Skip to main content

Why grocery cashiers shouldn't be eliminated

Looking to add more self-checkouts to your store?
6/1/2015

There's no denying our society has embraced technology; we happily tweet, tap-and-pay and DVR like nobody's business, adopting new platforms quite quickly. But there are some instances where human interaction and the good feelings that come with it simply can't be replaced.

Take the grocery store cashier. Once--and largely still--a fixture in grocery stores, these employees are a pivotal part of the makeup of a store. In a recent first-person piece on The Huffington Post, contributor Elaine Ambrose wrote of growing up in a small town where she was friendly with the employees of the local businesses.

Later on, she moved to a bigger city where her neighbourhood grocery store put in two rows of self-service checkout registers. The process of buying food became more mechanical, less personal.

Lo and behold, the store ending up removing the self-service registers. Why hire back three living, breathing cashiers? It reduced theft and customers missed chatting with the cashiers. Seems automation can't make up for emotion.

Read the full article here.

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds