Booths has become one of the first UK supermarkets to strip out self-service checkouts from most of its stores.
In a bid to keep its reputation for providing a high-end and premium store shopping experience intact, the Northern-based supermarket retailer – which is often dubbed “the Waitrose of the North” – has made the decision to call it a day on self-service checkouts and make a full return to having staff behind its tills.
The retailer is currently in the process of removing the technology from all but two of its 27 supermarkets, The Grocer reports.
As part of its current ongoing store renovation programme, Booths – which has dozens of stores in Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Cheshire, and just one here in Greater Manchester – appears to be going against the wider industry shift to self-service that’s been happening over the past few years by planning to increase the number of staffed checkouts and pay points across all its stores.
Booths becomes first UK supermarket to strip self-service checkouts from stores / Credit: Booths
While many supermarkets’ bosses claim shifting over to self-service has helped them to cut down on key costs, and ultimately speed-up the time it takes to serve customers, it’s fair to say some shoppers haven’t been so keen.
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Some have even claimed self-service detracts from overall service levels in store – which is why Booths has decided to do away with them.
Booths’ Managing Director, Nigel Murray, told The Grocer that the retailer is basically just “not great fans of self-checkouts”.
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“We pride ourselves on great customer service, and you can’t do that through a robot,” he added.
The supermarket says it’s in a bid to provide a premium customer service experience / Credit: Booths
Mr Murray put the company‘s decision to scrap self-service down to voiced customer concerns such as having to wait for a staff member to verify ID when buying alcohol, or issues with checkouts registering the correct items or weights.
Despite the the backlash from its customers in recent years, Booths said it “made sense” to keep self-service an option at two of its busiest stores in Windermere and Keswick.
This is because these two Lake District outlets are often known to get “quite busy” at certain times, especially if large numbers of tourists turn up during a short time period.
Featured Image – Booths
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
Emily Sergeant -
10th November 2023 
