Supermarkets - detrimental cost cutting
Discussion
How we shop has changed dramatically in my life time and so this post isn’t about the prevalence of internet shopping or food delivery but it’s about the in supermarket experience.
The bit that made me post was paying for my lunch this morning. I know self check out is well established but going into a local Sainsbury I was greeted by 28 self checkout tills, 3 traditional conveyor belts and one kiosk that acts as money / customer service but there were hardly any staff.
For the whole shop front there were 3 members of staff rushing around spinning plates…… I asked a staff member where was everyone he said 4 people who use to do mornings have left last weekend and aren’t being replaced so he’s the single member of staff looking after all the self check outs…… with a manger overseeing and someone on the customer service bit.
I get it’s morning, it is hardly peek hours but what a hopeless experience when the tills throw up error noises and prevent you just getting on.
Sainsbury’s has announced 1500 job cuts with a hope to save £1B.
I’d suggest that whilst saving £1B is probably needed customer service has to be maintained otherwise I might as well go to more price beneficial places.
The bit that made me post was paying for my lunch this morning. I know self check out is well established but going into a local Sainsbury I was greeted by 28 self checkout tills, 3 traditional conveyor belts and one kiosk that acts as money / customer service but there were hardly any staff.
For the whole shop front there were 3 members of staff rushing around spinning plates…… I asked a staff member where was everyone he said 4 people who use to do mornings have left last weekend and aren’t being replaced so he’s the single member of staff looking after all the self check outs…… with a manger overseeing and someone on the customer service bit.
I get it’s morning, it is hardly peek hours but what a hopeless experience when the tills throw up error noises and prevent you just getting on.
Sainsbury’s has announced 1500 job cuts with a hope to save £1B.
I’d suggest that whilst saving £1B is probably needed customer service has to be maintained otherwise I might as well go to more price beneficial places.
its like this at my local ASDA when busy. 1 person manning 10+ basket tills, and another manning 10+ trolley still and self scan. the latter takes up more space so requires more walking.. yet they've given the role to someone who's in their late 50s and walks a little so so can't manage it during busy times.
all the while there's tons of staff walking around smacking into you with their large trolley for delivery/click & collect orders.
all the while there's tons of staff walking around smacking into you with their large trolley for delivery/click & collect orders.
CooperS said:
How we shop has changed dramatically in my life time and so this post isn’t about the prevalence of internet shopping or food delivery but it’s about the in supermarket experience.
The bit that made me post was paying for my lunch this morning. I know self check out is well established but going into a local Sainsbury I was greeted by 28 self checkout tills, 3 traditional conveyor belts and one kiosk that acts as money / customer service but there were hardly any staff.
For the whole shop front there were 3 members of staff rushing around spinning plates…… I asked a staff member where was everyone he said 4 people who use to do mornings have left last weekend and aren’t being replaced so he’s the single member of staff looking after all the self check outs…… with a manger overseeing and someone on the customer service bit.
I get it’s morning, it is hardly peek hours but what a hopeless experience when the tills throw up error noises and prevent you just getting on.
{b]Sainsbury’s has announced 1500 job cuts with a hope to save £1B. {/b]
I’d suggest that whilst saving £1B is probably needed customer service has to be maintained otherwise I might as well go to more price beneficial places.
There must be a great deal more to that story. To save £1bn with 1500 job cuts means each role eliminated would have to save them an average of £666k. There are also only 1431 stores in the UK, so basically only one person per store going. Something doesn't add up...The bit that made me post was paying for my lunch this morning. I know self check out is well established but going into a local Sainsbury I was greeted by 28 self checkout tills, 3 traditional conveyor belts and one kiosk that acts as money / customer service but there were hardly any staff.
For the whole shop front there were 3 members of staff rushing around spinning plates…… I asked a staff member where was everyone he said 4 people who use to do mornings have left last weekend and aren’t being replaced so he’s the single member of staff looking after all the self check outs…… with a manger overseeing and someone on the customer service bit.
I get it’s morning, it is hardly peek hours but what a hopeless experience when the tills throw up error noises and prevent you just getting on.
{b]Sainsbury’s has announced 1500 job cuts with a hope to save £1B. {/b]
I’d suggest that whilst saving £1B is probably needed customer service has to be maintained otherwise I might as well go to more price beneficial places.
Same with most things. A race to the bottom.
However we are all ( or most of us to blame ). We fell for the BS in speeding up life ,so we have more time to do less.
Self checkout and scanning was born and thrust upon us. If we’d have told them to f
k off as we aren’t being paid to do someone else’s job , but no we didn’t. It’s gone all downhill since then.
Have a complaint about something ? Nobody gives a st it seems. If they don’t employ staff there’s no one to complain to anyway.
However we are all ( or most of us to blame ). We fell for the BS in speeding up life ,so we have more time to do less.
Self checkout and scanning was born and thrust upon us. If we’d have told them to f
k off as we aren’t being paid to do someone else’s job , but no we didn’t. It’s gone all downhill since then. Have a complaint about something ? Nobody gives a s
t it seems. If they don’t employ staff there’s no one to complain to anyway. I worked at sainsburys early 00’s whilst at uni
When I look back to how many staff there are then vs now I’d say it’s 5:1
Sad times for many
I was in sainsburys last night, ghost town - I’m guessing the majority of the milf were not spending their evenings shopping, but sat at home having it delivered
My local sainsburys was king, now it has a load more competition
Reminder try to still avoid Amazon as they are hurting us long term re tax
When I look back to how many staff there are then vs now I’d say it’s 5:1
Sad times for many
I was in sainsburys last night, ghost town - I’m guessing the majority of the milf were not spending their evenings shopping, but sat at home having it delivered
My local sainsburys was king, now it has a load more competition
Reminder try to still avoid Amazon as they are hurting us long term re tax
mikey_b said:
There must be a great deal more to that story. To save £1bn with 1500 job cuts means each role eliminated would have to save them an average of £666k. There are also only 1431 stores in the UK, so basically only one person per store going. Something doesn't add up...
the bit missing from your calculation is timescale, it could be £1bn over 1yr, 2yrs or 5simon_harris said:
mikey_b said:
There must be a great deal more to that story. To save £1bn with 1500 job cuts means each role eliminated would have to save them an average of £666k. There are also only 1431 stores in the UK, so basically only one person per store going. Something doesn't add up...
the bit missing from your calculation is timescale, it could be £1bn over 1yr, 2yrs or 5The efficiencies are across 3 years and related to streamlining by the looks of it as much as anything. Less non food products etc.
Turtle Shed said:
Lidl for me. Nearest supermarket anyway, people on every checkout, no self=scanning crap.
Aldi have brought them in.Cleverly enough instead of going first with the tech and having to deal with massive issues and complaints the public are now used to them and know what to do.
Pretty much a second mouse gets the cheese situation. clever in a way.
asfault said:
Aldi have brought them in.
Cleverly enough instead of going first with the tech and having to deal with massive issues and complaints the public are now used to them and know what to do.
Pretty much a second mouse gets the cheese situation. clever in a way.
It's still faster to go through a manned till in Aldi. It's where Premier League goalkeepers shop to get in a bit of fast reaction practice as their groceries are launched at them by the cashier.Cleverly enough instead of going first with the tech and having to deal with massive issues and complaints the public are now used to them and know what to do.
Pretty much a second mouse gets the cheese situation. clever in a way.
Most people buy on price rather than quality and businesses react to that and turn things into a production line.
If you go to Aldi and Lidl the staff will shout at you if you pack a bag in front of them. If you go to almost any restaurant they will play music so loudly that it is impossible to have a conversation to get you to move on sooner. Chocolate bars contain less cocoa or less milk than before.
All desirable because the displayed price is lower.
If you go to Aldi and Lidl the staff will shout at you if you pack a bag in front of them. If you go to almost any restaurant they will play music so loudly that it is impossible to have a conversation to get you to move on sooner. Chocolate bars contain less cocoa or less milk than before.
All desirable because the displayed price is lower.
Se7enheaven said:
Same with most things. A race to the bottom.
However we are all ( or most of us to blame ). We fell for the BS in speeding up life ,so we have more time to do less.
Self checkout and scanning was born and thrust upon us. If we’d have told them to fk off as we aren’t being paid to do someone else’s job , but no we didn’t. It’s gone all downhill since then.
Have a complaint about something ? Nobody gives a st it seems. If they don’t employ staff there’s no one to complain to anyway.
I personally won’t go to supermarkets where self scan is not an option now for a weekly shop. However we are all ( or most of us to blame ). We fell for the BS in speeding up life ,so we have more time to do less.
Self checkout and scanning was born and thrust upon us. If we’d have told them to f
k off as we aren’t being paid to do someone else’s job , but no we didn’t. It’s gone all downhill since then. Have a complaint about something ? Nobody gives a s
t it seems. If they don’t employ staff there’s no one to complain to anyway. I’d far rather scan my own stuff and put it straight into a bag as I go than the old way of loading a trolley to in pack it all again at a check out to then repack it again after someone scans it, seems like a massive waste of time to me.
I tend to do the "big shop" mid-morning on a weekday, when it's fairly quiet. Tesco is the closest big store, so I go there.
I much prefer using the self-checkouts, but sometimes have to queue for one of the 3 (out of 8) that takes cash.
The most annoying thing now is the sheer number of massive trollies being pushed around by staff filling home delivery and click & collect orders. Combine one of of those "parked" next to an unattended roller full of stock waiting to be put on the shelves, and it's not unusual for several aisles to be impassable.
I much prefer using the self-checkouts, but sometimes have to queue for one of the 3 (out of 8) that takes cash.
The most annoying thing now is the sheer number of massive trollies being pushed around by staff filling home delivery and click & collect orders. Combine one of of those "parked" next to an unattended roller full of stock waiting to be put on the shelves, and it's not unusual for several aisles to be impassable.
The public mostly don't care. They shop on price and food quality. Loss of lots of part time and full time generally low paid jobs - who cares? It started with self service petrol stations, retail followed along with online shopping and now we have all sorts of unintended negative consequences such as town centres made up of charity shops, bookies, pound shops, mobile phone retailers a Costa and a Greggs. No bank branches for miles.
The penny will start to drop when AI cuts a swathe through professional jobs. For some reason, most of these job holders think that machines can't replace them,
The penny will start to drop when AI cuts a swathe through professional jobs. For some reason, most of these job holders think that machines can't replace them,
Unreal said:
The public mostly don't care. They shop on price and food quality. Loss of lots of part time and full time generally low paid jobs - who cares? It started with self service petrol stations, retail followed along with online shopping and now we have all sorts of unintended negative consequences such as town centres made up of charity shops, bookies, pound shops, mobile phone retailers a Costa and a Greggs. No bank branches for miles.
The penny will start to drop when AI cuts a swathe through professional jobs. For some reason, most of these job holders think that machines can't replace them,
Some of the petrol stations that I regularly use have gone the other way again now. Of the dozen or so stations I commonly use, only two are now self-serve where it was four or five at one point. Most of the ones that stopped are Shell, after a refurb they replaced the pumps with non-self-serve ones.The penny will start to drop when AI cuts a swathe through professional jobs. For some reason, most of these job holders think that machines can't replace them,
Maybe they want you to go into the attached Little Waitrose to pay, and maybe pick up some caviar or a brace of quails for tea while you’re in there?
Sainsburys has noticeably gone to st over the last couple of years. I used to think it was better than Tesco and Asda, but they all seem to be in a race to the bottom. The Nectar Price bullst was the final straw and converted me to Waitrose, where I was amazed to find they have better choice, real special offer prices without needing to sign up to a store card, and always have plenty of checkouts open without queueing. Their posh reputation keeps the riffraff out too, although they let me in anyway.
t over the last couple of years. I used to think it was better than Tesco and Asda, but they all seem to be in a race to the bottom. The Nectar Price bullst was the final straw and converted me to Waitrose, where I was amazed to find they have better choice, real special offer prices without needing to sign up to a store card, and always have plenty of checkouts open without queueing. Their posh reputation keeps the riffraff out too, although they let me in anyway.One of the big things I've noticed (again at my local ASDA) in the past couple of years is the lazy shelving of fresh things. things like salad bags or bagged spinach sometimes has a big disparity in use by dates. I'm always checking across the shelf for the freshest thing.. many occasions i've seen things that were still on the shelves with use by dates of yesterday or the day before.
I can only guess the staff don't give a crap and just shove the old stuff to the back and put the new stuff in, instead of removing things that should not even be sold.
I can only guess the staff don't give a crap and just shove the old stuff to the back and put the new stuff in, instead of removing things that should not even be sold.
Nexus Icon said:
asfault said:
Aldi have brought them in.
Cleverly enough instead of going first with the tech and having to deal with massive issues and complaints the public are now used to them and know what to do.
Pretty much a second mouse gets the cheese situation. clever in a way.
It's still faster to go through a manned till in Aldi. It's where Premier League goalkeepers shop to get in a bit of fast reaction practice as their groceries are launched at them by the cashier.Cleverly enough instead of going first with the tech and having to deal with massive issues and complaints the public are now used to them and know what to do.
Pretty much a second mouse gets the cheese situation. clever in a way.
but they are rank amateurs compared to the speeds we used to do. Aldi is almost the same wage as others now so doesnt attract the best as it used to.
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