{"id":4659,"date":"2025-08-18T13:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T13:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=4659"},"modified":"2025-09-01T10:27:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T10:27:31","slug":"a-customer-revolt-in-asda-could-be-coming-for-aldi-tesco-and-ms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/a-customer-revolt-in-asda-could-be-coming-for-aldi-tesco-and-ms\/","title":{"rendered":"A customer revolt in Asda could be coming for Aldi, Tesco and M&S"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"BRISTOL,\t<\/div>
There has long since been a distaste for self-checkouts and it shows (Picture: Getty Images Europe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Debi Evans stood in the checkout queue at Asda<\/a>, she captured a silent protest.<\/p>\n

Despite the self-service<\/a> and Scan&Go checkouts being completely empty, every single customer waited to be served at one of the two tills manned by staff.<\/p>\n

The queues were so long, in fact, they disappeared back into their aisles – it was a revolt against technology.<\/p>\n

‘Well done to everyone who decided to wait patiently and queue like I did,’ Debi, an NHS retiree from Truro, said on X.<\/p>\n

‘And, as a bonus, I had some lovely conversations with others whilst I waited. Win win.’<\/p>\n

She added the hashtag #TakeBackControl and branded supermarket tech a ‘digital prison’ in a defiant move against self-checkouts<\/a>, which have been implemented by major supermarkets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it’s not that she hates this technology or struggles to use it, she simply wants balance.<\/p>\n

‘Many people prefer to use manned checkouts, I don’t have anything against self-checkouts because I understand some people are on a time crunch, all I’m asking for is a balance of as many self-service tills as there are self-service,’ Debi tells Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Shoppers brave endless queues after refusal to use self-checkouts”,”duration”:”T36S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/08\/18\/14\/101320043-0-image-m-1_1755522256131.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-08-18T14:03:53+0100″,”description”:”Despite the self-service tills being fully functional, Debi Evans and other shoppers opted to wait for the human-manned checkouts.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/08\/18\/686125526531486928\/480x270_MP4_686125526531486928.mp4″,”height”:480,”width”:270}<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbrowser that
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsupports HTML5
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Up Next<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrevious Page<\/title>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__arrow metro-related-video-carousel__arrow--right disabled\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<title>Next Page<\/title>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-videos-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (placeholder) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>‘Every time I’ve used self service I’ve had to call someone to help or something hasn’t scanned – there’s always a problem with it, so I prefer to queue.’<\/p>\n<p>Her post on X hit more than 3.6 million views, and many agreed with 67-year-old Debi.<\/p>\n<p>‘If a shop I go into only has self serve and refuses to put on a checkout, I leave my groceries behind and walk out,’ wrote one.<\/p>\n<p>‘Supermarkets forgot old people still shop there they have no desire in using self checkouts,’ added another.<\/p>\n<p>One even called for a boycott of self-service tills while others also encouraged Debi to pay in cash, in response to a lot of self-serve tills being card only.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"640\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262523578-691f-e1755507888930.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23939441\" alt=\"A customer revolt in Asda could be coming for Aldi, Tesco and M&S\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Scan&Go tills in Asda were totally empty while the queues for the manned tills were long<br \/>(Picture: @DebiEvansMatron)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"700\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262523512-cab8-e1755507951695.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23939444\" alt=\"A customer revolt in Asda could be coming for Aldi, Tesco and M&S\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>People queued patiently for a staff member (Picture: @DebiEvansMatron)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But some slammed Debi for being old and not moving with the times. ‘I was completely shocked,’ she says. ‘People just want to see a cashier at the end of a checkout.’<\/p>\n<p>‘I respect the youngsters for wanting to get in and out quickly and use their tech,’ Debi adds. ‘But what I’m saying is just have the choice, and please consider other people.’<\/p>\n<p>She feels that self-service tills are ‘wiping out’ a sense of community and human contact, something which some people depend on if they’re lonely.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other supermarkets are under pressure<\/h2>\n<p>But the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/08\/16\/one-uks-most-beautiful-beaches-closed-off-safety-concerns-23928972\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cornwall<\/a> local isn’t the only one doing something about tech in supermarkets. In February this year the Bridgewater Senior Citizens Forum claimed self-service tills were ‘alienating’ shoppers in the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/somerset\/page\/4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Somerset<\/a> town.<\/p>\n<p>The group formed a leaflet campaign targeting the supermarkets in town –<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/05\/06\/sainsburys-customers-deeply-resent-major-change-self-service-checkouts-23026039\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sainsbury’s<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/05\/11\/asda-customers-can-walk-away-6-000-spending-just-5-store-2-23052776\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Asda<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/25\/morrisons-making-a-modern-change-market-street-40-years-23505762\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Morrisons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/07\/08\/m-amp-s-makes-major-change-convince-switch-weekly-food-shop-23610355\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">M&S<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/30\/get-money-off-supermarket-shop-aldi-iceland-this-summer-23539688\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Food Warehouse<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/07\/24\/aldi-makes-permanent-store-name-change-honour-oasis-fans-23740953\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Aldi<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/08\/08\/lidl-just-launched-three-divine-new-bakery-items-starting-79p-23863605\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lidl <\/a>– to highlight the ‘disadvantages of using self-checkouts’ to shoppers upon entering the store.<\/p>\n<p>‘We want shopping to be a social experience,’ Glen Burrows, co-chair of the forum, told The Grocer. ‘There’s an assumption that because you’re an elderly person you are somehow incapable of using self-checkouts.’<\/p>\n<p>She explained it wasn’t about being ‘anti-tech’ but rather more choice should be offered in supermarkets for human interaction.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2181779993.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23940232\" alt=\"A shopper using self-checkout kiosk with eco-friendly choices in a retail store\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Self-checkouts are a divisive feature in supermarkets (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2022, a petition to ban self-service checkouts completely in an effort to save jobs was rejected by the government because ‘decisions about using self-service check-out machines are operational decisions for individual businesses’.<\/p>\n<p>Self-service tills with conveyor belts were met with distaste from <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/11\/18\/m-s-launching-a-major-change-stores-shoppers-may-refuse-use-it-22014061\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">M&S customers<\/a>, when a wider roll out was announced in 2024. <\/p>\n<p>In a post on X, David Oliver wrote that he was disappointed by the changes at the M&S branch he regularly buys his lunch from, adding that he usually chats to the \u2018long-serving\u2019 staff on his daily visits.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Went today and they have automated all the checkouts,\u2019 he wrote. \u2018Staff now only there to supervise self-checkout users. Sad to see.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Anne Bradley added: \u2018Never use them in supermarkets, would rather queue for half an hour.\u2019 And Craig Skayman agreed, writing: \u2018I refuse to use self service checkouts until I have to.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Booths are leading the charge<\/h2>\n<p>While our major supermarket chains have embraced the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/05\/06\/sainsburys-customers-deeply-resent-major-change-self-service-checkouts-23026039\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Big-Brother style surveillance<\/a> at sometimes temperamental self-checkouts, there’s one grocer bucking the trend.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"429\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-54dd.png\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23940241\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Booths has 26 stores in the north of England. (Picture: Kevin Walsh \/ Alamy Stock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In November 2023, Booths embarked on a mission to <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/11\/10\/supermarket-ditches-self-service-tills-restaffs-checkouts-19804360\/\">remove self-checkout tills from the majority of its 26 stores<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to its director, this move has led to a rise in customer satisfaction, a reduction in theft, less shrinkage, and other benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Murray was also \u2018absolutely convinced\u2019 that Booths had seen an uptick in custom due to the coverage surrounding the move.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018At the time, it was very much that our customers were telling us they didn\u2019t really like them\u2019, Murray said. While the move was predominantly made with customer experience in mind, a reduction in theft was also described as a \u2018happy consequence\u2019, as <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/09\/27\/middle-class-shoplifters-confessions-19566015\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">so-called \u2018middle-class\u2019 shoplifters <\/a>incorrectly scanning, weighing, or simply avoiding paying for goods had been a rising problem.<\/p>\n<p>Morrisons confessed it had gone ‘too far’ with self-checkouts in 2024 and has since been reducing its self-service lanes. In mid-2024, Asda also promised more manned tills.<\/p>\n<p>Debi, hopes her viral X post will help create some real change, replicating her local Aldi which has no self-serve checkouts at all (and no queues).<\/p>\n<p>‘Just listen to the customers,’ Debi implores supermarkets. ‘Read the room and bring back human contact.’<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom-start\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There has long since been a distaste for self-checkouts and it shows (Picture: Getty Images Europe) As Debi Evans stood in the checkout queue at Asda, she captured a silent protest. Despite the self-service and Scan&Go checkouts being completely empty, every single customer waited to be served at one of the two tills manned by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4667,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659\/revisions\/4667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}