Self Checkout: loathe or like?

[RunningBum]

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.

Probably they got tired of the baggers smashing bread and other stuff, and would prefer to pack it themselves. Or one of the other reasons given in this thread. Doesn't have to be a mystery, just read the thread.

 

[joeea]

Has anyone ever found them to be faster?

It is sometimes faster.

Do I get a discount for checking and bagging my own stuff?

I don't. I have no idea if you do, although I doubt it.

Do you use or actually like self-check lines?

I have used them. I prefer not to.

 

[GrayHare]

At the checkout I recently saw a sign for "Apple Pie" and thought, wow, do we really need yet another Apple product here?

 

[Midpack]

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.

As you probably know, “the day” is already here in 18 Amazon Go stores in 4 major cities - they’re small checkout free grocery stores.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...rst-automated-store-opens-to-public-on-monday

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011

 

[Spock]

As you probably know, “the day” is already here in 18 Amazon Go stores in 4 major cities.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...rst-automated-store-opens-to-public-on-monday

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011

I'm mildly baffled by the shift in technology to use cameras and AI to "guess" what you put in your cart based on where you were standing in the store.
Vs. the already decades old forecast of the future in the IBM RFID checkout commercial:

Or this one from Fujitsu

 

[jollystomper]

I love them. As other have mentioned, I scan my purchases quickly, even with a full cart - kind of a mental game/challenge for me to see how quickly I can get it done - and do not need the distraction of another person who does it slower than I can. I can control if and how I want to bag things.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I never used to like them, but in our Walmart it is much easier than waiting behind a bunch of folks who cannot decide how they will pay, put some money on this card and some on that card, oops this card bounced, Oh, you mean that is not covered by our food stamps, or worse those who still pay by check...…. and so on.

Now we always use Self check out. It is our way of contributing to Walmart not having to hire so many folk and pay them a decent wage.

 

[kgtest]

For just a few items yes. A full cart, no.

Bingo. Has to do with real estate per capita. I once bagged like 4 bags in the self checkout and started inadvertently looking around for a job application.

I think the same could be asked for Taco Bell or McD, or boarding passes... Do you use the kiosk or the human.

Answer is...the daily double! It depends!

 

[Red Badger]

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

I am guessing we're discussing shopping buggies?

 

[SecondCor521]

I think the same could be asked for Taco Bell or McD, or boarding passes... Do you use the kiosk or the human.

Answer is...the daily double! It depends!

Or investing, or buying and selling homes, or home maintenance, or financial planning, or college admissions, or basic medical care....

On all of the above, I'm as DIY as I can get. I outsource surgery and other serious medical stuff, as well as my estate planning documents. But everything else (including the list above) I'm DIY. I like it, and I'm happy with the results.

I know we do have some here who outsource stuff, but my impression is we're a pretty DIY group overall. Maybe that's me projecting my own preferences.

 

[gwraigty]

I outsource surgery and other serious medical stuff...

You wasteful spender, you!

 

[Walt34]

I don't use self-checkout and always go to a human cashier. It is my own small way to help keep up employment opportunities. I once wrote to Lowes corporate headquarters to tell them to hire human cashiers. I'm willing to pay a little more for screws and nails, etc to make that happen.

My sentiments exactly. I have yet to use self-checkout at the grocery store but have succumbed at Home Depot or Lowes when there's a long line at the regular checkout and the self-checkout space is vacant.

Yes, I realize that's doing exactly what the hindquarters penny-counting flunkies want me to do, but my time has value too. At the same time I know that entry-level jobs are in short supply most places and like Gumby I don't mind paying a tad more to help someone who wants a job and is willing to actually work to keep their job. So yeah, I get conflicted sometimes.

 

[karen1972]

I use self checkout only at places I don't have coupons and have only 1-2 items, but I hate them with a passion.

The scanners are terrible at certain labels, especially bulk meat which they have to go get a gun to scan the barcode or enter it manually.

They are terrible at accepting gift cards and coupons.

So many stores have stuff mispriced that its just going to be an argument anyway so why not just stand in line and let people use self checkout that don't care what they pay.

The typical problem is that they will mark one product as sale or related to a coupon but not ALL the products it applied to and since that all seems to be keyed in manually at grocery stores, its high probability of failure.

 

[Amethyst]

Sometimes it's a learner.

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

 

[Midpack]

I use self checkout only at places I don't have coupons and have only 1-2 items, but I hate them with a passion.

The scanners are terrible at certain labels, especially bulk meat which they have to go get a gun to scan the barcode or enter it manually.

They are terrible at accepting gift cards and coupons.

So many stores have stuff mispriced that its just going to be an argument anyway so why not just stand in line and let people use self checkout that don't care what they pay.

The typical problem is that they will mark one product as sale or related to a coupon but not ALL the products it applied to and since that all seems to be keyed in manually at grocery stores, its high probability of failure.

IME the performance of self checkout lanes varies considerably by merchant. I give Home Depot high marks, they're very easy and accurate IME, and there's always an employee ready to scan large/heavy items that can't easily be lifted and scanned. Target self checkouts are way more finicky because of the scale function - but if you're a regular it's easy to understand how to avoid a lock up. And our former Meijer grocery store had awesome self checkout lanes that made it easy to identify/weigh/price fruit/produce and all bar code scans came up right for me, along with easy bag credits and coupon reading.

However, I agree I have been through self checking at some merchants that has been a total PITA, and took longer than a cashier.

The technology is more than capable, but the implementations vary considerably. And some local teams are more invested in making it work, while others are obviously and openly invested in making it fail (I've heard cashiers "complain and bad mouth" to put it mildly). Time marches on.

 

[Elbata]

Sam's Club has the Scan and Go app. Don't use Costco now for that reason. Also Walmart and Home Depot. Even if I get the odd bolt at Home Depot the person facilitating the self-checkout will usually quickly help out.

Albertson's though took their's out because of too much theft.

 

[fh2000]

I've yet to make it out of Costco's self-checkout without someone around me needing help, and every one of these seems to need a lot of babysitting.

Our local Costco opened a self-checkout line, but soon closed and returned back to cashier checkout. We need to hand our parking ticket to cashier to demagnetize for 2 hour free parking. I think that is causing issues on self-checkout.

 

[imoldernu]

Aldi's... i/2 mile away... we bag and save.
Walmart... 1 1/4 miles away... we don't go there... don't self checkout and cashier lines too long. Not worth it.
Amazon... thousands of miles away. We get it in 2 days or less.

Walmart lost my business, and look at what happened to their sales.

 

[GrayHare]

Seeing the performance of the self-checkout AI does not fill me with confidence regarding autonomous vehicles. Maybe the manufacturers will put a clerk at every intersection to assist with problems. "So, your car ran into this tree, no problem, my bad, let me literally reach out to tech support."

 

[Midpack]

Seeing the performance of the self-checkout AI does not fill me with confidence regarding autonomous vehicles. Maybe the manufacturers will put a clerk at every intersection to assist with problems. "So, your car ran into this tree, no problem, my bad, let me literally reach out to tech support."

Every once in a while a new idea comes along — a shift in thinking that challenges the status quo. These innovations require us to either resist the change or adapt (most of us tend to resist).

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer did a good job of summarizing the lifecycle of the new idea, when he said (describing the revelation of “new” truth):

“All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.”

Ideas come in all sizes and shapes. The talented ones among us are quick to spot the truth, embrace it and adapt to take advantage of it.

 

[CoolRich59]

Love!!! I am faster then the average disinterested employee and also I don't have to try to make conversation.

This. I can do it myself faster. Plus, I can bag my purchases competently so I don’t have to worry about a cantaloupe being dumped on top of a carton of eggs, or a bar of soap sitting on top of an expensive steak.

 

[audreyh1]

Our HEB self checkout has come a long way. It’s very fast and accurate now. Minimal time, minimal fuss. We’re out so fast and no lines.

We just pass the item quickly over the scanner right to bag. It rarely misses a read.

 

[GravitySucks]

Never.
I despise that robot b—-ch’s voice. She won’t let me checkout the way I want to.
I like chatting with the checkers.
I appreciate the baggers.

And, I never return my cart to the corral.

Ah, so that's how I got the ding in my car door.
Thanks!

 

[GrayHare]

Every once in a while a new idea comes along — a shift in thinking that challenges the status quo. These innovations require us to either resist the change or adapt (most of us tend to resist).

So true. I embrace the evolution of language, even if it comes from the checkout machine.

 

[coveredbridge]

I always use self checkout if available. I like having control over how my items are bagged. It drives me nuts when I carefully pick out unblemished fruit only to have a distracted 10th grader pick it up and drop it in the bag from eyeball height. I also have zero interest in chit chatting with a checkout person and even less interest in hearing them chat with the person ahead of me in line.