Southsea Co-op “cannot rehire” after the introduction of self-service checkouts
Great Southsea Street Co-op, Southsea, will have to reduce working hours after the introduction of self-checkouts to its store this month.
It has been estimated that at least 22 working hours will be lost to accommodate for the till changes, increasing up to 120 hours in larger stores.
Tom Bailey, manager of the Southsea store, said: “We cannot reduce a worker’s hours without their permission.
But if someone leaves we cannot rehire to replace them.”
The self-service tills have been designed to enhance customer service by reducing queuing time. Mr Bailey said it will be a “drastic change.”
Southern Co-op sped up the changes to checkouts during the pandemic and in the interests of social distancing, bosses have said.
Mr Bailey said: “It is going to massively affect customer service.
Some customers want to come in to talk to someone, which obviously you’re not going to get from a machine.”
Self-service technology allows customers to have contact-free, cashless transactions.
Phil Western-Scott, IT project manager, said: “The aim is to get customers in-and-out of the store as quickly as possible.
It’s the way that a lot of retail is going. Southern Co-op is many years behind, compared to other retailers.”
When asked about the costing of the new technology, Mr Western-Scott said it would “cost thousands.”
Concerns have been raised over whether self-service checkouts will increase the risk of theft and push out elderly customers.
Mr Western-Scott said: “Loads of research was carried out to find out which stores were suitable for self-service checkouts.
We considered the size, demographic and the risk-ratings of each shop.”
Southern Co-op reached its 100 store goal for installations of self-service checkouts in March 2021 and has a vision to get all suitable stores installed by the end of the year.
