You know, I don’t go in there very often. We do most of our shopping online these days. It just saves the hassle. But one of the things I get most aggravated about my former retail employer is just how far they have strayed from their original standards.
Rule #1 – The customer is always right.
Rule #2 – If the customer isn’t right, refer to Rule #1.
When we do finally go into the store, I see lines at the checkouts several customers deep. People just like me. They don’t want to go to the self checkouts. They’ve done their shopping. They have a basket full, almost overflowing, in some cases they have more than one basket — and they don’t want to check all of that stuff out at a self-checkout. Yet, the company, in their infinite wisdom — knowing what the customer really wants — more than the customer knows what they want — adds more self-checkouts, reduces employee manned checkouts, and doesn’t open the ones they do have. HOW CAN YOU BE MORE BLIND TO WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT?
This is a company that is supposed to be socially conscious. They monitor everything that is said about them on the internet. They see the memes — “When do we get the W2s for the Company X self-checkout operators.” “Company X laid off half of its cashiers. They now only have one register open in each store.” “Why does Company X have 20 registers and only 2 cashiers.”
How can they not know that you aren’t happy? The answer is, they do. But they know you will shop anyway. Besides, every other retailer out there is beginning to follow the same model – Retailers, Supercenters, Home Improvement Stores, and Grocery Stores are all trying to force you to do the work for them, so they can cut their payroll.
It’d be different if they incentivized the self-checkouts by giving you a discount for checking yourself out. Or if they just simply used the self-checkouts for a convenience to those who have a few items and don’t want to wait. But this intentional snubbing of their noses at you, the consumer who pays their checks, keeps them in business, and generally supply them with their ability to torture you with their practices.
There is a growing number of people who are refusing to bend. They, like me, will stand in line for as long as it takes to get checked out by the lone cashier. They ignore the suggestions, and even pleas, of Checkout Supervisors trying to direct them to the self-checks. They defy the system which ignores their importance and their preferences. And perhaps one day, someone will listen.
