Walmart customer fumes at ‘ridiculous’ back-to-school shopping lines after store yanked all self-checkout in big U-turn

WALMART customers are fed up with the lack of customer service throughout stores across the nation.

One shopper posted their frustrations on X and complained about the poor customer service she experienced while inside.

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Mia Estefania, from Albuquerque, New Mexico , said there were only four registers open the week before her kids go back to school on Monday.

“What kinda customer service is this,” she asked in a post .

“Four cash registers open on school opening week ridiculous,” her post continued.

Walmart tried to respond to her in an attempt to make amends.

“Mia, let’s work to address your concerns,” the chain’s reply read.

“Do you mind sending us a DM with more details about your store?”

Estefania did not respond or react to the post.

There is also no word on whether or not she messaged the company as they requested.

And she is not the only customer to have these complaints about Walmart and what they call its poor customer service.

“Stopped at Walmart to grab some spray paint real quick,” the post started.

“And of course, it was locked behind glass,” he said.

“I had to wait 10 mins for someone to come unlock it,” the post continued.

“Literally, f**k that place.”

“Walmart is hell,” they concluded.

Many customers have shared similar sentiments online about the chain and others.

From most items being locked up behind glass, to issues with self-checkout , receipt checks , and an overall lack of available employees combined with a limited amount of checkout lanes – customers have had lots to complain about.

“The self-checkout process is nuts as it is, but then they wanna check my receipt for the diapers and wipes in my cart,” another customer said on X.

Another customer even went as far as to describe their own shopping experiences since Covid as “dystopian.”

Large retailers like Walmart attribute these unfavorable changes to the losses from shoplifting and theft.

Combined, large retailers are expecting to lose over $150 billion in shoplifting losses this year alone, according to research by Capital One .

For this reason, many chains are saying they have had to implement security policies such as receipt checks and extra glass display shelves while cutting back on employees.

However, in the same time frame, these same companies have amassed corporate profits that now account for the largest share of national income in the last decade, according to the National Bureau of Economic Analysis .

In May, Walmart reported a profit of $5.1 billion just for that one quarter, triple the amount they made just one year earlier in the same quarter.

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.

Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.

But even as Walmart continues to cut costs on labor in stores, the chain has announced its plan to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into expensive digital price labels that can be changed instantly .

Some skeptics pointed out that these new instantly changing price tags could lead to inconsistent prices, surges, and further lay-offs, as fewer floor workers would be needed in the stores.

“If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream,” grocery industry analyst Phil Lempert, told NPR about the new change coming to Walmart.

“And if there’s something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,” he continued.

It is not currently clear how much Walmart is planning to invest in these new tags as of now.

However, just 10,000 of these electronic shelf labels could be anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000, according to Solum, a wireless communication technology manufacturer.

Wendy’s, for example, announced earlier this year that the chain may invest $20 million into a similar high-tech digital menu board, leading to an almost identical backlash.

“Why is it so much easier to justify investment in technology vs in people?” asked one person on X.