Self serve check outs?!

Been told our store may be chosen as a test store for self serve check outs. Store will carry 3 part time front end supervisors all year, but no cashiers will be scheduled. That extra person will be working on the floor. From opening to 11am-ish, the print center will be cashier. And from 7pm-ish to close, the print center may run as cashier, or our store will start closing at 7pm instead of 8pm. The front end will be restyled, like a grocery store. With the front end sup watching over and controlling the 4 self check outs.

BTS you wonder? We aren't much of a BTS store anyway. More of a resort area. BTS would be replaced with a stack it, stuff it, store it season. Large bulk outs of containers and bins. With no BTS flyers advertised in our area. Nothing finalized yet. Sounds like they still want to go through with the self serve checkouts, even with retail being on the chopping block.

Comment! It's anonymous!

9 replies (most recent on top)

If Staples is a shadow of its former self in a few years then how will Sycamore get a return on their investment?

By selling Retail? Who in their right mind would pay a premium for our retail business in this environment. It's not called the #retailapocolypse for nothing.

By slashing store count? Why would Sycamore pay lease termination penalties and forego the free cash flow that stores throw off?

Makes no sense of your goal is to make money on your investment.

Absolute sign of retail getting dumped! This self-serve changeover is not for all stores but for the few (very few) that will remain in very specific markets. All part of the Sycamore deal. Staples will only be a slight shadow of it's former self in a few years.

Make it look good for buyers? You can only polish a turd so much.

I worked at another retailer before Staples that was trying to attract a private buyer. One of the prospective VC firms people was touring a store in NJ. Corporate spent two weeks cleaning it and stocking it. The day of the made 30 GMs and DMs pretend to be associates.....lol what a joke. A retail store staffed by 30 middle aged white guys????

You don't just let your retail die. You keep trying and you make it look good for buyers; that doesn't necessarily mean you want to keep it. It's also nonsense to say Staples has very little money.

Staples stores already have five-finger self-checkout for the employees.

You're right. Let's spend the little money we have to improve the business we plan to sell off as soon as we can. Solid plan.

Just because they're testing things out and doing a small handful of remodels it doesn't mean that they don't want to unload retail.

Testing self serve registers, remodeling Manhattan stores, new front end tests, etc. All sure signs that we are about to dump Retail.

Making cpc ring customers out for non cpc transactions is counter productive.

Must staples customers will still require as much assistance at a self serve register as at a regular register.

What about add one etc for those that were not assisted on the floor?

Not saying it's a bad idea , but there should still be a regular cashier scheduled.

Thread regarding Staples Inc. layoffs

Self serve check outs?!

9 replies (most recent on top)

Post a reply