Dubai How often have you stood in a supermarket queue and dreaded if the ice-cream would melt before you reached home?
The tedious ritual of waiting to check out your groceries has become a thing of the past in at least one hypermarket.
The brand new Shopper Valet service rolled out by Union Coop in Dubai allows you to walk straight to your car and settle your bills from the comfort of your seat.

No more waits
Customers using the service are assisted by valets who accompany them with a smart Golden Trolley that does not need to wait at the cash counter.
“The valet carries a bar code reader, printer and credit card payment machine. His job is to escort customers, pick items from the shelves, scan them and generate the bill,” explained Suhail Albastaki, marketing and communications manager, Union Coop.
“At the end of the shopping, the valet follows shoppers to their cars, bypassing check-out queues, and collects the payment either in cash or by credit card,” Albastaki added.
The service costs Dh25 but is free for purchases worth Dh500. Senior citizens and special needs people don’t have to pay anything for the service.
The Shopper Valet is currently available only in the Cooperative Society’s Umm Suqeim branch on Al Wasl Road but plans are afoot to introduce it in Union Coop’s Mirdif branch and subsequently in all their 13 branches across the city.
Albastaki said the response to the service has been enthusiastic with over 4,000 transactions recorded in just three months.
“We have 20 Golden Trolleys in our Umm Suqueim branch and they are all always in demand.
Union Coop general manager Khalid Humaid Bin Diban Al Falasi said Shopper Valet was aimed