A MEIJER shopper has vented that a tech malfunction caused him to leave an entire cart behind.
He vented that the store’s “Shop & Scan” feature has been causing him problems.
Meijer is a popular grocery store in the Midwest[/caption]
Shop and Scan is meant to make checkout easier – but Larry had a rough go of it[/caption]
The shopper shared the story on X, and Meijer replied.
The Midwestern company apologized for the issue, but the shopper said it’s happened before.
THE EXCHANGE
Customer Larry shared a screenshot of his phone’s Shop & Scan.
The feature is meant to allow shoppers to scan their own items on their phones.
After scanning while you put items into your cart, the feature allows you to scan your phone at checkout.
That’s meant to make the process faster for shoppers.
It all takes place inside the Meijer app.
But Larry’s phone says the feature is unavailable.
It prompted him with a common frustrating order: “Please wait and try again.”
“I just abandoned my cart and left,” Larry said. “Fix it.
It’s not clear how much time he’d spent shopping by the point he decided to leave.
However, he did say it was not the only time he’s had the problem.
“This is the second time this year,” he added.
Meijer replied to the tweet — with a couple of typos.
“We are sorry to hear this pleas DM us for further assistace,” they said.
TECH TROUBLE
Grocery stores have been relying on tech to increase customer satisfaction and improve their bottom lines.
However, some people have pushed back against certain kinds of tech.
This can be due to errors or a preference for the old way of doing things.
Some have slammed self-checkout machines, for example.
A Walmart shopper left behind a $50 cart of groceries after a self-checkout experience.
They said the store was understaffed — a common complaint for shoppers left waiting in lines.
Anti-theft errors in the checkout machines can sometimes leave people waiting for minutes on their way out of the grocery store.
Some stores, like Dollar General, are removing self-checkouts.
Walmart has quietly pulled back some of its drone delivery services.
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.
Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.