VIDEO. At Carrefour Labège, near Toulouse, the “blablabla crates” have not finished talking
Through Guilhem Pouiol
Published on
Jean-Michel, retired, have a long talk with the cashier while storing his net of potatoes in his chariot. He talks about the weather outside, his dog and his grandchildren. People who are in line wisely patient and scan the scene with a smile.
At the Carrefour Labège hypermarket, a special box makes the happiness of customers who are not in a hurry. Its code name: the “blablabla cash register”.
“The concept is born in the Netherlands, explains Jérôme Bassi, one of the managers of the supermarket. The idea is to offer our customers a checkout where they can chat as much as they want with our boxes. There is no time requirement, it allows you to build a relationship with the customer. We come back to the basis of trade “.
On video. Sylvie, a Carrefour employee in Labège, talks about the concept of BlaBlaBlaCaisses:
Find social connection
The management of Carrefour France took the decision to install “blablabla checkouts” in all Carrefour hypermarkets of the country, i.e. approximately 250 stores. The first tests took place in 2019 but the pandemic and the successive confinements came to slow down the installation of the device.
In Labège, only one “blablablacaisse”, recognizable by a sign, is currently installed. “But we don’t refrain from adding others in the coming weeks,” adds Jerome Bassi.
Crates are voluntary
Shopping at the hypermarket is sometimes the only outing of the day for some older people. The latter are all the more delighted to rediscover social ties by chatting for a few minutes with a smiling cashier.
The concept is great, we laugh a little and we take our time. The staff is smiling, we have a great time. I like to do my shopping without rushing, “les blablablacaisses” are perfect for me.
The “blablabla checkouts” of Carrefour Labège are chosen on the volunteer basis. Several employees quickly agreed to participate in the experiment. “I love talking, it’s a real pleasure to be able to have a good time with the customers,” says Sylvie, one of the employees who works on the “blablablacaisse”. I’m not in a hurry and the clients are wasting their time. Most are delighted with the experience.
If the initiative pleases customers so much, it may be because the tills have found a special place in the hearts of the French following the health crisis. “Our employees never stopped working during the Covid crisis, reacts Jérôme Bassi. The “blablablacaisses” are a way for us to highlight them”.
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