With computers and AI becoming ever more prevalent, more and more of our everyday activities are changing as a result. For instance, many supermarkets and other shops have largely reduced or entirely gotten rid of its cashiers, instead opting for self-checkouts in which customers are expected to do it all themselves without human interaction or help. While some appreciate the speed and efficiency, others are none too pleased with the change.
High-end British supermarket chain Booths is going in the opposite direction, however, announcing this week that it would be removing mostly all of its self-checkouts from its stores in the north of England and reinstating its cashiering staff in response to customer demand.
It’s hard to provide customer service when there are no humans to interact with.
Nigel Murray, Booths managing director, told The Grocer that the chain wants to do everything it can to ensure customers are having a positive experience when shopping at one of its stores, and it’s hard to provide that without human interaction.
“We’re not great fans of self-checkouts,” he explained. “We pride ourselves on great customer service and you can’t do that through a robot.”
Booths is proud to be leading a different kind of movement.
Going back to fully-staffed tills at Booths stores may seem like a move backward, but in fact, it makes the company stand out as one that truly values its customers and their desires.
“We believe colleagues serving customers delivers a better customer experience and therefore we have taken the decision to remove self-checkouts in the majority of our stores,” a spokesperson for the company said, per The Guardian.
“We have based this not only on what we feel is the right thing to do but also having received feedback from our customers.
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Human beings are needed at self-checkouts anyway — this just simplifies the process.
While many stores may believe they’re cutting costs by leaving the checkout experience down to computers, it doesn’t actually work out that way.
After all, staff members still have to be present to remove security tags, ID customers buying alcohol or other age-restricted goods, and also to help troubleshoot during the inevitable (and sometimes all too common) times when the machines go wrong.
By removing this barrier and instead restoring the old order — cashier helps customer through the checkout process from start to finish — Booths hopes to keep its customers happy and show how much their loyalty is valued.
Booths will keep its self-checkouts at two stores in the Lake District, as they’re often very busy and crowded with tourists.
