Be There And Queue ...... Even Longer

[oldmanxfella]

Wow, there's a whole separate thread about this?

 

As I said in the cheery staff thread, people have been LAID OFF so they could get these, and just for the sake of money, pure and simple. The staff hate them as much as the customers, and they must watch and assist people, as its part of their job.

 

Its likely that all the manned tills will be going bar the returns desk, so I suggest you do learn to use them.

 

The staff, bar 1 or 2, are lovely by the way. The management however? The most retarded arseholes on the history of the planet. I know someone who works there who got sent to hospital by B&Q for coughing up blood. The day after, they got a written fucking warning for being off when they forced them to go to hospital against their will. Have mercy on the poor saps who work there, that's the sort of stuff they have to put up with.

 

I think the management must be retarded.

 

If it ends up that I have to serve myself then I'll be ordering most of the stuff I currently buy from B & Q from ScrewFix over the internet - its cheaper anyway and for all the paint and paper I need I'll get it from Ashcrofts where the staff are great and again usually they are cheaper. As far as I am concerned B & Q can go and f**k themselves. It should be about creating local employment otherwise what the hell benefit to our economy are they providing? I can buy anything I need to buy at B & Q online from ScrewFix for next day delivery - at least I don't have to be arsed driving up there to check the stuff out myself and its delivered to my door.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Its likely that all the manned tills will be going bar the returns desk, so I suggest you do learn to use them.

 

Nah. I'll just shop elsewhere

[pongo]

Granted it takes a while for older people to get used to paying for goods themselves rather than having someone else conduct some parts of the transaction. But it makes sense given that we already have to do the card bit ourselves now anyhow. Ultimately scanning will be unnecessary.

 

And given that most people get paid with completely electronic money, so it will make sense to ultimately phase out currency probably completely.

 

Lots of filling stations have introduced 24 hour completely self service pumps which take chip and pin cards. No doubt that will happen in the IOM sooner or later.

[Bleu]

I found it madness that they seem to employ staff to watch you serve yourself - it'd be easier just to serve you themselves

 

That's the bit that really got me. Their staff are usually pretty friendly whilst they are serving you. Now they are paid to do nothing but glower at you just in case you might be tempted to rob something. Surely they would prefer to be chatting to customers and doing something useful. It is pure madness.

 

You know staff don't get to choose whether they go on the tills or the self service. It's up to the management.

[Albert Tatlock]

I was up there last Wednesday, and asked one of those machines where the bastard files were kept - the machine paused, beeped, and then told me to f**k off.

[manshimajin]

Granted it takes a while for older people to get used to paying for goods themselves rather than having someone else conduct some parts of the transaction.

Younger people, it would appear, are enamoured of silicon chips and bar code readers. Older gentlemen prefer blondes.

 

Does it come down to the spotties basic lack of oral communication skills? Or are they just too shy to interact with human beings?

[queenie]

While I'm no longer a teenager, being a lot closer to 40 than 30 and I'm perfectly capable of using the self service tills, I would still prefer to be served by a real person. I just enjoy that human contact, it's so impersonal scanning things yourself. As other people have already said, I would be more likely to order things over the internet or go to places like Haldane Fisher for timber etc if B & Q went totally self service.

[pongo]

Granted it takes a while for older people to get used to paying for goods themselves rather than having someone else conduct some parts of the transaction.

Younger people, it would appear, are enamoured of silicon chips and bar code readers. Older gentlemen prefer blondes.

 

Does it come down to the spotties basic lack of oral communication skills? Or are they just too shy to interact with human beings?

 

I do not think it is a them and us situation. Just about focusing on the economic and technological inevitable and getting on with it.

 

The typical check-out experience was seldom an opportunity for a great social interaction IMO.

 

Some niche shops the personal interaction is definitely hugely important. B&Q or a pint of supermarket milk, I do not think so. Self scanning makes sense where a boutique / personal added value experience is not important.

 

Granted that self service, in general, has not always been particularly well done so far anywhere except the filling stations.

 

I would be more likely to order things over the internet or go to places like Haldane Fisher for timber etc if B & Q went totally self service.

 

I cannot understand why anyone would not already use the internet if not in a hurry - or a timber yard for timber.

[manshimajin]

The Tesco store I try to avoid when I am in Ireland has a system that monitors store air temperature/ air conditioning useage to calculate how many shoppers are in the store. This is in turn used to determine how many staff should be on the floor keeping an eye on the self-service checkouts. Shame about eyes and observation.

 

My basic grumble is that instead of queueing for a human assistant we are now queuing for a machine operated check-out. It does not speed up the process it simply replaces one queue with another queue.

 

What we need if we have to have robotic shopping is better technology that is useful for the client not just for the store operator. My vote goes for 'intelligent' shopping baskets that tell you how much your shopping is costing as you place items in. Of course store operators would not like this as it actually would help shoppers to know how much they are spending before they get to the till and would cut out a lot of the impulse purchases that stores rely on.

 

The argument that self service checkouts allow stores to put more staff out on the floor to assist shoppers is certainly not true of Tesco (and I doubt of B&Q). Since the self-service machines were introduced about 3 years ago the only staff you see are a few shelf stackers and a few staff standing next to the checkouts. In this context I wonder what extra jobs the enlarged Tesco will actually provide if it gets the go ahead.

[keyboarder]

If it ends up that I have to serve myself then I'll be ordering most of the stuff I currently buy from B & Q from ScrewFix over the internet - its cheaper anyway and for all the paint and paper I need I'll get it from Ashcrofts where the staff are great and again usually they are cheaper. As far as I am concerned B & Q can go and f**k themselves. It should be about creating local employment otherwise what the hell benefit to our economy are they providing? I can buy anything I need to buy at B & Q online from ScrewFix for next day delivery - at least I don't have to be arsed driving up there to check the stuff out myself and its delivered to my door.

B & Q? Screwfix? It's all Kingfisher to me............ ; )) Lol,lol........... ; )