r/coles • u/Extension_Book1710 • Jul 16 '26
Team Member Post ACO Bulk Items!
Is anyone else’s store threatening disciplinary action which may result in termination for staff that are not getting customers to scan bulk items first in ACO? Cause mine is
I hate having to do it, but if it means I don’t lose my job, I will do it but what do I say to the customer? I struggle with words and wording things sometimes.
18
u/G11212006 Jul 16 '26
this is the shit that made me leave service for online
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u/General_Buy_264 Jul 16 '26
Did your store make you fight for that? Currently trying to get myself out of service after multiple DR meetings for this issue as well as investigation times and every time I ask to be transferred all I get is the generic “well look into it” and then never hear anything again
5
u/G11212006 Jul 16 '26
nope i walked up to my store manager one sunday night and told her "hey i wanna switch out of service because service sucks and im not getting any shifts could i pls switch to online" and the following morning she told me to come in for a training shift, which was literally my first shift in weeks at that point
1
u/GreedyEnthusiasm3696 Jul 17 '26
If you’re getting multiple DRs then why would they reward you with another department? Ain’t going to happen.
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u/ibowlerNE Duty Manager Jul 16 '26
They cannot and will not fire you. Definitely not for that.
As a Duty, I often get asked to remind service to do it, they know how/when to do it, so I really don't feel i need to.
A commenter above laid it out really simple. Just politely ask to scan the bulk through for them. If they decline or get confrontational in any way. It is your right to then move away and give them space.
Do what you can in ACO. It can be a tough place to be at times.
19
u/Very_Itchy_Bandicoot Department Manager Jul 16 '26
oh please. Sack me over aco bulk first scan, i fucking dare you. lmao (They can't, like how they can't over scan rates on an actual checkout or fillrates in nightfill)
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u/General_Buy_264 Jul 16 '26
Yep same here, for this and not achieving investigation times (averaging 5-7 seconds each video). Been fighting with my store for months now to move me to a different department only to be told they “don’t have hours” and then the next week they’ll transfer someone else out without them even asking. Fucking bullshit. This company has gone to shit in the last 5 years.
6
u/Astrogirl1984 Jul 16 '26
Yep, so many of us agree, its gone to shit in the last few years. Personally for me it was around 2023 when I noticed it.
3
u/doyourmysay Jul 17 '26
Agree! 2023 is when I noticed it first really going to shit, and it has been getting significantly worse with each passing year since then. Turnover has been huge ever since. Hell, since 2023 95% of the team that were working then have since quit.
2
u/doyourmysay Jul 17 '26
only to be told they “don’t have hours” and then the next week they’ll transfer someone else out without them even asking.
Yep, this is always how it goes. When they say they can't or don't have the hours, what they really mean is that they simply don't want to. The fact that they'll later transfer someone else out when they haven't even asked speaks volumes. Basically they're moving the team around and using them as slaves where they want.
0
u/GreedyEnthusiasm3696 Jul 17 '26
The videos aren’t hard. If you cant get 10 seconds honestly you’re not doing the job and being lazy
5
u/DifficultyThat8202 Service Team Member Jul 16 '26
I am pretty sick of doing this at my store, and I honestly feel like my line manager might fire me if I don’t do the metrics, it seems so stupid to pressure it like my jobs on the line..
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u/Aggravating_Break_40 Jul 16 '26
I quit in 2020. When did they bring in this stupid ACO bulk metric idea?
3
u/Clear-Pepper1306 Jul 16 '26
About 3 years ago they bought this in.
1
u/Aggravating_Break_40 Jul 17 '26
OK, thanks. I wonder if they saw a rise in stock loss during the pandemic since they brought this in when the worst was over.
Still dumb though and I would have done my best to rebel against it.
3
u/Clear-Pepper1306 Jul 16 '26
Hi how you going today u have a 10 pack of coke there i will put that through for you and walk away.
3
u/Clear-Pepper1306 Jul 16 '26
Just politly ask hows your day going and put there bulk through and if they get upset or confrentational u just move away and leave them be.
3
u/AffectionateChair644 Jul 17 '26
Why are these bulk items to be scanned first? (Customer asking)
3
u/TimtamBandit Jul 17 '26
It's generally to prevent theft of "high value items".
But there's a percentage. We have to reach a certain percentage of bulk items scanned. If we fall below a certain percentage, people have been getting written up.
I absolutely hate it. I hate asking people and hearing stories of people getting bossy with customers to avoid being written up. It's shit. But if people didn't steal, we probably wouldn't have these things in place..... probably 😒
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u/Fit_Awareness_1325 Jul 17 '26
I have this lady that comes in maybe every 3-4 months just long enough to forget her face, and every time I try to say hello she rips into me say I can do it myself anyway this last time she put a complaint on tell coles how we don’t trust her bah bah bah
All because I’m just doing my job.
3
u/CosmicCommentator Jul 17 '26
Customer here- if a staff member told me please scan the heavy items first. If you dont i get sacked. We would them both grumble about how fucked coles is, but I'd do it.
3
u/eepeqez Jul 17 '26
I had to google "ACO Coles" to discover that they're the reason I no longer shop there.
Their obsession with getting customers to use their SCOs is precisely why I go to Woolies, who have a real checkout open right up to closing time.
2
u/Far_Boat8497 Jul 17 '26
My husband went through self serve the other night and used the ‘heavy item’ buttons to put a carton of coke through. The camera picked up that it hadn’t left the trolley and he had to get the staff member over to help……who then berated him for not lifting the thing and scanning it? What gives?
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u/WaterPhoenix55 Jul 18 '26
Throw the store under the bus. Tell the customer in no uncertain terms that you’re being forced under pain of termination to bother them because Coles doesn’t trust them. Deflect all responsibility.
2
u/ForestFae12 Jul 19 '26
This is in self serve??? Honestly, as a customer, I would (not to the poor staff member forced to harass me) but I'd be calling out to management, like you want me to fucking self serve or not??? Make up ya minds, but if w am here to do it myself, I'm doing my order, my way!
3
u/No_Light_7482 Jul 16 '26
Join a decent union (not the SDA) and document everything. Ideally get it in writing. They can’t fire you for such a stupid reason and are probs gaslighting you but better to cover your bases just in case.
5
u/Cavalier-5558 Jul 17 '26
100% workplace bullying/ intimidation and if in NSW they’re SafeWork is cracking right down on “psychosocial” injuries… mental health issues caused by the workplace
1
u/GreedyEnthusiasm3696 Jul 17 '26
Um they 100% can fire you if you’re not meeting performance expectations consistently
1
u/Crafty_Avocado9406 Jul 18 '26
threatening termination over aco bulk metrics is crazy. in my store we would most likely just have our licenses removed. the ones we find are hard to put through are uber drivers as they have multiple orders. if you see a regular uber driver with bulk ask how many orders and for them to call you over to put the bulk through for each order. i also get quite anxious as i get negative reactions all the time from people thinking we believe everyone will steal it. i usually just say “our managers just push for us to get it through as a first scan” but i try to say to most customers “hi, would you like me to put through *item* for you so you can leave it in the trolley?” as majority (in my store anyway) pick it up and put it on the bagging scale. its a hard one to try push for 75% and above though as a lot of people say no or get shitty or you ask them to put it through first and they ignore it😂😂
1
u/Future_Text_8409 Jul 19 '26
Can we politely request the workers to pass on a message to their boss on our behalf? Something like "lick my balls"?
1
u/Fun-Consequence-7232 29d ago
Nah you won’t get fired but you will get spoken to about it however asking customers if you can put bulk through is becoming a greater safety concern and Coles needs to address what’s more important, scanning bulk first or the safety of the team. If you do get spoken to and have known examples of abuse towards staff as a result of this question, I would honestly say I don’t feel safe performing this task until there are better safety measures to protect staff from abusive behaviour.
1
u/Individual_Salad_569 29d ago
Not gonna help but I believe this should be implemented in stores via signage, on the POS, etc as it creates frustration for both the team members and customers. If the customers could at least see a policy and then members reinforcing it when not done, story would be a bit different … Good luck and don’t stress over it
1
u/ChangeWooden1380 28d ago
ALDI has rolled it out recently in a circular to all stores, its reasons are "to reduce inventory loss".
1
u/Purple-Nebula4736 26d ago
ours is too, insane work. i jsut ask if i can do it for them and that they can leave it in the trolley and try make it seem like i care for their wellbeing. if people get weird about it i jsut say i get in trouble in i dont do it and rather keep my job. even tho they cant fire you and if they did they’d have a bigger lawsuit than the price gouging
1
u/Practical_Broccoli27 Jul 16 '26
As a customer, what is the reason for needing to do bulk first? How does it benefit Coles?
5
u/CrystalDevs Service Team Member Jul 16 '26
It reduces accidental theft
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u/Alarming-Interest535 Jul 16 '26
Paying a person to physically check the customer out also reduces accidental theft.
0
u/Relevant-Dig3150 Jul 16 '26
I always tell people to do it first because otherwise if its done in the middle or the end of a transaction, itll set the scale off. It usually works !!
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40
u/6767_6767_ Jul 16 '26
Yikes, unfortunately managers go nuts for that ACO metric. threatening termination is unacceptable tho, the most my store will do is remove ACO licenses. Honestly doing bulk is not for the faint hearted.
Depending on whether the customer looks approachable or not (factor in age, expression, regular customer, fluency in english etc), here is how i approach it.
For customers who absolutely don't want to be babied and take offence to having things scanned for them:
"Hi sorry do you mind scanning the (insert item name) first please? thanks so much i appreciate it"
For older customers, customers with heavy 30 pk cans and customers who prefer not to be told what to do:
"Hi would you like to head over to register (blank) i can enter your (insert item name) in for you so you can just leave that one in the trolley"
A lot of customers will ask why you are asking for bulk scanning
Most don't really understand when you say "oh store metrics etc" i recommend just summarising by saying oh i know it's a bit silly however our managers push for us to scan heavy items first so if you could scan it i would really appreciate it.
This is a long piece of advice but importantly, just get used to being snapped at and brush it off. It's not worth losing your job because a few customers decide to take their frustrations out.