A shopper has tested out the new self-serve checkout at a major Aldi store in Sydney – but warned you can’t use them if you are buying alcohol.
Jessica was doing her grocery shop at the Broadway store in Glebe on Monday morning when she noticed six new machines.
Upon lining up to pay for her items, she was told by an employee the self-serve checkouts accepted card only and no alcohol.
Customers looking to buy alcohol are required to go through the regular checkouts so cashiers can check their ID for proof of age.
‘The lady who was managing the self-serve would say to each customer ‘card only’ and ‘no alcohol’ so you’d know before you start scanning items that you’d have to go to the normal checkout [if you have alcohol],’ Jessica told Daily Mail Australia.
Shopper Jessica has tested out the new self-serve checkout at a major Aldi store in Sydney
The shopper said she prefers using the self-serve checkouts over cashiers who are notoriously known for scanning groceries at breakneck speed.
‘It changes the Aldi experience, instead of the cashier just throwing the items at you while you’re madly trying to get them into the bag, you can go at your own pace and pack your bags as you go,’ Jessica said.
‘Self-serve was good. There was no line up and it would also be good for people who are just getting a few things to get out quicker.
‘Only downside was once I had packed a bag, I had to get the employee to approve putting on another bag which did slow down the process. I was told by the cashier that this was a glitch they are hoping it would be resolved soon.’
The card-only self-serve checkouts are currently part of a trial at 10 stores across New South Wales.
‘We commenced a self-serve checkout trial with six to eight machines installed at each store. The first store to receive the technology was Darlinghurst followed by North Sydney and Broadway,’ an Aldi spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
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‘Pending trial results, there is potential that self-serve checkouts will be rolled out to ALDI stores nationally.
‘All checkouts are card only to maximise efficiencies and eliminate the additional complexity involved with having cash machines. Liquor must be purchased at a tendered register to ensure proof of age.’
Jessica, from Sydney, was doing her grocery shop at the Broadway store in Glebe on Monday morning when she noticed six new machines
Upon lining up to pay for her items, she was told by an employee the self-serve checkouts accepted card only and no alcohol
Aldi’s first ever Corner Store in North Sydney also features the self-serve checkouts (pictured)
Aldi has been rolling out the new self-serve checkouts in a surprising backflip just years after the supermarket chain insisted it will never introduce them.
The new feature comes just years after an Aldi spokesperson reportedly said the automated-checkouts were far-slower than their own staffed conveyor belts.
Sydney Morning Herald reported in March 2016 the German supermarket chain claimed Coles and Woolworths’ self serve checkouts were a waste of time.
An Aldi spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia at the time: ‘We currently have no plans to trial stores with self-service checkouts.
‘Feedback has told us that our shoppers prefer face-to-face interactions at registers, and that they are an important part of their in-store experience.
‘Our current store format enables us to focus on creating the best possible in-store experience, while continuing to deliver high-quality products at permanently low prices.’
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