Crap, Another Market Kills Self Check-Out

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst The produce process is tedious. You must weigh the produce and get a sticker to put on a plastic bag with the produce inside. To obtain the sticker, you must either memorize the produce "code" on the bin, or get out your old-people glasses and find the teeny tiny code on a little cylinder above the produce scale. The scanner scans the sticker for weight, but if you have something that is sold by the item (e.g. cucumber) you yourself have to look up the item *on the scanner,* a step which should be entirely unnecessary. I love the idea of scanners and self-checkouts in principle. In practice, I fear, no systems engineers were involved in their design. At least, not sober ones. Which reminds me of a pet peeve, which I'm too lazy to put in the proper thread. The Giant where I sometimes shop, has someone roaming the self-checkouts in case someone needs help. This person also bags your self-checked items, while you are going through the business with the scanner, and doesn't ask first if you want them to bag for you. And they are extremely stingy with those bags. No double-baggin. One bagger shoved two big cartons of yogurt and a box of cereal in one tiny plastic bag. By the time I got to my car, the bag was about two feet long and just about to give way.

EDIT.... just noticed I was not the first to mention HEB!!!


Well, I guess our HEBs are better than most.... they have a scale where you can get a final price sticker printed ready for scanning... which also includes the produce sold by the piece... when you punch in the code it just asks 'how many'....

Our Kroger's do not have this, so it seems like other stores... I just do not seem to buy produce at Kroger, but DW buys where ever... but mostly HEB...

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst How does the scale know what it is weighing? Don't you have to punch in a 4-digit code? The codes are printed in teeny type on a little cylinder over the scale, and some of the teeny codes are worn away from people rotating the cylinder. Design Fail.

They have the code on the label with the price over the produce... in large type... you only have to remember it during the short walk to the scale...

It helps to have a young kid to give the bag to and say 'get a price on this'....

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum I'm hoping MichaelB's post was at least somewhat in jest, but I do agree with this. Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I want to spend extra time at the checkout .

I don't mind a little chatting as long as the checker continues to scan. When the customer just stops and chats before paying or leaving, that does irritate me. Not long ago I was in line to check out at a drug store and an old lady was paying for her items with change. Stacking up rows of quarters and smaller change. I was within 5 seconds of putting my items back on the shelf and leaving before another employee ran over to open another register. I thanked the girl for doing so and she just smiled.

[scrabbler1]

The self-checkout lanes don't have paper bags which I often like to get because they fit better into my fold-up cart I use to transport my groceries from the parking garage to my apartment. I then use those paper bags paired up inside plastic bags to line my kitchen garbage pail as I have been doing for nearly 30 years.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst How does the scale know what it is weighing? Don't you have to punch in a 4-digit code? The codes are printed in teeny type on a little cylinder over the scale, and some of the teeny codes are worn away from people rotating the cylinder. Design Fail.

The code is displayed on the food price sign for each bin, and is often on a sticker on the food itself. Yes, it's entered on the scale.

We mainly do this because it saves time at checkout. But waiting until checkout and looking up or entering the code isn't that bad either.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The HEB where I shop has scales that print labels in produce so by the time we get to self-checkout we just scan the bagged produce. Quick. And we bring our own shopping bags which are nice and strong. The store sells these sturdy large bags very cheap. We do our own bagging at self-checkout. So some stores have solved these issues.

Wow this appears too complex. I just tell the register what the produce is by typing in part of the name and look for its picture. Select and it is weighed and priced. No way I'm writing down codes on little labels. Who's going to read that scribble?

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Thinking about this, I have noticed that the green "approve" light comes on the instant the pen touches the screen. Next time I'll try just an "x" instead of writing a name. That'll be faster.

Thankfully, we have these chip-n-signature cards that prevent people from having to remember a pin. The scribbled "x" is so much more secure.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Wow this appears too complex. I just tell the register what the produce is by typing in part of the name and look for its picture. Select and it is weighed and priced. No way I'm writing down codes on little labels. Who's going to read that scribble?

Nobody is writing codes on labels. The labels on apples and bananas and such have the code written on them. Or there's a sign by the item that you have to remember for the short time you get to the scale.

That said, produce is the biggest slowdown with self-checkout. Most checkers have many of the codes memorized and can do it quicker than me, though I do have the ones I buy a lot memorized.

[Beldar]

I think we need to call a Waaambulance...

Seriously, as the minimum wage creeps above $10 / hr, the economic value of a cashier falls. Witness what McDonalds and Amazon are experimenting with in their retail settings. Self checkout, whether a manual or automatic operation, is probably going to be the norm in the next decade. We may pay a premium for manual intervention, similar to what banks and airline reservation operations are doing.


_B

[John Galt III]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 First it was Costco, Now Albertsons. I asked the checker why ? " Shrinkage " was the reply. Home Depot and 2 other markets nearby still do it, but with a checker supervising at all times. I would be ok with killing the self checkout if replaced with a " Cash Only, No Talking " line.

Shrinkage meaning not paying for an item?

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III Shrinkage meaning not paying for an item?

Unless you are talking about a cold shower, yes.

[CaliKid]

I spoke to someone the other day who owns a grocery store. They were explaining a lot of stores and getting away from self checkout due to theft as indicated above. He told me a couple of the sneaky things people do. So even if an employee is standing there monitoring the self checkout lanes, as our stores have, they would be non the wiser of what the scum bags are doing. Plus, above that, one of our local stores told my wife they do not stop people even when they know they are stealing. Really sad on so many levels.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beldar I think we need to call a Waaambulance... Seriously, as the minimum wage creeps above $10 / hr, the economic value of a cashier falls. Witness what McDonalds and Amazon are experimenting with in their retail settings. Self checkout, whether a manual or automatic operation, is probably going to be the norm in the next decade. We may pay a premium for manual intervention, similar to what banks and airline reservation operations are doing. _B

It's not just minimum wage or unskilled jobs. I spent a great deal of my career developing software to replace people in back office positions. The thought was if a human adds no value to a business transaction why should they do it?

[John Galt III]

I'm surprised they lasted this long, actually. The attendant has to watch at least 4 terminals, and is often distracted by some problem, as the other 3 customers are doing God knows what, unwatched. Maybe a camera recording them would catch them, but, as a previous poster said, the store might not even prosecute.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Thankfully, we have these chip-n-signature cards that prevent people from having to remember a pin. The scribbled "x" is so much more secure.

Like Gumby, I've been signing "Elvis Presley" on the screens for many years. Nobody has ever noticed.

[GrayHare]

Thanks to genetic engineering soon produce will grow its own bar codes.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Wow this appears too complex. I just tell the register what the produce is by typing in part of the name and look for its picture. Select and it is weighed and priced. No way I'm writing down codes on little labels. Who's going to read that scribble?

The scales in produce are closed to all the food bins, so it's easy to walk over to the scale and get a scannable label printed out and a quick scan at checkout. If you don't want to do this you can do it your way at checkout. For us it makes self-checkout go really fast.

[Bestwifeever]

I've bought bulk stuff (some weird kind of almonds) at our Mariano's that did not have a code. I just punched in the code from some other almonds. No problem, no one is even looking at the product vs. the code. I'll try the peanuts code for the macadamia nuts next time (kidding!).

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliKid Plus, above that, one of our local stores told my wife they do not stop people even when they know they are stealing. Really sad on so many levels.

I'm sure it's because if the thief fights back (and many do) the potential costs to the store of an injured employee are far in excess of the relatively nickel and dime cost of whatever was stolen. And/or the owner/manager may simply feel it isn't worth the cost of sending an employee to court. It is a business decision after all.

That said the store where we mostly go does have store security and they will prosecute - I've seen the police taking someone out in handcuffs twice. But I'm sure the regular cashiers are told not to confront a shoplifter. That was the policy at the stores where we lived before and the store where we go now is part of the same company.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The scales in produce are closed to all the food bins, so it's easy to walk over to the scale and get a scannable label printed out and a quick scan at checkout. If you don't want to do this you can do it your way at checkout. For us it makes self-checkout go really fast.

Now I understand, thank you.

I primarily use self checkout when I have a few items and a little produce. For weekly stocking I use the full service, haven't seen any issues with a long queue time yet.