A Tesco customer has spoken of his 'distressing' experience after he was stopped from buying his son a sandwich until he downloaded an app. The dad said he had been refused entry to a Central London Tesco to buy a sandwich for his son's packed lunch unless he signed up for a Clubcard.
Jonathan Rowson took to Twitter to explain what happened, sharing how he went into the Central London shop last Tuesday night to buy the sandwich when an employee told him he had to download the Tesco app and sign up for the Clubcard just to enter.
MyLondon reported that while dad Jonathan was struggling to sign up, in an attempt to help him, a staff member took his phone and changed the option to 'accept Clubcard' before he could refuse. He told the employee he doesn't want a Clubcard, 'he just wants a sandwich'.
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Venting his frustration online, the dad vowed not to shop at Tesco and said he tried, unsuccessfully, to cancel his Clubcard. Jonathan, an author from London who has shared his experience on his own blog, wrote: "Never have I felt the pinch of surveillance society more acutely.
"My shock at the compulsory data cost for entry to a supermarket to buy a sandwich. What I felt at that store tonight was thoroughly dystopian. It was a taste of the future in the present, and I didn’t like it at all."
Tesco replied on Twitter to explain that he had entered one of their 'GetGo stores'. The store in Holborn is a trial store that opened in 2021, which allows customers to pick up the groceries they need and walk straight out again without visiting a checkout.
A combination of cameras and weight-sensors establish what customers have picked up and charges them for products directly through the app when they leave the store, therefore requiring a sign up to the Clubcard and Tesco app.
A Tesco spokesperson told MyLondon that they have since explained to Jonathan the concept of a GetGo store and offered him help to cancel his Clubcard, adding: "Our customers that do use the GetGo store, enjoy the experience. There are many of our stores in the area that do not require the app to be downloaded or require a Clubcard to access it."
This technology is not unique to Tesco - a similar Aldi store exists near Greenwich station. The Aldi store is located on Greenwich High Street and allows customers to simply put items in a bag and walk out the store without the need to scan an item or visit a till point.
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