Forman’s Smoked Salmon Owner Lance Forman Blames Rise of Automated Self-Service Check-Outs for Epidemic Of Middle Class Shoplifting…
Forman & Field CEO and Owner Lance Forman has spoken about the epidemic of middle-class shoplifting, blaming the increase on automated self-service checkouts in supermarkets.
A report in the London Evening Standard on the 11th of January discussed how smoked salmon along with other luxury food items like Brie – was routinely being shoplifted by Middle Classes at self-service checkouts.
“Retailers are responsible,” says Lance Forman. “If you leave your front door open, people will come and steal. It’s a sad fact of life. This idea that everything can be tech driven is wrong”.
“Self service really pisses off customers and they think that if you are not prepared to protect your goods you can’t care about them too much. It’s a sad reality that people behave this way but they do.”
Forman went on to criticise the move towards automation and the lack of human interaction in retail.
“The move to self service is like the move to automated phones. They can be so frustrating sometimes when all you want to do is speak to a human. Whilst it’s obviously bad that people are stealing, vendors ought to return to serving their customers with friendly and helpful checkout staff who cheer people up and build a communal spirit. Not everything has to obsessionally be tech driven.”
In contrast to the self-service model, Forman highlighted Forman & Field’s commitment to personal service. “At Forman & Field we use a personal service. Yes people can order online but they can also discuss their order over the phone, discuss the smoked salmon and other fine food, recipe ideas for a dinner party and we answer the phone very quickly when people ring, never leave them hanging for minutes on end with a frustrating message. It might be a bit old-fashioned but it works – we are still humans and not robots placing orders, for now at least.”
Forman concluded that the human touch leads to happier customers who are less inclined to shoplift.
“Bringing back-friendly and attentive staff could help curb the rising tide of retail crime among the middle classes,” he says.
