching items at the self-serve.
One IGA in Brisbane even scrapped its self-serve checkouts after a ‘significant increase in shoplifting’.
Are you shopping or being watched?
To combat this, supermarkets are investing in ever-more sophisticated surveillance technology—cameras, AI, and even facial recognition—to monitor every move you make at the checkout.
With all this technology, it’s easy to feel like the personal touch is disappearing from our weekly shop.
Jaquie Scammell, a customer service expert, said supermarkets need to find the right balance between technology and human interaction.
‘Ultimately, the future of customer service is a fusion of technology and human touch,’ she said.
‘Businesses need to decide what points of their customer journeys are high tech and what points are high touch.’
As supermarkets continue to experiment with self-serve technology, it’s clear that not everyone is on board.
Some overseas retailers, like Walmart in the United States and Booths in the United Kingdom, are reducing the number of self-serve checkouts after customer complaints about them being ‘slow, unreliable and impersonal’.
Have you had a run-in at the self-serve checkout? Do you prefer scanning your groceries, or do you long for the days of the friendly checkout operator? Have you ever felt watched—or even accused—while shopping? Share your stories and opinions in the comments below.
Also read: Coles shoppers are skipping these items as prices soar
Had a run in with Big W six months ago. I very rarely use self check-out but this time no manned check-out open. So, reluctantly I went to the self serve with the 1 item I had. 3 of the 10 self serve check-out’s were out of order so I went to the next available. Scanned my item and went to pay but no cash option. I always pay with cash. No card no me anyway at the time. By this time the manned check-out had opened. So of I went with item in hand to the manned check-out. While being served, a staff member from the self serve area started shouting at me that I didn’t clear the check-out from my item. She still kept a raised tone to inform me that I needed to clear the transaction. I informed her that one doesn’t accept cash, card only. Then I noticed above each one a sign saying payment type, then noticed 2 out of the 3 out of order machines were cash accepting and only 1 working which had a line up. I pointed this out and apologised. She still carried on. I asked her if she has received training. Yes, she replied. Well, I haven’t. She still went on with a raised tone so all could hear. So, matching her tone volume so everyone could also hear me I informed her she should recommend to her management that ALL machines accept ALL types of payments and also told her to ask management for special training on how to talk to people. I apologised to the check-out operator serving me and under her breath she said it’s okay with a wry smile and chuckle.
I refuse to use a self-checkout, it takes jobs from kids working their way through school and others. It takes longer and you get no discount. All this automation in all industries is going to have a major impact and not in a good way. I don’t think anyone has considered the amount of unemployed people it will cause resulting in less tax being paid and more benefits being paid out. This will have a major effect on the economy.
I have only tried the self-checkout once, I was in a hurry, all that I wanted was a Birthday Card, the two manned checkouts had about 10-12 customers in line, therefore I decided to try the self-checkout. Found a Cash Only one free, scanned the card and placed it into the tray, the checkout requested that I place the item in the tray, but it was there.
There wasn’t a Customer Service Person available !!!!
I cancelled the transaction, and retried, scan the Card and place in tray, same result, tried another 3 or 4 times, same result, by this time I would have gone through one of the Manned Checkouts (time lapse approximately 10 -12 minutes) !!!!
Therefore I stood the Card up on the scanner and preceded to walk out, that is when a Customer Service Person arrived and queried why I was leaving, I told “her” why in no uncertain terms why, and left.
I have never been back into that shop since, and that was about 6 years ago !!
I sourced the Card from another store, straight in and out via a manned checkout.
I’ve always hated self checkouts, and NOT because I didn’t know how to use them. I simply prefer going through a manned checkout and being able to pay in CASH not incur additional charges by paying by card! Fortunately I now live in a nursing home and no longer shop!
I find that most of the manned checkouts in my supermarkets are closed for the majority of the time literally forcing you into the self checkout machines. It seems most of the staff are running around the aisles, pushing trollies full of goods ordered by pick up or delivery shoppers who rarely go near the store!!