A WALMART customer complained that the store uses its staff unproductively.
The shopper said she counted about ten Walmart employees, but only two conventional checkout lanes were open.
2
2
She shared her story on X.
Walmart responded, calling the issue a “nationwide” problem.
CHECKOUT PROBLEMS
The buyer said she tried to purchase 16 items.
The first obstacle they encountered was that the local store limited the self-service checkouts to checkouts with a maximum of 15 items.
She said three people were employed to count the items to enforce compliance with the policy.
Another four or five people, she claimed, worked around the store’s self-service checkouts to monitor them.
Some of Walmart’s checkouts are “hosted,” meaning customers can get help while shopping but are partially independent.
However, customers sometimes find these confusing.
In addition, only two conventional cash registers were open, said the buyer.
She also claimed there was a “huge” snake.
“How about if those cashiers actually counted/observed and scanned?” she said. “I left my cart. Never again.”
Walmart responded to the post.
“Let’s look into this,” the company said. “If you don’t mind, can you please DM us with some additional information about your visit?”
The buyer responded publicly.
“Similar complaints across the country, not a problem of the local store but of the corporation,” she said.
She then listed three ways she thought the store could “fix” the problem.
“Open more checkouts instead of having employees sit around. Don’t make customers feel like criminals. Provide more flexibility in self-checkout,” she said.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Walmart’s self-checkout policies have caused a stir online.
One shopper recently said she has a love-hate relationship with the store but was annoyed by the order limits at the self-checkout.
She was then helped to pack her purchases. The employee explained that this measure was to prevent theft.
Another expressed his anger that there were not enough self-service checkouts in the store, which led to long waiting times.
Shoppers in Puerto Rico are angry with Walmart over a “location fee.”
Another lost his gas discount due to an error.
Why doesn’t Walmart offer Apple Pay?
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon explained on Stratechery with Ben Thompson why stores don’t offer Apple Pay.
Although the use of Apple Pay is an ongoing topic of conversation at the retailer, McMillon stressed, “We want customers to constantly have our app open in the store.”
The app not only helps you find items in the store, but can also be used to pay for your purchases.
“That’s one of the reasons we want people to use our app,” he said.
