A WALMART customer was angry with the store, saying he abandoned his shopping cart and went to another retailer because he had to wait twenty minutes.
The shopper criticized the chain for its self-checkout area, claiming that these machines lead to crime.
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Rick Gibbs shared his scathing rant and shopping experience in a Facebook post.
Gibbs said he waited in a long line because there were only two cashiers at the store in Logansport, Indiana.
The shopper added that the store had installed more self-checkouts and said this had impacted his shopping experience.
“It took me over 20 minutes to go through the line of these two cashiers,” he wrote.
He added that he abandoned his shopping cart, left Walmart and went to another grocery store.
Gibbs said he called Walmart to complain about the change in the checkout area, claiming the use of these self-service kiosks encourages a certain type of crime.
“I have complained that it is a fact that self-checkout lanes encourage thieves,” he said.
“And I’m tired of paying for the thief.”
Nevertheless, Gibbs claimed that when he visited at 7:30 a.m., the store had increased the number of cashiers to six.
“No waiting to pay, lol,” he said.
CHANGES TO THE CHECKOUT
Walmart has begun implementing changes to the checkout system in some of its stores.
The retailer recently restricted some self-checkout lanes to customers with 15 items or less.
This means that people with more than 15 items have to wait at the checkout to pay for their goods.
As the US Sun previously reported, some customers have been upset about this change on social media.
Latest changes to self-checkout
Retailers are developing their self-checkout strategies to shorten checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart customers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that the self-checkout lanes were closed at certain times and more cashiers were offered instead.
While customers feared that shoplifting was the reason for the changes, a Walmart spokesperson said store managers were simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment involved an RFID-supported self-checkout kiosk that was intended to eliminate the hotly contested receipt check.
However, this test run was discontinued.
At Target, the number of items at self-checkout lanes is limited.
Last fall, the brand tested new express self-checkout lanes with a maximum of 10 items in 200 stores to increase convenience.
Starting in March 2024, this policy will be expanded to 2,000 stores in the United States.
Customers have also noticed that their local Walmart stores are limiting the number of customers at self-checkout lanes to 15 items or less.
A shopper said a Walmart employee prevented him from paying for 20 items at the self-service kiosks.
“So now they’re not only paying people to watch how you check and bag your groceries so you don’t steal, but now they’re also paying someone to make sure you don’t buy too many dog treats!” they wrote.
BUSINESS APOLOGY
As the US Sun previously reported, Walmart is not the only retailer facing heavy criticism over the increasing use of self-checkout lanes.
Kroger apologized to a customer who complained about lines that stretched into the aisles.
This shopper shared images of customers waiting to pay at his local store.
“Does anyone still work here?” asked the buyer.
