Coles silences ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ to reduce customer frustration

SHOPPERS, say goodbye to the most annoying part of doing your groceries. Now if only they would get rid of self-service altogether.

SHOPPERS, say goodbye to the most annoying part of doing your groceries. Now if only they would get rid of self-service check-outs altogether.

Coles has quietly removed the annoying ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ notice from its self-serve check-outs following a customer backlash, the Herald Sun reports.

Previously, weight detected in the bagging area that did not match the scanned items prompted the warning and prevented any further transactions until a staff member unlocked the machine.

“We are trialling new technologies at our self-check-outs that reduce customer frustration and enable our customers to get through quicker,” a Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“This has freed up more time for our team members to provide a better service experience.”

But some customers have raised concerns the new system may lead to people paying twice for the same item.

Melbourne man Shane Simmonds told the Herald Sun he uncovered the new system last month when his five-year-old daughter mistakenly scanned a toy twice at a local supermarket.

Woolworths, meanwhile, says it has no plans to change the way its self-service check-outs operate. “We have no plans to make wholesale changes to our self-serve check-out messaging and it remains turned on in a proportion of stores,” a spokesman said.

Last year, news.com.au revealed Coles was installing extra belted check-outs at 200 of its 762 stores and increasing staff numbers on existing check-out lanes in response to customer backlash against self-service.

At the time, marketing expert Barry Urquhart said his research showed 84 per cent of customers prefer to be served by a human. “They think, ‘hold on, I’m saving you money, where’s the advantage or benefit in it for me?’” he said. “That’s when they become frustrated.”

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