The end of scab tills

[girasol]

I am curious as to what the setup is at your Sainsbury's girasol. I can only imagine a train station-style turnstyle. Otherwise, what's to stop you walking past whatever barrier/check in place?

There's a barrier indeed, can't get out of the area without scanning receipt, unless you force the gates open or indeed go behind someone else. (Sainsbury's Balham). There's a security man by the entrance, so I guess that would be the next barrier on the way out

If someone is really determined I doubt they'd stop them as hands would have to be laid on people and it could get ugly and expensive for Sainsbury's. I think it's all more psychological than enforceable. Most people will comply: social contract... Then a very few won't.

 

[mentalchik]

I work in a supermarket and occasionally help out on checkouts. Usually it’s ok but there’s always one customer who insists on being an absolute dick. I do not engage with their nonsense though.

I too work in a supermarket and am actually a supervisor on "Services"(tills, selfscans, Kiosk etc)....sorry but i find the whole 'scab tills' nonsense on here just a teensey bit childish.....Us folks that work in this arena are quite well aware that it's a way to squeeze down staff numbers (just because we work in a shop doesn't mean we are fucking stupid)...in 8 years our dept is probably less than half of what it was so that horse has already bolted and although i do understand why some don't like it it isn't going to change, in fact it's going to increase because the big supermarket owners are greedy bastards. Also yes, more and more people are rude, aggressive, ignorant and abusive....don't see much comment about that .....and as to the comment about not choosing to work with the public...some of us didn't really have much of a choice about where to work....i just needed a job to pay my bills.

A lot of the behaviour quoted on here just makes life harder for the shopfloor staff...or are they too lowly for sympathy

 

[moomoo]

A lot of the behaviour quoted on here just makes life harder for the shopfloor staff...or are they too lowly for sympathy

People boasting that they steal a tin of beans even though they can afford to pay and are therefore socking it to the man are just ridiculous imo. You’re not big or clever. You’re just thieves.

 

[mentalchik]

People boasting that they steal a tin of beans even though they can afford to pay and are therefore socking it to the man are just ridiculous imo. You’re not big or clever. You’re just thieves.

Yup....people ask me why i bother stopping theives if i can...we have a "shrink" budget, if that budget consistently goes over the reality is that the shops profit margin drops...if it does this then the shops existence could be in danger because unfortunately this is how it fucking works and therefore puts mine and my colleagues jobs at risk........it's fucking shite but that's how it is.

 

[Wilf]

I too work in a supermarket and am actually a supervisor on "Services"(tills, selfscans, Kiosk etc)....sorry but i find the whole 'scab tills' nonsense on here just a teensey bit childish.....Us folks that work in this arena are quite well aware that it's a way to squeeze down staff numbers (just because we work in a shop doesn't mean we are fucking stupid)...in 8 years our dept is probably less than half of what it was so that horse has already bolted and although i do understand why some don't like it it isn't going to change, in fact it's going to increase because the big supermarket owners are greedy bastards. Also yes, more and more people are rude, aggressive, ignorant and abusive....don't see much comment about that .....and as to the comment about not choosing to work with the public...some of us didn't really have much of a choice about where to work....i just needed a job to pay my bills.

A lot of the behaviour quoted on here just makes life harder for the shopfloor staff...or are they too lowly for sympathy

It's hard to pin down what everyone means using a term, but I've always taken scab tills as a way of describing a situation in trade union terms. The sort of situation where you wouldn't use them if there had been an USDAW campaign against them. As you say, that ship's sailed now, but the term pretty much stuck for me.

But yeah, the bigger issue is shitty employers and a shitty sector. My step daughter worked for Tesco and now Aldi and just in the last 10 years the screw has tightened. Perhaps the start of 'scab tills' could have been a moment when workers and consumers could have come together and had a bit of solidarity. ditto rail users and ticket office staff now. It isn't happening though, which is... depressing.

 

[moomoo]

Yup....people ask me why i bother stopping theives if i can...we have a "shrink" budget, if that budget consistently goes over the reality is that the shops profit margin drops...if it does this then the shops existence could be in danger because unfortunately this is how it fucking works and therefore puts mine and my colleagues jobs at risk........it's fucking shite but that's how it is.

My job is stock control. Thieves make my life so much harder!

 

[hash tag]

i do understand why some don't like it it isn't going to change, in fact it's going to increase because the big supermarket owners are greedy bastards

My opening post references Booths closing down most of their self scan tills. For some it has already changed and hopefully more will follow.

 

[seeformiles]

Yup....people ask me why i bother stopping theives if i can...we have a "shrink" budget, if that budget consistently goes over the reality is that the shops profit margin drops...if it does this then the shops existence could be in danger because unfortunately this is how it fucking works and therefore puts mine and my colleagues jobs at risk........it's fucking shite but that's how it is.

Theory vs Practice are uneasy bedfellows a lot of the time.

 

[SpookyFrank]

ditto rail users and ticket office staff now. It isn't happening though, which is... depressing.

I've stopped using ticket machines at stations whenever there's a human available. I don't think I'm the only one either, I rarely see queues for the ticket machines any more.

 

[mentalchik]

My opening post references Booths closing down most of their self scan tills. For some it has already changed and hopefully more will follow.

No offence but Booths (as i understand their place in the market) is hardly comparing like for like tbh....i don't think it will make any difference to what is going on in 'ordinary' supermarket chains

 

[hash tag]

No offence but Booths (as i understand their place in the market) is hardly comparing like for like tbh....i don't think it will make any difference to what is going on in 'ordinary' supermarket chains

Its a start.

 

[mentalchik]

Its a start.

It's not going to happen imo

 

[Spymaster]

Its a start.

Given that the whole reason for Booths existence is to flog stuff to northern Tories at London prices, there's unlikely to be any altruism going on here.

Publicity stunt. The scab tills will soon be back.

 

[seeformiles]

It’s interesting that people who’ve never worked in supermarket retail are very keen to tell those who are (or who have been) what’s good for them

 

[Wilf]

It’s interesting that people who’ve never worked in supermarket retail are very keen to tell those who are (or who have been) what’s good for them

If that's happening, it's wrong, but I don't really see it here. And we are all users of these systems.

 

[seeformiles]

If that's happening, it's wrong, but I don't really see it here. And we are all users of these systems.

Things and technology change. Has anyone been concerned about any other jobs affected by technology? Telephone operators? Travel agents?
I appreciate we fixate on what is every day experience but it’s not the only arena changing.and other jobs spring up to replace them e.g. the rise of online shops and the impact on parcel post, courier services, etc. I’m just not sure that the lack of staffed tills is the best hill on which to choose to die.

 

[brogdale]

If that's happening, it's wrong, but I don't really see it here. And we are all users of these systems.

That is an important point. Due to the monopolising practices of the "greedy bastards" we have all increasingly been compelled to engage with these corporations for our basic physiological needs. If, as consumers, some of us resent the capital intensification/dehumanisation of the process of shopping for food and the impact it has on jobs, that is an important perspective.

 

[brogdale]

Things and technology change. Has anyone been concerned about any other jobs affected by technology? Telephone operators? Travel agents?
I appreciate we fixate on what is every day experience but it’s not the only arena changing.and other jobs spring up to replace them e.g. the rise of online shops and the impact on parcel post, courier services, etc. I’m just not sure that the lack of staffed tills is the best hill on which to choose to die.

I get that, but if we keep walking away from these 'hills' we're acquiescing to the dehumanised neoliberal wasteland of automated everything.

 

[Epona]

It’s interesting that people who’ve never worked in supermarket retail are very keen to tell those who are (or who have been) what’s good for them

I've worked in supermarkets. My favourite task was doing checkout. Hated the bakery counter, jam and sugar up to my elbows by the end of the shift.

 

[seeformiles]

I get that, but if we keep walking away from these 'hills' we're acquiescing to the dehumanised neoliberal wasteland of automated everything.

But we accept so much of this automation without complaint and appreciate the convenience.

 

[brogdale]

But we accept so much of this automation without complaint and appreciate the convenience.

and some of us don't; hence threads like this.

 

[seeformiles]

I've worked in supermarkets. My favourite task was doing checkout. Hated the bakery counter, jam and sugar up to my elbows by the end of the shift.

As did Mrs SFM (in Morrisons for 5 years) and she welcomed the introduction of certain automation as it made her life easier. As you’ll know it’s exhausting.

 

[seeformiles]

and some of us don't; hence threads like this.

Fair enough - but it’s still very selective

 

[brogdale]

As did Mrs SFM (in Morrisons for 5 years) and she welcomed the introduction of certain automation as it made her life easier. As you’ll know it’s exhausting.

By that logic, Thatcher's closure of the mines made 'life easier' for the miners as their work was exhausting.

 

[Wilf]

That is an important point. Due to the monopolising practices of the "greedy bastards" we have all increasingly been compelled to engage with these corporations for our basic physiological needs. If, as consumers, some of us resent the capital intensification/dehumanisation of the process of shopping for food and the impact it has on jobs, that is an important perspective.

I think there's also the point that it's not all a zero sum game of 'if I don't play ball, that causes stress for the staff'. As mentioned upthread, not having a loyalty card can simply make things more expensive for the consumer. Similarly, being forced to have an app takes you into a process of downloading, setting up an account, which might not work after your phone updates etc. I resent being herded and I resent the added hassle caused, but the background is I resent the people and the system driving this. And that's a point where workers and consumers could come together.

 

[InArduisFouette]

No offence but Booths (as i understand their place in the market) is hardly comparing like for like tbh....i don't think it will make any difference to what is going on in 'ordinary' supermarket chains

Booths has remained in the market segment that it has always been in ( groceries for Toffs) and which Sainsbury once aspired to and Waitrose left when it acquired the Safeway stores that Morrisons were not allowed to keep

 

[Wilf]

Things and technology change. Has anyone been concerned about any other jobs affected by technology? Telephone operators? Travel agents?
I appreciate we fixate on what is every day experience but it’s not the only arena changing.and other jobs spring up to replace them e.g. the rise of online shops and the impact on parcel post, courier services, etc. I’m just not sure that the lack of staffed tills is the best hill on which to choose to die.

Yes, of course and not just in some sort of Meldrewish fashion. It's one of the things trade unions and groups of workers have responded to for centuries. And it's not always about the tech, it's about, as always, control and power.

 

[brogdale]

I think there's also the point that it's not all a zero sum game of 'if I don't play ball, that causes stress for the staff'. As mentioned upthread, not having a loyalty card can simply make things more expensive for the consumer. Similarly, being forced to have an app takes you into a process of downloading, setting up an account, which might not work after your phone updates etc. I resent being herded and I resent the added hassle caused, but the background is I resent the people and the system driving this. And that's a point where workers and consumers could come together.

Yep, the capitalist's fondness for 'consumers as producers' is completely understandable...get the punters to do the work themselves...as I see it, our only weapon against such forces is the withdrawal of our unpaid labour.

 

[InArduisFouette]

By that logic, Thatcher's closure of the mines made 'life easier' for the miners as their work was exhausting.

ironically if the Strike hadn't set in motion the dash for Gas etc , the Easily machine worked Nottinghamshire / Doncaster Pits would likely have been naturally worked out or worked until environmental concerns closed them

 

[seeformiles]

By that logic, Thatcher's closure of the mines made 'life easier' for the miners as their work was exhausting.

That’s a bit of an extrapolation. The business of supplying people with food is not being abolished for political reasons - just changing shape. I think you can embrace the change in an industry and hope there’s some dignity left for those working in it. However, hoping we can turn the clock back on any of it is (despite my own feelings) wishful thinking.