Self Checkout: loathe or like?

[Amethyst]

We belonged to Sam's for a while. I liked their self-checkout system (scanner) much better than BJ's (drag item across - was constantly erroring out). Also, at Sam's, there were many more "self" lines than open cashier lines. However, we were chided by a Sam's associate for going through the self-checkout with a loaded cart ' "Next time you have that many items, we'd prefer you go to the cashier." She didn't say what we were doing wrong, so I assume it was that we were taking too long. There were no signs saying "Please use the cashier line if you have a full cart."

With BJs, we order all non-perishables the night before, the prepaid cart is waiting for us, and all we pick off the shelves are the milk, meat, and produce.

 

[pb4uski]

I prefer self-checkout. My favorite is BJ's where you just scan all the items in your basket with a hand-held scanner. Easy peasy.

One thing I learned was to hold alcohol or any purchases that might require id to last because it holds up the whole process (at least it does at Walmart).

 

[Alan]

I prefer self checkout for small purchases and in fact the 2 supermarkets in our town that do have self checkout are for those with baskets only. No trolleys allowed.

 

[Kwirk]

If there's an open lane with a cashier I'll go there. Otherwise I'll take whatever option looks fastest, recognizing that I'm not as fast as a cashier.

I hate when the bags are difficult to open. There seems to be a technique that I have yet to master.

 

[pb4uski]

Trolleys.... sounding very Brit there Alan!

 

[audreyh1]

We’ve bagged our own stuff for a very long time - at least 2 decades. Even in regular checkout DH would do the bagging as we brought our own bags, and the first decade baggers would be clueless. So, yes, self checkout is nice in that we do our own bagging.

We almost never go to checkout with a full cart.

 

[Aerides]

I prefer self checkout for small purchases and in fact the 2 supermarkets in our town that do have self checkout are for those with baskets only. No trolleys allowed.

to confuse things further, some americans call the trolleys "baskets" instead of carts.

 

[RunningBum]

I prefer self-checkout. My favorite is BJ's where you just scan all the items in your basket with a hand-held scanner. Easy peasy.

One thing I learned was to hold alcohol or any purchases that might require id to last because it holds up the whole process (at least it does at Walmart).

It's going to hold up the process whether you do it first, in the middle, or last, right? I try to scan it when I see the employee isn't occupied and can help me right away.

I do like the handheld scanners because I can pack my bags as I shop, including putting stuff in my small soft sided cooler right away for my 1/2 hour or longer drive home.

 

[Midpack]

We’ve bagged our own stuff for a very long time - at least 2 decades. Even in regular checkout DH would do the bagging as we brought our own bags, and the first decade baggers would be clueless. So, yes, self checkout is nice in that we do our own bagging.

We almost never go to checkout with a full cart.

+1, more like 10 years for us. We take paper bags occasionally (to use as kitchen waste can liners), never plastic bags, and bag our own with the bags we bring 90% of the time whether we have a few items or a full cart, and whether self checkout or cashier lane. It’s so easy.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I've been bagging my own stuff in my reusable bags ever since the store I use has handheld scanners. I like scanning as I go, it allows me to see how much I'm spending. I only have to handle each item once, and I bag the items by location once I get home-produce, meat, freezer, etc. It's far quicker. And plastic bags are really bad for the environment in many ways.

I also use a phone app shopping list which I have organized by aisle number which also saves time, and my Apple wallet to scan by frequent shopper card and to pay. I don't have to pull out my wallet or key ring or anything like that.

Last, someone commented on the cleanliness of the store scanners. Compared to what? The shopping cart handle which has been touched and gnawed on by young children? Money? Most stores have sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer-use them if you're concerned. I do.

 

[braumeister]

The one thing I have never understood is seeing people with full to overflowing carts using the self-scan station, taking several times as long as if they had used a regular line. Even when the regular lines are empty. I see this at least weekly, and just mark it up as one of those little mysteries of life.

 

[Spock]

I LOATHE self-checkout. We've quit using Albertson's and Walmart Neighborhood Market because of their push to self-checkouts.

IF the system would allow me to scan like a cashier and eliminate the scale, maybe... just let me use the equipment in an empty cashier lane.


Also our local stores still hire mentally handicapped people as grocery baggers. Gives them a job.

 

[target2019]

In some stores we may have more experience than the cashier. But there are limited numbers of employees, so we go the self-checkout route if we have 10-20 items.

 

[Rianne]

Like! I'm fast and furious.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Will use them if I don't have too many items. If I have a lot of produce (with a lot of weighing), then will use cashier. Our local Wally World has recently renovated their checkout area and they have about 10 self-scan stations on each end of the store with a few traditional cashiers in the middle. Although I rarely go there on the weekends, during the week, there is usually isn't a wait at either choice.

 

[Big_Hitter]

self checkout is great until you get an idiot in front of you

 

[Alan]

Trolleys.... sounding very Brit there Alan!

to confuse things further, some americans call the trolleys "baskets" instead of carts.

Looks like I’ve “gone native” already.

The one thing I have never understood is seeing people with full to overflowing carts using the self-scan station, taking several times as long as if they had used a regular line. Even when the regular lines are empty. I see this at least weekly, and just mark it up as one of those little mysteries of life.

That’s exactly why our 2 stores only allow baskets in the self check area. They also don’t have “10 items or less “ cashier lanes.

 

[sengsational]

I never use self check. No discount for using one.

It's a bit like the credit card situation... everyone pays higher prices so the store can pay CC fees, but cash customers pay more by not getting CC perks. Here, everyone gets lower prices through reduced labor costs, but only self check customers 'pay more' by giving away their labor.

IF the system would allow me to scan like a cashier and eliminate the scale, maybe... just let me use the equipment in an empty cashier lane.

Right, they give you sub-standard equipment because they're not paying your hourly rate, hehe!

 

[audreyh1]

Our HEB created a”large pool” of self checkouts cordoned off together - 9 registers I think. There is a gatekeeper at the entrance to point to an unused register or have you wait. They also solicit customers to use the self checkout when not busy.

This seems to be working very well. Rarely a wait. And the gatekeeper is available for assistance or can call for assistance.

Even though I often have more than the 10 items suggested, they wave me in anyway if not busy, and it’s often not at the hours I visit.

 

[audreyh1]

It's a bit like the credit card situation... everyone pays higher prices so the store can pay CC fees, but cash customers pay more by not getting CC perks. Here, everyone gets lower prices through reduced labor costs, but only self check customers 'pay more' by giving away their labor.

Except that I get the benefit of less time - almost never a wait like the manned registers, and I get to pack my groceries exactly how I like, which is quite important to me. So I like the trade off.

 

[Teacher Terry]

For a small amount of items I always do it myself.

 

[ziggy29]

I avoid them whenever possible, except if I have only a couple items and am really in a hurry. I have no desire to be their unpaid labor and contribute to job losses.

 

[timo2]

I’m all for it, I hope customers don’t ruin it for the rest of us by stealing merchandise.

A local grocery store offered self checkout and removed it after a few months. I asked why and they claimed it was due to pilferage, I suspect the (surly senior) cashiers union did it in. Never liked that store anyway...

an article just for this topic "
I've mastered the art of stealing from self-checkout lines
"Empowered by the rationalization of scamming a morally-corrupt corporation — along with the ease and the thrill of scoring some epic savings — I became a master of stealing from self-checkout. The techniques are simple enough, with risk of getting caught pretty minimal if all the right precautions are taken. Thankfully, automation makes shoplifting a pleasantly streamlined process."

https://therooster.com/blog/master-art-stealing-self-checkout

 

[timo2]

I'm waiting for the day when the minute I add an item to my cart it rings up the price, and at the end of the shopping trip I just walk out the door, all paid up.


Until then, I also loathe using the self-checkout. I used to work in a grocery store, so maybe that influences my attitude of 'I'm not getting paid for that'. But I'm so klutzy that they are slower for me than waiting in line. I often need help from the gatekeeper, who often are slow in arriving. And then there is the robots versus employees argument.

 

[gwraigty]

I like and use self-checkout. I loathe people who use it with crazy-full shopping carts during busy times. There should be enforced item limits like on “express lanes”.

Until recently, I did most of my grocery shopping at the Walmart supercenter a mile from my house. I'd always use the self-checkout, even with a full cart, but I'd go in the morning. Much more efficient than trying to use their one open regular cashier. But I didn't shop there during busy times.

What I loathed were the people with express lane worthy # of items, who automatically went to the couple of self checkouts that were meant to accommodate people with fuller carts. All the small self checkouts would be empty, and I'd have to wait for the idjuts with their 6 or less small items to check out...extremely slowly. Going to the one open cashier wasn't much of an option, considering the line of people there, most of them with express lane worthy # of items who refuse to use self checkouts.

However, to their credit, Walmart recently installed more self checkouts, many of them with regular belts for people with full shopping carts. Just in time for me to switch my grocery shopping to our new Meijer.

Meijer self checkouts don't handle a full cart well. Unlike Walmart, theirs locks up if you ever try to take a bag off when the platform scale is full. So I've taken to using their regular registers. They have several open, plus baggers! But at most other stores that have self checkouts, I'll use them.