Woolies & Coles Click and Collect Workers

Mitchtastic on 15/09/2025 - 13:56

Does anyone else get annoyed by the rude staff at both Coles and Woolies who are collecting all the items for the click and collect orders?

They are always running around the store like no one else exists and cut you off/block up a whole area of isles and speed around corners. Always jumping in front of people to grab an item.

I understand they have a job to do and it is probably a rushed time constraint type of deal but they still could be a lot more courteous and safe around customers.

Or is it just a Perth thing and I'm getting cranky in my early 30s? Haha

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Woolworths
Woolworths
Coles
Coles

Comments

  • rawm on 15/09/2025 - 14:05
    +32

    Nah, you’re right. They rush around like they’re on commission, but it’s more likely they’re under pressure to meet quotas, stressed out, and see in-store shoppers as obstacles to their real customers. Just another reason to steer clear of Colesworth - it’s not going to improve anytime soon.

    Leave a trolley angled across a narrow aisle so they have to stop, shift it, and re-adjust their scanner path. Looks like a random shopper left it, but it forces a detour - mwuhahaha

    • LFO on 16/09/2025 - 19:40
      +2

      Agree 100%

      Which brings the alternative of collecting all orders after hours with no customers around.

      How hard could that be?

      • JH100 on 16/09/2025 - 21:35
        +2

        Double time?

      • ccrap on 16/09/2025 - 21:44
        +7

        Rather hard, given they offer rapid click and collect, which means they have 90 mins to have the order ready. That in addition to uber and door dash orders which you have to turn around in 15-30 mins. Bit hard to predict all that aye?

        That said agree with OP’s sentiment

      • alikazi on 16/09/2025 - 22:52
        +6

        If you can't beat them, join them. Order online.

    • Leafly on 16/09/2025 - 23:07
      +10

      "stressed out, need to meet quotas" -> "mess with them by leaving things in their way"
      ???

      • tessel on 17/09/2025 - 21:09
        +1

        And the people upvoting that shit…

    • Munki on 16/09/2025 - 12:14
      +6

      Why stop there? I proceed to kick them when they're down.

      • TerryJustTerry on 17/09/2025 - 08:02
        +2

        Why stop there? I proceed to loot the downed npc.

        • Munki on 17/09/2025 - 09:20
          +2

          I only do that with escorts.

  • Dollar General on 15/09/2025 - 14:18

    Yeah it’s annoying. Customers shopping in store are much more profitable customers than online orders so they need to do better at the balance between these two customer groups.

    • jacross on 16/09/2025 - 07:57
      +11

      This profitability assertion intrigues me. Tell me more please.

      • wombatzzz on 16/09/2025 - 08:04
        +4

        hang on …there's only so much they can pul out of their arse at a time

      • Dollar General on 16/09/2025 - 08:11
        +8

        Have a read through their ASX announcements, but short story is people ordering online are paying the same price as people shopping in store but they have to pay staff to pick and pack the order and deliver the order.

        In time, I suspect colesworth will move to different pricing for online orders, as they do with milkrun today

        • jacross on 16/09/2025 - 08:38

          Mmm that makes intuitive sense. Thanks!

        • StalkingIbis on 16/09/2025 - 10:23
          +7

          The cost to operate a shop front and theft etc would also be a pretty high cost.

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 17/09/2025 - 14:04
          -3

          If that was even remotely true, then they wouldn't have colesworth dark sites solely for deliveries. Online and delivery is insanely more profitable to them. Lower overheads. Exactly why Aldi has jumped in as well.

          Care to reference a particular part of a particular ASX announcements? Vague AF.

          • Dollar General on 17/09/2025 - 14:44
            +7

            @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: lol

            Aldi is using doordash, not their own fleet. They are not paying hundreds of millions $$ to have refrigerated trucks across Australia or staff packing orders.

            Clearly you have no idea how e-commerce works. How can margins be better when you have to pay staff to pick and pack and order, and then pay to have a fleet of trucks travelling around Australia delivering groceries, compared to someone who goes in store, picks their own order and probably uses a self checkout and the takes it home themselves?

            You are confusing a model that is pure e-commerce to supermarkets that have already invested billions $$ into bricks and mortar. Coles and Woolworths are not selling shoes where a warehouse worker grabs a box and a satchel and a third party comes to collect the package

      • Alley Cat on 16/09/2025 - 17:53
        +4

        Real-life shoppers are also prone to impulse-purchases.

    • dylanando on 16/09/2025 - 10:30
      +3

      The digital side of the business is where they’re heading.

  • AdamFury on 15/09/2025 - 14:25
    +7

    Yes. It actually makes me feel like I'm a burden shopping there if I'm honest (also a cranky early 30 year old).

  • JIMB0 on 15/09/2025 - 14:29
    +11

    Every time they block you in, drop a surprise item into the order. A 24-pack of Durex would make for an awkward customer service call.

  • MrHyde on 15/09/2025 - 14:35
    +25

    I havent found them to be rude. Pretty much every time I will interrupt what they are doing and ask them where a particular item is on the shelf. They've always been helpful taking me to the exact location and even checking on their device to see if they have stock on hand and then go out back to get me some if shelf is empty.

    Much better than Big W or Target where you can never find someone to ask for help.

    • wombatzzz on 16/09/2025 - 08:05
      +1

      my observations exactly.

    • tasty-falafel on 16/09/2025 - 13:59
      +2

      Yeah I've never found them rude, but they certainly zip around fast enough to nearly be hit by them a couple of times.

    • snappy1234 on 18/09/2025 - 13:46

      Big W
      Always staff @ entrance and checkouts.

      Oh and Click and Collect and where they sell mobiles.

      Rest of store is a ghost town.

  • Ocker on 15/09/2025 - 15:02
    +18

    They all have KPI's they need to meet

  • MS Paint on 15/09/2025 - 15:36
    +1

    Must be a city thing. Never experienced this in a regional area. Less online clients and pressure I guess.

    • AsukaLangleySohryu on 15/09/2025 - 19:47

      Not just a city thing. It happens all the time at locations in regional areas.

  • Iwantthebestprice on 15/09/2025 - 15:51

    They are pretty bad! I got hit by their trolley as they came swinging around the corner to go to the next isle.

    It’s bad enough having to go do a quick shop on a Saturday when the store is packed you don’t need 5 people running around with these trolleys too.

    • jv on 15/09/2025 - 16:16
      +3

      I got hit by their trolley as they came swinging around the corner

      Just speak to the manager and ask for their Public Liability insurance details so you can make a claim…

      • marcozmitch on 17/09/2025 - 11:16
        +1

        Thankyou JB. Useful.

  • DingoBilly on 15/09/2025 - 16:04
    +1

    Never experienced this in my local Westfield.

    They seem pretty chill. Might just be a local manager pushing KPI's thing vs. some manager who doesn't give a shit/happy to let its staff take its time.

    • Dollar General on 15/09/2025 - 16:16
      +2

      Nah it has got to do with which store is allocated to pick the order ready for delivery. Being in a Westfield perhaps orders are routed to another local store

      • DingoBilly on 16/09/2025 - 15:24

        Not sure I understand? There's still plenty of people walking around collecting orders in the Westfield.

        They're just taking their time and not being rushed.

  • plmko on 15/09/2025 - 16:47

    Maybe don't go during peak hours. Try mornings, just some gossiping middle aged check out workers and an empty store.

    • kiitos on 16/09/2025 - 08:08
      +2

      What would peak hours be for deliveries/click and collect? I guess evening?

  • hasher22 on 15/09/2025 - 17:36
    +4

    Go to the woolies and coles reddit subs, online reps HATE when they're part of the online team/pickers. They are apparently severely understaffed, unrealistic picking time and anything that hinders them, such as customer questions really affects them.

    The fact that coles and woolies take in billions of dollars in profit yet they can't hire more staff to make staff happy is effing questionable.

  • brendanm on 15/09/2025 - 17:52
    +2

    It's worse then they have 3 people standing around talking to each other in the self serve section, while there is only.ome.chexkout open and a line up. Get on a checkout.

    • Downvoter on 15/09/2025 - 19:44
      +2

      Wild typos

      • brendanm on 15/09/2025 - 21:31
        +2

        Yeah I always do that, should probably check a bit better before posting. Ah well

      • Muppet Detector on 21/09/2025 - 00:11

        But did you pick up any in the OP?

  • tsunamisurfer on 15/09/2025 - 18:01
    +3

    I don't have a problem with them at all.

    Their job is not easy, they are on the clock and expected to pick items in an efficient systematised manner, so if I am unlucky and they have their large trolley in front of my intended item, I will just say excuse me and grab my things.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 15/09/2025 - 18:03
    +1

    Could always lodge a formal complaint

    • Ade99 on 16/09/2025 - 07:39

      I am sure that will have a major impact….🤔

      • Aleigh123 on 17/09/2025 - 10:50
        +1

        It can if there are a lot of complaints. These things do negatively impact store manager performance indicators.

  • miwahni on 15/09/2025 - 20:44
    +4

    I've found the local pickers to be quite courteous and apologetic if they're blocking access to something I want. I'm not on the clock when I'm shopping and I'm well aware that they are, so they don't worry me.
    The ones that really bug me are the shelf stockers in my local Woolies, who seem to think Thursday evening is the best time to stock the freezer section. All of them at once with pallet loads of boxes that it's impossible to get around. I've had to reverse out of the aisle on occasion. Now that really annoys me.

  • ifyareckon on 16/09/2025 - 06:50
    +2

    The problem is usually worse in stores that take orders from Uber Eats/Milkrun etc. These orders have very tight time frames and it's stacked on top of the usual click and collect orders. It's actually worse dealing with the uber drivers crowding around the collection point, blocking the registers and jamming their phones in the faces of every staff member who walks past.

  • Ade99 on 16/09/2025 - 07:38
    +1

    No effort goes into selecting the latest sell by date for the salad / milk etc and if the tin is a bit dented, so be it.

  • Speckled Jim on 16/09/2025 - 08:40
    +3

    These should be fulfilled from their warehouses, not a supermarket supposedly open for personal shoppers.
    Much like scooters littering public spaces, they're band-aid solutions to confected problems.
    All about the $$$

    • photonbuddy on 16/09/2025 - 12:15

      They have dark stores (no customers) and they still stock the shelves, then pick 'n' pack orders. Seems terribly inefficient if you ask me.

      They wonder why Amazon is so far ahead in the retail game …

  • bbinc on 16/09/2025 - 08:40
    +1

    During the free 3mth trial Coles switched me to ‘delvermore’ which is a dark store. Very little out of stock items or subs. Built for the number of deliveries $19 not worth it. Just pick $2 or $4 slots when I need. Agree the in store workers get in the way, but dark stores should take the pressure off a bit.

  • Benno007 on 16/09/2025 - 08:49
    -7

    Yeah they’re everywhere at my local. I just deliberately get in their way and stay there, I won’t let myself feel rushed by them, unlike my partner who is freaking out and tugging on my shirt beside me lol

    • humperdoo on 17/09/2025 - 09:44
      +2

      Someone has was too much time. I take one step to the side if im not in their path and go about my day.

    • BobsYourAunty on 17/09/2025 - 11:19
      +2

      Good one champ. You’re such a hero.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 17/09/2025 - 14:09
      +2

      How embarassing for your partner.

  • tabitha731 on 16/09/2025 - 09:04
    +1

    !just let them get their job done.. it doesnt pay enough to be courteous to customers! imagine having to do grocery shopping for lazy people who can't organise themselves to do a simple task of grocery shopping.. I'd be bitter too.. the pay isn't worth that!

  • Primus Pilus on 16/09/2025 - 09:27
    +1

    Yeah I find them annoying but not as much as the teenagers who stack the shelves in the evening and block the aisles. 🙄

  • Flying Ace on 16/09/2025 - 09:38
    +1

    I have never found them rude, but I do find the multitudes of click & collect trolleys to be annoying.

  • Purp on 16/09/2025 - 10:57
    +2

    my woolies always has more people working stocking the shelves than customers it seems most of the time, always dodging in and out between the online orders and shelf stockers

  • mearkat7 on 16/09/2025 - 13:34
    +1

    Rude people are rude people regardless of if they're a shopper or a worker. The workers with self awareness and common sense will try to not be a pain but others won't.

    Did it as a job a long time ago, when there was lower demand we always worked after hours to prevent interfering but as it got busier that changed. If you ever need to know where are an item is they are the people to ask, most of them will have way better knowledge of the store than any other worker.

  • sauce2k on 16/09/2025 - 14:30
    +1

    I can tell you not a single person that works at CC enjoys their job lol…every time I go collect (I've stopped now) I'm greeted by people that hate their life

  • boozler on 16/09/2025 - 14:46
    +2

    Why don't you step into their shoes for 1 day and report back.

  • ferry594 on 16/09/2025 - 17:21
    -2

    That's some boomer speak right there "rude" lmao

    Who cares, if you don't like it shop elsewhere

  • 2esc on 16/09/2025 - 17:31
    +1

    Ive never had a problem with click and collect workers i can see they are obviously filling orders quickly but ive asked them questions politely in passing and they have helped me find things.

    • Morphio25 on 17/09/2025 - 09:17

      As well they should. At the end of the day helping customers who are actually in-store is (or at least should be) any staff member's number one priority, whether that be a click and collect picker, or the store manager.

  • JH100 on 16/09/2025 - 21:38
    +1

    Easy to blame the stressed pickers, but management is where the responsibility lies.

  • iLikeSales on 16/09/2025 - 22:53
    +2

    Bro blame management, have you seen their KPIs/time to pick? Its like they have only a couple of minutes each and imagine if people kept walking in front of you. I shop at aldi though so i dont experience this.

  • Blargman2001 on 17/09/2025 - 01:32
    +1

    Fill in a customer survey. The Coles one is called 'Tell Coles' I think. I've complained about it before at my local and the pickers seem a little less aggressive now.

  • SuperMid on 17/09/2025 - 08:32
    +7

    I like the staff who are constantly stocking shelves, and look annoyed at me daring to actually do my shopping in their presence

    But i get its also management cheaping out and not wanting to pay extra for people to do night shifts like they used to back in the day

    • colossus on 17/09/2025 - 09:12

      Came here to say this!

    • Muppet Detector on 21/09/2025 - 00:29

      A reason for increased day shifts is a reduction in shelf space available for each product.

      As they provide a greater variety of products to choose from, each product gets less space to occupy.

      What this means is that there was more room to stock Tim Tams for example, when there was only one or two types available. Now we have twenty varieties of Tim Tams plus all the companies producing something similar but calling it something different.

      These days, they need to refil products more than once a day.

      Additionally, I think that the stores have extended trading hours these days so instead of customers only getting eight hours to empty the shelves, they get 14 - 16 hours a day in a lot of areas.

      Besides, if they have people in store twenty four hours a day, how do the cleaners do their job? Someone must mop floors and wipe out the fridges/freezers occasionally.

  • jellykingdom on 17/09/2025 - 09:12
    +1

    Yes, i was literally thinking this on the weekend when one of them slammed their trolley into me

    Between the Click and Collect workers and the actual shelf-fillers blocking off entire aisles so they use their phones… man when I worked at Woolies ~10yrs ago, we used to get damn-near crucified by our managers if we touched our phones during our shifts!

  • Morphio25 on 17/09/2025 - 09:15

    I'm from Adelaide, they're very much like that here too. I currently have a broken big toe so I'm getting round in a small moon boot. It's very obvious that I have an injury because I'm hobbling/limping around everywhere I go. Despite that I almost got knocked over by one of these people the other day as I was making my way along the back of a store. They came barging out of an aisle and made a beeline straight into the path I was walking on and kept going despite being able to see I wasn't easily able to get out of their way.

    Like you I have also experienced many instances where they just block portions of an aisle and just have a general disregard for customers.

  • Your Friend on 17/09/2025 - 10:16

    Literally never noticed them at my local Coles.

  • Aleigh123 on 17/09/2025 - 10:47
    +1

    I used to work as a click and collect worker for Woolworths a while back.
    Can confirm they are occasionally flooded by half a dozen orders coming within a few minutes via UberEats and we are expected to fulfill them within a very short period of time. I generally ignored customers who looked like they had a question and only stop if they actually ask me a question. Even if you don't have to do this, there's a recommended amount of time we are given to pick an order and this is basically impossible to meet unless you know the entire store like the back of your hand.

    But they're definitely not supposed to be going around corners quickly. I'd happily go fast along aisles, but made sure to slow down when approaching a corner (or wherever someone can potentially pop out).

    And for those who say no substitutions but get substitutions anyway, that's most likely a management thing. It reflects poorly on manager KPIs for orders to be missing items, but substitutions are fine. So we were direct by management to do dodgy things like manually generating a barcode for items that were falsely listed as in-stock and provide a substitution anyway.

  • EFC94 on 17/09/2025 - 13:21
    +3

    I do click and collect picking at one of the major supermarkets, I would assume they both operate somewhat similarly. To summarise, customers annoy us and get in our way as much as we annoy you and get in your way, some people are also completely oblivious to their surroundings (and I include supermarket workers in that). There is constant time pressures to get orders done in a certain amount of time, then you have random express/priority orders constantly dropping in giving you even less time to complete your original workload. Most stores will then take team from different departments to help online, this then causes their main department to fall behind, so those team members are rushing to try and get back to their own department because otherwise you will complain there's no stock on the shelf. It's a vicious cycle.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 17/09/2025 - 14:07
    +2

    Leave the staff online. Take out your beef with Colesworth directly.

    Poor staff are doing a shitty job, for a shitty company, who are trying to emulate shitty Amazon micromanagement.

    • raiseyoursteaks on 18/09/2025 - 06:52
      -2

      Why is it shitty. Don't like the job? That's why you have an immigration problem. Those that complain and are poor workers vs those that want and appreciate the job.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 21/09/2025 - 13:32

        Is the immigration problem in the room with you right now? Show us on the doll where the purported immigration problem touched you.

  • raiseyoursteaks on 18/09/2025 - 06:51

    Now that you mention….. Yeah they do get in a way alot and it's annoying

  • IpGem on 18/09/2025 - 11:50

    Just my opinion- i don't really mind them, been there done that so may be i empathise.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join