“Now I have to wait 30 minutes,” says the customer as the supermarket chain ends the self-checkout

SHOPPERS have mixed feelings after learning their local supermarket has decided to scrap self-checkout.

Pick ‘n Save in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced that the removal was intended to improve the customer experience.

“At Pick ‘n Save, we are always looking for ways to improve the customer and employee experience and ensure a smooth and friendly transaction,” said a Pick ‘n Save spokesperson.

“We are implementing a pilot without self-checkout at select stores in Wisconsin. We expect this change will help us better meet the needs of our customers.”

However, for some customers the change is counterproductive.

“So now I have to wait in line for 30 minutes for the two cashiers on duty. Color me excited,” one user wrote under a Facebook post about the takedown.

“Okay, I’ll spend my money somewhere else where I don’t have to wait in line and interact with other people,” said another, claiming they would take their business elsewhere.

Others are looking forward to the change, but one important aspect must be met for customers to be fully satisfied.

“Make sure there are enough employees/cashiers at the registers to handle checkout. I use self-checkout because there is usually only one cashier working the register and the lines are horrible!” hoped a shopkeeper.

“That’s all well and good, but make sure you have enough cashiers to pay customers,” said another.

“I hope they hire more cashiers who are fast. I prefer self-checkout because I’m much faster than the cashiers and can pack my items the way I want,” said a third user.

While other customers looked forward to being helped by a human instead of working with a machine.

“This is great news! Self-checkouts are horrible. I’d rather wait in line and have a human’s help!” said a shopkeeper.

“Fine. I’d rather have someone get paid to work than have me do their work for free or without a discount,” one customer said in part.

“Thank goodness. I hate them. If you buy more than a few items, self-checkout is a nightmare, and they always only have one regular lane open, with a line a mile long…” the happy user commented .

AN EXPERT OPINION

Although the company announced that the removal was due to improving the customer experience, experts are skeptical.

Dominick Reuter, a senior reporter for Business Insider, thinks this could be due to theft affecting retailers across the country.

“This presents quite a few challenges, but one of them is a funny idea called partial shrinkage, where a customer, perhaps unintentionally or intentionally, does not scan all the items in their order,” Reuter said. ABC affiliate WISN.

“So some of the stuff goes out without being paid for.”

Many shoppers also believed that this could be the main reason for the abrupt change.

“This just means there is rampant theft,” one user said in part.

“This means stores where they are losing money because people aren’t looking at their items,” wrote another.