A WALMART customer was outraged because she was forced to stand in an unnecessarily long line.
Due to the retail giant’s self-checkout policy, the customer was unable to skip the line – even though she only had one item in her shopping cart.
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The Walmart shopper shared her frustrating experience at a store in Talladega, Alabama, on Facebook.
“Walmart in Talladega is ridiculous,” the customer said.
Talladega is about an hour outside of Birmingham.
“We stood in line for 30 minutes for one item!
“You have all these self-checkouts that ‘don’t work,’ all these other checkouts with no staff, and then you want to get mad when I show up to customer service with my ONE ITEM and tell me ‘no room to wait in line.’
“You are all pathetic!” she concluded.
Other Facebook users responded to the post, saying they avoided the long lines by paying in the store’s electronics section.
“We are checking out the electronics department,” said one reply.
“I understand you on this,” wrote another buyer.
“Prattville Walmart is terrible so I always donate to Millbrook,” the commenter wrote, referring to two local Walmarts in Alabama.
“If I ever have to go to Prattville’s, I’ll check out the electronics section.
“I ask them if they would mind if they weren’t (too) busy. They always tell me it’s OK.”
Walmart customers aren’t the only ones annoyed by the long lines at the self-checkout lanes.
Walmart has begun limiting the frequency of self-checkout lanes to provide customers with an easier shopping experience and reduce theft.
Latest changes to self-checkout
Retailers are developing their self-checkout strategies to shorten checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart customers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that the self-checkout lanes were closed at certain times and more cashiers were offered instead.
While customers feared that shoplifting was the reason for the changes, a Walmart spokesperson said store managers were simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment involved an RFID-supported self-checkout kiosk that was intended to eliminate the hotly contested receipt check.
However, this test run was discontinued.
At Target, the number of items at self-checkout lanes is limited.
Last fall, the brand tested new express self-checkout lanes with a maximum of 10 items in 200 stores to increase convenience.
Starting in March 2024, this policy will be expanded to 2,000 stores in the United States.
Customers have also noticed that their local Walmart stores are limiting the number of customers at self-checkout lanes to 15 items or less.
While some locations are limiting self-checkout options, other stores have begun removing the machines entirely over the past year.
Spokesman Brian Little told Business Insider that the changes would help speed up the checkout process at Walmart.
“We believe the change will enhance the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the opportunity to provide a more personalized and efficient service,” Little said.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to provide the best shopping experience for our customers, and that includes customizing the checkout area in stores,” Walmart spokesman Josh Havens told Business Insider last September.
An outraged shopper left $50 worth of groceries behind when he saw there was no staff at the checkout.
Another customer was confused by Walmart’s statement “15 items or less.”
