WALMART has offered to launch a probe after a shopper encountered a less-than-ideal experience in the supermarket.
The customer bemoaned how there were item limits in place at the self-service machines in a store in Wichita, Kansas.
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They claimed a rule banning customers from scanning more than 15 items had been put in place, per an X post.
And they slammed the state of the checkout lines.
“Lines are huge. It took 20 minutes to checkout,” they claimed.
The shopper said there were only two registers available.
A Walmart spokesperson responded within hours of the shopper’s grievance.
“We’d like to hear about your experience,” they said.
“Could you please send us a DM with more details?”
It’s unclear if the shopper ever followed up on Walmart’s request.
But, they are not the only person who has complained about the state of checkout lines.
Furious shoppers have claimed they’ve had to wait in lines for 45 minutes thanks to the checkout policy.
The customer said they would boycott the grocery giant as a result.
Meanwhile, others have said they’ve had to stand in lines for 20 minutes.
One urged Walmart bosses to abandon the 15-item policy.
However, the policy is not a feature in all Walmart supermarkets.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
Target bosses, on the other hand, have rolled out a policy banning shoppers from scanning more than 10 items at the self-checkout.
Last year, the rule was rolled out across thousands of stores after a successful trial period in 2023.
But, the policy has been the target of such criticism from disgruntled shoppers encountering checkout trouble.
The retailer has had to apologize to shoppers who have been forced to wait in lines behind customers with full carts.
One shopper demanded that the chain open more lanes, following a less-than-ideal experience at a Target store in Mission, Texas.
A spokesperson replied that the company is looking at trying different checkout options.
Last year, The U.S. Sun reported on how Schnucks had introduced a similar policy before relaxing the number of items self-checkout users can scan.
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