Grocery stores sure have changed over the past decade. Today, not only are they bigger and ‘better,’ carrying a plethora of items to suit anyone’s palate, but they are also designed to save the consumer time. The grocery store, once a place to buy fresh fruits and veggies, meats, and breads, has turned into a supercenter where you can buy groceries, get your hair cut, have your tires rotated, and pick up anything from a new vacuum to paint for your living room.
However, there is one huge problem with most grocery stores. Despite streamlined and self-checkout aisles that line the front of the stores, there never seems to be enough staff working the registers during the busier times of day. One would think that big corporate grocers would pay as much attention to customer service as they do to the items they put on the shelves to pad their bottom line. But during rush hour, or the pre-dinner dash to the grocery store when you rush in to get something as simple as a can of cream of chicken soup for a recipe, you’re certain to find nothing but long lines. Lunch hours are no different. And while the so-called self-checkout counters are meant to be a time saver, they can often be anything but, with all the discrepancies between the weight of your shopping bags and the time it takes a clerk to ‘clear your screen.’
The Reality of Grocery Shopping: Convenience or Frustration?
As consumers today, we’ve perfected convenience in our lives. Most aspects of our daily routines are clear-cut and easy to manage—until you get to the grocery store. You can spend an hour shopping and then another 30 minutes trying to check out. This time-consuming process is enough to make many of us long for customer-focused mom-and-pop grocers. Unfortunately, big business and the allure of convenience have greatly overshadowed the customer experience. Sure, you may be able to get everything you need—from groceries to oil for your car—but you’re certainly paying for the convenience with your time. For one thing, the sheer size of these massive grocery stores alone takes time to navigate. Need one item? Just hope it’s not at the very back of the store where you’ll have to weave through cart traffic, then wait behind people with overflowing carts.
Think self-checkout lines are there for your convenience? Think again. For every self-checkout line in a grocery store, there’s one less person working in the store. Unless you’re visiting Walmart on Christmas Eve, you can be pretty sure that the 19 manual checkout registers won’t be manned at all. And you’ll be forced to wait in line. Ice cream melting, anyone?
The reality is that grocery shopping is a time-dependent chore. In other words, people do it when they have the time. The last thing they want is to wait in long lines. One U.S. chain, Kroger, realizes that time equates to money and has been mass installing infrared sensors in their stores to automatically detect when more checkout lanes and personnel are needed at the front end. If you’ve walked into a Kroger using this technology, you’ve probably seen the light boards at the front of the store. Kroger executives realize that the key to customer loyalty is putting the customer first, which means more than just offering the best price on merchandise. It means using technology to make the grocery shopping experience more enjoyable. According to Reuters, around 67% of grocery consumers are loyal to their grocery store choice, and next to price, the biggest reason people switch stores is based on customer service and wait times. Additionally, marketing experts believe that getting consumers out of the store more quickly can lead to more dollars spent while they’re there.
Every day, it’s not uncommon to see a cart full of groceries abandoned near a checkout lane. This is the result of a frustrated consumer fed up with the long lines and lack of personnel working the registers. Today’s consumers are savvy. With easy access to the best pricing logistics through phone and computer apps, they are not going to waste their time lingering and feeling unappreciated. They’re more likely to take their business elsewhere when it’s time to pay.
Grocery stores today need to be mindful of the time it takes the consumer to check out. Installing registers and self-checkout lanes is simply not enough. Waiting for a new cashier to come onboard when you’re five people deep in line with frozen foods is simply not enough either. Basic data and managerial skills should be enough to help stores predict peak hours and employ sufficient staff during those times to accommodate customer flow. The point is, just because a store is open 24 hours doesn’t mean consumers should have to shop at 2 a.m. to feel that their time is valued.
So, what can you do to help address this issue? Complain. Ask for management. Don’t just stand there seething because you’re in a hurry and there are only five people at the registers. If you really love your grocery store, write to top management and use social media to draw attention to your concerns. Share your experiences and make sure the store you shop at is pulling double duty by being mindful of both quality and customer service to earn YOUR business. After all, while shareholders may hold the money, you—the consumer—hold the future success of the store.
