this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2023
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Walmarts's self checkout is the only one in my area that doesn't frustrate the hell out of me. I've stopped going to certain other stores simply because I don't like their self checkout systems.
I'm autistic. I always apparently seem weird to people. That means any time I use a self checkout, the minders stare at me because they think I'm about to steal something. It makes me nervous, and I start getting uncomfortable and self conscious, which I'm sure makes me seem even more suspicious. And either security or the automated system have triggered the "please wait for an associate" so many times. But they always look at the video and tell me "Sorry, this thing is just sensitive/weird/whatever excuse.", then leave me alone.
I'm not going to call it discriminatory, because I don't think it is? But it feels like I have to be on my best behavior or I'll get arrested because I was so focused on trying to pass as "normal" that I missed scanning a tomato. And for the record, I've never stolen anything, even when I was low on food and really needed some stuff I couldn't afford. Hell, I have forgotten to scan something once and went back in to pay for it.
Self checkout sucks, but it's normally still better than waiting in line and interacting face to face with a cashier.
It's easier said than done, but once I learned to stop giving a shit about what NTs think about me, my life in public got a lot better. I still get that from time to time but it's a lot less often these days.
I feel like a criminal the second I enter a store, I've felt like this for at least the past decade, it's like everyone is a suspect... Like damn I'm just here to buy milk and bread..
Walmart wants to do some sort of AI surveillance shit at their self-checkouts, I noped the fuck out of that and go to their clerks now.
I stopped taking my phone out at WalMart after I learned that their security cameras are so good that they can zoom in on your phone and read your text messages.
Weird. I generally don't mind self-checkout but Walmart's showing you a video of yourself so you can check yourself out while you're checking out yourself kinda creeps me out. And I don't even use the self checkout to steal.
Grocery store self checkout machines can be infuriating. The weight sensors are way too tightly monitored and often have the incorrect weight programmed. Every time I go to the main grocery store near me I need help from the employee due to their terrible sensors not detecting the weight of lighter items in the bagging area.
The Walmart self-checkout near me doesn't use the weight sensors, they're turned off. It makes checking out much easier. Also, they flow better, for instance, at Lowe's, you need to specifically press the "Pay Now" button to pay, but at Walmart you can just shove your card in when you're done scanning, and it starts the checkout process. At Lowe's you must choose between the print or email receipt, but at Walmart you can let the question time-out while you put the groceries back in the cart, and it will print the receipt. The Smith's self-checkout is even more clunky, and very chatty. I don't like it.
There are plenty of reasons to hate Walmart, but IMO, their self-checkout works better than the others I've tried.