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A MICHAELS customer threatened to no longer shop at the craft supplies store after being left with no option but to use self-checkout.
Michaels across the country seem to slowly be making the move to eliminate cashiers from the stores, leaving self-checkout as the only option.
A Michaels’ customer is furious after being forced to use a self-checkout machine[/caption]
The store is allegedly planning on removing in-person checkout options, leaving customers with only self-checkout kiosks[/caption]
Customers aren’t too happy about these changes.
“I have always bought my yarn at Michaels Stores,” one angry customer posted on Facebook.
“I will no longer shop there. My last visit I was forced to use a self-checkout.”
“I contacted corporate to file a complaint.”
“All they did was forward my complaint to the store.”
After the store received the customer’s complaint, a manager called to apologize and claimed the decision was not at the store level.
“She said corporate has made the decision to phase out cashiers and go completely self-checkout.”
“I informed her I will never step foot in another Michaels store. I have other options.”
The poster encouraged others to spread the message, lobbying against self-checkout only stores.
“We as a community can put Michaels out of business.”
Several shoppers replied, sharing their own experiences being denied a human cashier for checking out.
“The cashier refused to cash me out,” one Micahels shopper replied.
“She instead stood there and helped people use the machine.”
Another shopper posted on Facebook after being told that the Michaels near them doesn’t have enough money to hire employees in response to their complaint about self-checkout machines.
“Really? How much money did they spend on those machines,” the poster wrote.
“How much money are they going to lose in revenue due to theft? There is the money they should be using on their payroll!”
Most major stores have made the transition to self-checkout machines over the past few years.
However, this push for self-checkout machines has proved to be more irritating for customers and stores alike.
“If you had a retail store where 50% of transactions were through self checkout, losses would be 77% higher” than average, according to Adrian Beck, an emeritus professor at the University of Leicester in the UK told CNN
A 2021 Raydiant survey done of 1,000 shoppers showed that 67% of shoppers experienced self-checkout failures.
“One would expect the self-checkout experience to be flawless. We’re not there at all,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
