A KROGER customer was less than impressed after claiming he was forced to bag his groceries on the floor.
The furious shopper said he had bought $400 worth of groceries and no register was open.
Colby was at a store in Waycross, Georgia – around 105 miles from Savannah – and said he had to use the self-checkout as a result, but noted how small the packing area was.
“I literally had to bag my food onto the floor,” he said in a tirade on X.
“So totally unacceptable. Customer service fail!”
He took a picture in the store that showed bags of chips and other products in Kroger carrier bags sitting on the floor.
The shopper also shared a snap of his receipt that showed he had spent more than $360 at the store.
A Kroger spokesperson responded to the shopper’s fury and said: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
The representative invited the customer to send a direct message.
But, the shopper later revealed he was skeptical about sending a note to the retailer online.
Shoppers across the nation, not just Kroger, have lashed out at retailers in the run-up to the holidays.
Customers have been left bemused after lines in stores apparently stretched to the bathrooms.
Meanwhile, others were furious after having to wait for staffers to verify items scanned at self-checkout.
One shopper went so far as to question the purpose of the machines – once designed for customers who want to be in and out of the store in a flash.
“What’s the logic behind that?” a shopper known as Jake asked on X.
“It defeats the purpose of making the self-checkouts ‘speedy.’”
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
Again, Kroger swiftly apologized, saying it was not an experience it wanted customers to endure.
Target has attracted particular criticism this holiday season over a particular checkout policy.
Thousands of stores across the US are enforcing a rule that only allows shoppers to scan a maximum of 10 items.
The U.S. Sun reported how one shopper encountered the policy at a time when there were only two registers open.
Target first rolled out the policy as part of a pilot program – testing the item limit at 200 stores – before implementing it more widely.
Bosses have hailed how self-checkouts have remained efficient, and a Target representative revealed it had helped mitigate theft, but not all shoppers have welcomed the measure.
It has sparked so much fury among some that they’ve threatened to boycott the chain.
One shopper said he was forced into using the machines because no register was open[/caption]
