"We pride ourselves on great customer service, and you can’t do that through a robot."
Booths has become one of the first UK supermarkets to strip out self-service checkouts from most of its stores, according to The Manc.
In a bid to keep its reputation for providing a high-end and premium store shopping experience intact, the Northern-based supermarket retailer - which is often dubbed "the Waitrose of the North" - has made the decision to call it a day on self-service checkouts and make a full return to having staff behind its tills.
The retailer is currently in the process of removing the technology from all but two of its 27 supermarkets, The Grocer reports.
As part of its current ongoing store renovation programme, Booths - which has dozens of stores in Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and one here in West Yorkshire over in Ilkley- appears to be going against the wider industry shift to self-service that's been happening over the past few years by planning to increase the number of staffed checkouts and pay points across all its stores.
Booths becomes first UK supermarket to strip self-service checkouts from stores / Credit: Booths
While many supermarkets' bosses claim shifting over to self-service has helped them to cut down on key costs, and ultimately speed-up the time it takes to serve customers, it's fair to say some shoppers haven't been so keen.
Some have even claimed self-service detracts from overall service levels in store - which is why Booths has decided to do away with them.
Booths' Managing Director, Nigel Murray, told The Grocer that the retailer is basically just "not great fans of self-checkouts".
"We pride ourselves on great customer service, and you can’t do that through a robot," he added.
The supermarket says it's in a bid to provide a premium customer service experience / Credit: Booths
Mr Murray put the company's decision to scrap self-service down to voiced customer concerns such as having to wait for a staff member to verify ID when buying alcohol, or issues with checkouts registering the correct items or weights.
Despite the the backlash from its customers in recent years, Booths said it "made sense" to keep self-service an option at two of its busiest stores in Windermere and Keswick.
This is because these two Lake District outlets are often known to get “quite busy” at certain times, especially if large numbers of tourists turn up during a short time period.
Featured Image - Booths
Shopping
A new female-founded business has opened in Leeds and it’s a trinket-lover’s paradise
Lisa Angel has just opened inside the Victoria Gate and it’s an Aladdin’s Cave full of jewellery, prints, gifts and everything in between.
The best part? It’s a female-founded brand that has chosen our wonderful city for their first Yorkshire site. We absolutely don't blame them.
Founded in 2004 by Lisa hand making jewellery which she sold at craft fairs local to her Norfolk home, the business has gone from strength to strength every since.
The brand is now a recognised part of the British high street landscape, boasting seven other stores across Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Shoppers can expect beautifully handcrafted jewellery, unique trinkets and wonderful staff who are open to have a natter.
It's the perfect shop for when you don't exactly know what to buy that someone special, just pop in here and you'll be hit with a wave of inspiration immediately.
We could've genuinely spent a good hour in there and come out with a much lighter wallet.
Lisa herself spoke about the opening: “As an independent retailer, we are thrilled to launch in a destination with such a reputation as Victoria Leeds.
"We believe retail should remain grounded in inspiration and discovery, and we look forward to bringing just that to the vibrant city of Leeds, in our first store in the north.”
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Managing Director James Moody said: “We're incredibly excited to be opening our first northern showcase store in such a prestigious location.
"Victoria Leeds represents exactly the kind of vibrant retail destination where we can bring the full Lisa Angel experience to new customers. This is a significant milestone for us as we continue to grow our retail presence."
World Book Day: The coolest independent book shops to visit in Leeds
Clementine Hall
Today marks 29 years of World Book Day- so why not celebrate with a brand new book from one of Leeds' independent book shops?
A day dedicated to all things literature that's remained at the heart of the UK's Primary School agenda for over a quarter of a century now.
The number of indie book shops is finally increasing across the UK once more, meaning there are more spots than ever to pick up a book or spend your World Book Day token.
It's not just the crease of corners and the smell of mass produced paper that your online book can't quite replicate, it's the recommendations, the exciting new covers and the warm coffee that matches the mood in most book stores. They're welcoming places, full of like-minded people, and they're certainly worth a visit, even if you haven't turned a page in years.
In Leeds, we're fortunate to have our pick of independent bookshops, granted they're hidden between the odd Waterstones and W H Smiths, but we still have plenty to offer.
Here are our favourite places to grab a new book from an independent seller...
Hold Fast Bookshop
Leeds Dock | Open Thursday - Sunday
Images: The Hoot Leeds
HoldFast is a book and plant store that champions independent artists, local authors all onboard an old coal boat called Marjorie R. Owners Chris and Victoria Bonner actually lived on the boat for a good few years before deciding to protect the future of the 76 year old boat by turning it into a business.
This is the perfect place to grab a new read. There’s a real community feel about the place, with talks from local authors and Chris and Victoria welcome anyone in to spend hours pouring over their hand picked selection of new and preloved books.
Colours May Vary
Leeds Corn Exchange
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Located inside the Corn Exchange in a sun-drenched top floor store, Colours May Vary is a celebration of independently published zines, unusual books and wholesome gifts that suit birthdays, parties, get well soons and congrats for all ages.
If you're on the hunt for a magazine that's more art than 'trash' content, this is the place to browse. There's a beautiful selection of limited edition prints, as well as some more popular independent magazines and books to choose from.
Dedicated to children's books, including some rather incredible novels on young activism and social justice, The Little Bookshop is a one-of-a-kind bookshop that's worth the trek over to suburb Chapel Allerton. The quaint little store is full of enough books to allow a child's imagination to run wild and the selection is varied enough to be challenging and bring up different topics of discussion. There's an adults section too, just through the back of the store- so there's something for all ages to find.
On International Women's Day, Wednesday 9 March, the bookshop will be joined by special guest, Kate Pankhurst, a British author and illustrator and the woman behind the phenomenon 'Fantastically Great Women That Changed The World'.
The Bookish Type
Great George Street
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The Bookish Type is an indie queer bookshop with a lot to offer. Run by Nicola Hargrave and Ray Larman, this place champions the voices and stories of the LGBT+ community with its range of memoirs, novels, plays and children's books.
There's also a fantastic selection of zines available covering everything from mental health to the history of the trans communities.
Village
Thorton's Arcade, Lands Lane
Self-published books and zines can be found inside Village, one of Leeds few independent booksellers in the city centre. The bookshop can be found within Thornton's Arcade and is locally known for its extensive copies of art-themed books and curated fashion and design selection.
Special edition hardbacks and paperbacks can be found amongst the gallery space used to showcase up-and-coming talent, and there's a decent selection of good old fashioned novels too.
Home of pre-loved books that are still in good condition, Oxfam Books is where books find a new home and all the proceeds go to charity. It's the recycling eco-friendly bookstore that actually has a decent selection of new and old favourites- so yeah, it's not an independent, but it's all for a good cause.
The selection here is far from your average charity shop shelf, there's aisle upon aisle of fiction, including vintage Penguin classics, as well as shelves of University-level textbooks, cookery books and niche topics like politics, history and languages piled high.
Since 2017, Leeds Little Free Libraries have been popping up all over the city, with a mission to encourage random acts of kindness by leaving books for others to read.
The little libraries can be found using an interactive online map to help guide users to their nearest library, where they can pick up and drop off literature of any kind. The Little Free Library continues to surprise locals with its locations ranging from Bradford and Pudsey to Wakefield, Ossett, as well as covering the majority of villages close to the city centre like Headingley, Chapel Allerton, Armley and there’s even a little lending library down by Leeds Docks too.
Emily Sergeant -
13th November 2023 
