Albertsons Ditching Self-Checkout Chainwide

[mattm04]

In what might be the first hints of trouble for grocery self-checkout, the 217-store Albertsons LLC grocery chain confirmed Tuesday (July 6) that it is yanking self-checkout systems from all of its stores because of a “very high focus on customer service.” This comes on the heels of word from Kroger that it is experimenting with a self-checkout-less store design and an IHL report last week that “Publix continues to be on the fence” of self-checkout.

Sources within both Kroger and Albertsons LLC cited the same self-checkout concern, which is that many customers perceive it to be less customer-service-oriented than staffed checkout lanes. Also, an increasing number of products require staff intervention, and that—coupled with consumers making errors in using the systems—can slow the self-checkout lines dramatically.

Read more: http://storefrontbacktalk.com/social...#ixzz1RaFJv4zD

I don't know the specifics about Albertsons SC setup, but at one of the major chins in my area has a bad setup. for the cashier to intervene in a transaction, they need to make the way over to the screen/scanner section and scan a card to resolve the issue. I have seen setups where their is a kiosk located in the middle of the SC where they can clearly visibly see the units and resolve some of the issues without making their way to the machine.

In reality, my guess is that the “very high focus on customer service” involves complaints from SCs who have no clue how to use it and insist on doing their their own way and run into problems. I don't see why they can't let the customer choose, instead of putting them thru the staffed line, stupid corporate mandated small talk included.

[AdminAssistant]

....No, Kroger...please keep the self-check....Please? It's so much easier to get in and out of the store quickly plus I get to bag my OWN groceries.

[draggar]

Albertsons - no matter how good your customer service is, people still won't shop there because your stores are FILTHY and filled with some garbage you call groceries.

They all closed around here and most locations were re-opened as Publix or Whole Foods within 12-15 months. I'm saddened at all the people who lost their jobs but I'm sure most were hired back with the new company.

[Frantic Freddie]

Our local Smith's (owned by Kroger) was the 1st in the state to have self-checkout & according to the folks that work it it's very popular.They have a register right there so they can take cash that's too old/bent/torn/etc... to go into the machine & they're pretty quick about overriding the "Please show ID to cashier" for me when I'm picking up my weekly 40 gallons of booze

I bet if they tried to take it out there'd be some serious howling.My only complaints are with the SCs that use it to check out 4 carts of stuff & the people (generally little old ladies,though my mother has mastered it) that get hopelessly confused by the simple directions: "Place item in bag"

[tropicsgoddess]

Albertsons - no matter how good your customer service is, people still won't shop there because your stores are FILTHY and filled with some garbage you call groceries.

They all closed around here and most locations were re-opened as Publix or Whole Foods within 12-15 months. I'm saddened at all the people who lost their jobs but I'm sure most were hired back with the new company.

The customer service and deli was way better and the store was cleaner than Winn-Dixie, IMO. It's sad that they went down, but my guess is from mismanagement.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I rarely use self-checkouts. I don't think Wegmans even has one; my closest ShopRite does but they're tucked all the way at the far end and with all the displays in the front aisle half the time I forget they're even there. I prefer to have someone ring me up and at ShopRite the setup is so you bag your own stuff anyway (unless there's a bagger but usually there isn't unless it's really busy, and I avoid the busiest times). If I'm not done when it's time to pay the cashier has bags on their side as well so they can finish bagging while I run my card.

[Eric the Grey]

Given that they had the most horrible self checkouts imaginable, I'm not surprised. The machines in my local store were the slowest things I've ever seen. They must be running on an old 386 cpu or something.

They yanked them out a week or so ago, and put in new fast lanes. At least they are keeping them manned to speed things along, because I only go there for quick trips of a few items. Kroger gets my main sopping because they are cheaper.


Eric the Grey

[KellyHabersham]

....No, Kroger...please keep the self-check....Please? It's so much easier to get in and out of the store quickly plus I get to bag my OWN groceries.

'Tis the opposite at the kroger I go to - they rely more on the self-check machines instead of cashiers, so you get a line no matter what.

[SG15Z]

....No, Kroger...please keep the self-check....Please? It's so much easier to get in and out of the store quickly plus I get to bag my OWN groceries.

That part confuses me in the article. I've heard nothing from within the company about getting rid of SCO's. They're too popular throughout the company. I'd be shocked if Kroger completely got rid of SelfCheck.

[trailerparkmedic]

I really hope Kroger doesn't get rid of SCOs. I like to go to Kroger for a few things in between big trips and they NEVER have enough staff. The lines are bad enough as it is.

[mattm04]

Given that they had the most horrible self checkouts imaginable, I'm not surprised. The machines in my local store were the slowest things I've ever seen. They must be running on an old 386 cpu or something.

They yanked them out a week or so ago, and put in new fast lanes. At least they are keeping them manned to speed things along, because I only go there for quick trips of a few items. Kroger gets my main sopping because they are cheaper.


Eric the Grey

If IIRC our run on some hybrid of OS/2 and Win 2k, last time I saw one reboot. OS/2 runs the back-end POS stuff, while Win2k drives the self-scan GUI, belts and scales. At least the work quickly.

[Javarod]

I really hope Kroger doesn't get rid of SCOs. I like to go to Kroger for a few things in between big trips and they NEVER have enough staff. The lines are bad enough as it is.

If Kroger is uniform, i doubt they'll get rid of them, here at Fry's they're used more as a supplemental thing until 11PM or so when they become the only registers. Inconvenient if you have to shop in the middle of the night, but typically people are just grabbing a bag or two of groceries so it works fine.

[DerangedHermit]

It's rather safe to say that my company is very much on the pro-selfscan side, considering their scan-as-you-go things have been deployed to a pretty large majority of their stores. Most of the selfscan installs tend to use the IBM self-checkout software with the OS hybrid that mattm04 described, although some use U-Scan.

The other major chains on the Island:

- Pathmark/Waldbaums (A&P): Almost all Pathmarks have self-checkouts since the majority of them are pretty large stores. Not all Waldbaums do since some of the stores are pretty outdated and small.
- King Kullen: only a few of the large stores tend to have them. They had put them in their stores much later than Pathmark, Waldbaums, or my company.
- Shoprite: as each store is individually owned and operated, their designs are not uniform. I know quite a few in my area do not have self-checkout (including a very large new store opened this year).

[Midnight12]

I remember when Albertsons used to have the little grocery scanners to "make shopping more convenient" but caused more trouble. I also remember when they used to deliver to home...then it got to where there were too many albertsons in one area and had to shut some down

[Teysa]

My location got rid of the self checkouts a couple of months ago. Those things really were more trouble than they were worth. Of course, the powers that be chose to cut hours instead of putting more cashiers on the floor. This has led to numerous customer complaints because of the lines. Naturally that's the fault of the cashiers.

Have I mentioned I'm glad I don't work front end?