Coles self-service checkout is ‘completely out of hand’ as shopper reveals he was ordered by staff to scan groceries in a particular way
A baffled Coles shopper has revealed he was told by staff to scan ‘large items first’, sparking concerns the supermarket’s self-service checkout is ‘out of control’.
A Reddit user explained that he went to Coles in Sydney’s Waterloo, where he picked up a basket of groceries and two 24-can packs of Pepsi Max.
“I started scanning as I always do: put the loose groceries in the bag first, as Coles self-service checkouts tend to get into trouble if you add your own BYO bag halfway through a purchase,” he said.
“I’ve just gotten a few things in when the assistant bursts in and tells me I’m self-centered in the wrong way.”
A baffled Coles shopper has revealed he was told by staff to scan ‘large items first’, sparking concerns the supermarket’s self-service checkout is ‘out of control’
The staff member said the “drinks needed to be scanned first” and used her card to cancel the groceries the customer had already scanned and packed.
“She then painstakingly entered my drinks, one by one, through the manual menu,” the customer said.
“On my way out, I asked the supervisor if that was standard policy. Apparently it was. “You need to scan the large objects first,” she said.
“That’s what Coles says you should do now.”
Other shoppers have also reported similar experiences on social media.
An ex-employee at the supermarket giant said the reason why Coles is urging customers to scan larger items first is to prevent theft.
“It’s because bulk items are the most commonly stolen items,” the former employee wrote.
‘Even at the normal checkouts they first ask if you have bulk items. It’s hard for employees who are taken advantage of by customers for things they have no control over. We haven’t implemented it, we just work there.’
An ex-employee at the supermarket giant said the reason why Coles is urging shoppers to scan larger items first is to prevent theft.
But shoppers in Waterloo say the supermarket’s anti-theft measures are becoming too intrusive.
‘It was one thing to force us to use self-service checkouts by taking staff from the regular checkout. Installing those ridiculous automatic exit gates was something else,” he said.
‘But now we can’t even scan our own groceries in the desired order at the checkout?! This has gotten completely out of hand.’
A Coles spokesperson has since apologized to the customer and said staff should not deny what a customer has gone through, if at all.