Metropol

It's definitely sensible not to so long as there is a PCI compliant database elsewhere.

Most retailer slips I've seen recently have the card's full number hidden anyway; I guess in setups where the the EFTPOS terminal is not integrated in to the EPOS system a bit of paper is needed to 'tally up', but it needn't state the critical details.

My local M Local (which has barely been open a year) is one of the ones set to close. They've already cut the hours back from 6am-11pm to 7am-8pm, and it'll be shutting in July.

The chap who served me this morning said that they'd need to double their takings to be able to cover the rent. It was maybe always a bit of a big ask, given they're right across the road from a Tesco supermarket - but they never quite got the range and stock levels right.

They also didn't quite get the hang of Sundays: after Tesco shuts, they'd get really busy but would always be understaffed and running out of veg, bread and milk. (Mind you, they hardly even had any bread at 9 o'clock this morning, and that's with an ISB)

Apparently another chain is sniffing around at buying up the units they're closing - presumably not Tesco or the Co-op, but does anyone know who it might be? A little Waitrose would be very nice, but it's just a wee bit too far from the posh bit of Walthamstow.

Before the MD decided to halt the expansion of M Local, they wanted to open a store replacing the M&Co clothes shop in Forest Hill, less than 50 yards from the main Sainsbury's.

It's closer to the railway station, so made sense to catch some of the commuter traffic who'd otherwise go into Sainsbury's to and from work, but came under local opposition as there's already a Tesco Express and Co-Operative in the near vicinity, alongside local independents. Lewisham council granted them an alcohol licence, just before the MD's statement.

I did shop in an M Local near West Croydon station in April, was very small, the self-checkout was even more sensitive than the supermarket ones, but did have enough bread and milk surprisingly! Staff were excellent and didn't have the look of being fed up unlike in my main supermarket.

Oh, the staff in this store were excellent - though they're apparently all leaving already, and the manager I spoke to said he was probably going to get moved to Finchley, which isn't exactly close by.

Is there a list of upcoming closures?

thegeek wrote:My local M Local (which has barely been open a year) is one of the ones set to close. They've already cut the hours back from 6am-11pm to 7am-8pm, and it'll be shutting in July.

They've now reduced their hours even further: 7am-5pm. Which is almost entirely useless. I think they don't have enough staff anymore, so that's probably one shift's worth.

(I still reckon this branch could get a fair way towards turning a profit by focusing on stuff people might buy from Tesco before 11am and after 5pm on a Sunday, but they never got that.)

Looks like Morrisons are trialling NCR self service checkouts:

https://twitter.com/dresserman/status/6 ... 3126960129

I hope they roll them out and get rid of the rubbish Wincor-Nixdorf things, even aesthetically the NCR looks loads better.

About time Morrisons introduced the NCR ones.

The sooner the current Wincor-Nixdorf checkouts are replaced, the better for both customers and staff.

If NCR machines had the coin conveyor belt, it would be the ideal combination.

Bizarrely, I never seem to encounter any issues with the Wincor-Nixdorf ones in Waitrose but everywhere else they have them always results in a frustrating, character-building exercise.

scottishtv wrote:Bizarrely, I never seem to encounter any issues with the Wincor-Nixdorf ones in Waitrose but everywhere else they have them always results in a frustrating, character-building exercise.

Waitrose ones being card only may resolve some of the issues when it comes to taking cash/coins without deducting it from the total for a start.