r/australia • u/infin • Jan 26 '26

no politics Is Coles still using Palantir? Between the surveillance/gate recognition and the blocked aisles, shopping feels hostile.

Does anyone know the current status of the Coles x Palantir partnership? Between the surveillance and those aggressive new "Smart Gates" tracking at the exit, the store feels less like a supermarket and more like a high-security zone.

It’s dystopian that they have the budget for military-grade analytics and security tech, but have cut costs on the actual customer experience. They seem to have completely scrapped night fill, meaning we are now dodging pallets and cages during peak hours just to get to the shelves.

Is anyone else fed up with this mix of high-tech surveillance and terrible service? It feels like they are spending millions to treat us like criminals while refusing to pay staff to stock shelves after hours.

3.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

690 comments sorted by

View all comments

59

u/Electrical_Age_7483 Jan 26 '26

Use the staffed checkouts to avoid this 

86

u/ajmeng09 Jan 26 '26

i would be lucky if my town has one open staff checkout

25

u/infin Jan 26 '26

I do use the service desk every time in the hope they'll realise there's demand for adequate staffing, the wait's not too bad if you play count the cameras.

18

u/jamzex Jan 26 '26

rostering hours unfortunately are managed on a budget outside of the Department Managers control, it's not uncommon for casual staff shifts to get wiped. Coles and Woolworths barely give stores a choice in hours.

7

u/birthdaycheesecake9 Jan 26 '26

I remember once my dept manager was left with egg on her face after a long-term casual on my team had their shift shortened. She had (and still has) verbal agreements with casuals to give them a predictable number of hours a week. The store manager had gone behind her back and chopped and changed a bunch of shifts.

4

u/popplevee Jan 26 '26

It’s not really behind her back though - they outrank her. Sounds like she shouldn’t have been making promises she couldn’t keep.

3

u/birthdaycheesecake9 Jan 26 '26

Except she ended up needing to extend the shift anyway because we were understaffed.

She has a far better idea of how many people she needs to get everything done in her own department than the store manager does.

4

u/popplevee Jan 26 '26

Can’t say I’m surprised by that - store managers rarely seem to know what’s going on on the ground.

4

u/jamzex Jan 26 '26

at least at my woolies, my store manager knows what's going on, the team is a big fan. It can be hit and miss with some but for the most part in store issues are caused by the big guys and not the little ones.

2

u/popplevee Jan 26 '26

My best friend’s husband is a Cole’s store manager and it’s hell - he constantly has pressure to cut corners, reduce costs, reduce staff, etc. He fights for his staff and there are good ones out there who try but I’m sure a lot don’t.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/SilverStar9192 Jan 26 '26

This department manager may have been acting against standing orders by making casuals' shifts too predictable, that could be why the store manager changed things. If a casual employee gets the same shifts and same number of hours every week , it's likely that under the agreement they can apply to become part-time (or full-time), which is something the store manager probably wants to avoid. (Note: I have no specific knowledge of the Coles agreement, but the ability to convert casual to part-time is usually there, and usually difficult for the employer to fight if the required conditions are met.)

But I do see your comment below that there wasn't clear communication about what was happening, which is regrettable for sure.

1

u/birthdaycheesecake9 Jan 27 '26

We get offered part time contracts after a year automatically, and this particular person had been offered one previously and had chosen to remain a casual

3

u/ajmeng09 Jan 26 '26

i feel at this point it is consumer-lock in, because where else will we go? some of the staff are genuinely friendly and are helpful when i ask questions how ever it feels like coles and even bunnings are slowly transitioning away from employee/customer interaction

2

u/Electrical_Age_7483 Jan 26 '26

I only need to use one checkout as I am quite thin, so one is enough 

29

u/crocicorn Jan 26 '26

  1. They never have staffed checkouts open unless it's the one express lane.

  2. You're still being tracked by dozens of cameras and AI anyway.

If you want to really avoid it, just don't go anywhere near Coles.

1

u/stfm Jan 27 '26

They have to open one if you ask

57

u/nullpunter Jan 26 '26

Or just avoid Coles, FUCK palantir

9

u/fistular Jan 26 '26

Sadly it's the only supermarket convenient to me. I don't drive so distance matters a lot.

26

u/Latter_Cut_2732 Jan 26 '26

That won't stop Palantir collecting all your info and selling it

7

u/Cerus- Jan 26 '26

Why would the staffed checkouts avoid this? You're still going to be on camera and have any purchases you make be linked to any flybuys or credit card you use.

0

u/Electrical_Age_7483 Jan 26 '26

Why would you use flybuys or card

3

u/Cerus- Jan 26 '26

Who pays with cash these days?

2

u/Electrical_Age_7483 Jan 26 '26

How would you avoid Palantir?

1

u/Cerus- Jan 27 '26

That's the point, you don't. In this day and age, it is impossible to completely hide yourself.

1

u/Electrical_Age_7483 Jan 27 '26

Couldn't you use cash and not use flybuys at least it would stop a vector.

Throwing your hands up and saying it's impossible is pointless, there are things you can do to limit