Latest news with #selfCheckout
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Customer service is collapsing in high-tax Britain
Want to pick up some groceries after a late night at the office? Forget it. Or, if you can get to a supermarket, fancy grabbing a coffee after traipsing around with a couple of kids? It's no longer possible. Trying on a pair of jeans at the clothes shop? Good luck finding someone to help you. One by one, companies are cutting back on opening hours, reducing checkout staff and cutting in-store services. Many are closing branches completely. Following the huge rise in employment taxes imposed by the Government, bosses don't have much choice. Companies have to save money on staff somehow. But with every cut they make, the experience gets a little worse. In Labour's high-tax Britain, customer service is dying – and we will all end up poorer as a result. It has been a worrying few weeks for anyone who cares about the quality of customer service. Self-checkouts are becoming more ubiquitous, opening hours are getting shorter and manpower is being cut back. Over the weekend, we learnt that Tesco is trialling the closure of some of its Express stores at 10pm rather than 11pm, and will have fewer staff on hand for the hours that they remain open. It is not hard to guess why: after Rachel Reeves's recent increase to employers' National Insurance, the company has said it will have to pay an extra £235m in contributions. That is just the latest example of a broader trend. The self-service checkout is proliferating even though it has become very unpopular with shoppers, and not just in the supermarkets. Next revealed earlier this year that it is to start trialling automated checkouts as it looks to find ways of coping with the extra £67m the chain estimates it will have to pay in employment taxes this year. Others are slashing services. Morrisons said in March that it was closing down cafes in its stores, along with florists and specialist meat counters. Sainsbury's said that it would lose 3,000 jobs by closing down in-store cafes, bakeries and pizza counters. The National Insurance increase was not directly blamed but both chains said they had to reduce costs. There are even examples of pubs closing at 9pm so they can cut back on the staff hours, and therefore lower their tax bill. Add it all up, and one point is clear: the customer is no longer the number-one priority – bosses are more obsessed with managing costs. There is no point in blaming the big chains for these decisions. After all, they are all commercial companies, and their primary duty is to their shareholders. If the Government is determined to tax them based on how many people they employ, instead of on their profits, then the only rational response is to skimp on staff as much as possible. We may only be seeing the start of the process. Before long, there will be QR codes in place of waiters and waitresses at restaurants (after all, in fast food places it is already almost impossible to place an order with a human being any more). Get ready for self-serving beer kegs at your local 'Spoons, while an app will check you into your hotel room, and the estate agent will just send you an AI-generated video link over actually showing you around the new home you were thinking of buying. It won't be possible to interact with a human being any more. Conventional economic statistics don't capture the impact of all this on our day-to-day lives. If you spend £200 at the supermarket, that is an extra £200 added to the total GDP figure regardless of whether you had to struggle with a self-service checkout for 20 minutes or if you were whisked through the till by a smiling sales assistant who chatted to you and wished you a pleasant day as you left. It may not make a difference to the economists but it makes a big difference to you. Likewise, it doesn't make any difference to GDP if you have to rush out of the house or your office to get to Tesco Express at one minute to 10 because you don't have any food and it will close soon. But again, it makes a big difference to you. A successful economy is not just about maximising raw output. It is about maximising total consumer satisfaction. As service levels collapse, GDP may stay the same, but we are all worse off in ways that the figures don't reveal. More worryingly for the GDP statistics, companies can't innovate. The most successful businesses find new and original ways of delighting their customers. It might be by staying open for different hours, or offering a broader range of services or products, or a more complete experience, or all sort of things that we have not thought of yet but which might prove very popular. The best ideas can then be taken out to the rest of the world. And yet instead of encouraging companies to try out new ideas, we are forcing them to put all their energy into cutting staff. Over time, that will impact the competitiveness of the British economy. The Chancellor may or may not raise the extra £25bn she is expecting from her increase in employers' National Insurance contributions. We will find out over the next few months as the tax starts to bite. But the costs of the tax raid are becoming painfully clear. It will be measured in fewer jobs, lower wages, higher inflation and, perhaps worst of all, in a country characterised by poor service and declining innovation. When you find the doors to Tesco Express closed at 10.01pm, at least you will know who to blame. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Customer service is collapsing in high-tax Britain
Want to pick up some groceries after a late night at the office? Forget it. Or, if you can get to a supermarket, fancy grabbing a coffee after traipsing around with a couple of kids? It's no longer possible. Trying on a pair of jeans at the clothes shop? Good luck finding someone to help you. One by one, companies are cutting back on opening hours, reducing checkout staff and cutting in-store services. Many are closing branches completely. Following the huge rise in employment taxes imposed by the Government, bosses don't have much choice. Companies have to save money on staff somehow. But with every cut they make, the experience gets a little worse. In Labour's high-tax Britain, customer service is dying – and we will all end up poorer as a result. It has been a worrying few weeks for anyone who cares about the quality of customer service. Self-checkouts are becoming more ubiquitous, opening hours are getting shorter and manpower is being cut back. Over the weekend, we learnt that Tesco is trialling the closure of some of its Express stores at 10pm rather than 11pm, and will have fewer staff on hand for the hours that they remain open. It is not hard to guess why: after Rachel Reeves's recent increase to employers' National Insurance, the company has said it will have to pay an extra £235m in contributions. That is just the latest example of a broader trend. The self-service checkout is proliferating even though it has become very unpopular with shoppers, and not just in the supermarkets. Next revealed earlier this year that it is to start trialling automated checkouts as it looks to find ways of coping with the extra £67m the chain estimates it will have to pay in employment taxes this year. Others are slashing services. Morrisons said in March that it was closing down cafes in its stores, along with florists and specialist meat counters. Sainsbury's said that it would lose 3,000 jobs by closing down in-store cafes, bakeries and pizza counters. The National Insurance increase was not directly blamed but both chains said they had to reduce costs. There are even examples of pubs closing at 9pm so they can cut back on the staff hours, and therefore lower their tax bill. Add it all up, and one point is clear: the customer is no longer the number-one priority – bosses are more obsessed with managing costs. There is no point in blaming the big chains for these decisions. After all, they are all commercial companies, and their primary duty is to their shareholders. If the Government is determined to tax them based on how many people they employ, instead of on their profits, then the only rational response is to skimp on staff as much as possible. We may only be seeing the start of the process. Before long, there will be QR codes in place of waiters and waitresses at restaurants (after all, in fast food places it is already almost impossible to place an order with a human being any more). Get ready for self-serving beer kegs at your local 'Spoons, while an app will check you into your hotel room, and the estate agent will just send you an AI-generated video link over actually showing you around the new home you were thinking of buying. It won't be possible to interact with a human being any more. Conventional economic statistics don't capture the impact of all this on our day-to-day lives. If you spend £200 at the supermarket, that is an extra £200 added to the total GDP figure regardless of whether you had to struggle with a self-service checkout for 20 minutes or if you were whisked through the till by a smiling sales assistant who chatted to you and wished you a pleasant day as you left. It may not make a difference to the economists but it makes a big difference to you. Likewise, it doesn't make any difference to GDP if you have to rush out of the house or your office to get to Tesco Express at one minute to 10 because you don't have any food and it will close soon. But again, it makes a big difference to you. A successful economy is not just about maximising raw output. It is about maximising total consumer satisfaction. As service levels collapse, GDP may stay the same, but we are all worse off in ways that the figures don't reveal. More worryingly for the GDP statistics, companies can't innovate. The most successful businesses find new and original ways of delighting their customers. It might be by staying open for different hours, or offering a broader range of services or products, or a more complete experience, or all sort of things that we have not thought of yet but which might prove very popular. The best ideas can then be taken out to the rest of the world. And yet instead of encouraging companies to try out new ideas, we are forcing them to put all their energy into cutting staff. Over time, that will impact the competitiveness of the British economy. The Chancellor may or may not raise the extra £25bn she is expecting from her increase in employers' National Insurance contributions. We will find out over the next few months as the tax starts to bite. But the costs of the tax raid are becoming painfully clear. It will be measured in fewer jobs, lower wages, higher inflation and, perhaps worst of all, in a country characterised by poor service and declining innovation. When you find the doors to Tesco Express closed at 10.01pm, at least you will know who to blame.
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major retailer to roll out self-checkouts to 100 more stores and it'll divide shoppers
A MAJOR retailer has revealed a plan to roll out self checkouts to more than 100 stores - and its proving divisive with shoppers. Homeware experts Dunelm will have unveiled the new till systems in more than half of its UK stores by the end of 2026. 1 Dunelm announced the move in a financial update to shareholders, explaining it was focused on "harnessing our operational capabilities". It has since revealed that trials had been held for 12 months and generated positive feedback. A Dunelm spokesperson said: 'We have been trialling assisted self-service tills in a number of our stores over the past year, receiving some very good feedback from customers who have welcomed the ease, speed and convenience of this option. "As a result, we will be rolling out to more stores in our estate in the future. We continue to offer regular tills across all our stores should customers prefer this option.' Despite the store's claims, self service checkouts have long proved divisive for consumers. Dunelm's Taunton store was among the first to see the new systems installed and a report in the local press attracted varied comments. One reader said: "I will not be using them! I very much disagree with upper management's underhand way of getting rid of staff so they get more money in their salary and they very rarely work properly anyway." When the news was first revealed another shopper said they "hate" self service tills and wanted "just regular" ones instead. Another customer said they would only use it if they were given "a discount for doing someone's job". While a third person said they "absolutely" hate them too. Things to buy at Dunelm Last month the boss of Booths supermarkets admitted that its customers were happier after the business took the decision to remove self-checkouts from stores. Previously released data from The Grocer revealed that the checkouts could see service satisfaction scores fall by as much as 8%. Last year, Asda also said it will put more staff on the tills as part of a £30m investment to get customers back in stores. But, despite some negative reviews other stores are increasing their use of self checkouts. Sainsbury's is currently testing a giant hybrid self-scan till with a scanner on a moving conveyor belt. This would give shoppers more space to scan and pack bigger trolleys. Primark has also introduced self scanning tills across a number of its stores, alongside Zara and Berskha. A full list of the Dunelm stores to receive the self-checkouts has yet to be revealed. How to dodge the self checkouts If you want to dodge the self checkouts, you may want to consider using scan as you go technology. Scan as you go systems are the latest addition to the supermarket shopping experience with several retailers making them a permanent feature in big stores. They allow customers to scan as they browse, either using their smartphone or a handheld device. Then most shops allow you to check out at a completely different area to other shoppers, saving time in queues. It means that shoppers can keep track of how much they're spending as they go around the aisles, allowing you to budget and stick to your list. It also means that you can bag your groceries as you wander around too - saving you even more time. SAVE AT DUNELM By Adele Cooke Kitting out a first home or giving your property a much-needed refresh doesn't have to break the bank. Dunelm frequently has sales and promotions giving you up to 75% off, especially at certain times of the year. Keep an eye out for Black Friday and Boxing Day sales to bag a bargain. Check the clearance page on the Dunelm website for huge discounts and the latest promotions. You may also be able to combine these deals with other money-saving websites. Cashback websites such as TopCashback may allow you to earn money back on your spending. You could also get a free gift card worth £10 when you spend over £110 if you sign up to savings website Groupon. Plus you can save by opting for free click-and-collect to avoid being hit with delivery fees. .
