Supermarket shopper 'told off' for scanning groceries 'in wrong order' at self-checkout

A shopper in Australia found themselves falling foul of some unknown scanning rules at a self-service checkout, leaving social media commenters perplexed.

Self-checkouts are one of those mod-cons we all take for granted, although perhaps not when you can skip a queue of people looking to buy cigarettes or lottery tickets.

When they’re seamless they’re great, but we’ve all been stuck at one waiting for a member of staff to come and approve a box of paracetamol or, heaven forbid, an energy drink.

Apparently there’s another pitfall you might not be aware of, according to a shopper at Coles supermarket in Karingal, Melbourne.

The social media post in question (Facebook)

“Just got told off by staff member that I was scanning my items in the wrong order,” they said.

“There is no sign saying what order, and only reason she could give was so I wasn't stealing. How does the order help with that??

“Feel free to have normal checkouts with people if you have a certain order!! Power tripping rude old lady.”

The commentary has left us none the wiser as to what the ‘correct’ order is. Could it be that the shopper was putting the soft stuff in their bag first only to crush it with some cans on top?

Or was this shop worker simply mad with power?

“I would have well and truly mounted my high horse haha,” said one reply.

“I'd have told her to do it herself then or just walked out and gone somewhat else...” said another.

Another asked: “Lol what f**king order?”

Others noted that they ‘hated self service’ while another chimed: “Did you not do the self check out course online so that you know what order to scan them in.” Very good.

When asked for further detail, the original poster said: “I was meant to do my soda water cans first.” It sounds like the shop worker was, in fact, trying to be helpful.

If you aren’t already clued up: it’s a good idea to put heavier stuff at the bottom of your bag so it doesn’t crush the lighter stuff.

Nevertheless, others shared their own experiences of inadvertently upsetting supermarket staff with their antics.

“I was told off by staff for packing my groceries too high on conveyor belt,” said another Coles shopper.

“He said they could fall and hit a baby. WTF. Not happy with the whole process. Coles hierarchy need to pull up their socks and stop stating that they give great customer service.”

Self-checkouts are convenient but not without their pitfalls (Images By Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images)

Coles provided a statement to Tyla, saying:

“Coles is always looking for ways to improve how we serve our customers and provide exceptional customer service.

"Our team members are always encouraged to help our customers where possible.

"Where a customer has certain items, this may include bulky or heavy items, our team will attempt to assist them in scanning the items when checking out.

"This is all about providing great service to our customers and helping them get through the checkouts quickly and efficiently.”

Much ado about nothing, it seems.