Self check now available at Mack's

Mack's Market now offers two new self-check stations for customers without eliminating any staff positions. Owner Eric Mackay said regarding the decision-making in these new additions, "It actually isn't a new idea. It's been something that has been in the grocery industry for probably the last maybe 15 to 20 years, with a lot of prevalence. And it's been an idea that keeps coming back. But these particular units were ordered about probably three years ago. It was actually before COVID-19."

Mackay described the assistance of having a self check out option in his business and said, "The benefit, I believe, is that we provide another option for guests because the trends in the industry have been going towards self-checkout and having traditional checkouts. And so now we're able to keep up with those trends and offer a new option to our guests here locally, that was not ever offered before. So it gives that option to those people who would like it and keeps the traditional way for those who would like that as well."

Regarding feedback from customers, Mackay said, "There's people that love it and absolutely think it's the greatest thing in the world. And there's people that hate it and think that it is the absolute worst thing in the world. So there's not a lot of middle ground."

In response to some of the critics of adding the self checkout stations, Mackay said, "It's difficult to respond in a way that I think somebody who has their mind already made up would understand. But to clarify, we're not eliminating positions. In fact, we're still hiring. And as you at the newspaper could attest to, we've run an ad in the newspaper for the last two months, and we're continuing that ad for seeking help. So it's not something that we're trying to eliminate help by adding these. It's just an alternative."

Many local businesses have recently struggled to hire and maintain a full staff of employees.

Mackay added about who the self checkout stations are for. It's for, "the convenience of those guests who don't want to wait in line. They have that option of being able to check in, check out their groceries, and get in and out of the store rather quickly. You know, for that individual that only has one or two items and they don't have a lot of time to wait in the line, they can use it easily."

Mackay also said, "We're looking for qualified applicants. We have lots of positions open. We're here to serve the community. We love being here. We love doing this. And we're always looking for ways to better our business just to serve our guests better."

Editor's note: Locally there is a self-check station available at Maverik as well.