What you think of the Coles Self-checkout new GUI

cisco on 25/02/2017 - 19:06
Last edited 26/02/2017 - 01:12 by 1 other user

Earlier today I had a pleasure (NOT!) of checking out some groceries at the self service check out at Coles. The new Graphical user interface(GUI) is a shocker, seems like not much testing was done. I didn't find it user friendly Even the sales assistant was complaining about it.

Was wondering why they would change something that was working perfectly working fine but after some research I came across this article

But if you wanna change technology why change the Graphical User Interface - GUI

What are you thoughts on the new checkout GUI?

Did you find it user friendly?

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Coles
Coles

Comments

  • Diji1 on 25/02/2017 - 19:25
    +18

    I hate it.

    Both Colesworths claim they aren't employing less people because of them - which obviously makes them either liars or morons and I don't think they're morons.

    Special mention has to go to Woolworths for making their terminals so goddam slow. I think it's frozen after I touch it so I'm reaching out to touch it again.

    • JIMB0 on 25/02/2017 - 23:43
      +6

      The card only machines are a lot quicker at Woolworths.

      • airal3rt on 26/02/2017 - 00:25
        +1

        Didn't know this, cheers for the tip.

    • straphlinger on 26/02/2017 - 09:49
      +11

      They actually employing more people, they just moved from skilled checkout staff, to a bunch on amateurs programming the GUI.

      • reon on 27/02/2017 - 15:29
        +1

        You never know maybe it's outsource or off the shelf program from walmarts.

    • terrys on 26/02/2017 - 12:11
      +1

      Give Woolworths brownies point for the 'scan your loyalty card' piss-weak attempt from the budget end of the Social sciences bin.

    • smartazz104 on 28/02/2017 - 08:15
      +2

      Both Colesworths claim they aren't employing less people because of them - which obviously makes them either liars or morons and I don't think they're morons

      Your opinion on self-serve checkouts isn't what OP is trying to discuss.

      • ThithLord on 28/02/2017 - 09:13

        And it's full of shit, too.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2017 - 16:46

      Yeah, Woolworths pay by card is excruciatingly slow. The card only ones don't seem to be any faster.

      "Select payment type"
      eternity
      "Please swipe card when ready"

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2017 - 19:32

    Did they remove the ability to cancel a payment?, ie get back the cash you've already inserted.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2017 - 16:12

      Once you insert cash, it belongs to them. That's the idea, I think.

      • jordz0005 on 28/02/2017 - 21:53

        It's possible to cancel cash inserted at Woolworths (not sure about Coles but I would assume they can as well) but can only be done by a store employee. We just cancel the cash as if it's an item you scanned and the self checkout machine just spits the money back out.

  • try2bhelpful on 25/02/2017 - 19:35

    We had an issue the other day where we put in the wrong code for some fruit and we couldn't cancel it, we had to get the sales assistant to cancel it. Maybe it is part of their attempt to stop fraud.

  • ronnknee on 25/02/2017 - 19:39
    +4

    Which Coles were you at? How different is the new GUI different from the previous one? You didn't take any photos?

    • ThithLord on 28/02/2017 - 09:14

      I'd imagine the new GUI would be on their newer hardware capable of being upgraded.

  • JordanM on 25/02/2017 - 20:07

    I haven't seen a new GUI for Coles, did see one testing at Woollomolloo Woolies when I was down in Sydney early this month.

    • snipeymcsnipesnipe on 27/02/2017 - 23:32

      Just come back from my local coles, nothing had changed since last time? Is it only a trial or specific states maybe?

  • Sage on 25/02/2017 - 20:38
    +7

    New? What does it look like?
    If you have a problem with it, cisco, you should say what your issue is.

    This thread is missing a lot of information.

    • cisco on 25/02/2017 - 22:00

      Few issues tried scanning apples it was asking for quantity, though in case of pineapple it was weighing it and the colours are not that user friendly same as text is quite small. May have to go and get myself glasses ;)

      • [Deactivated] on 27/02/2017 - 00:32

        My local Coles still had the old interface tonight. I hope they don't change it to what you're describing. Ugh

    • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2017 - 10:34

      It's a busier looking design. Instead of the clickable boxes/buttons in the original payment options page. There's now two tabbed windows to select either cash or card. No cancel payment option at the bottom of the page or if at all.

  • serpserpserp on 25/02/2017 - 21:35
    -1

    Does the new UI help you scan your Cherries at Banana prices more easily?

  • FeRGan on 26/02/2017 - 00:14
    +1

    I wonder if I can buy physical gift cards with egift cards still…

    • singingwolf on 06/03/2017 - 19:24

      Yes, but this is what I found out (the hard way) on the weekend taking advantage of the COTTON:ON 2000 flybuy point offer - if you use a gift card or split payment to buy a gift card, it suspends the transaction and forces you to the front desk. It was soooooo painful. This will make future gift card offers en mass very hard to do as the front desk will question more and not allow large quantities I am sure.

      • FeRGan on 07/03/2017 - 00:45
        +1

        Yes, that's what I thought. I hate having to answer their questions about were I get the e-gift cards from. It feels like they are semi-interrogating me to see if i'm a scammer. If only I could load a blank eftpos card with e-gift cards.

  • amkssg on 26/02/2017 - 01:38
    +2

    Can you take a picture of the new GUI?

    I am assuming that what you call "New GUI" has actually been in place at my local coles for months.
    The reason why I asking is that my two nearest coles use different GUIs.

    So, I am wondering if there is a newer GUI, making it 3 different GUIs in use at the moment.

    • dufflover on 28/02/2017 - 22:47
      +1

      Most obvious difference if you don't know anything about the existing system is that the new one shows your last scanned item only in huge font, whereas the old one has the list style one.

  • werdnanostaw on 26/02/2017 - 08:39
    +5

    Re scanning cherries as bananas, at most supermarkets in France at the fruit and veg section you have to weigh and get a price sticker before you proceed to the checkouts. The spooky thing is that almost always the weigh station identifies the type of fruit or veg you have placed on the scales, presumably using a camera.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2017 - 08:55

    I hate it,I just want to type the name of the thing in looking for. Instead I have to look at pictures

    • WhatWouldBiggieDo on 27/02/2017 - 10:36
      +9

      Aren't you the guy that said the Ford Focus was made by Opel?

  • aleminium on 26/02/2017 - 11:30

    I 100% agree - with the new GUI I found the payment screen a bit difficult to follow

  • Adwil on 26/02/2017 - 12:05

    I think they could learn something from other companies out there and there's two things Bunnings know how to do well:
    1: A good snag
    2: Their self serve software. Easily the fastest and simplest to use.

    • DarwinBoy on 27/02/2017 - 16:20
      +1

      Bunnings also don't require stuff to be weighed.

    • xylarr on 27/02/2017 - 19:48

      Since Bunnings and Coles and K-Mart are owned by Wesfarmers, I could see similarities between all the self checkout systems. I'm worried now that Bunnings and K-Mart are going to change for the worse.

      • ThithLord on 28/02/2017 - 09:26

        They won't - they all have their own internal I.T. departments run completely independent of each other

  • forumninja on 26/02/2017 - 14:21

    I think the new GUI is cleaner and better. That being said I haven't had to interact with it much, because I didn't buy anything without a barcode.

    With the new system you can scan the barcode of a gift card instead of swiping it on the reader. I haven't tried copying the barcode and storing that in the phone for scanning though. I shall try that next time. That could mean carrying one less card in the wallet.

    • StevenUniverse on 27/02/2017 - 19:24

      there is a special scanner to the right of the screen to read cards on mobile phone and the promotions you find on dockets, it's usually under the flybuys promotion/dummy card. They're in the same place at other stores like Big W and Woolworths etc :)

  • Linjellet on 26/02/2017 - 15:07
    +1

    I agree, the Coles GUI is awful, it seems to be missing key design elements and is too busy i.e. No standout colours for key functions, no white space to enable users to sectionalise areas. I find the colours used all similar which means key functions are hard to find. I have used it umpteen times and I shake my head every time at the poor design…

  • Fexofenadine on 26/02/2017 - 15:53

    I feel like there are now far more steps to go through when you just want to make a simple card payment. Unsure if these other options were available previously but hidden away in a submenu somewhere, but if not I suppose it's good to have them. But it does unnecessarily lengthen the whole process…

  • barghunt1 on 26/02/2017 - 16:41
    +6

    Thought it was odd when I went to purchase phone credit at a coles self service with the new gui and it asked me if I wanted the receipt. The voucher is on the receipt. If the receipt doesn't print then I don't get my phone credit. The printing of a receipt should be automatic not optional for that kind of transaction. Other self service checkouts that I've used to purchase phone credit automatically print a receipt even if receipts are optional for other transactions.

    • tumsum on 28/02/2017 - 14:45

      would still print if you clicked No. Receipt prompted because of sales total threshold. This prompt was optionally in recent months added to reduce waste. Could be configured to turn off later.

  • 0p on 26/02/2017 - 21:19
    +3

    Nice try Coles employee who wants free feedback. We at ozbargain are not that cheap.😝

  • Online Bathroomware on 27/02/2017 - 09:13

    Love a story that makes out that those in their 30s are young and thieving.

    The “swipe everything as carrots” mentality was prevalent among young customers, who confessed to supermarket research body Canstar Blue that they had ripped off supermarkets at the self-serve.

    http://www.canstarblue.com.au/food-drink/stores/are-self-ser…
    Meanwhile 9% of shoppers admitted to deliberately not paying for an item at a self-service checkout. This number jumped to 17% of those aged in their 30s, compared to just 2% of adults aged 70 plus. Men (10%) are more likely to steal than women (8%).

    • JIMB0 on 27/02/2017 - 19:49
      +2

      You can frame any demographic in a bad light by selective use of statistics. 35% of people know that.

  • decr on 27/02/2017 - 09:55
    +1

    I love the self checkouts but yeah, the new interface is awful and confusing. It's like having to use Windows again after an unwanted upgrade. Still better than having to queue up to a traditional checkout though.

  • idonotknowwhy on 27/02/2017 - 10:44
    +4

    The woolworths checkouts are certainly the worst, they're so laggy!
    I hate the way they prompt you "would you like to print a receipt?", and sometimes they don't print it anyway.
    As if I'm going to walk out without a receipt, and have no recourse if the produce is bad.
    Then when I get assistance and say "the receipt didn't print", they usually look at me like I'm a pain for making them reload the paper and re-print it.

    • hell0 on 27/02/2017 - 11:40
      -1

      "no recourse if the produce is bad."
      Take out the seeds and grow your own.

  • burningrage on 27/02/2017 - 11:46
    +1

    Didn't like it.

    1. It scanned slower. Last Sunday, I scanned one item but didn't appear on the screen so I scanned again. It came out 2x.
    2. You can't void items. You now MUST call assistance to void. Previously you can void items (eg: Price check or accidentally scanned 2x scenario).
    3. It asked for whether you want receipt or not. OF COURSE I would want it. All the 4c fuel-a-docket printed barcode won't be printed if I said no. Dumb!
    4. And lastly, it can accept Digital FlyBuys but ONLY if you beep it on a special barcode reader located next to the siren lamp (top of screen). Previously, you can scan your Flybuy on the desk scanner (where the weight is) which is always quicker as you don't have to position your phone/card. With this special barcode, you have to position the card/phone so the bright red LED will capture it.

    However, having said that, I prefer Coles' POS vs Woolies. That one from Woolies is a waste of time. Clunky and asked too many questions.

    • Marty131 on 27/02/2017 - 16:33

      The asking for a receipt bit is annoying - I think it has a time out of about 10 seconds as well, and defaults to "no" if you're not quick enough!

      • miicah on 27/02/2017 - 17:55
        +1

        Because they assume if you haven't decided you have already left the store.

        • Marty131 on 28/02/2017 - 10:11

          I can understand, however, there is no option what so ever to print a receipt after the initial time out… I guess it still comes down to the system assuming you've gone, and next customer is coming.

          Maybe increasing the time out, or showing a countdown timer would be OK.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2017 - 16:32
          +1

          Why would someone need a receipt for 10 KGS of carrots when the items in the shopping bag wouldn't match the receipt.

      • StevenUniverse on 27/02/2017 - 19:32
        +1

        It could be because they've looked at the data they've collected since installing self serve and found there is a lesser number of people taking receipts vs leaving them behind?

        • Marty131 on 28/02/2017 - 10:22

          That's fair enough, however if you miss the initial prompt, and it times out, there is no way you are ever getting that receipt by yourself. I assume a staff member could log in and print it.

    • tumsum on 28/02/2017 - 14:52
      1. machine may have have not been used previously for a while, "standby", so the first item would take a little bit longer.
      2. previous gui you could choose what to cancel, but you'd still need staff to come and approve the cancel.
      3. no change, special barcode reader is imaging and can read mobile screens. Desk scanner is laser. Maybe your phone could emit IR to mimic the way paper barcodes worked.
      • burningrage on 28/02/2017 - 17:39
        1. Good reasoning but still wasnt a problem in old gui.
        2. As Bargs said below it did allow me to void items albeit with permission in the end. New GUI cant do at all.
        3. That may explain it. Thanks. Anyway i am now using Beep N Go and scanned my flybuys so i then can use with the machine. Digital flybuys does NOT work at Kmart. Confirmed.
    • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2017 - 16:50

      The 'old' software let me void items, but would still call someone to confirm. I'm annoyed they stopped weighing things. I've at least twice gotten home to find that it's scanned something twice, or in once case, scanned a packed of soft drink and one of the cans inside the pack that was poking out a gap in the packaging.

      So so far I'm 0:2 that I know of for the self-checkout stealing from ME.

  • HeWhoKnows on 27/02/2017 - 12:41

    Well maybe the poster can forward this to Coles and have something done about it.

    • cisco on 28/02/2017 - 07:50

      Do you think they care? If they did they would have done proper testing before rolling it out.
      I don't understand why change something if it's already working perfectly.

  • gimme on 27/02/2017 - 17:33
    +1

    The UI is a step backwards, just like their website. I find Woolies better on both counts.

  • Tasmaniac on 27/02/2017 - 18:05

    My local woolies doesn't even have self serve checkouts.

    Maybe the supermarkets need to rehire some staff and phase out the self serve.

    • Lacko on 27/02/2017 - 18:58
      +2

      No thanks. Even with the problems listed, self serve in my case is simply faster and i don't have to bother talking to anyone.

      • Tasmaniac on 27/02/2017 - 22:03

        I agree, it's a win/win for both supermarket and consumer. I think the supermarkets would happily switch back though if it meant more profits.

  • infinite on 27/02/2017 - 18:27
    +1

    Ironically, the new GUI is just going to have the effect of causing 1000's more to cheat the system and get discount goods out of pure frustration from using it.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/02/2017 - 19:07
    -5

    Ahhhh t bone steaks at bag of carrot prices never seemed easier, and if you get caught out you can always play the ahh stupid new GUI and lag, I can only play on min 76 fps card.

    • diddy50 on 28/02/2017 - 14:35

      Theft is never good.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/02/2017 - 18:54
        -1

        Mmmm kay.

        Should ask coles and wollies how much they are ripping off farmers.

        • ThithLord on 01/03/2017 - 08:40

          Anything to convince yourself that stealing is okay, huh?

        • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2017 - 14:12

          @ThithLord: i am a keyboard worrior.

        • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2017 - 14:25

          @Hotkolbas:
          Was the keyboard bought or stolen?

        • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2017 - 17:06

          @ms: nope.

          My PC's unfortunately are hand me downs.

  • xylarr on 27/02/2017 - 19:45
    +3

    Don't like it - usability is worse.

    While I accept I will adjust to the new layout eventually, what I won't adjust to is the removal of functionality.
    They have removed the ability to look up produce using three letters from its name. For example, if I have bananas, I search BAN or LAD (for lady finger). Nectarines? NEC.

    But now you have to click the right alphabetically ranged button - so for nectarines, you might have to click the "L-O" button. It's harder to do - you can't see an "N", and have to work out it's between L and O. It's just more clunky.

  • Aboottarren on 28/02/2017 - 10:51

    I was very cross the other day with Coles.on their on line ordering they had Harvest products for $2.50 each so I went down to purchase 4 cans,when I got there I was told that the price for in shop buyers was $3.89,I argued with the manageress for about 10 minutes before she agreed to let me have them for $2.50 If this happens to me again I will stop shopping and go to Woolworths,

    • tumsum on 28/02/2017 - 14:56
      +1

      online pricing specials are separate from store specials. Managers did you a favour

  • DingoBilly on 28/02/2017 - 11:23

    Haven't noticed any difference.. that being said, I used to work at Coles so I generally just scan my items and use the item codes for things like fruit and vegies so don't need to use the menu to look for objects.

    Always found them usable and quick, and appreciate the ability to reject receipts now. Such a waste to auto-generate receipts I always throw out.

  • diddy50 on 28/02/2017 - 14:15
    +2

    Terrible.
    No contrasting colours.
    The payment option is shocking when picking card. It asks you to pay full or partial amount. It's just tedious.

    • tumsum on 28/02/2017 - 14:59

      should they add a no payment option? previously "partial amount" was under "Mixed payment" which was confusing for some because you type in an amount and must pay with card first. If you had cash, you need to calculate the difference and pay that with card first.

      • burningrage on 28/02/2017 - 17:47

        One of the best features in old gui was that if i have prepaid visa with say $5 bucks left and my cost is $20, it will let me use $5 and auto deduct before it will then ask me to pay $15 left which i then use my normal cc.

        That was the best feature that i liked most from old gui. New gui you have to enter $$ first instead of auto deduct.

        More time wasted.

        But to be fair, the new gui allows me to use flybuys points fot $10 off. I never ticked yes anyway.

        • tumsum on 28/02/2017 - 19:09

          Only coles giftcards do that though and still do

        • burningrage on 28/02/2017 - 20:43

          @stevegates:

          Nah, I used my Citibank Prepaid Visa. But good if it still does it.

  • sween64 on 28/02/2017 - 18:27

    You can at least mute the Coles UI. Woolies will about at you constantly.

    • cisco on 02/03/2017 - 08:32

      valid point :)

  • dufflover on 28/02/2017 - 22:50

    I have to Coles that I frequent, one using the new one, the other the old one. Old one FTW hands down. The new one is just clunky and looks like they went overkill on the "simplify" aspect and it's too simple that if you do anything but scan one item and don't care, it's a pain in the ass to do anything else.

    I very very much prefer the original style one which thankfully the other Coles uses, and Woolies one being similar to that.

  • unelectric on 01/03/2017 - 10:49
    +1

    I used it and it was as awful as everybody is saying. Lookup item takes forever, and mixed payment is gone so if you have gift cards it's trickier to find.

    For reference, if you want to use a gift card (or printed out evoucher) you have to select card payment (so intuitive) and scan it using the product scanner.

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