A longtime AutoZone customer is disgusted by its new self-checkout policy, and he speculates that it’s part of the reason so many people are shopping online these days.
TikTok user and self-proclaimed angry mechanic Bob (@angrybobmechanic) posted a video on the subject on Sunday from inside his car. In the video’s caption, he explains that he needed an oil filter for his Ford Fusion, so he took a trip to AutoZone to grab one.
“And I couldn’t believe what I saw,” he wrote in the caption. “Yes, AutoZone has self-checkout.”
AutoZone has self-checkout now?
“There’s [expletive] self-checkouts at AutoZone now,” he says to start the video. “Self-checkout. In the [expletive] AutoZone. What is going on? Really? We need self-checkout at AutoZone now? Does nobody want to work anywhere?”
Bob says nowadays he doesn’t even bother to ask the associates to help him find parts anymore. “I do it myself out of their catalog before I go there, give them the part numbers, and then they go get them off the shelf.”
Therefore, Bob says, “If you put that all together. If you just let me go back there and get the parts off the shelf myself, we don’t need them at all. I check myself out. I look my own parts up because you get them wrong. What are the people in the AutoZone even there for? Just to take parts off the shelf and take them off? I can do that, too. So just make the whole thing self.”
Is self-checkout a sign of decline in customer service?
Moreover, Bob says he believes this is part of the reason many people choose to shop online. “This is why everybody’s doing all their shopping online,” he says. “Because there’s no customer service anywhere. At all anymore. Anywhere.”
The video has amassed more than 5,000 views. In the comments, some users defended the decision by AutoZone as a time saver. However, others said Bob makes a valid point about the state of shopping—at AutoZone and other retailers.
“You want the right part?” wrote one user. “Get it yourself!”
“I used to work for AutoZone. I hated it,” a second user wrote.
They continued, “I was the only one working; everybody else was standing around playing on their phones. I get it, man. Trust me.”
A third user wrote, “Imagine you have two employees and both are picking multiple parts for their separate customers, and a guy walks in just for wash fluid and has to wait twice as long because there’s no self-checkout.”
@angrybobmechanic I needed a oil filter for my Ford Fusion, when I went to autozone I couldn’t believe what I saw. Yes Autozone has Self Checkout 😡 #autozone #getinthezone #carparts #autoparts #selfcheckout #mechanic #autorepair #diymechanic #carguys #cargirls #carrepair #diy #cars #angrybobmechanic ♬ original sound – Angry Bob Mechanic
Mixed opinions on AutoZone self-checkout
Of course, Bob isn’t the only person to note that AutoZone introduced self-checkout. A few mechanics discussed the change on an oil change forum earlier this year. The reactions from shoppers are a bit mixed. Some users are happy with the convenience, others don’t understand why it’s necessary, and others report issues with the technology.
Opinions are similarly mixed on this Reddit thread from a year ago in which employees discuss the technology. Some think it’s a time saver, and others are concerned about shoplifting and potentially reduced payroll as a result.
The Daily Dot reached out to Bob via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted AutoZone for comment via online contact form.
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