Supermarket chain gets rid of self-service and puts staff back behind tills after backlash

A huge supermarket chain has axed almost all of its self-checkouts.

Over the past few years, some people have been panicking over the increasing number of self-service machines in shops.

While most of us enjoy the convenience of being able to swipe through our own items and head on our way, others really don't.

And in a bid to improve customer service, a high-end supermarket chain has decided to do away with them.

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Booths has announced that it is getting rid of the self-checkouts in all but two of its stores.

Confirming the changes, the boujee supermarket said branches in Keswick and Windermere would be keeping the newfangled tech, while the other 26 would be culling them.

"We believe colleagues serving customers delivers a better customer experience and therefore we have taken the decision to remove self-checkouts in the majority of our stores," a spokesperson for the company said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Booths managing director Nigel Murray, said that it was the best decision for customers.

"Our customers have told us this over time, that the self-scan machines that we've got in our stores they can be slow, they can be unreliable, they're obviously impersonal," he said.

"We stock quite a lot of loose items - fruit and veg and bakery - and as soon as you go to a self-scan with those you've got to get a visual verification on them, and some customers don't know one different apple versus another for example.

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"There's all sorts of fussing about with that and then the minute you put any alcohol in your basket somebody's got to come and check that you're of the right age."

This comes after Aldi shoppers warned others about using self-checkouts.

If there's one thing Aldi is known for, it's their competitive prices.

However, some fans have alleged that promotions aren't added to purchases automatically on the machines.

Instead, these seemingly need to be added on by a member of staff.

As a result, people who use self-checkout machines may be missing out on the best bargains.

In a Facebook group for Aldi fans, one user wrote: "Any discounts don’t automatically apply on the self-checkouts. You have to ask a human employee to take the discounts off manually.

"This applies for % off stickers and any multibuys etc. I don’t know if this is common knowledge."

One to remember for your next big shop.

Topics: UK News

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom