Coles customer gets told off for using self-checkout ‘incorrectly’

A man has sparked a debate online after he got told off for using a Coles self-serve checkout incorrectly.

A Coles customer who scanned their items in their trolley rather than putting them on the conveyor belt has revealed the action isn’t allowed at the supermarket.

The shopper was shocked to find they were using a self-serve checkout incorrectly, after a staff member pointed out the “mistake”.

In a post shared on Reddit the person wrote: “So usually with those you unload the trolley onto the belt, park trolley at the end, scan items and put them back in the trolley.”

“But because I only had six items I just picked up the hand scanning gun and beeped everything in the trolley without putting them on the belt.”

“The Coles staff member standing there told me I’m not allowed to do that and must place all items on the conveyor belt,” they wrote.

When the customer reasoned that they thought it would be easier to checkout given how few items there were, the staff member explained it was prohibited “because then we can’t watch you properly.”

Self-serve checkouts with conveyors can be found in many Coles stores. Picture: Facebook

“They want us to scan our own stuff but also want to tell me how to do it? Yeah, nah Coles,” the shocked customer wrote.

“If they think I’m going to steal something then check my receipt when I’m finished.”

The hi-tech checkouts, which feature a conveyor belts and cutting edge antitheft technology, were first introduced in 2021 and are now replacing traditional manned check outs in some stores across the country.

Many outraged Reddit users commented on the post to express their frustration at Coles’ “bizarre rule”.

“Same thing today, got asked to scan the box of coke cans before anything else at self serve, no idea why,” one shared.

“Makes more sense to me to unload the smaller items into bags and then only have the bigger item last left in the trolley,” another added.

“Lucky you – I wasn’t even allowed to use the conveyor belt because apparently it was meant to be saved for people with a full trolley,” chimed in another.

“The audacity of being told you’re doing it wrong when Coles and Woolworths have tricked us all into working for them for free — by using the self-service checkouts, you are now doing the work of a cashier,” someone else wrote.

Retail chains around the world first implemented self-checkout systems almost a decade ago in hopes of speeding up lines and cutting labour costs by reducing the number of cashiers.

Many shoppers find self-service checkouts too troublesome to use. Picture: Supplied.

Responding to the Reddit post, a current Coles staff member proposed the reason for this “bizarre” rule may be due to stores enforcing key performance indicators (KPIs) – metrics usually used to measure success in employment – on customers that use self-serve checkouts.

According to research conducted by ECR Retail Loss, stores track the performance of self-serve check outs to optimise customer experience.

This can include registering the number of transactions, measuring customer satisfaction levels, calculating the number of staff interventions and the number of items not scanned.

“The rationale is that the bigger things can get missed or “missed” if they are still in the trolley, so by scanning them all first, you ensure you’ve caught everything,” they wrote.

“It’s a metric that shows up in your scanning figures and you can get in trouble if you aren’t at the required percentage.”

“Wait, as a customer I now have scanning KPIs I get tracked on?” a commenter asked the Coles staff member.

“And what if I get in trouble for not meeting my percentage? What will they do? Fire me?” a frequent self-serve checkout customer joked.

Major retailers overseas are now ditching self-service in response to customer feedback and an online poll by news.com.au found 86.5 per cent of respondents wanted it gone.

Of the more than 6,000 people who voted, over 5,400 said they want self-service checkouts “abandoned” – compared to just 840 who think they should stay.

The recent survey showed that many shoppers find self-service checkouts too troublesome to use. Many instead opt to head over to a staffed checkout, leading to long queues and disgruntled customers.

Coles has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.

Originally published as Coles customer gets told off for using self-checkout ‘incorrectly’