Woolworths has issued a warning to its customers regarding the proper placement of cans and bottles of drinks on the conveyor belt at its stores.
In a video posted to social media, Woolworths spokesperson Liam Kirley emphasized that customers should always stand cans and drinks upright when placing them on the checkout conveyor belt.
Laying the cans and bottles down on the conveyor belt can cause them to not move forward toward the register.
The video demonstrated how cans and bottles placed horizontally on the belt tend to stay in the same spot and not progress.
The recommendation is to stand drinks upright to prevent the issue.
Other Woolworths workers supported the advice in the comments, with some saying they find it amusing to watch when customers get it wrong.
It comes after another slice of controversy about the major supermarket’s cameras at self-serve checkouts.
Woolworths introduced the overhead AI cameras in 250 stores along Australia’s east coast following a successful trial last year.
A spokesperson said they were designed to reduce miss-scans and make shopping “more convenient and seamless.”
The 52-year-old posted about her encounter on the social media platform, claiming she had been shopping at Woolworths since she was 18 and, in that time, has never stolen – and would never – anything from the supermarket.
But that didn’t stop her bag being searched on a recent visit, something she was extremely offended by.
“Today was the second time I had a self checkout person stop what I was doing and check vision of me doing my shopping. Completely unacceptable,” the woman said.
In a series of social media posts viewed more than 100,000 times, the woman specified the issue at the checkout was her having items from another store in her trolley.
She acknowledged that self-serve checkouts save both the store and customer time, but she objected to the way they make customers feel like criminals when they are not.
It’s not the first time the new camera technology has provoked criticism.
One issue customers were worried about was privacy, but Woolworths has insisted faces and pin pads are blurred out, and all footage captured from these cameras was used only for training purposes.
A Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au: “All retailers are experiencing an increase in retail crime, and we’re no exception.
“We have a number of initiatives that we use, both covert and overt, to help reduce retail crime and keep our team members safe in our stores.
“One of them is the use of cameras at the checkout to help reduce misscans, which we’ve used since early 2022.
“The accuracy of the system will improve as it continues to adjust to our store network.”