PAK'NSAVE ROLLS OUT QUEUE FOR THE QUEUE, RANGIORA BRACES FOR IMPORT
An Auckland trial has North Canterbury shoppers already rehearsing their sighs.
Pak'nSave has begun trialling a queue-for-the-queue system at an Auckland store. Shoppers at the Rangiora branch are watching with quiet dread.
The system involves standing in a line to be told which line to stand in. An Auckland shopper described it as "like Countdown but with more disappointment and a bloke in hi-vis pointing at things."
Rangiora local Bev Cathcart, 58, heard about it from her sister in Manukau. "I've got a trolley, a bad hip, and a chicken that needs to go in the fridge. I'm not queuing to queue. I'll queue once, like God intended."
A second shopper, Deano from just off King Street, was more direct. "If they bring that shit to Rangiora I'm going to New World. And I hate New World. That's how serious this is."
A Pak'nSave spokesperson said the pilot was about "optimising customer flow". Asked whether the queue for the queue would eventually need its own queue, the spokesperson said they'd "take that on notice."
The Rangiora store has added a third self-checkout in the meantime. Two of them are out of order.
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Reader Letters
Trev_Hornby
Mate, this is a bloody piss-take.
ropeable_dave
Do they really think a queue system's going to fix anything? They'll be lucky if folks don't just start queueing outside New World. It's all about making money, not customers.
Garry (Halswell)
Wouldn't have happened back in my day. You queued once, got your groceries, and that was it. None of this 'queue for a queue' nonsense. Next, they'll have us queueing for the car park, the trolleys, and maybe even the loo. Ridiculous!
couchgremlin
Is it still a queue if you're waiting to wait?
tired_in_riccarton
As a local, I can say Pak'nSave's got a bloody nerve bringing this to Rangiora. Brace yourselves.
MumOf3
This is only the beginning. Next it’ll be queues for the self-checkouts. But oh wait, they’re always out of order anyway!
Sandra McKenzie
@couchgremlin, it's called a meta-queue. Welcome to 2023 retail.
wayne1987
Lol.
NeilfromNorthwood
Honestly, with only one self-checkout working, isn't that already a queue for a queue?
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