Hundreds of thousands of Tesco shoppers are calling for a return to face to face service amid complaints the store is replacing staff with machines. More than 218,000 people have added their name to a petition urging the store to rethink its policies.
Disabled rights campaigner Pat McCarthy started the petition saying the experience of shopping in the store in Osterley was both physically and emotionally difficult. And she called on store bosses nationally to bring back more staff-operated tills, reports MyLondon.
Writing in her petition she demanded the company change its operations. And she called on it to commit to a "People & Profit Policy not a Profits before People Policy".
The 69-year-old, from West London, said: "My local Tesco's now has large numbers of self-service-card only tills (SSCOTs). What used to be a great shopping experience has now become physically difficult, overwhelming, and a 'nightmare'."
By Tuesday lunchtime more than 218,000 people had added their name to the online document. Pat hopes the support will help make the shopping experience "inclusive for people with disabilities and the inability to use self-service checkouts".
She wrote in the petition: "At my local Tesco mega-store, and probably all over the country, Tesco is bringing in new self-service and sort-it-out-yourself card only till machines. They make up 2/3 of the tills now.
"These new tills are not accessible for people who don't have credit cards and can only use cash or those with little confidence to use these self-service card-only tills - myself included. People such as carers, older people, many disabled people, especially those with mobility problems, manual dexterity issues or lifting problems are unlikely to be able to use these SSCOT's and will most likely have to queue waiting for more than 30 minutes to wait for a staffed till. During busy times, the queue could be longer."
She added: "I love chatting with the staff, albeit briefly, especially as l live on my own. Talking with human staff is important to me. Now that experience has been taken away."
Pat also pointed out some people would struggle with the physical element now needed. She said: "With these new replacement Self-service-card-only tills you have to choose your shopping if you can find it, put it in the trolley, unpack it, load it onto the belt that is static, scan it (if the scanner works), shove it across with your elbow (the packing area is too small for a big shop) then it goes into the packing area, pay for it and then lift it off out of the packing area and then load it into your trolley.
"This is a physically taxing process. As an older woman, I can't lift anything heavy, and that goes for many disabled people. I had to get help to lift windscreen wash because it was too heavy.
"I want Ken Murphy the Chief Executive Officer of Tesco's to bring back more staffed tills and check outs. I want him to commit to a People & Profit Policy not a Profits before People Policy."
In response, Tesco previously said: "Our colleagues and the friendly service they provide are absolutely vital to our stores and will always be on hand to help our customers, whether they are checking out at one of our colleague-operated or self-service checkouts.
"We first introduced self-service checkouts nearly 20 years ago to give our customers a choice and our stores have both types of checkout."
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