Some supermarket customers probably think that time is money. Kaufland therefore wants to compensate for waiting times. However, there are also conditions.
Munich – Not everyone has enough time when they shop in a supermarket or discount store. The phenomenon of impatiently waiting customers at the supermarket checkout is probably well known. An extra-slow checkout was introduced in a Dutch supermarket - for a bizarre reason. In contrast, customers at Kaufland should be served as quickly as possible at the checkout.
Kaufland Service promises customers a voucher – for waiting too long at the checkout
And that's not all: On its homepage, the supermarket chain even advertises a special service for all people who can't get to the branches quickly enough. Because: If you have to wait too long at the checkout, you can look forward to a shopping voucher. Among the services listed, there is also one on the Kaufland website called “Waiting time at the checkout”. It says: “If you wait longer than five minutes when not all checkouts are open, we will give you a 2.50 euro shopping voucher.”
But how can you tell which customers had to wait at the checkout for how long? After all, Kaufland employees are unlikely to stand in the stores with a stopwatch and measure customers' waiting times down to the second. A Reddit user also asked himself: “2.50 euros for waiting longer than five minutes at Kaufland – when does the waiting time start?” And wanted to know more precisely: “Does the waiting time begin with queuing in the shortest queue or with the goods being placed on display? on the tape?”
Kaufland spokeswoman: Anyone who waits “longer than five minutes” at the checkout will receive a voucher immediately
When asked by
IPPEN.MEDIA
, a Kaufland spokeswoman explained how exactly the service works. Because the “satisfaction of our customers has top priority,” Kaufland also strives to ensure “quick processing at the checkout.” Therefore, waiting customers should benefit relatively easily: “If a customer waits longer than five minutes when not all checkouts are open, they will receive a shopping voucher worth 2.50 euros. This also applies if there are self-service checkouts in the branch.”
The Kaufland spokeswoman continued: “The shopping voucher is given to the customer at our customer information center. He does not have to provide proof of this. If necessary, the employee has the waiting time confirmed by the cash register supervisor.” A certain amount of goodwill towards customers should compensate them for any waiting times.
Kaufland customer describes her own experiences and criticizes a condition
But if you believe the explanations of a Reddit user, in some cases things don't work quite as smoothly with the Kaufland service. “Today I waited eight minutes and then when I got to the checkout I asked the cashier. She told me, and she was a little offended, that time begins the moment you put the food on the conveyor belt.”
If it is true that the waiting time only begins when you put it on the checkout belt, the Kaufland service will probably only work in a few cases. Waiting times of more than five minutes probably don't happen often here. The Kaufland spokeswoman also spoke of “exceptional cases” in which the service works. Despite specific
IPPEN.MEDIA
inquiries, the press spokeswoman did not
provide an exact indication of when the waiting period begins.
For the Reddit user, the solution of measuring the waiting time from when the goods are placed on the checkout conveyor “makes no sense,” as she explained. On the other hand, another Kaufland customer reported on a little-known trick that also brought in a voucher and “real treasures”.
(kh)