Woolworths supermarket’s self-serve fiasco goes viral on Social Media
- Replies 5
A frustrated shopper revealed how a glitch in Woolworths supermarket’s self-serve checkout has left him “stuck in a loop” in a new viral video.
The footage posted on the social media platform TikTok, shows the Melbourne shopper struggling with bagging a carton of egg whites as the self-serve register issues a bagging alert after he placed the item into his shopping bag. The automated voice message said: “Unexpected item in bagging area. Remove this item and hit continue”.
After complying with the instructions — by removing the carton and placing it on the counter — the alert message then said: “Item removed from bagging area. Return item to bagging area before continuing.”
"This happened at my Woolies checkout,” the frustrated shopper said in the video, describing self-serve checkouts as “useless”. Moreover, his attempts of hitting the “I’m using my own bag” button did not resolve anything which led to further dismay.
Melbourne shopper frustrated himself as self-serve checkout glitch made him “stuck in a loop” Credit: unscoredan/TikTok
Reactions from the TikTok community
The viral TikTok video provoked other users to share their own self-serve checkout fiascos.
One TikTok user said: “It happened all the time! It’s so frustrating.”
“This happened to me at Coles the other day! I picked it up and put it back six times before I gave up and called over the assistant,” said another.
A third user joined in saying: “They say he is still there today, stuck in the loop!”
“No wonder my dad is taking so long to get the milk, it all makes sense now!” added another.
Although the TikTok community seemed to see this as an opportunity to voice their frustrations, other users offered advice with a number of them pointing out that the shopper placed his shopping bag in the wrong position.
“This happens when a part of the bag is overhanging the edge of the bagging area,” said one user.
Another user said the machine might be confused with what the weight of the bag is.
Meanwhile, another advised: “Try pushing the bag into the middle of where you put it. When it hangs a bit, it wouldn’t give the expected weight.”
The viral self-serve checkout fiasco sparked discussions on TikTok. Credit: unscoredan/TikTok
Woolworths Statement
A Woolworths spokesperson said in a statement released to 7NEWS.com.au. that the supermarket’s self-serve checkout provides a smooth shopping experience for their customers and technical errors described by the shopper are not common.
“Our customers use self-serve checkouts millions of times every week to complete their shopping,” the spokesperson said.
“The vast majority have a quick and easy experience, but if customers do run into a technical error, we have team members available to assist and resolve any issues.”
What are your thoughts on self-checkout? Do you find them easy and convenient to use, or do you think they’re a nuisance that puts hard-working Aussies out of a job? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Last edited by a moderator:
.png){kind=icon}
