fanf | Sainsbury's self-checkout fail

I hate plastic carrier bags, so I take a canvas bag when I go shopping (unless I forget). The city-centre Sainsbury's in Cambridge recently replaced their express tills with self-checkout tills, which use weighing scales under the bags to check that scanned things have been bagged properly.

If you put an unexpected object in the bagging area it flashes up an annoying message. This screen has a button on it saying "Using your own bag?" which I am pretty sure used to cancel the message and allow you to scan your shopping. It is now non-functional: if you try pressing it a member of staff has to come over and explain the correct procedure. If you want to use your own bag, before you put it on the bagging area you have to go into the "select an item" menu (for bananas and fresh bread etc.) and choose the "bag re-use" icon. Obviously.

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From: (Anonymous)

How very frustrating. You have my sympathy.

As an engineer with an interest in and experience with the law, I want to try to help solve your problem. I think there might be ways to get this situation improved for you.

Sainsbury's have a legal duty under the Disability Discrimination Act to make "Reasonable adjustments" for disabled people such as yourself. Did you ask supervisor for help, or explain that you were having difficulty because of your poor vision ? Getting angry was justified but probably not all that helpful (as I tell myself so often ...)

The supervisor should have offered to increase the timeout, or failing that offered to help you by scanning your shopping for you. If they refuse then I think Sainsbury's are breaking the law.

The starting point would be to write them a letter of complaint, demanding that they apologise and promise to do better. Hopefully you can get support for twisting their arm from organisations like the RNIB; perhaps they have a sample letter on their website. If not then people like me will be happy to help.

- Ian Jackson

From: (Anonymous)

Thank you for your kind comment and useful advice. It was probably my fault in as much as I did not disclose initially that I am partially sighted; I am not apparently disabled; and it's only when faced with novel challenges that are unwittingly assumptive of full sight that the disability emerges. The situation got out of hand faster than I could unbend and accept defeat. But thank you, I now feel empowered in one way, though still retaining a distrust of the wretched machines. - Nic