Faced with inflation, the cashiers in our supermarkets have a ringside seat. Between abandoned products, watchful eye on the control screen, aggressiveness and express transfer to the bank account, they observe, every day, the repercussions that the rise in prices has on the wallet, but also on the mood of the French.
Packets of biscuits, sachets of sweets, chocolate bars, but also fresh products such as minced steaks or chicken fillets. Along the checkout counters, the products that customers are abandoning are piling up. And, in recent weeks, faced with soaring prices on the shelves, the phenomenon has amplified.
“During the day, I find a whole bunch of dry, fresh and even frozen products. People leave them at the bottom of their baskets or in the chewing gum and sweets positioned in front of my checkout. It’s doubly annoying, because, following my day, I have to bring everything back to the shelves and, even worse, for what is fresh or frozen product, it is directly in the trash”, says Céline, cashier in a supermarket.
“We feel them tense”
Sandrine, 44, saleswoman in Toulouse, admits: “It often happens to me, once the amount of the shopping is known, to ask if it’s possible to withdraw such and such an item. I tell myself that, all things considered , I do not need it.” To avoid finding himself in this situation which he considers “embarrassing”, Eric, a salesperson, opts for the drive: “A way of better controlling the budget. I see the amount of the basket little by little and, when paying, I remove non-essential products.
Sylvie, senior employee in a hard-discount brand and former cashier manager, has noted a change in attitude on the customer side in recent weeks: “We feel them tense and we perceive that when cashing, they are not calm. When we scan the articles, many do not let go of the control screens where the prices are displayed. As soon as it does not correspond to what they think they have seen, they complain and ask us to ‘go and check. Then, when the announcement of the total amount comes, many ask us to withdraw items. And, these are rarely exceptional products, the dilemma is most of the time between two everyday products or they end up getting the little pleasures they wanted to give their children.”
Another difference: the size of the shopping carts. “They are less full, note the two employees. People prefer to come back several times than to do big shopping and see their note explode.” This does not prevent the refusal of payments to be linked: “For amounts which are generally not exceptional, says Sylvie. Unfortunately, when the card does not work, we cannot do much. The fact remains that to shut up and take back the goods. Where then, customers stand aside, go to their banking application to make a transfer, then come back to us and say: ‘I can’t exceed this amount’. We then choose together products that seem essential.”
Situations that are not always easy to observe for those who are “on the other side”: “We try as much as possible not to show our emotions, but certain situations are heartbreaking,” says Céline. “When the situation gets tense, we have to be understanding while remaining professional, judge Sylvie. It can happen to everyone to have difficult times financially. And then, we understand them all the better as this increase prices we also suffer it.”
