Home Depot disappointed shoppers when they requested a traditional cash register and were instead taken through self-checkout.
Self-checkout has caused problems at many retailers, including Home Depot.
One customer claimed he was forced to use in-store self-checkout because all traditional checkouts were closed.
An employee offered to help Raymond George by scanning his things at a self-service cash register.
To his dismay, he still needed to pack his items.
He said transactions like this make it appear that self-checkout is more favorable than it really is.
“A manager once told me years ago that they closed regular cash registers and forced customers to use self-checkout to justify the high costs,” he said. he wrote in a Facebook post.
Because the employee checked him out at a self-service cash register, he felt “obligated” to use the cash register.
“Next time I will leave my carriage full of things and go away,” he wrote.
George noted that the problem was not just at The Home Depot, but at all stores with self-service cash registers.
While at Costco, he saw a couple trying to scan about 20 items at self-checkout.
He finished his hot dog and drink before the customers bought all the items.
“A normal checkout at Costco takes about two minutes or less… and they put everything in my cart,” he said.
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Home Depot rival Lowe’s is facing similar complaints from shoppers.
A customer who visited a location in Arizona was told to use self-checkout as no other registers were open.
“You just lost my business,” he said in a Facebook post.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed at specific times and more cashiers were offered in its place.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting would fuel 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 thwart fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, this test has been discontinued.
At Target, items are being limited in auto-checkout.
Last fall, the brand researched new express self-checkout lanes in 200 stores with 10 items or less for added convenience.
In March 2024, this policy was expanded to 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers also identified their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
Another buyer expressed the same complaint in a rant about X.
“They literally have ZERO options for human interaction at checkout,” said the customer he wrote in X.
“Except the poor soul who has to watch all the disgruntled shoppers being forced to go through the ATM lines.”
One customer suggested that everyone boycott self-checkout until retailers open brick-and-mortar lines again.
Even large retailers like Walmart are facing complaints about self-checkout. The store has implemented a limit of 15 items or less at registers.
Target faced similar backlash after imposing a limit of 10 items or fewer.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story