I would like to complain about the introduction of more and more self service checkouts in my local sainsbury store in Islington. There used to be a fast service area for baskets only with one queue for about 1 or more checkouts which moved very quickly and efficiently. This whole area and more of the checkout area has been replaced by self service checkouts. I find the increase in this deplorable what happened to ‘service’ the supermarkets make huge profits and then expect us to serve ourselves. Fair enough maybe if they offered a reduction in your shopping bill if you do this but no the prices still remain the same. When I complained in store I was met with but we will help you use them – that is not the issue the lack of service is. They also implied that it was what customers want not any of the customers I spoke to and what happens to the staff who used to man the checkouts?
I seem to remember reading in the press that an english supermarket tried the same thing in the States and it bombed with people voting with their feet and not using the shops.
Bring back good old fashioned service with a smile the money these companies make the least they could do was provide me with a checkout service hey maybe even bring back people packing my bag and carrying it to my car – at least it would help with unemployment.
I can tell you one thing…. most supermarket staff do not smile!
In fact I may be one of the few but I quite like the self service checkouts, I am never met with rudeness, I even get a thank you at the end of my payment! something I noted was getting more and more rare in the whole shopping experiance.
Don’t forget, morrisons tried this many years ago (1994) with the scan your own shopping gun and it did flop because the system was too time consuming.
The problem arises that each one of these self service checkouts is a persons job, that is the only issue I have with them, it is apparant that those who don’t want to use them can use one of the manned, slower checkouts instead but I do have to take issue with you over how many people dislike them.. if this was fact, these checkouts would be empty but I think you will find they have the same number of people on them that other checkouts have.. just the people have less items which means you get through quicker.
While I can moan for the UK on my todd… I’m afraid this is the future, and this is the way shopping is going on the whole, embrace it… I fear you have no other choice.
Chris
I suppose I shouldn’t really reply as I am employed by a large supermarket and work on the checkout ..not self scan..I wouldn’t say I love my job but hey we all have bills to pay..I have a variety of disabilities which customers would not be aware of but in the year I have worked there I can assure you that no matter how ill I have felt .i have smiled and thanked every single customer I have served offered to and packed bags for any customer who required help wven getting other staff to take customers shopping to taxis or cars .Yes I get paid for doing my job but it costs me nothing to smile and be courteous and friendly with customers..Its quite amusing though that I may have six people queuing at my checkout when others are available and the customers response is we would rather wait and be served by this lady..I have so many people saying thankyou for your service and wish all checkout staff in stores were like you..Even customers ring the store to give positive comments..so however bad you feel or ill or depressed when you arrive at work be kind be courteous and smile it sometimes can make someone’s day and it cost you nothing
Sainsburys staff are underpressure and all the customers do are moan and you do get loads of customers that are rude, its a 2-way thing if you are polite then the cashiers will be polite back. Those self service tills are very easy to use and it gets people through the checkouts very quickly, i wish they get them in my local store.
Hi
I am a HGV driver visiting the Sherburn rdc site regularly,the room in which drivers are expected to sit for several hours at the most has NO heating at all,i am sure that the people on the other side of the wall{employed by J Sainsbury}have heating!,and i am also sure that there is an health and safety issue re this.
I love the self service checkouts, they are quick and easy to use – only a moron would have problems. I for one usually don’t have time to make idle chit chat with check-out staff so DIY suits me just fine!! I say more self service!!
Well said Kate! And to correct Chris, each self service till is not one persons job. Every four self service tills equate to one cashier – and guess what, they still have that cashier overseeing the four self service tills. I know which option I’d rather have. Four fast and hassle free tills to one till?
I have had the most unpleasant shopping experience of many years this morning. I have been using my local Sainsburys prior to 8am, but recently they’ve not opened regular tills and have three people directing to self-service tills. I can assure you that self-service tills are nigh on impossible if you are partially sighted. I cannot find barcodes fast enough on items before I am informed that the machine has timed out. I had this bloody woman overseeing the machine who kept on telling me that I’d timed out and resetting the machine. In the end I walked out, abandoning my shopping. I feel quite depressed that I’ve been cut out of a process – the purchase of necessities – that was quite manageable. Who sets the timing of transaction on these machines – can it be overridden locally? I regret I was too anger to ask, in situ.
I have been confronted by this problem of them trying to force you to serve yourself, but not at Sainsbury’s – yet.
All I did was refuse to use the self service machine and insist the memeber of staff overseeing the area do it for me.
They didnt like it one little bit, but that’s not the point. I dont go into any store to do someone elses job and not get paid for it.
If stores want you to buy stuff, they provide people to serve you, simplel as that. I’m just waiting for a similar situation to happen in my local Sainsburys.
My husband and I are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Sainsbury’s intention of meeting customer requirements. The number of organic products on sale is reducing almost weekly, whereas the increase in Israeli and West Bank (also Israeli) produce is increasing daily.
The staff, assuming you are lucky enough to find any, are not interested in customers – full stop. They have no product knowledge and are not even effective at filling the shelves.
More and more we find ourselvs finishing our shopping trips at Tesco (which we don’t like), the Co-op (which is growing on us and it’s local) or Waitrose (a long way to travel);
We have shopped at Archer Road (Sheffield) since it was built, we have endured it’s various phases, as now, and we loved it. No longer. It’s very sad.
Waitrose’s slef-scanning system is by far the best. I suppose it may not work in other stores – Waitrsoe customers tend not to be thieves!
That’s rather ignorant and naive isn’t it?
I agree with Kim. Ian you are one very narrow-minded person….. there are thieves in all supermarkets, perhaps Waitrose is just not that good at catching them !!!
I have been working part-time at Sainsburys since september. In october 2009 we had a large re-fit in which self service were introduced. Having a tescos and an Asda in town (with 6 & 4 self service respectively) we are the most recent to have been given these machines. We have got 10, 6 basket sized & 4 lager ones. Before we got them I hated them. Now I spend most of my shifts working them and think they are brilliant! We have in the original space of four manned tills, 10 self service which only need 2 mambers of staff to run. They have been absolutely invaluable at dealing with the busy christmas period and other busy times. On monday evenings which I work if the queues get big we open up the four trolley ones which absolutely shoots people through. We have never had this many tills open, and not one member of staff has been lost, we have gained becuse of the increased capacity!
Besides, the amount of complaints that I get with people on them saying ‘I hate these, they’re useless’ is equal to the amount of people that fly through, no problems, no fuss. After all if you hate them, don’t use them. Leave the space for people that have the patience to learn how they work!
“Leave the space for people that have the patience to learn how they work!”
I am very frustrated about the lack of assistance that i received as a disabled person (partly sighted). See above. I am really upset about such complacency.
Nic
Ok, so during this terrible experience at your sainsburys, did you ask if they could either open a manned till for you or if they could put your items through because of your disability? I’m sure that your store would offer assistance if asked. On the self service there is an attendant mode in which the attendant scans everything. However the issue with this is that it cannot be used if other self service are being used as the member of staff cannot leave a self service in attendant mode. It would be worth your while enquiring about whether any of the options are availiable as we are so cold hearted and cruel that we wouldn’t help someone disabled.
Also I’m afraid that the machines are designed to time out in order to alert the staff of either abandoned items or nothing happening for a while. This can’t be changed.
p.s. I missed out a ‘not’ before cold hearted, no offense intended
we moved here from surbiton,nr kingston upon thames to SE19 3EW in july, and have been usinf sainsburys at crystal palace and the football ground one, but, the meat i.e. lamb,beef fro sunday soints are really unedible, the only thing we can rely on is the chicken, why is this? my daughters dogs are very well fed with this stuff…. please explain, pls dont say i dont coook it properly, cos am 58yrs old, granddaughter is training to be a chef!
thanks pauline
i think self services is a wrong innovation for the community for the long run. the more you have self services the more you have unemployment. The unemployed will have less money in his pocket, this encourges him or her to steal.
Tescos are just as bad – I am fed up with hearing ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’ when I try to use my own bags (which Tesco’s encourage you to do) – I have to wait until I have paid for my shopping before packing it away which wastes my time and that of the people queuing behind me. I have to use the self-service machines as there are rarely staffed tills open in the London Metro branches I use and if there are, the queues are extremely long.
For those who are complaining about self service, who actually cares… The machines are extremely easy to use providing you are concentrating on actually putting the food through and just implementing general human initiative. Lazy and irresponsible people unwilling to make their own lives easier due to general ignorance and mass unconcsiousness should really get a reality check. It’s stumbling across pages as sad as this and ready through petty complaints about other peoples “extremely unpleasant shopping experiences” that really makes me see how useless the human race actually is.
Just for the record – cashiers never smile because they all hate their jobs – anyone who as ever been a cashier or worked in a large corporation will know this. The rest of the people winging should go out and try working in these situations before displaying their pure selfish and self righteousness.
Get a grip.
just seen what ahmed said and –
GET A GRIP!
honestly! are you stupid? there is no unemployment because of self service – if anything the staffing is exactly the same – the staff that would be sat at a till taking all kinds of shit from you idiots is now overseeing self service and having a more comfortable time of it. use your awareness…
Freud. You seem like just the sort of chap who would enjoy self service.
You say,
”The rest of the people winging should go out and try working in these situations before displaying their pure selfish and self righteousness”
They ARE doing the cashiers job. That’s the point.
And to say that some one who is partially sighted having problems with her weekly shop being mechanised proves to you the uselessness of the human race… well I can only assume you are young and healthy… and good luck to you.
Self service tills are sold to us on the idea of
”Don’t strand there in that SLOW queue… you could check out and be gone in minutes!”
But now there are no manned tills in my local, so now self service is the only option. Quicker? no just the same, with the occasional problem when an item won’t scan. In fact… just the same as before, when the cashier had a problem scanning something, but the difference? it’s SOULESS. And it’s a con. it’s no quicker. you’re just giving them money without them bothering to take it from you
But I don’t expect that will bother FREUD
OUTTA MY WAY! I’M IN AHURRY ME FIRST ME FIRST
I dont care if the cashier smiles or not. I don’t buy my shopping from a large vending machine. I don’t go there anymore.
Perhaps the next initiative could be we stock the shelves ourselves… or why bother? just dump the pallets in the middle of the shop and we’ll all help ourselves… those shelves slowed things down… and took up space!
Profits are up and we all win.
Those bloody disabled/slow people, well if they can’t deal with it, they can whistle.. FRUED will get his goodies quicker.
I’m glad I don’t live in your world.
You who referred to the BLOODY DISABLED i take it you work for SAINSBURYS.
As the person with the original complaint about the difficulties posed by the self-checkout machines for partially sighted people, I have further information that might be of interest. After gaining advice from various people, I talked to the management of the local store, we talked with people on the supervision of the checkouts: they accepted their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act, people have changed position, and we’ve started to work together. For my part, I’ve accepted that early morning is not the best time to shop and I’ve rearranged my work pattern to a more normative pattern, when staffed checkout points are in operation (but the said store has lost a fair proportion of my custom as a result). Irrespective of Freud’s insults, there are serious short-comings with the self-service machines as they are currently installed; the ‘reality check’ is that many customers have been semi-consciously sidelined. On the ‘jobs taken away / not taken away’ aspect, perhaps the defining index should be ‘how long does it take for a supervisor to attended to a stalled process’. I leave you to work that out from the customer’s perspective. And finally, Freud, ardent disciple of time and motion as you are, fount of all wisdom as to ‘reality’, past poor victim of customer oppression, what do you do with all your saved time? In your self-absorption, something more Freudian? Please, grow up.
jude, 7th july 2010. 3.40pm
My daughter , was in Salisbury in south harrow shopping as all my family has for many years, she had her two boys with her one 10 and the other 1 year old who was crying, a woman told her to SHUT IT UP, my daughter could not believe what she herd an said what did you say the woman repeated what she said an my daughter said how dare you speak to my child like that, a argument started and the manager was called, the result was my daughter got put out of the shop, the woman denied what she said an smiled and waved when my daughter was put out, we are totally disgusted how the manager acted and will not let this drop till a written apology is sent to her.
I returned a container of coleslaw over 6 weeks ago that had a large sliver of glass in it. At the time I cut my gum cut and if my grandson of 3 had eaten it, ( and he often does eat coleslaw) it could have been very dangerous. The assistant manager at my local shop took all the details and sent it back to the depot but at the present time we have not heard any details of the outcome of their tests and I noticed that on my visits to the store that they are still selling the same product. Do you not think that a letter of appology could have been sent or that the store could have been notified, so that I could have been informed, as the store is only a small outlet and I am known as I use it 2 to 3 times a week.
It is not the electronic check out that is a bad idea, it is the fact it runs under windows that is the bad part of the idea. As a result you end up with a terminal that talks too much, sounds like my ex-mother-in-law, treats me, the customer like an idiot and is patently programmed to offend even the dimmest monkey from the zoo.
Though a good idea, and a way of avoiding “loyalty card” harassment by human checkout operators, the self service checkouts at the Sainsbury’s store on Great Portland Street, London, aren’t fit for purpose. The constant “unexpected items in the bagging area” warning every 30 seconds, and requirement for an operator login code, not only has led me to abandon the machine altogether in favour of one of their human operators on more than one occasion, but more seriously, amounts to an accusation of theft. If Sainsbury’s don’t trust me to accurately account for the goods in my shopping basket why do they have self service tills in the first place? If their store managers, or IT department, aren’t capable of setting up the “theft prevention” settings on these devices properly they should just leave these settings, or the self service checkouts themselves, switched off.
I am realy sad to see that my local Sainsbury’s store in Attleborough has installed self-service checkouts.
They have installed nine of the wretched things, leaving one checkout only for baskets.
I want to know
What happens when the computers go down or there is a power cut?
How are the needs of the visually impaired going to be served?
How will fraud be prevented? one assistant cannot watch five self service check outs at the same time, evidently somebody ran through without paying this morning.
How will the installation of these self-service tills affect unemployment levels ?
What will happen when there are long queues at the manned checkouts, with customers who do not wish to use the self-service tills?
This seems to me to be another move down the slippery slope, to everything being mechanised, with no human contact at all.
I for one have no intention of using the self service tills, I shall continue to use the checkouts that have the lovely friendly staff working them.
Helen Manwaring
In our store, New England Street, Brighton, the following apply, as they should other stores..
When main power goes out, a backup will come in, allowing transactions to be processed, kiosk, manned, and self scan.
Visually impared persons are well catered for, except on self scan. There is braille on card payment pads, seeing eye dogs are allowed too. In our store generally the hard of seeing asked or are offered assistance, and rarely/never compain about service. Accordingly the hard of hearing, handicapped and disabled persons in general are catered for in the best manner we can give.
Fraud is never an issue here. The self scan supervisor monitors all self checkouts they are responsible for via a station at the end of the checkout block. That’s the one that lets them know who needs assistance.
Unemployment doesn’t necessarily rise from self scan installation. Roughly 1 person goes on every 6 self scan tills, and those who arent needed can always stay on checkout if they wish, move department, or store.
Finally, if there are long queues, we always get every last till open to get everyone through. That being said, people do tend to make a rather large queue on two tills when there is a third open, but that is uncommon.
All in all, in our store these things arent a problem. If you’re ever in Brighton, do drop by, see if we can entice you back! Hope this was helpful x
Andrew Szypulski.
Dear Sainsburys Moor Allerton,
Where you have just installed 12 self service machines in store, and left one “basket only” till, you have also cut the number of other open tills drastically. Each of the 4 “Human” tills had a queue of about two waiting to actually put groceries on the conveyor belt at 2pm today.
As someone who suffers from Bi Polar and who feels unsafe in a supermarket at the best of times, my visit today reduced me to tears in front of my 10 year old son.
It took the one American member of staff overseeing 12 auto tills nearly 5 minutes to get round to me when the thing stopped working after I scanned a bag of salad. at the point my till went down, 4 other customers were already waiting to be helped.
It seems that in this store, the staff are trying, but the management dont care about the customer.
This is best shown in the one way system which, in reality is an advert board that has been pushed to the side of the road and is not actually helping matters.
If you were serious about traffic flow & accidents (of which there have been many), you would employ a better system, such as those metal plates which are employed at thousands of car parks around the UK to stop people using the wrong exit.
To whom it may concern,Ihave bought Stamford Cream; Fortified British wine for some years now from Sainsburys HARROGATE branch. Recently I have had to return 3 bottles in less than 2 months due to not only the taste but the smell of the wine being off. Have you had any other complaints from the different branches of Sainsburys or has it just been that Harrogate branch has had a bad batch. I Now feel that I dare not buy your product incase this happens yet again and I have to make another special trip to return the wine. yours Mrs M A Askew (dissatisfied customer)
Err, to all the idiots here saying that self service tills do not reduce workforce numbers. Get a clue please, 1 or 2 staff members are on hand to help with any technical faults, as oppose to 10/20 check outs staffed by cashiers. Do the math please, in my local Sainsbury’s, they have introduced self service tills and many of the staff members that I would see throughout my years of shopping there are no longer there. Replaced by these self service check outs. I’ve encountered many a problem with the self service check outs, a faulty machine did not give me any change, when you scan in a deal like buy 3 for £3.00 it individually prices them at there shelf price per item (not taking into consideration the deal), with this fault this is were the 2 members of staff are there to help with. You have to wait for them staff members to come to you, because other people using the machines are encountering similar problems. In other words, get rid of these pieces of idiotic technological crap and replace them with honest hard working people. It’s a recession, businesses are relied upon to create jobs, not cut them which IS the case with these self service checkouts.
I am sure that this complaint like all the others which i have read will be totally ignored by your hapless and disinterested work force. after waiting for three and a half minutes for a member of your staff to finish her conversation with a member of her family, whilst stood in front of, and totally blocking the stand that I was trying to reach I found that the products in question were priced in a most decietful way, and whilst claiming to be offering BUY FOUR GET FOUR FREE their price was totally different to the price being charged for four If i behaved that way i would expect to be called a thief, having tryed to get an explanation i was assured that it happened all the time and we were not comparing like for like products I then waited another nine minutes to get served at the check out till.
This all happened at 15-30 on a wednesday afternoon.
If you do not concider this behavior shoddy then I suggest that your approach to retailing is far from satisfactory and suggest that you study the business models employed by your competitors.
And if nothing else, at least employ enough staff to run your stores efficiently.
Surely with the abbismal wages which your company is paying its staff and the dishounorable pricing structure that is being employed your company can afford it.
actually the multibuy deals like 3 for the price of 4 come off at the end of the transaction – the same as it works on a normal till except you wont know. the way to check the deals that you have is to press the ‘finish and pay’ button and then ‘go back’. if this doesnt work you should call an assistant over, they will call a supervisor to check the pricing. youll probably be asked to pay the amount and then have it refunded at customer services or, if its quicker, to go through a manned checkout and have the supervisor reduce the items.
I recently wen to my local Sainsburys in Brookwood Woking and was shocked by how it had deteriorated. There were barely any tills open and we were all piled up like cattle (zombie cattle at that).
I found it utterly depressing to see that there were barely any staff in the aisles. No-one to ask where an item might be found. At the tills, the staff that were on them and the supervisors looked utterly miserable, and who can blame them. They are probably now expected to do the work of three people for peanuts no doubt.
The big supermarkets have runined our local shops and now they are showing their true colours about what they think of their customers. Simply awful and I dread to think of how many jobs are being phased out.
We would take our grandchildren to sainsburys cafeteria twice weekly for supper after school but the new Tollgate store is dreadful. the help yourself system means cold food badly cooked and very. very limited choice =PLEASE, PLEASE bring back cook to order and table service. We have tried constantly since \january but it is absolutely hopeless and we miss it, and so do so many people and you must notice the difference in numbers also!!
I would like to bring to your attention that today as I am staying in Perivale for a couple of weeks went to have Sunday lunch at the Sainsbury cafe in Perivale. I was very disappointed in the state of cleanliness. The staff were not attentive to the clearing and wiping of tables and cleaning floor area of dropped food. The utensils in the self service trays were still dirty. My knife had dried food stuck to it and had to ask staff to rewash it and also to tidy and clean the table. The meal was mediocre but the atmosphere was not a pleasant one. Maybe this could be checked on to bring the standard up to what we are used to with Sainsbury good quality country wide.
Wih thanks
I had worst shopping experience today in Golders Green store of Sainsburys.
When I tried to buy products at self-service cashier, I dropped a bag accidentaly. The bag includes fish soya sauce bottle and the bottle was broken. Then the liquid was dropping on the floor and the smell was spread.
Then the staff came and told me to go outside and throw away the bottle. I went out and put the broken bag wrapped with new bags thighly and put in the waste bin.
When I went back to the store, I found the products I was trying to buy was gone. Then I heard a big shout of the store manger saying “What a disgusting smell!! Who did it?”. As soon as he saw me, he glared at me and said “so disgusting! Where did you throw the things away?” in loud voice in public.
Then I taught him where I put the things outside. Again, he glared at me and shouted me “Disgusting smell, isn’t it?
Because I could not find the products I tried to buy and the hotile attitude of staff, I was so embarassed and could not continue shopping.
I have never such a worst shopping experience in my life.
I feel sorry for the accident that I caused but why should I be treated like criminal and humiliated in public with this accident?
Also why was I refused to buy something because of that and why did I have no chance to execuse?
Deary me…come to my till next time..we’ll have a laugh and a joke, get you a replacement and have you on your way again. That’s the way I run my till.
I’d like to complain about sainsburys in waltham cross ,the other day I went into that store and brought a justin biber dvd for my sister,I am 18 and my sister was not with me at the time,as you may no justin is a u not a pg yet I was asked for I’d,and when I said I can produce I’d,the checkout assitant crubled and said well you need I’d ,I strongly advise you not to go their
Wow where do I start ?
Being Disabled and having to go to Sainsbury’s Just doesn’t have the symmetry!
Calcot Reading Sainsbury’s
1. An electric (Only one they have) chair barely moved during the shop! Leaving me stuck half way around!
2. Staff just totally indifferent to the needs of a disabled customer.
3. Checkout staff that were confused how to help a disabled person, and what checkout to open, disappearing leaving me alone!
4. Deputy Store manager that simply could not take suggestions / comments on how to improve the dreadful customer experience, Minimized the upsetting, stressful and demoralizing effects their inadequate staff, only electric malfunctioning wheelchair had on a disabled customer, Then put the phone down on me, rudely and abruptly!
If your Disabled, and or in need of support and a Electric chair that actually works and doesn’t leave one high and dry, do your self a favor and DO NOT go to Sainbury’s Calcot!
My grandaughter is eight went and brought a new game for her DS don’t ask me what that means at my age. It was DS 3D don’t still ask me what that means. I said to her thats ok we will change it or get your money back. How wrong was i because she had taken the wrapper off and nothing wrong with the game. The manager would not do nothing but if it was faulty he would. Well I said well its faulty and he said no you just said its because of the wrong game. You have robbed a 8yr old child thankyou but will not be shopping in sainsbury again and take my custom elsewhere ASDA, Tesco ot morrisons here I come. Mrs Carol Thomasxxx
I’m sorry. I work for Sainsburys on checkout and I have to so why do you expect a refund? Everyone on the high street would tell you the same. I would suggest visiting a preowned game store for a refund. We , at Sainsburys, only sell brand new MINT condition items in this department. Having said that telling the manager 2 different things isn’t going to get you a refund. Also yo my knowledge you can see, or she can see that the game is for another system as advertised on the box, without removing the wrapping.
If you take any electronic game, dvd, cd, etc out of the case you can no longer get a refund. It has been this way in every shop and retailer since time began!!! It’s to stop Piracy, copying of these items, and fraud. You are very stupid to have a go at Sainsburys because of your incompetence. And if you are letting an 8 year old girl shop for herself with no advice, more fool you.
Bad excuses, and Asda is welcome to your naive custom.
I was in your Camden Town branch this evening at around 5.30 and one of your employees with the name of Moujhi,or something like that, confronted me with a very disrespectful and harassing attitude for no reason at all. I will never come into your stores again.
im really dissapointed about a pack of balloons ive just bought they were not cheap and they wont even blow up ive bought them for my kids birthday party and now i havnt got time to take them back before the party starts what a waste of money and waste of my time. and to top it all off 50 percent of the balloons have got holes in do not buy sainsburys party balloons
I had a horrible experience at Sainsbury’s in Bury st. edmunds (Suffolk) this morning. I went shopping with my sister who paid 50 pound cash for some of the stuff she bought. The lady at the till looked at the note, swayed it to some other lady and shouted at her,”this note looks funny”. the other lady came closer and said ” i agree, it looks funny.” Everybody kept staring at us in the shop as though we produced a counterfeit note. Then, they called the supervisor and while the supervisor was walking towards that lady, shouted at her saying the note looks funny. The supervisor took a look at it and said its okay. its a shame that the people working at the till can’t recognise a 50 pound note, neither do they have the decency to deal with the situation without making the customer feel embarassed.I told the supervisor that they need to get staff with good vision and the rude supervisor says they are allowed to do that.Perhaps, they are allowed to clarify if the money is genuine but not insult their customers. I agree the staff has to do their duty and keep a watch for fake notes but should be trained to deal with a situation appropriately . I feel everybody has a right to go shopping without the fear of being embarassed because of some stupid untrained staff and rude supervisors who probably train and support such employees. Anyway I did make a verbal complaint to the lady who handles complaints. She was a decent and nice lady and agreed with me on the fact that they shouldn’t have dealt with the situation in that manner.I understand that most of the people use card to pay the bill but its a shame that people at the counter can’t recognise a fifty pound note that too in a busy supermarket like sainsbury’s.
I agree, generally if a note is fake there is no watermark and the strips arent shiny. At me store we usually get a few reddies, as per the large foreign student customer base, as english banks usually give blueys. No sweat though, Sunitha. It’s entirely normal for for these things to happen, as I tell my customers that everyone does it, which they do. A change of words perhaps for these checkout colleagues.
Hope you come back soon. Come down to my store with your reddies. Nothing makes a more satisfying shift than looking before you cash up and finding a few 50s in there. It reminds us how well we are doing, and of how much you mean to us.
I live local to sainsburys Camerontoll Edinburgh MY OPPINION – I HATE IT!!!!!!
The atmosphere when you walk in that store is disgusting, the staff if they smiled their face would crack if you ask where you will find an item ,with great effort they will tell you the number of isle ,you go yourself to find the isle. they dont even relate to each other it is absalutely like they are told dont spesk to each other,cetainly dont smile or your fired. its like walking into an open prison instead of a supermarket,even people in the road i stay agree it is nott a pleasant place to shop at all., AS A DISABLED PERSON WITH THE NEED OF A WALKING STICK, IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE to get on a bus and travel to another supermarket to avoid sainsburys no matter what the weather or what i have to carry home anything is better than visiting this shop.AS FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM!!!!!!!.Their customer serivice policy is DISGUSTING!!!!!. YES IM WILLING TO PROVIDE MY ADDRESS it woud be a pleasure.
This evening I went to the Sainsbury’s store in Paternoster Square, a store I frequently use to purchase convenience items. Not a typical night! Paternoster Square was under tight security due to the Protests adjacent St.Paul’s Cathedral. Hence the store was not that busy, approx 9 customers in total (2 of which were policemen). Having picked up my items I went to go to the checkout. I noticed there was not one member of staff on the shop floor, nevermind the checkouts. However, I used the self service checkout thinking someone would come shortly to approve my wine purchases. I was left waiting 5 minutes after which point I was shouting out loud ‘Hello’ in vain at the prospect of a member of staff assisting me with my purchase. In the end, I had to walk into the back on the store room and shout out. I can only assume a Supervisor or someone of a managerial rank approached as he was not wearing a Sainsbury’s uniform and neither a name badge. I explained there was no one on the shop floor or tills and had been waiting for 5 minutes! STUNNED BY HIS REPONSE! No apology was forthcoming for the lack of staff or customer service and to make matters worse he started back chatting to me. He even so far went to walk away from me when I said, the very least he could do was listen and acknowledge my complaint! Obviously an apology was never forthcoming. I was amazed that when I mentioned anyone could have walked out of the shop with products -his comment was ‘ the police were in the store!’ Both policemen looked amused by his comment!!!! If Justin is listening to any of these comments – then note – I have been a loyal Sainsbury’s customer for many years and never have I been so angered as to put something in writing. Recommendation: The Supervisor/manager on duty SHOULD really undertake a customer service refresher course! In fact a refresher would be adding insult….. A store should not be unmanned and self checkout tills should not be a replacement to personal service. And a ill-mannered employee does nothing to make me want to shop at Sainsbury’s in future!
I recently visited the arnold store of sainsburys.Ihave never met such unhappy assistaNTS in my life. no response to a good morning,no smile,no help with packing.The store is well run but the majority of assistants are middle aged so no excuse for bad manners.The worst area was the coffee shop long faces serving you not a word they just ignore the customers and just grunt replys. A new store opened in kelso scotland at last a smi8le and help and a nice greeting at the door well done kelso,the girls in the coffee shop ARE HAPPY and very helpful.So if one store is good whAT HAPPENED to arnold.
Colleen, to be honest, all the false bonhomie, fake smiles and ‘have a good day’ crap that most Sainsburys staff dish out makes me feel quite ill. Plus, of course, the time taken spouting their scripted loveliness is time when they could be getting on with serving customers. There is nothing more infuriating than waiting in a line at the checkout while some patronising staff member doles out palliative chatter to the customer ahead of you. If they try it with me, I always say that I am not in the mood for a chat but just want to pay and get out.
so youd rather that they sat there bored out of their minds with no human contact?
nice.
I’d rather they got on with their job (like I have to do with mine) instead of yakking away while we stand around twiddling our thumbs!
Some have nailed the self service machines other have not, here is my marking of the SELF SERVICE TILLS USABILITY ONLY:
NOTE: ALL SUPERMARKETS GUIDE OR ASK IF YOU’D LIKE TO USE THESE TILLS…IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THE SAME THING…THEY ARE CHEAPER…IF THIS HASN’T HAPPENED TO YOU YET YOU MUST HAVE BEEN LUCKY…SO FAR.
RIGHT ON WITH THE LIST:
1. ASDA – FAST VERY GOOD…CLEAR WINNER.
2. TESCO – ALSO-RAN, BUT FINISHED UP LAME, NO BAGS, SOME MACHINES BROKEN, FAILURES DURING TRANSACTION, SECURITY ISSUE WITH BAGS NEAR NEXT PERSONS BASKET…STICKY FINGERS…
3. SAINSBURIES – SSLLOOWW….AND FAR TOO MANY QUESTIONS “HAVE YOU BOUGHT A BAG TODAY”-GET LOST GLOBAL WARMING PC PREACHING MACHINE!.BUT DOES WORK.
4. MORRISONS – “OUT-OF-ORDER”. JUNK WACK-A-MOLE MACHINE FROM A FAIRGROUND…WHERE WILL THE RECIPT POP OUT TODAY….NOBODY KNOWS…
Sod the check outs , my complaint is the Manger of sainsburys in Alton Hampshire , for some strange reason i’ve been banned for entering the store ! No reason just not aloud to go back , this guy so stuck up he wont tell no one the reason , i’ve never stolen anything or done anything wrong in 30years , so why ban me from my local store its the only one in the area , nearest store is in farnham surrey , 10miles away , how the hell am i ment to get there im disabled , no car , can hardly walk (have dvt) . If its not sorted i’ll take it to national papers or maybe tv ! The owner of sainsburys shops there too and i know where they live too
‘I know where they live two’
With threats like that, you’re banned from my store too.
Sombody at last….willig to go to the length i have !!!!!!!!!!!!!1WHY because Ive been treated exactly the same by Sainsburys……WHAT does that tell you??? we both cant be wrong.
Employee of J.S What threat you on bout , and which store you work at cos i’ll make sure i’ll come in ! Plus when Tesco’s gets built Sainsbury’s will be losing customers , bit like now as Waitrose is up and running i say BRING ON TESCO’S as they much nicer staff than stupid sainsburys staff !!!!!!!!!!!!
Siansbury,s do you think your customers are idiots how on earth can you sell a tin of biiscuits marked up at twelve pounds knocked down to five pounds saving seven pounds its one of your ploys to make a customer to buy thinking he has saved seven pounds is this an issue for trading standards ????????
I really quite find Sainsbury’s is a good company to work i think Justin King deserves a big thank form all of us he makes Sainsbury’s a big difference by reaching their targets so i would like to thank Justin King for putting Sainsbury’s back on track with out staff and Justin King Sainbury’s wouldn’t be as they are today.
I really quite find Sainsbury’s is a good company to work for, I think Justin King deserves a big thank you from all of us he makes Sainsbury’s a big difference by reaching their targets also I would like to thank Justin King once again for putting Sainsbury’s back on track with out staff and Justin King Sainsbury’s wouldn’t be as they are today.
hi i would like to complain about boys trousers .i got 2 to 3 years for my grandson who is 2 but there is no elastic to adjust the waist ,and as he is not in nappies they fall down which is a shame as i like tu childrens clothes.i know they have had them before so please bring them back
I went to your car insurance for a quote for my car which will be due shortly i filled in the form and when i submitted it it came back to me i could not see the reason for this untill i looked at the top right hand corner of the form and it said that i must be under the age of eighty for car insurance well i will be eightyone in may so i take you are ageist or prejudiced againt elderly people which i find very offencsive so will i be banned from your supermarkets as well???? which when you ;look around your super stores eighty to ninety percent of your customers are pensioners so why the cut off point of eghty for car insurance. I do know that some elderly drivers are a bit docile but also younger drivers think the road belongs to them and you have to get out of their way it takes all sorts of people to be drivers young and old and one day you people will reach eighty. I eventually spoke to one of your sales people and he said it was to soon to give me a qoute for my car renewall and i said why he said things could change and the quote he would give me now would not be valid well unless i pop my clogs or write the car off nothing will change.????
This is similar to many insurances and other financial products. It’s a general cut off as the insurance has a “target market”. This is not “ageist” as you so put it, more to do with whom they’d like their customer base to consist of.
If they did not have an age limit, the core price of the insurance would need to increase to facilitate the potential costs of a claim for someone over 80. This would mean we’d all have to foot the cost for this. Sorry, but there are many insurers who’d happily take your business as it’s their “target market”. Your insurance would probably be for over 50’s, so avoids the inflation of core price due to the youngsters “thinking the road belongs to them”
i would just like 2 say how dissapointed i am with sainsburys carrickfergus branch .i recently enquired about my daughter doing work experience . after phoning time after time and leaving my phone number so the personal manager could contact me which surprise surprise they didnt i finally got 2 talk 2 her. i was told it wouldnt be a problem and 2 get my daughters school 2 get in touch with them 2 make arrangments. the school has informed me after numerous attempts to arrange this they have given up as sainsburys havnt bothered 2 respond .my daughter goes 2 a special needs school and only last year did a weeks work experience at tescos branch in carrickfergus which she thoroughly enjoyed .as the work experience was supposed 2 start next week its 2 late 2 get another placement , so if this is how your public relations work then i think i wil do my shopping at tescos . thanks sainsburys
To whom it may concern: I frequently buy the Sainsbury’s Basic Hot Drinking Chocolate and was disgusted when I asked my daughter to get me one from her Streatham Stores to find out that it had gone up over a few weeks from 69p to 90p (a differance of 21p) which is a vast increase on just one item. I usually purchase this from my Balham Branch and actually went there to find if it had gone up there as well-which it had. Being a pensioner makes a lot of difference on my financial status when food goes up a great deal. I do not find Sainsbury’s as cheap as it used to be and will continue now to shop mainly at Lidl. I would appreciate a reply as to why such a large increase on this product.
Thankyou. Mrs P Higginson.
These ‘hidden’ price hikes are more and more common in Sainsbury’s. The ‘cube’ of face tissues which cost between £1 and £1.30 for 99 tissues are now in a smaller container which is not a cube and costs £1.55 for 55 tissues! We see ‘Price reduction’ or ‘special offer’ all over the stores, but shouldn’t we also have the occasional ‘beware: price rise’! I consider this kind of underhand treatment of the public almost amounts to sharp practice. Read the small print, shoppers!
Price increases are happening on everything everywhere. People need to get over it.
As for you being a pensioner, you already get many allowances and perks from various government schemes (e.g. winter fuel allowance, free bus pass etc). Someone like myself who’s in his mid 20’s gets no help whatsoever, so I have to work extra hard to facilitate my life. However, i’ll make sure I contribute to my pension so I don’t have to moan about a 21p price hike in the future.
Rant over.
The spilsby store is getting worse,the basic food is gone up so much,they are short staff because you do NOT replace them when they leave,the till staff always short of staff, the floor staff are short of staff,
forget the managers big pay outs and get more staff,the discounts shops show you up for what you really are,your not for the people you shop there,no wonder people rather go to skegness 10 miles away to get better prices and shops with proper staff in,and the shop are filled up and Not half emtpy,
as spilsby shop always are
Today Sunday 25th march I got a beautiful taste the difference joint of beef I cooked it then went to calve it to find I actily had a joint of rolled grissle it was too late for me buy another and my roast was a deserter because of this and we ended up just having roat potatoes and veg. I was so disappointed as the joint of grissle cost me £15.52. I am a good customer of your store in brentwood and have shopped with your store for 20 years. I have allways been happy with the service and choice of food etc.
Mrs R Georgiou
since the 25% sale has been on at sainsburys withymoor I have been trying to collect a jacket. None of the staff want to help you, they are so ignorant when you ask them for the a little bit of assistance they just don’t care especially customer services, not going down to that store again
I agree with all those who do not like shopping at SAINSBURYS, I live 5 mins from their branch at Cameron Toll Edinburgh.
When you enter that store the atmosphere is ice cold. the staff,omitting the steff on clothing only are like they are serving a life sentance for murder their attitude is disgusting I have spoken to a lot of other local people who agree with me.
I am registered disabled and sometimes in a lot of pain,but if I need shopping nothing delights me more than taking the bus to my nearest Asda,luckily I have the choice of two both of which are a pleasure to visit ,the staff are happy and helpful and cant do enough to help you, but SAINSBURY,s at Cameron Toll.is disgusting……..a knightmare.
PLUS they try to keep up with other supermarkets with the buy one get one free offfers. other supermarkets are genuine, SAINSBURY double price of the 1st item to make it look like offer when infact you are being ripped off. the the supermarkets you will 95% find out their offer is genuine and you are infact gettting a good deal. Its about time somebody done something about sainsburys, i.e. shut it down.
F. A. O.
Sainsburys Director
WELL WELL WELL…..
After ready all those complaints about Sainsburys….
ARE YOU NOT TOTALLY ASHAMED or are you just as ignorant as your staff. I really thought I was alone with my complaints but every one of them is covered by others in this comment page and no doubt only from a minority of people. IS IT NOT TIME YOU DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I. E. SHUT YOUR COMPANY DOWN. The public deserve BETTER.
Tracy… How about you shop somewhere else! It’s just a shop…. And I’m sorry they’re great when I go in my local stores. How about you get on with some cleaning or something mindless that requires you to shut the hell up?
I have always brought Sainsburys vegetable Jalfrazi curry costing £2.75 however when i went in store to purchase it again on Friday the price had increased to £3.50 not only that it was also on offer at 2 for £6.00. Firslty what a massive price increase and secondly how can it be classed as an offer if the price had increased 2 day prior to the item going on offer?
I contacted Sainburys for an explaination to be told that their suppliers had increased their prices and the item going on offer 2 day after the increase was purely coincidental. Really, well if you believe that one…
Well my mind is made up, no more Sainburys curries for me, from now one i will make my own.
i would like lodge a complaint about one of your employee male in the watch moor park branch Camberley Surrey branch i am currently disabled going through self service scanner which you have to let items gather at bottom of belt I had walking stick and was trying to pack shopping in to bags as quick as possible as he was ushering me hoovering round me to get move on plus customer was trying to scan his shopping before i had paid for mine what a carry on in a civilised country how your employee’s treat disabled customers is short of a bloody discrase the young of today eh they complain’d enough about mine some 50 year ago i have prolapsed disc building homes for this country perhaps they should have better training ect i will from now on shop elsewhere i spend a tidy wack a month how many other customers has he sent elsewhere still your loss
Using the self service tills at Sainsburys is no problem and often saves time, but like today 6/7/2013 I was in Sainburys and when I reached the 4 self service tills I was annoyed that of the 4 only 1 had any bags and there were several customers trying to get the attention of the young coloured fellow who instead of doing what he was supposed to be doing and keeping the bags topped up and baskets clear was instead talking with a few of his friends totally ignoring customers. Yet on the back of the receipts Sainburys say “UNBEATABLE SERVICE”…………………….you could have fooled me and a few of the other customers today
I went for a job , passed online exam ,phone interview ,then got a interview for a customer service assistant , 10 mins to do a 3 page exam , on a point system 1-3 . and failed when I know I gave the same answers ,on the phone interview, I was told to phone for feed back, so I did and the guy who interviewed me said I had failed in some answer , when I didn’t , the truth is he was Anti gay. when I see some of the half wits they do employ, covered in tattoos , and chewing cum, Im glad I did not get the job ,as they clearly no nothing about who and who not to employ, I went to the new Sainsbury’s local in Dundee st in Edinburgh ,and the hard nut security guy followed me around the store ,with a very intimidating stare ,chewing gum ,so I left and will not be going back ever again ,,,,,,,