I know it's late news but I'm surprised that there's not already a topic on it on OzBargain
https://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/34379949/coles-to-trial-12-i…
Just sharing and wondering what OzBargainers' thoughts are, which might be a different from other sites given the high amount of thieves on this site who have openingly admitted to stealing from Self Checkout with all kinds of lame excuses for their own lack of moral aptitude.
Although some like it most would like to be served because it means you have a connection with the store, having to do everything yourself removes the connection. They should keep a max of 3 self serve and get more people back serving customers :)
Good! To many stores have only one staff member on at night and make us use self checkout. We should at least have the option to chose either check out. 12 items is plenty for one trip to the shops.
I only use them when I have less than 12 items anyway. That being said I routinely have to wait ages in line for the one open checkout, so I hope this leads to them having more checkouts open.
Pointless exercise, anyone who lives near the shitty Rhodes QLD coles would know they put sweet FA Staff on the weekend and the staff they do put on can't bag items properly and waste my time, one staff member on until I scream out from one of the checkouts and start unloading my trolley, I have walked out on a store before not wanting to serve me and went to woolworths, so I agree its time to bring back good old fashioned service
Reduces bagging items crime that you didn't pay for
but it promotes happier customers not waiting up to 20 mins because of some twit thinking its an amusement park wasting peeoples time
I don't feel it will reduce crime, thieves are always one step ahead anyway,all this is doing is slowing down the amount stolen at one time
perhaps coles should rethink their strategies and perhaps treat loyal customers with some respect, tarnishing everyone with the one paint brush just leaves a bad taste in everyones mouth
They have not cut costs with self service, they have actually increased costs due to all the bloody software issues they have, how many times do you scan an item and the price off the shelf isn't right, you waste 10 minutes finding a staff member who gives a toss, then they make you look like a liar whilst they check the price out on the shelf and then fart around having a chat with joe bloggs about their weekend, seriously a waste of time, self service should have always been express, 12 items and less, but the problem is having lines of people at manned booths just causes shopping trolley users to head to self checkout, already pissed they've had to wait 20 minutes for access to actually leave the store after scanning their items
A complete joke and soon enough you will see stores shrink and online take over, give it 5-10 years, you will be able to order stuff directly off your fridge (you can do that now I know but not mainstream)
There are two types of shoplifting that is discussed:
This is only targeting the second type. However, it might not even be effective. If a thief wants to walk out with a trolley of goods, then a thief will find a way eg. taking the front entrance.
If Coles are trying to crack down on thieves why not just get rid of the damn self service checkouts?
The reason is because they save more money by not employing checkout staff. I think they should just get over it.
How about they just employ 2 people to watch the people scan stuff? Because it will end up costing too much.
Coles Grenfell Street Adelaide only has self-serve. I dont think they will be able to enforce the 12 item limit.
Incorrect. They have operated checkouts as well, at the Rundle Mall end of the store.
12 items. That means I won't seeing anymore people buying 100s of gift cards any more?
This kind of sucks. I exclusively use self checkouts and shop with the smaller trolleys because I can pack things the way I want them and ensure things are all scanning at the right price.
The last time I used a belt checkout I had to endure the cashier telling me how he showed up at work drunk and started throwing up before he was sent home (not even joking…). All while my veggies were being packed with canned tomatoes. Yeah, no thanks.
Self checkout any day for me, thanks.
Yeah this is horseshit. Have to wait longer at manned checkouts, they aren't as fast, and they don't pack the bags right. I have disliked manned checkouts as long as I have lived and the self checkouts were a blessing.
My thoughts are who gives a sh*t, just go through the other checkouts.
Perhaps that way you won't have to stand shoulder to shoulder with the plague carrying thieves you seem to hate so much.
Now the next problem is that the line to the manned checkouts will be too long.
Limiting to 12 items still won't stop the ppl scanning apples as carrots.
They're better off putting an additional person on to stamp the receipt as ppl leave the self service area.
If it were my shop, I'd put cameras on the self-checkout machines that take a photo of each item as it gets weighed.
Image recognition software is pretty good these days, it can easily tell the difference between a steak and a carrot.
If such a mismatch is detected, flag the customer as suspicious and keep an eye on them…
You could take a photo of the customer's face too if you really wanted to catch theft, but some legitimate customers might be upset by this (even though the 73 other cameras in the shop already have filmed them)
If i dont get a discount i dont self check out.
Al my local they have 1 register open at express and a few at the regular so i have a choice but dont like aelf checkout.
I feel like I'm being unreasonably hurried when I'm served at the staffed counter. When I bring my own bags I want my time to be able to fit things and organise it properly. They just shoo you out the door as soon as possible.
This is why I self checkout.
Once I had the machine screaming unexpected weight blah blah when everything matched perfectly. The staff came over and muttered 'I can't be bothered checking, you'll get whatever it is for free.'
I didn't even steal anything. Don't think I deserve that snide remark.
If xbox kinect or similar technology on your phone can identify your face surely technology can be made to identify objects been placed on the scales.
I was just thinking the same thing about 2 seconds before I scrolled to your comment. Object ID would still be quite difficult for most stuff, especially in a bag.
They should just put a camera on all self checkouts and have a guy in a control room monitor them all, kinda like in a casino. If someone steals, the control room guy can call security to arrest the thief as they leave the store.
TL:DR But my Coles has the self check out area and also a self check out area where they have a conveyor belt thing like a staff assisted check out, but you do it all yourself. Are they limiting those ones too because they are kind of deliberately made for a "big shop".
Woe to the dishonest scammin' scumbags helping themselves to cheap or free groceries at the expense of the majority do gooders, and then having the nerve to justify their evil ways. Anything that stops me for paying for these petty pathetic pricks is welcome, and if the 12 item limit fixes that then so be it.
Coles need to hire more cashier - Self checkout = Zero customer service IMHO.
What's the point of building stores with 10 checkout conveyor belts, but only 2 staff members serving customers?!
what customer service? you are trying to buy some groceries. what do you actually want from them? unless im specifically asking a staff member a question leave me alone at any store. i can also pack groceries with much more care than random check out chick/guy #5 and sort my bags appropriately.
the card only self service at our coles are ALWAYS empty so why not let me use them..as it is i always get to skip the line as people are lined up waiting to use the cash ones for some bizarre reason. (seriously who uses cash to purchase things from a shop? its actually inconvenient these days)
I'm looking forward to being able to checkout through a proper checkout instead of self serve when I've got a trolley full of groceries. My local coles is useless and after about 6pm they don't have staffed checkouts.
Yeah this is dumb. I tend to do my weekly shop at night (I go after I put the kids to bed, no crowds, pure bliss).
Couple of woolies and coles I've been to have had no registers open, just self checkouts, and then 2 or 3 staff just chatting away standing near the checkouts.
I usually ask them if they could please open a checkout for me as I have a trolley full of goods, and usually get the rolleyes, followed by reluctant agreement.
Other occasions they flatly told me no and I've had to painfully put every single item through myself. Although every few items I would get the "assitance required" messages and then secretly grin inside as they would have to come and assist me. :D
On one occasion one of them actually did put my whole load through for me on the self-checkout counter, which was admirable.
These days I just stay clear away from those stores.
I prefer self service as I don't have to wait in line behind incompetent people who can't organise themselves properly. If my local Coles introduces this rule I shall simply shop elsewhere.
"We also have team members available to serve on traditional belted lanes for customers who prefer to use them or have a larger number of items."
No you don't, whenever I do my shopping either 1 person is on the 12 items or less express belt or none.
I hate self checkout, poorly positioned, people with trolleys blocking everyone else's way, it's really only useful for anything under 5 items really.
They should make the entrance to the self-serve area smaller than the width of a trolley; boom, problem solved.
Half the population won't fit through it in that case.
Ouch.
I just can't believe Self Checkouts generate so much discussion..
I think it's the perfect combination of tightarse-dom and sanctimony that gets everyone excited.
Ps. Looks like The Age has been trawling ozb over the weekend for ideas.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/its-no-wonder-we-view-coles…
BS. They should make a separate lane for thieves, without any checkouts.
There is, it's the same way people walk into the store…
I don't prefer the self serve, I just use it as even at the busiest peak times after work between 4-7pm my local coles only ever has two staffed registers and one of those is joined with the Cigarette serving and has to pull double duty.
If this means more registers are open then I say it's a good thing. IF more registers are opened.
My local Coles in the lead-up to Christmas staff every register in the store and it is the best shopping when you can walk up to a register with no line and get served which is how it should be.
Man loved that over Christmas… there were staff standing around doing nothing when I was there early in the morning. Normally I am like trying to figure out which line would be the quickest.
I'm sad that there are 22,000 thieves out there.
The other day I left a $7 item on my driveway for a friend to collect and someone stole it.
I feel sorry for people who think it's okay to steal.
Well this had better mean that the manned checkouts will be…manned rather than empty. I hope…
This is sexist. I prefer them to be womanned.
Qld mum admits to stealing $4500 in groceries in elaborate, self-serve checkout scam
This person is on a completely different level.
Has anyone been able to figure out how she got past the weight check on the self-serve checkouts?
Seems like this scam would be easier to pull off at an attended checkout.
She didn't have to get past the weight check, it was no longer there.
Coles silences ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ to reduce customer frustration
As per previous comments, people are OK with scamming machines, but not a human.
Ah - makes sense now. Seems like these people were a bit more clever:
http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-wasatch-front-/six-arres…
Or maybe not …
If Aldi can have staff on their tills, then I want Coles, with 50 tills, to have every one of them opened and closed as per demand. Just like how Aldi does - with 3 staff members.
In Tesco, in the UK, I had the option to scan my item just before i put it into my cart. If I didn't want it, I just canceled & put it back. The cart kept a running total, for fresh fruit & veg, I did a self-checkout or a store member helped in a special isle for self scanning trolley customers. It was quick, I was able to stick to budget, I had my shopping list with the location in store on my cart.
But to sum up, I WANT more staff on the belts, more lanes open & them using their infrastructure to the max to minimise our wait times.
Also, with more money coming in, they can't complain.
Rather hard to keep it under 12 when canned tuna is on sale.
Most self checkout layout is not suitable for trolleys, it is not easy to leave it closeby without blocking others. Maybe they should redesign it?
maybe a belted lane with a self serve checkout for trolley users?
You are right, I saw them at wow but not at coles before.
Some fruits and veges could end up quite heavy to carry in basket even below 12 items.
I really hate it standing in line at a register, waiting for the lady watching the staff scan her 60 items. Waits for bags put in trolley, hears the total. Annnnnnd now starts looking for her purse and money.. Here is a tip, get it ready while waiting instead of standing like a stunned mullet.
If Coles really wanted to eradicate theft conducted in their stores, they might want to start by first reviewing the extorting agreements they force their suppliers into. Happy for the police to use my share of taxpayers money to help them with this.
At the coles i go to, they usually have 2-3 people in the self serve (to prevent theft i assume) and every other checkout is full on the weekends and thursday/friday. It bugs me to see that there is barely anyone in the aisles filling and all these checkouts are open and there is no one for them to serve… to me that just feels a bit stupid… mainly because you just see them chatting together while these other people look like theyre busting their balls in the aisles.. anyway, i like the self serve. You still get greeted and can go at you're own pace (fast).
I for one am glad, the stores I shop at are almost exclusively self-checkout and the machines make mistakes all the time, it takes ages to get a full shop through. Bring back the checkout chicklets.
It's a bit crap because it's a problem Coles created for themselves by getting rid of manned checkouts in an effort to cut costs, I was even more p#&$@d off when I saw that one store in NSW had called upon the Police to help them combat theft. To me that just seemed like Coles getting free assistance for an issue they created for themselves in the first instance - why shouldn't they have to foot the bill for LPO's just like any other retail outlet?
At this point I'll point out I do not advocate theft from self checkouts and have never done it myself, but I tend to think that if Coles are finding that self checkouts are resulting in an increase in theft - maybe they're not the best idea and you should go back to manned checkouts. While I understand that'll never happen because businesses like Coles generally refuse to take a backwards step it seems more logical than treating all your customers like thieves.