Computer says no

Over 75 per cent of Brits prefer humans to self-service checkouts as we waste an ‘hour each month’ during delays and errors

A study into the nation's shopping habits has shown many Brits would much rather use a checkout with a person on it at the supermarket

A nationwide study into our shopping experiences has revealed as many as 81 percent of the nation claim the personal touch has disappeared from customer service in modern Britain, with almost a third blaming an over-reliance on technology for this decline.

The study shows the average shopper believes they waste an average of 1.5 hours a month interacting with poorly functioning automated technology, only for a human to have to step in and help anyway.

Almost half of shoppers have had their self-service checkout procedure halted so that a human shop assistant could progress it

The biggest customer service bug bear to emerge from the poll of 2,000 shoppers by Gekko, was having to get someone to come and rectify a problem with the self-service checkout (68 percent), followed by ringing customer services and dealing with a recorded voice, only to have repeat all the details to the person you end up talking to.

So it is little wonder then, that 51 percent of Brits have slammed the phone down in fury during an automated call, as the system didn’t recognise what they were saying.

47 percent of shoppers have had their self-service checkout procedure halted so that a human shop assistant could progress it, which has led to a frustrated 18 percent actually shouting at a self-service checkout.

In fact, more than three quarters of British shoppers admit they’d much rather use a checkout with a person on it at the supermarket, rather than taking the self-service option.

More than three in four shoppers say they’d much rather use a checkout with a person on it at the supermarket

61 percent of shoppers would prefer to deal directly with someone when making a complaint, 59 percent would rather speak to a person to find out more information about a product, and 73 percent prefer dealing with a human when trying to get a refund.

And businesses take heed – a third of Brits say they are more likely to buy again from a shop if they’ve received the personal touch, and more than a fifth (22 percent) claim they always spend more money in a shop if they are served by a good assistant.

43 percent of Brits have had their screen freeze while trying to make an online purchase, with almost a quarter (23 percent) ending up having to complain on social media when their query hasn’t been responded to adequately via the automated service.

To read the full article visit The Sun.

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