where are the robots at fresh & easy?

Since opening, our customers have time and again commented on just how friendly and helpful our staff are. It's a really defining feature of our stores.

Yet, all our tills are supposedly automated. Indeed, Time magazine recently referenced us in an article about the end of customer service.

How can this paradox be explained?

The answer's simple.

We actually offer assisted service: if you want to check out yourself you can, if you want help we'll provide it, and if you want us to do it for you, we will.

In doing this, we've managed to create a whole new level of customer and staff interaction. The checkout operator is no longer a part of the machine. Rather, our customer assistants are there to help.

With the added benefit that all our checkouts are open all the time.

Of course, we don't always get it right. It's different to running a traditional full service checkout, putting a greater emphasis on people skills: it's one of the reasons why we provide 2 days life skills training for all our people. And getting scheduling right, as ever, is a challenge.

However, we do have one store with full service checkouts, to act as a control - it has the lowest rating for checkout service of all our stores!

So, our customers are overwhelmingly positive. We've managed to combine technology and people to enhance their experience.

And that, surely, is how it should be.....