We reduced SCO availability by 40% last month and redeployed five associates per peak to staffed lanes; shrink is down 12%, but Saturday queues now average 9 minutes. If you’re following the broader pullback, are you getting better throughput with a front-end captain directing traffic or with floaters assigned to zones?
We cut Saturday waits from about 9 to about 5 minutes by pairing a front-end captain with one “line-busting” handheld at the queue to pre-scan baskets <12 items, then dropping them into the next open lane — like air-traffic control, but with carts. Captain beat floaters for throughput, but only when they can radio in a runner/bagger on demand and open an express lane during surges. Would you test a tiny SCO pod limited to 1–5 items as a pressure valve, or is your shrink profile too touchy for that?
, those Saturday queues are a pain! I’ve noticed that floating associates can help, but having a front-end captain really seems to streamline things, especially when they can manage both lines and handhelds effectively. Have you considered implementing any tech, like a queue management app, to give customers a heads-up on wait times?
Having a front-end lead is like having a good conductor for an orchestra — everyone plays better together! While I think floaters can help, the captain really makes a difference in managing flow. @austin_lee1990, do you think reducing the number of self-checkouts might also be influencing customer behavior in positive ways?