Woolworths, Coles checkout dividers: Shopper sparks debate with 'ridiculous' claim

We all have a seemingly never-ending list of things to think and worry about, but a viral Facebook post has one more in the mix for us to consider — checkout dividers.

A news anchor in the US sent the internet into a frenzy last week after sharing the supposed "correct" way of placing the plastic dividers on the conveyor belt at a supermarket checkout.

"I'm at the store tonight and noticed some of you don’t know how to use the divider," Ryan Vaughan said.

These dividers are used in most major supermarkets to seperate one customer's groceries from another, helping checkout workers and customers alike identify which items belong to who.

Minor difference whips up major response

There are two ways in which customers are debating over the correct placement of the dividers, with the first option fiercely backed by Mr Vaughan.

"You need to put it long ways to trip the sensor and keep a distance," he stated, sharing that the best way to place the divider was to have either ends pointing at the groceries, running parallel with the edges of the conveyer belt.

This placement apparently helps the conveyor belt sensor to operate correctly, he says. However, this has been neither confirmed nor denied by Australia's supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles who stubbornly refused to weigh in on the great debate, instead suggesting there were no wrong answers for their customers.

The alternate placement is that the checkover divider should be positioned lengthways between the groceries, with a majority of people seemingly adopting this method.

"Some of y’all use it as a privacy fence," Mr Vaughan noted.

Despite the trivial nature of his post, it amassed thousands of comments from fellow supermarket visitors sharing their opinion on the matter.

"That is just ridiculous!" a woman said.

"Never seen anyone put it like that, the 'right' way as you suggest," one man wrote.

"As a cashier supervisor who is on the floor full time, please don't..." another commented.

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