Jumbo
As sad as it may be, many older people experience extreme loneliness as they grow older, due to the loss of friends and family. Thankfully, one supermarket has opened “Chat Checkouts” to help combat elderly loneliness. Hopefully, many more store around the world will follow their incredible lead!
Dutch Supermarket Promotes Chat Checkouts
Jumbo
Over 1.3 million people 75-years-old and older live in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, this older category reports the highest amount of loneliness. The reason? Most simply do not have anyone to chat to on a regular basis. So, many older folk look for conversation where they can, in places like restaurants and grocery stores. Sadly, most servers and cashiers do not have time to talk – they are busy filling orders! Still, Norwegian supermarket chain Jumbo decided they wanted to fight elderly loneliness. So, they opened “Kletskassa,” or “Chat Checkouts” in English, where the elderly can go and have a friendly chat. That’s right!
So, how does it work? Well, signs clearly let people know that these cashiers will take their time and talk to the people in line. So, it’s not the best checkout lane if you’re in a hurry. However, anyone, young or old, can hop in line and talk to the cashier as they scan and bag their items. It’s truly amazing what one conversation now and then can do to lift a lonely person’s spirits. That’s why Jumbos plans to open “Chat Checkouts” at 200 stores in the next year!
Jumbo’s Other Initiatives
Jumbo
“Kletskassa” started as part of an official government program, named “One Against Loneliness,” of which Jumbo is just one of the many companies taking part. However, it’s now becoming a permanent part of the company’s culture from now on. “Many people, especially the elderly, sometimes feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain, we are at the heart of society,” Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, the CCO of Jumbo, explained. “Our stores are an important meeting place for many people and we want to play a role in identifying and reducing loneliness…We do this in various ways, including our Kletskassas. We are proud that many of our cashiers like to take a seat behind a Kletskassa. They support the initiative and want to help people to make real contact with them out of genuine interest.”
“At Jumbo we want to be more than just a place where you do your shopping. For example, we help our stores by means of a manual to signal loneliness among customers and to set up local initiatives… Several stores also have a chat corner where customers can grab a nice cup of coffee and chat with neighbors,” Cloosterman-van Eerd finished by saying. Jumbo is not the only Norwegian company that wants to make fundamental changes. The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport have also started local coalitions against loneliness in 355 municipalities throughout the country. These coalitions visit the homes of the elderly, call them, and create group activities for them.
Hopefully, this movement will spread to other countries soon enough!
