Booths scraps self-service checkouts to put staff back behind the tills

A supermarket chain has become the first in the UK to scrap self-service tills and bring back fully staffed checkouts.

Booths have made the move saying it feels ‘it’s the right thing to do’ in response to customer feedback.

The high-end supermarket chain which trades throughout the North of England has stores throughout Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. All but two of its 28 stores will see staff return to checkouts as it removes the self-service tills.

About the move, a spokesperson for Booths said: “We believe colleagues serving customers delivers a better customer experience and therefore we have taken the decision to remove self-checkouts in the majority of our stores.

“We have based this not only on what we feel is the right thing to do but also having received feedback from our customers.

“We will retain self-checkouts in two of our stores in the Lake District in order to meet the needs of our customers during very busy periods.”

The chain will also increase the number of staff at its checkouts and kiosks as part of its ongoing renovation programme.

The move is in stark contrast to the growing trend in installing self-checkouts other supermarket chains are making, where bosses say the shift to self-checkouts has helped give customers a quicker service as well as cut costs.

But many people often find self-service tills frustrating to use and fear they contribute to lack of employment available. 

Booths continued: “We have based this not only on what we feel is the right thing to do but also having received feedback from our customers.

“We will retain self-checkouts in two of our stores in the Lake District in order to meet the needs of our customers during very busy periods.”

The company, which is often referred to as a ‘northern Waitrose’, said its philosophy since it was founded 1847 is to ‘sell the best goods available, in attractive stores, staffed with first class assistants’.

“Delighting customers with our warm northern welcome is part of our DNA and we continue to invest in our people to ensure we remain true to that ethos,” Booths added.