Sainsbury's slammed for replacing tills with self-service area

Sainsbury’s in Shirley Precinct, Southampton refurbished the till area last week, leaving just four cashier tills available for shoppers – instead prioritising two separate self-checkout areas comprising of around a dozen self-service tills.

Founder of community group Shirley and Freemantle Watch, Tony Weafer said many elderly customers would be alienated by the changes, with the shop expected to be busy in the lead-up to Christmas.

The 72-year-old said: “I think it’s really infuriating; I was in the shop last week and a day or two later the layout of the checkouts had completely changed.

“There are only four cashier tills left – numbered 17 to 20 – which implies over time around 16 tills have been converted to self-checkouts.

“There was already a small self-checkout area before but now it’s practically the whole thing.”

Mr Weafer said some elderly shoppers would find the self-checkout tills confusing and would queue for a cashier regardless.

Tony Weafer has criticised Sainsbury's for removing staffed tills (Image: Matt Davey) He added: “I think for some people it’s what they’re used to and it’s a matter of principle.

“I spoke to one customer who told me they would wait to be served by a cashier, no matter how long they had to wait.”

Reacting to the news, Councillor George Percival, who represents Shirley, said: “To me, this decision by Sainsbury’s feels penny wise, pound foolish.

“While I understand it’s likely a move to reduce staff costs, it risks alienating customers, especially those with disabilities, sight issues, or those who simply enjoy a bit of conversation with staff.

“The team at the Shirley store work hard and are always polite, and I urge customers not to direct any frustrations toward them – they’re doing their best under the circumstances.”

He added: “If people feel strongly about this, they have options to ‘vote with their feet,’ and support the many other local shops in Shirley that welcome face-to-face interaction.”

Sarah Jane, a shopper, echoed Tony’s concerns.

She said: “Shirley has a lot of old age pensioners and in many cases their daily visit to Sainsbury’s is their only interaction with another human.

“Making them stand in line to pay as they are too scared of the self-serve tills is just mean.

“The lack of humanity in our big stores is frightening.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said the supermarket regularly reviews services to ensure "the most convenient experience" for customers.

“We have slightly increased the number of self-service checkouts at our Shirley store so that we can meet customer demand for this service," the spokesperson continued.

“Our colleagues are on hand to help anyone who may need support using them and we continue to offer serviced checkouts for our customers who wish to use them.”