Waitrose is promising customers will “always” have the option to use a manned checkout in its stores if they wish to do so.
New signs have appeared in a number of Waitrose’s recently refitted stores, highlighting the retailer’s “promise” to shoppers to “always have partner-operated checkouts available, alongside our self-service tills”.
The move comes in response to at times vocal concerns by some shoppers across the sector, that the increased use of self-service tills is coming at a cost to customer service.
Like pretty much every major supermarket over the past couple of years, Waitrose has stripped out many manned tills in favour of more self-checkouts as part of its ongoing store redevelopment plans. Waitrose has never planned to completely remove manned tills from its supermarkets, although checkouts may be closed during quieter periods of the day.
The new signage seeks to highlight Waitrose’s existing policy to customers. Shoppers are advised to “please ask a partner” to open a till if none are available.
The Grocer understands the signage is one of several store experience trials currently ongoing as part of Waitrose’s future stores programme. Sudbury in Suffolk and John Barnes in London, which reopened in August, are among of the stores to have the signs installed.
“It’s all about giving customers choice,” a Waitrose spokesman told The Grocer. “While many now favour the speed of self-serve checkouts, we know that some still prefer the friendly customer service at our traditional tills. That’s why we’re promising our customers that we’ll always have manned options available.”
Rich Ford, creative director of retail design agency Sherlock Studio, praised the new signs.
“Sometimes ‘experiential retail’ is about fancy pants high-tech solutions, innovative value-added services and in-store theatre. Other times, it’s simply about understanding your brand values and identifying what makes your customers feel comfortable in your stores,” he added.
Waitrose continues to make progress with its turnaround plan following a difficult couple of years at owner The John Lewis Partnership. JLP intends to invest £1bn into its stores and supply chain by 2027. The first of 100 proposed new Little Waitrose convenience stores is set to open at Hampton Hill in London this month.
The Grocer revealed in July that Waitrose had restructured its ‘Retail Support Centre’ in Bracknell, ahead of the rollout. It saw the creation of dedicated team to monitor and improve service levels and availability in stores nationwide.
Other experiential measures currently being trialled include the reintroduction of disposable cups at free coffee stations in a small number of Waitrose supermarkets. A new parmesan cheese station also launched at John Barnes.
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