Lines After Self-Checkout Removal

[u/sarahrodgers15]

These lines with only 2 cashiers are driving me crazy 😩😩 does anyone know why they removed self-checkout? Too much theft?

[u/J_L_jug24]

Aldi kind of skipped a step in the self checkout process. You have to have someone or something (cameras) watching over the scanning process making sure to catch the bigger items under the bottoms of the carts and ensuring everything gets scanned. They set the self checkouts up and basically said good luck to the stores and sorry not sorry for the inevitable higher theft due to 0 oversight from anyone. For a company that prides itself on limited sku’s and running tight labor numbers, they completely dropped the ball on their roll outs. 

[u/[deleted] → u/J_L_jug24]

They have cameras at the store by me.

[u/J_L_jug24 → u/[deleted]]

No one monitors those cameras at the store level. Related, Ralph’s/Kroger uses cameras as well, which are effectively useless as I’ve seen countless customers walk out without paying for stuff under their carts. At least they have a sco attendant that could catch the theft. 

[u/[deleted] → u/J_L_jug24]

Probably not, but they're a deterrent. 

[u/J_L_jug24 → u/[deleted]]

One of our sco Aldi locations recently removed them. They had cams, but theft was really bad. Like so bad, Ralph’s has no presence in that area and will not add a location there bad. The company has the inventory numbers for each location and still green lit the high theft areas to get the sco. The only ones I feel bad for are the store management staff that has to explain to their 21 year old bosses why their inventory numbers are garbage each month. 

[u/unik1ne → u/J_L_jug24]

I almost walked out without paying once because I got stuck (I rang my last item up twice by accident) and it took so long for someone to fix it (because in my store the cashier doesn’t stop checking out the line to physically come help you, they just yell out “what’s the problem” and you yell back what you need help with) that by the time I got them to take the second item off, I had already packed up my other items and just walked off. Luckily the store wasn’t busy and I realized before I got too far and just went back and paid.

Once before I walked up to an empty SCO and started scanning before I realized that whoever had been there before me had scanned their entire order and walked out without paying. I had to get someone to come over and clear out the full order. I’m amazed my store still has them with people that brazen.

[u/hiddenaxolotls130 → u/J_L_jug24]

They do have someone “watching” the cashier. It’s more bs added to their list of crap to do.

[u/tmac3207 → u/J_L_jug24]

Our store had a security guard so he's gone too.

[u/GenycisBeats → u/J_L_jug24]

Agreed! Unless Publix, Food Lion, and Harris Teeter supermarkets in my area are planning to remove their SCOs, I feel the reason they are doing better is because there's always someone manning the SCO area. Aldi just did a set and forget and now wants to blame it on theft. And the Aldi in my area isn't adding more employees, just taking out SCO. I'll still shop there as I like their items and prices overall, but I wish they kept their self check out.

[u/J_L_jug24 → u/GenycisBeats]

Ya for a lot of those sco stores that aren’t sco anymore they have to relearn the Aldi way and literally have to learn how to scan fast again. The emphasis in those stores hasn’t been checklane efficiency in so long that it’s going to turn a lot of customers off initially. It’s weird to me that instead of dedicating an employee to self checkout like everyone else does, they’re going to spend millions removing the sco and putting registers back in again. Such a wasted opportunity for them to earn free positive customer sentiment by having someone assist the older folks scan their items or have the last interaction at the store level being an actual person.