UK newsagent WH Smith – like Officeworks but with books, magazines, cards, stationery and other traditional newsagency lines – is playing with self checkout terminals. My understanding is that they have self checkout terminals from NCR on trial in four stores. One argument could be that they improve customer service. Another argument could be that they eliminate customer service. Given the increasing cost of labour it is not unexpected that national retailers are embracing self checkout more and more.
How interesting, just goes to show how different this WHS is from the service culture of the WHS that I worked for in the 1970’s.
Steve
I worked for A&R for several years (now owned by Red Group Retail who purchased it from WH Smith) and got to know the WH Smith business model quite well.
It’s my understanding that they have had a ‘pay and go’ service for at least the past 10 years at their small format (eg. train station) stores where customers with small purcahses such as a newspaper are encouraged to place the money in a device of some sort with absolutely zero engagement with a staff member. Not quite vending but not quite what Woolies/Safeway have introduced at their supermarkets either.
I know many newsagents accept the correct change dropped onto the counter as the customer cuts the queue and rushes from the store but at least the customer has to approach the counter and usually acknolwledges the staffer when making this ‘transaction’.
The WH Smith model is entirely human free and places great deal of trust in the customer.
Is it just me, or does anyone else find self serve checkouts slow and annoying? I’ve tried them a few times and have ended up hating them. Its not that I miss being served by a person, its the tedious instructions you have to follow, the line of people burning holes in your back as they wait their turn, the staff constantly watching like hawks stalking prey. In the end the process took as long, or longer than, going through a normal checkout.
They have four at my local supermarket, next to the 12 items of less lanes. Some people appear tto love them. Me, I find them too slow.
Tried a self-checkout in Big W recently. Bought three paperbacks (that none of the local newsagents had) and bypassed a queue of 5 in the normal checkout to do so. Told my wife (who was one of the 5) that I would order her a cappucino whilst I waited. Looked a bit of a dickhead as the last of those 5 and another 2 or 3 were through the checkout and well into the lattes before I completed the sale. Didn’t have any staff hovering, just found it a very slow and tedious process with the many steps however I did find the machine far more interesting to talk to than the very bored looking (but obviously more efficient) humans!