‘Just say no people,’ fumes Walmart shopper over ‘purgatory’ caused by self-checkout policy

A WALMART shopper tried to rally others to boycott self-checkout with him.

Self-checkout is a divisive topic among shoppers at Walmart .

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The retailer has recently increased the number of self-checkout kiosks at stores. Some customers love the convenience, but many have encountered long lines.

Several customers also simply don’t want to scan all of their groceries themselves.

Shopper John Bradley compared checkout at Walmart to purgatory in a Facebook rant.

He explained that no registers were open besides self-checkout ones, so he asked an employee to ring up his items.

“She said, ‘All these are scan and go.’ I said, ‘No. Do you have no registers open where I can be checked out?’ She said, ‘No, due to the number of customers at this time,'” he wrote.

He told the employee that he would just leave his cart behind then and shop elsewhere.

“I told her I don’t work here, I’m not scanning anything.”

The staff member quickly backpedaled and said she would scan his items at one of the self-checkout registers.

He brought his cart to the register, where the employee started ringing him up and said the store was understaffed, so it relied on self-checkout.

“Not my problem,” Bradley replied.

“If we don’t refuse, it’s going to continue. They will continue to do away with jobs and replace employees with machines.

“Just say no, people.”

CRANKY CUSTOMERS

In the comments, several people agreed, saying that stores have taken self-checkout too far.

“I agree with you! I will not work all day and then go and scan things,” commented one person.

“If they have o registers open, I will walk out every time. I don’t work there, and I refuse to scan anything.”

Latest self-checkout changes

Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.

Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.

Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.

While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.

One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.

However, that test run has been phased out.

At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.

Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.

As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.

Another shopper said they stopped shopping at Lowe’s because of self-checkout.

“Lowe’s here is now doing the same thing,” wrote one customer.

“I left my stuff and went to the next town over to Home Depot.”

Walmart shoppers have been uneasy about a new rule policy limiting self-checkout to people with 15 items or less .

See the delivery disaster that led one customer to cancel their Walmart+ subscription.