"You can't cheat then?" Queen Elizabeth's hilarious reaction to self-serve checkouts
Queen Elizabeth has popped into a supermarket and learnt how to use self-serve counters to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the British high street chain Sainsbury’s.
The Queen went to London’s Covent Garden to visit a pop-up replica of the original Sainsbury’s store, which was founded in 1869 and sold just three items – butter, eggs and milk.
She was greeted by Lord John Sainsbury, the great grandson of the supermarket chain’s founder John James Sainsbury, who showed her around and gave her an overview of the supermarket’s history and the popular trends among customers.
“Tastes have changed,” she said when she was told how the average basket’s content shifted from porridge and orange during the war years to avocados and ready-made meals today.
The 93-year-old monarch was also introduced to modern technology used in stores, such as self-service checkout and mobile phone payments.
“And you can’t trick it? You can’t cheat then?” she asked during a demonstration.
When manager Damien Corcoran said the self-service counter is particularly popular amongst shoppers, she responded, “I’m sure they do – everybody wants to hurry.”
The Queen also met Sainsbury’s employees who dressed up as store clerks from the era of the supermarket’s first store.
She concluded the visit by cutting a birthday cake baked by Claire Ptak, who also created Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s wedding cake.