Retail store operators are looking to cut costs wherever they can and some, including Gap Inc., Limited Brands, Meijer, Nike, Office Depot, Toys "R" Us and TJX Cos., have found savings at the front-end by using an automated tracking system that times how long it takes cashiers to move customers through the checkout.
If a cashier fails to meet the minimum standards determined by the system, they face having to get additional training or being moved to another position by store management.
Not everyone is happy (see cashiers and unions) according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, but chains using the "labor-waste elimination" system developed by Accenture's Operations Workforce Optimization (OWO) business say it has helped them to dramatically reduce labor expenses.
At Bob's Stores, the software revealed that shaving one extra second from each shopper checked out would save the company $15,000 annually in labor costs.
Meijer has also implemented the OWO system, which traces its origins back to systems that helped manufacturers engineer labor standards for shop floors.
Two Meijer shoppers offered what they saw as the up and downside of the OWO system.
"Sometimes you like to get in and get out right away," Barb Bush told the WSJ. Ms. Bush, who likes the new system, added, "A lot of [the cashiers] like to stop and chat, and I don't really have the time for it."
Linda Long said she's noticed a change in Meijer's cashiers since the new system was put in place. "Everybody is under stress. They are not as friendly. I know elderly people have a hard time making change because you lose your ability to feel. They're so rushed at checkout that they don't want to come here," she said.
OWO said the system can be adjusted to add in time for customer service and that controls are in place to give more time when a remote scanning gun is used, for example, to scan larger items. The company said a number of factors, including customer service demands, sales volume and the physical location of a store, should be taken into account when setting standards for cashiers.
Nastassia Gauna, a former cashier at Meijer, said the OWO system did not "take into consideration the many things that can go wrong at a register to kill your time" including the amount of time it might take a customer "digging through a purse" to pay for a purchase.
Kristine Barry, a 22-year veteran at Meijer, said other cashiers have taken to urging senior citizens to put items on conveyor belts more quickly. "When you have a situation where you are dealing with an elderly customer who's not as speedy, you're under pressure," she told the WSJ.
Discussion Questions: Where do you come down on the value of labor-waste elimination systems at checkout? What about the use of such systems in other parts of the store?