Aldi is a supermarket chain known for its low prices (and for its efficiency, we cannot deny that). But now, the German chain has begun to remove self-checkout registers in some of its stores in the United States. This decision was made because every day they face dozens of thefts (and companies do not like to lose money, logical). Well, as always, there are opinions for all tastes and this decision has divided consumer opinion, there are those who celebrate the return of cashiers (people) and those who will miss the convenience of doing everything at their own pace. What is happening at Aldi?
Aldi says goodbye to self-checkout
That has always been its system, pay a quarter for the cart, bring your own bags and face cashiers specifically trained to scan your products at the speed of Flash (yes, we have also lived through having a mountain of products in front of us and not even having had time to open the bag to start storing).
The scanning was ultra-fast, so in some of its stores they had included self-checkout registers as an option for those who could not handle that speed, more comfortable, you pass your items and pay right there. Everything seemed great until, in some locations, these machines have disappeared.
The reason: reduce theft
According to employee testimonies on social media, all this responds to the fact that Aldi can lose up to 7,000 dollars a day in products “disappearing” at self-checkout… Of course, it is very easy to steal there, nobody watches!
That is why the chain has taken a step back and human cashiers have returned to their place, no more machines.
Customer opinions
Like everything that reaches the internet, the debate quickly heated up. Many customers believe that this decision makes sense, and that cashiers are much faster than the machines, and that if on top of that they help reduce losses it is normal.
Others, however, do not see it that way, self-checkout was a relief to be able to take as much time as necessary to store the groceries without the pressure of the cashier watching how you put the avocado in your cloth bag.
“If Aldi or any other store want us to do the scanning they should give you a slight discount on your bill. Maybe 2 or 3% since you are doing the job an employee should be doing. Glad to see they are removing them”. commented a user.
Others, however, do not see it that way, self-checkout was a relief to be able to take as much time as necessary to store the groceries without the pressure of the cashier watching how you put the avocado in your cloth bag, or even to go faster when you only have a few items in the basket.
“I like the self check-out but I usually only purchase around 10 items a visit. I would not want to wait behind two customers with full baskets of items no matter how fast the cashier is”.
Total change or only in certain stores?
For now, the company has not confirmed if this measure will be applied in all its locations, some customers say that their Aldi stores never had self-checkout, while in others they still remain, we assume that the change has been based on specific decisions of the losses of each location.
A strategy under observation
In this market, every second counts and profit margins are very tight for those who offer low prices. Aldi is testing how to balance efficiency, security and customer experience and not lose money, of course, we are not here to give away anything. Humans are back at the checkout registers, do not forget to say good morning when you put your groceries on the belt 😉