A Michaels shopper has become angry over a recent store experience that left him without help from staff.
They claimed that self-checkout was the only way customers were allowed to pay during their last trip.
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“@MichaelsStores terrible customer service,” fumed customer, Matt, in a post to X earlier this month.
Matt explained that he wanted a traditional checkout lane with a cashier to help him purchase his items.
After doing so, he found no traditional lines available and claimed a Michaels employee asked him to use self-checkout to pay and leave.
“There was no line, she started walking up to the human cashier, and insisted on using the self-checkout, instead of doing her job,” Matt wrote.
Read more about self-payment
The apology was made
Michaels quickly responded to the complaint and apologized.
“Hi Matt, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us,” the retailer replied.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
“We will pass your feedback on to the appropriate teams,” she added.
It is unclear whether the incident has been resolved.
Michaels is certainly not the only retailer to have been criticized by consumers over the past year for not having enough cashiers or focusing mostly on self-checkout.
Get out of the chaos
Walmart, Target, Kroger, and Lowe's — among others — have faced backlash over decisions surrounding self-checkout.
Walmart and Target both had individual store locations that decided when and how many kiosks to open and close.
Target generated controversy after it changed all of its self-checkout areas to “Express Self-Checkout” last spring with a limit of 10 items.
Not only did customers claim the limit caused long lines and wait times, but select Target stores significantly reduced the aisles available for cashing, leaving few options for those with more than 10 items.
Latest changes Self checkout
Retailers are developing their own self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes were made available at various locations only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during certain hours, and more cashiers were available instead.
While shoppers feared shoplifting would fuel the upgrades, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment involved an RFID-enabled self-checkout kiosk that would stop hotly contested receipt checks.
However, this trial run has been phased out.
At Target, items are restricted at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand rolled out new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 or fewer items for added convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded to 2,000 stores in the United States.
Shoppers also discovered that their local Walmart stores are limiting customers to 15 items or fewer to use self-checkout machines.
Walmart is also testing a 15-item limit at self-checkout at some stores, following Target's lead.
It has caused similar complaints, and one person was left confused at their local Walmart store a few months ago when employees closed all checkout lanes and only left self-checkout open with a limit of 15 items.
Those with more than 15 items were left with nowhere to turn, and many abandoned their carts and headed out.
Lowe's self-checkout has also been a point of contention, with an elderly customer claiming earlier this month that there was not a single cashier present and he had to use the kiosks when he didn't know how.
A Kroger shopper also claimed the supermarket chain “doesn't value people above profit” after cashiers couldn't be found to help them on New Year's Eve, and threatened a boycott.
Other retailers like Publix have also recently doubled down on their decision to eliminate the self-checkout option, further complicating the process.
In October, a Home Depot customer also screamed after an employee yelled at them while using a self-checkout kiosk “like TSA.”
