An unusual detail spotted in the checkout area of one Woolworths supermarket has sparked an intense response on social media.
Sharing on Reddit, a customer revealed how they noticed the incredibly rare feature while shopping at the Sunnybank store in Queensland.
The shopper pointed out that the store did not have any self-serve checkouts.
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“Woolies with no self serve,” the Reddit user wrote. “Everything went smoothly.”
It’s believed this is one of only a handful of Woolworths stores in Australia that don’t have self-serve registers available to customers.
However that could all be set to change, if a sign in the background of the photograph is anything to go by.
The notice — seen on the wall behind the manned registers —reads “Fresh new look coming soon”, indicating that a refurbishment and potentially self-serve checkouts could be introduced at the store.
The post prompted a heated response on Reddit, with many debating the positives and negatives of self-serve checkouts.
Many said they preferred supermarkets without the new unmanned registers.
“Ah yes, back when Woolworths looked and felt the same as browsing through an IGA. Good times,” said one.
Another wrote: “I’ll always avoid self checkout but if I do have to use one I definitely get compensated handsomely for my efforts! I don’t work for free and especially when I’m paying a premium without the service I’m paying for.
“Shop at IGA or a market, there is no self service there.”
One more added: “I’ll say it a million times the first iteration of self serve was the best. No security features, designed for in and out few item shopping, they ran just as fast as the proper check outs and there was never an issues with bag weight.
“The ones we have now are so bogged down with anti theft features they run like dogs*** and it takes 30 seconds to scan each item then wait for the scales to figure out it’s enough weight to actually be the product you scanned.
“I support self serve checkouts in their infancy stage, but what we’ve got now? A bullpen covering half the entrance to the store full of scanners, no space to put trolleys or bags, constantly running into other ‘cattle’ scanning their items. I hate it more than anything else. I refuse to use them now.”
But many others said self-serve checkouts made a trip to the supermarket quicker and easier.
“F*** that! I use a wheelchair and self-serve makes shopping so much easier for me,” said one. “I can go at my own pace: unload without rushing, repack without rushing.”
Another said: “What year is it?”
A third wrote: “I see endless threads hating on self serve checkouts, now here’s one without and people are still not happy? I’m starting to believe that Australia is a country full of whingers.”
Self-serve statistics
Recent statistics show that most Woolworths customers prefer to use self-serve checkouts. Data compiled and shared by the supermarket shows:
- As customer buying habits have shifted, Woolworths is seeing more frequent, smaller basket sizes, and a strong customer preference for a quicker and easier self-serve checkout experience.
- For a basket with 20 items or less, 83 per cent of Woolworths customers choose self-service checkouts, whereas for a basket with more than 20 items, the majority (66 per cent) of Woolies customers select a staffed checkout.
- As a result, Woolworths has rolled out self-serve checkout options to 98 per cent of our stores, with further roll-out planned in the future.
- All stores continue to offer Woolworths customers the choice to be served through a staffed checkout across all our opening hours.
