I’m Mentally Exhausted Dealing with Customers at Self-checkouts

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:00 JST, November 3, 2024

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a female part-time worker in my 50s. I’ve been working as a cashier at a supermarket for 15 years. With the COVID-19 pandemic, self-checkout machines were introduced that let customers pay for their purchases on their own.

As a result, it’s often the case now that I only oversee the self-checkouts. The work is physically easy but mentally exhausting.

The other day, I pointed out to a customer that they had failed to pay for vegetables because they had not scanned the bar codes. The customer got angry and said they had bought the vegetables at another store.

I apologized, but later they called to complain. The supermarket manager told me, “You should not say anything to customers unless they ask you something.”

There are customers who obviously put items in their bags without paying for them. When I point this out, they make their payment while glaring at me or leave the supermarket without paying.

My manager told me, “Don’t say anything because they could bear a grudge against you.”

I try to work at the in-person cash registers as much as possible. But I never thought I would have such a hard time with self-checkouts.

— C, Saitama Prefecture

Dear Ms. C:

Once, I went shopping at a supermarket with jet lag after returning from an overseas business trip. While paying at a self-checkout, I dropped an egg carton on the floor as I was putting it in my bag.

The staff member in charge of the self-checkout quickly approached me and said, “I will replace it.” I quietly told them, “No, I dropped it myself.” But they said, “Please wait a moment,” and scurried to the egg section and brought me another egg carton.

Sometimes I see the staff in charge of self-checkouts keeping an eye on customers with a stern look, but I feel like most of them watch over customers with a smile on their face.

I think it’s hard for you, who are the serious type, because you feel you must do your job well and keep a close eye on the customers.

Instead, I think it’s better to be attentive to whether there are any customers who need help and offer them an expression that says, “If you need help, please ask me.”

Unfortunately, with the spread of self-checkouts, there seems to be no end to the number of times customers intentionally take their items home without paying. This is theft.

Telling shoplifters to stop stealing is a necessary job. But in addition to this, please try to attract more customers who will think, “I will shop at this supermarket again,” by being attentive to them.

— Akemi Masuda, sports commentator