MISSOURI, USA — A lot of 5 On Your Side viewers were not pleased to hear about Schnucks' new self-checkout restrictions that started on Feb. 1.
The station has received hundreds of comments from viewers, the majority of which were asking the St. Louis-based grocer to add more staff checkout positions or reduce what some called already-long wait times.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Schnucks self-checkout getting big change Feb. 1
Comments included:
- "Then they need to have more than one or two cashiers available. That line backs up 15 or 20 people deep. I always use self check out."
- "Well that must mean that they’ll be employing more cashiers, because that’s the only way this will work!"
- "That is all good - - if only they would STAFF the Full Check Out!"
In response to customers' calls, Schnucks said it would increase full-service checkout staffing, but did not specify what those increases would look like.
"We have increased checkout staffing to account for the expected shift in transactions from self-checkout to full-service checkout," a company representative said.
Schnucks previously told 5 On Your Side that the new self-checkout restriction was being implemented to improve checkout efficiency. The company could not provide any data related to current staff checkout wait times or how the self-checkout change may potentially affect lines.
Despite customers' wishes, it doesn't look good for cashier increases anytime soon, either at Schnucks or in other stores nationwide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are around 1.2 million people currently working as cashiers nationally, compared to 1.4 million in 2019. The number of cashiers is expected to continue decreasing, with a projected 10% drop over the next decade.
With cashier positions projected to become more scarce in the coming years, another St. Louis area-based grocer is, instead, leaning heavily into self-checkout.
Dierbergs told 5 On Your Side that its current self-checkout policy, which was established in 2001, isn't changing anytime soon. A grocery chain representative confirmed that it won't be limiting the number of items customers can scan and will, instead, be updating self-checkout lanes with artificial intelligence technology.
"We believe giving customers checkout options improves customer service,” said Andy Pauk, senior vice president and COO for Dierbergs. “We have the most developed self-checkout technology in St. Louis."
Walmart has also not made any nationwide changes to its self-checkout policy, but the Associated Press reported that the chain is planning to add more self-checkout kiosks in its stores while removing some in a location-by-location approach.
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