The End of my Walmart Years

[Turkeytop]

Our local Walmart shut down all of their checkouts for one hour today, except for the self checkouts. Word is, they're going to phase out all of their human checkouts within the next few weeks They had staff on hand to indoctrinate shoppers on the use of self checkouts. I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream.

[stopnswop2]

The one here in Novi never has more than TWO lanes open, everyday since they opened !
Then half the self checkouts are always "out of order".

The place is a mess too.

I hate going

[ZenithCKLW]

I despise Wal-Mart. The one by me at Wonderland in Livonia is especially bad. The self-checkouts are typically the only alternative to one manned lane that is 10 customers deep. Half the self-checkouts don’t work, the staff doesn’t care, I can never get through a transaction without tracking down the cashier to override something, and the other customers who don’t know how to use self-checkout make it even slower. It’s a good concept in theory but in practice it’s just a disaster. And for some reason there is always some phantom random beeping that no one will investigate. I can hear it anywhere in the damn store. I go to Wal-Mart if I can’t find what I need somewhere else or if it’s an otherwise last resort. I’m always disappointed.

[TC Talks]

You should switch to Amazon. They're much more worker-friendly.

[craig11152]

I was just in the Walmart on Ellsworth road in Ypsi yesterday.
Found what I came for, bought a couple other items asked an employee where the eggs were, got a friendly response.
The self checkout worked fine. The only minor glitch was for some reason Gas Stabilizer kicks up as an item that needs an override by an employee. That added 15 seconds to my visit.
I don't go to Walmart often because I pass a Kroger, Target, Home Depot, Lowes and a Meijer on the way. So one of those closer stores usually fits my need. But when I got home I said to my wife, "we should go to Walmart more often"

[Graham Wellington]

Our local Walmart shut down all of their checkouts for one hour today, except for the self checkouts. Word is, they're going to phase out all of their human checkouts within the next few weeks They had staff on hand to indoctrinate shoppers on the use of self checkouts. I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream.

Right on, because learning new things is hard and we'd rather just live life in 1982 perpetuity.

[Deleted User 8570]

Was in the Southgate Walmart yesterday... the place was a pig sty. Stuff everywhere, clothes all over the floor... shelves look a mess, spills and food on the floors... I usually go to Meijer. It’s union and it looks a lot cleaner and more inviting. It’s also generally better stocked and managed.

Both Target and Meijer have always seemed like “normal” or even upscale stores compared to Wal-Mart and their whole dynamic. I always see strange people that I have no idea where they came from there too... makes for good people watching at least

Also weird is Wal-Mart’s habit of numbering with a letter and number each area of the story... I saw an I-8 at one point... don’t know how an employee is supposed to direct you anywhere with a system like that. Nobody could possibly memorize all the letters and numbers. That and the grocery aisles are each numbered by side so if you walk down an aisle 14 is the side to your right and 15 is the side to your left... never seen either anywhere else...

[Turkeytop]

Right on, because learning new things is hard and we'd rather just live life in 1982 perpetuity.

I get it. Why pay employees when you can get the customers to do the job for free?

[Graham Wellington]

Right on, because learning new things is hard and we'd rather just live life in 1982 perpetuity.

I get it. Why pay employees when you can get the customers to do the job for free?

Technology closes the doors to certain jobs and opens the doors to others. It's been that way since the beginning of time. Do you still wish you had an operator connect all your phone calls?

[craig11152]

That and the grocery aisles are each numbered by side so if you walk down an aisle 14 is the side to your right and 15 is the side to your left... never seen either anywhere else...

I think It's that way at both Targets in "Ann Arbor" (actually both in Pittsfield Township.) I've had occasion to search for items on the Internet then go find them in the store.

[Turkeytop]

Technology closes the doors to certain jobs and opens the doors to others. It's been that way since the beginning of time. Do you still wish you had an operator connect all your phone calls?

But we can choose not to aid and abbet in that process.

One of Canada's largest retailers, Canadian Tire, is now removing its self checkouts because of customer resistance.

[HD74]

" I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream."

RIGHT ON!!

I will not use the self-checkout.
If you want me as a customer in your store, you'd better staff it, my money spends just as well somewhere else.

[Deleted User 14888]

Our local Walmart shut down all of their checkouts for one hour today, except for the self checkouts. Word is, they're going to phase out all of their human checkouts within the next few weeks They had staff on hand to indoctrinate shoppers on the use of self checkouts. I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream.

So you went through all the trouble loading the cart with ice cream, It would of been easier just to go through the self checkout and be on your way, That was a stupid thing to do and it was more work for you to do. Some people just do stupid things and obviously your one of them.

[Deleted User 8570]

Our local Walmart shut down all of their checkouts for one hour today, except for the self checkouts. Word is, they're going to phase out all of their human checkouts within the next few weeks They had staff on hand to indoctrinate shoppers on the use of self checkouts. I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream.

So you went through all the trouble loading the cart with ice cream, It would of been easier just to go through the self checkout and be on your way, That was a stupid thing to do and it was more work for you to do. Some people just do stupid things and obviously your one of them.

He did it in protest... never mind the workers who have to deal with his mess...

Meanwhile at Wal-Mart with the wife (not my idea) and I didn’t realize they have a guy manning a little booth at the fitting rooms... he needs to know how many garments you take into what room... says something about theft levels here me thinks...

When I worked at Kroger the common instruction for people who do that stuff would be “hide and go fuck yourself”... we hated those people and I would strongly encourage folks to not be that guy...

[Graham Wellington]

" I just left my shopping cart and walked out, but not before loading it up with ice cream."

RIGHT ON!!

I will not use the self-checkout.
If you want me as a customer in your store, you'd better staff it, my money spends just as well somewhere else.

And people with that mindset typically pinch their pennies into oblivion, so I'm guessing stores aren't bending over backwards trying to keep your business.