New Countdown Scan&Go

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#2571431 21-Sep-2020 17:15

surfisup1000:
I wish countdown self checkout scanners could scan their own onecard barcodes ... I use the storcard app to store all my cards. Storcard works at every store except countdown self checkout.

Instead, I grab a new card each time I walk into a countdown because I hate carrying cards.

Countdown have some misleading pricing if you don't use their card. I believe the commerce commission is investigating New world over the same misleading pricing.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122607639/consumer-nz-says-new-world-price-labels-are-misleading

It makes you wonder why the CC is only investigating new world when countdown does exactly the same thing.

I also struggle with getting the app to read. Works better on the older self checkouts, the newest version is woeful. I wish you could look it up eg by phone number or store it in Apple Wallet and do it via NFC.

On that note, I hate New World’s Club Card. I scan it every time but often don’t get the advertised pricing. Additionally with New World if you scan a standard Fly Buys or Airpoints card, you will earn the points but not the Club pricing - FYI as they tried to use that excuse when I queried why I wasn’t getting the advertised price.

OldGeek

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#2571487 21-Sep-2020 17:46

mattwnz:

OldGeek:

The Countdown trial is another iteration of a technology that promises the avoidance of check-out counter delays. As with the PaknSave scanners, the problem is how to stop shoppers stealing goods by putting them in the trolley without scanning them. The answer can only involve humans doing checks, meaning the checkout-delay still happens at least some of the time. I am a former user of the PaknSave scanners - I stopped using them when every weekly shop required a 're-scan' despite no past record of dishonesty.

The only way to avoid check-out delays is online shopping.

You should have complained about that. My father had that problem, where he kept getting rescanned despite no preivous issues. Complaining fixed it.

I did. They shrugged.

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#2571490 21-Sep-2020 17:55

antonknee:

I also struggle with getting the app to read. Works better on the older self checkouts, the newest version is woeful. I wish you could look it up eg by phone number or store it in Apple Wallet and do it via NFC.

I've never had any luck scanning my phone screen at New World, so I just memorized the number... and chuck it into the number pad on the fruit/veges selection screen. Faster than pulling my phone out and finding the app as well!

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antonknee

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#2571491 21-Sep-2020 18:03

danielfaulknor:
antonknee:

I also struggle with getting the app to read. Works better on the older self checkouts, the newest version is woeful. I wish you could look it up eg by phone number or store it in Apple Wallet and do it via NFC.

I've never had any luck scanning my phone screen at New World, so I just memorized the number... and chuck it into the number pad on the fruit/veges selection screen. Faster than pulling my phone out and finding the app as well!

This is a great tip - certainly works for NW. I don’t believe it works at Countdown but I also haven’t tried it recently.

I wish they didn’t bother. If they want to track people’s purchases why not be smarter about it and do with payment card data like certain other retailers.

mattwnz

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#2571509 21-Sep-2020 18:42

OldGeek:

mattwnz:

You should have complained about that. My father had that problem, where he kept getting rescanned despite no preivous issues. Complaining fixed it.

I did. They shrugged.

You have to complain to the owner directly and in writing. Under the privacy act, they also requested all personal information that the store held on them, to see if that had any affect on why they kept getting rescanned.

pom532

149 posts

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#2571559 21-Sep-2020 21:19

I haven't used the scanners before, but I always check my receipts from countdown. Quite often they have old specials still up, or the special on the wrong product. They will do a full refund of the first product (price difference on the rest).

sbiddle

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#2571659 22-Sep-2020 07:05

surfisup1000:

I wish countdown self checkout scanners could scan their own onecard barcodes ... I use the storcard app to store all my cards. Storcard works at every store except countdown self checkout.

They can. I assume the store you visit is one that hasn't been upgraded - the vast majority of their stores have had self service checkout software (and hardware in some cases) to support scanning from the Onecard app.

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sbiddle

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#2571667 22-Sep-2020 07:24

antonknee:
surfisup1000:

I wish countdown self checkout scanners could scan their own onecard barcodes ... I use the storcard app to store all my cards. Storcard works at every store except countdown self checkout.

Instead, I grab a new card each time I walk into a countdown because I hate carrying cards.

Countdown have some misleading pricing if you don't use their card. I believe the commerce commission is investigating New world over the same misleading pricing.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122607639/consumer-nz-says-new-world-price-labels-are-misleading

It makes you wonder why the CC is only investigating new world when countdown does exactly the same thing.

I also struggle with getting the app to read. Works better on the older self checkouts, the newest version is woeful. I wish you could look it up eg by phone number or store it in Apple Wallet and do it via NFC.

On that note, I hate New World’s Club Card. I scan it every time but often don’t get the advertised pricing. Additionally with New World if you scan a standard Fly Buys or Airpoints card, you will earn the points but not the Club pricing - FYI as they tried to use that excuse when I queried why I wasn’t getting the advertised price.

You've got that the wrong way around - phone screens will only work on newer scanners, and will not work at all on older ones.

Older flatdeck scanners are laser based and only have a laser meaning they're incapable of reading phone screens (or anything reflective) and also can't read modern two dimensional barcode types such as QR codes which requires an imager. The laser can only read a barcode left to right, right to left or down to up or up to down when the item is moved, whereas a modern barcode scanner that supports imager capabilities effectively takes a snapshot of whatever is held in front of it and decodes whatever type of barcode is in the image.

There appear to still be a number of Foodstuffs stores that not upgraded their self service scanners, however most stores have portable scanners at checkout for your card, however they chose not to fit these to their self service checkouts which is stupid. As pointed out however you just enter your number in to any field which allows a PLU to be entered and it will work.

It is also impossible to not get Clubcard discounts once the card has been scanned or PLU entered and the Clubcard logo shows on the screen. It is also working as designed where Clubcard discounts are only given when you scan a Clubcard and not a Flybuys or Airpoints card - scanning a Flybuys or Airpoints card will give you Flybuys or Airpoints, but will not give you Clubcard discounts. You need to have a Clubcard to be eligible for Clubcard discounts.

surfisup1000

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#2571671 22-Sep-2020 07:40

sbiddle:

surfisup1000:

I wish countdown self checkout scanners could scan their own onecard barcodes ... I use the storcard app to store all my cards. Storcard works at every store except countdown self checkout.

They can. I assume the store you visit is one that hasn't been upgraded - the vast majority of their stores have had self service checkout software (and hardware in some cases) to support scanning from the Onecard app.

OK, the staff member to talked to said my app will not work in self checkout --- but it is ok through their checkouts.

I'll give it another go, maybe they have upgraded since.

sbiddle

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#2571680 22-Sep-2020 07:57

surfisup1000:

OK, the staff member to talked to said my app will not work in self checkout --- but it is ok through their checkouts.

I'll give it another go, maybe they have upgraded since.

I just had a look on their website and they have a FAQ about Digital Onecard https://www.countdown.co.nz/onecard/onecard-faqs

Says rollout complete by March but lots of stores are not on there so it's either been paused due to Covid or they've simply not updated the website. When I was discussing this earlier with a friend of a friend who was working on the rollout they said all older flatdeck scanners were being swapped out on both checkouts and self service checkouts.

At least their self service checkouts are so much better than the Foodstuffs ones. Their latest software upgrade has been deployed on both new and older hardware and is truly terrible. You can often get 5+ seconds lag after pressing buttons which is truly terrible.

surfisup1000

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#2571694 22-Sep-2020 08:11

sbiddle:

I just had a look on their website and they have a FAQ about Digital Onecard https://www.countdown.co.nz/onecard/onecard-faqs

Says rollout complete by March but lots of stores are not on there so it's either been paused due to Covid or they've simply not updated the website. When I was discussing this earlier with a friend of a friend who was working on the rollout they said all older flatdeck scanners were being swapped out on both checkouts and self service checkouts.

At least their self service checkouts are so much better than the Foodstuffs ones. Their latest software upgrade has been deployed on both new and older hardware and is truly terrible. You can often get 5+ seconds lag after pressing buttons which is truly terrible.

Agreed, UI lag is horrible. I read somewhere that 30ms is a good goal for button input lag.

Great that countdown are upgrading their self checkouts, so it is just a matter of time.

Quinny

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#2571772 22-Sep-2020 09:13

The sad thing is I went to a store in the USA in 1985 (yeah spot the Boomer) and they did this but better again. You scanned then went and paid all the while without taking anything from the shelf or store. Then off around the mall and did the rest of your shopping. At the end, there was a drive-thru with your box of all the items ready and they put in boot. At the time lets say this backwater kiwi was very impressed.

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#2571794 22-Sep-2020 09:39

Quinny:

The sad thing is I went to a store in the USA in 1985 (yeah spot the Boomer) and they did this but better again. You scanned then went and paid all the while without taking anything from the shelf or store. Then off around the mall and did the rest of your shopping. At the end, there was a drive-thru with your box of all the items ready and they put in boot. At the time lets say this backwater kiwi was very impressed.

Sounds like a fabulous system designed with customer convenience at the forefront.

The cynic in me feels that pretty much all self-service and automation being put in by Foodstuffs and Progressive are about cost-cutting.

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#2571802 22-Sep-2020 09:51

Been using the PaknSave self scanner since it was available. The occasional rescans are mildly inconvenient but not a biggie. This appears to be basically the same thing but using your own phone.

During Level 3 and 4 though, they decided that instead of keeping the scanners operating, they would increase the touch points and face to face contact and force everyone to go through the normal checkouts. Didn't seem to make any sense really to make the checkout operator have to touch all my groceries and transfer them to the previous customers trolley in a time where we were trying to reduce such things.

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antonknee

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#2571812 22-Sep-2020 10:02

sbiddle:

You've got that the wrong way around - phone screens will only work on newer scanners, and will not work at all on older ones.

Well my anecdotal experience is that at (the recently refurbed with brand new SCOs) Countdown Quay St, the self checkout will scan my phone barcode 30% of the time. At Countdown Vic St West (which seems to have slightly older SCOs but still relatively recent) it's a 100% success rate.

sbiddle:

It is also impossible to not get Clubcard discounts once the card has been scanned or PLU entered and the Clubcard logo shows on the screen. It is also working as designed where Clubcard discounts are only given when you scan a Clubcard and not a Flybuys or Airpoints card - scanning a Flybuys or Airpoints card will give you Flybuys or Airpoints, but will not give you Clubcard discounts. You need to have a Clubcard to be eligible for Clubcard discounts.

It is absolutely possible - they need to only have loaded pricing incorrectly, or left old tickets out, or experience a technical issue. It happens to my past and current (retail) employers so why would Foodstuffs be any different. Again - anecdotally, I have receipts from NW where it clearly says my Clubcard number but the pricing has not been applied, and yes they were surprised by this.

Also I understand how Clubcard works and I appreciate it's by design that scanning Flybuys or Airpoints card doesn't get you the discount. I was mentioning it for people who aren't aware and also pointing out I think it's a stupid system.

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