Walmart Is Swapping Cashiers For Self Checkout At More Locations

Good news for those of us who prefer a old school customer service.

We’ve all been there. You grab a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, a few new dish towels, and some dog shampoo and when you head to check out there are no cashiers in sight. Instead, it’s self-checkout. When they work properly, self-checkout stations are efficient. They are also great if you’re feeling grumpy or having a bad hair day and don’t want to chat with anyone. The problem is that they frequently don’t work perfectly and an associate has to be called to come help ring up your purchases. Needless to say, the machines have earned more than a few haters. Well, if you’re in the anti-self-checkout camp, here’s some good news: Walmart is phasing out self-checkout in a few locations.

Walmart has announced that they are scrapping the self-checkout machines in two stores—one in St. Louis, Missouri, and the other in Cleveland, Ohio. They are swapping the machines in favor of the more traditional checkout service with friendly cashiers. The change comes a year after a similar move was made by the supermarket giant where it removed self-checkout from three stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“We’ve decided to remove self-checkout lanes and replace them with staffed lanes at select locations,” Brian K. Little, a spokesperson for Walmart, told Supermarket News. Little explained that the decision to remove the self-checkout stations was made after assessing shopping patterns and other “business needs”. The Walmart decision-makers also took employee and customer feedback into account. “We believe the changes will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service,” Little said.

This change has only been made in a few Walmart stores so far—and may not be the end of self-checkout. In October, company spokesperson Joe Pennington made a statement to USA Today revealing, "There are no current plans for self-checkout removals nationwide."

Still, change may be afoot. Not only is Walmart removing self-checkout machines at a few stores but Target has also made changes to its self-checkout stations and Costco has added more staff to theirs. Together these changes could be a hopeful sign for those of us who much prefer a little old school chatter at the register with the cashier and who believe in the value of personal customer service.

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