Dont forget the fact most stores refuse to hire the staff needed to run the place smoothly. Why pay eight cashiers hourly wages when you can just have two cashiers?
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There's a BofA branch near me that has a dozen windows. I've never seen more than two clerks. Whenever I see something like that I remember that there used to be a time when corporations actually cared about providing good service. That time is long since gone.
Every store I go to that is not a mom and pop shop has several cash registers but only one or two in use, even on weekends.
Also people used to go to the bank so much there were big lines. Now it's online.
I actually prefer self checkouts. It's a simple task and going grocery shopping is one of my moments of solitude in the week, I don't wanna talk to anyone that I don't have to.
Yeah but you're probably able bodied. Self checkouts are a big burden for the elderly or disabled.
I am not suggesting that we remove normal checkouts. I am just saying I like the option of having self checkout everywhere.
I live by a food basic. Before they implemented self checkout there used to be a pretty long line at peak hours and weekends. After they added self checkout, there is pretty much never a line anymore. The most people I've had to wait behind was like 3. The difference was extremely noticeable.
There are probably some really terrible implementations of self checkout in some stores or locations but when it's done right it seems pretty good.
You know you don't have to have a conversation with the cashier right? I put my stuff on the conveyor, say 'yup' when asked if I find everything alright, and 'thanks' when they're finished.. Or just silently nod 🤷♂️
But literally two days ago I was at the store and the self checkouts were full with 7 people still waiting to use them, while one employee ran around trying to handle all the errors.. and only one standard checkout open for people with full carts. It was soo damn frustrating.
I find cashier lines to be too slow because of the socialization so I always go to the self checkouts.
A lot of old ladies will go to cashiers and have ridiculous questions and requests and you're standing there with your 3 items dying inside.
Around me it's Indian people arguing about the price of every other item.
Speaking as someone with a physical handicap, self-checkout can be very difficult.. especially with a larger amount of items or heavy things
Even opening finicky bags causes me a lot of frustration, because my dexterity is bad some days. Continuously bending down to lift, bag, & load stuff into the cart? Very very bad.
Local grocery stores in my area have been cutting back on cashiers, and it is really causing me issues.
I've seen old ladies struggling a lot, too! They probably have it much worse than I do! It's probably a thing they so they don't have to pay more workers, but those workers are sorely needed!
Do I get a discount for checking myself out? Unless it's 1-2 items and the normal line is full - it is cashier every time for me.
Same. I will go to the cashier even when it's somewhat inconvenient to me just because I despise the idea that the grocery store is making me be the cashier for free.
That’s why if something “fails” to scan or you input some produce at a cheaper price “on accident”, then it’s the store’s fault - you’re not a cashier, just a customer doing self-checkout.
Succinctly: they’re making it more annoying for me as a customer while simultaneously not providing someone with a job.
What value does a real human provide you though?
They’re a skilled worker that has memorized the codes for the different types of potatoes, a skill I am unlikely to learn.
I guess it depends on the machine, but I don't have to memorize codes. You can search for the item by name when it's time to weigh it.
I love self checkout, at least when it's implemented well.
As far as I can tell there isn't a single one that isn't a steaming pile of shit. Where have you found acceptable ones?
That said I'm against them because it reduces the employment that a business requires while pushing the work onto the customers. Unless they are giving me a discount for using the self checkout you are effectively being an employee for free for the store.
you are effectively being an employee for free for the store.
You already accepted being an employee of the store when you decided to enter the warehouse to pick the items off the shelf yourself.
The only question is: Can you clock out faster if your co-worker helps you process the items you picked or will it be faster if you do it all by yourself?
I'm a huge self checkout fan, but I think we need more perspective on how shitty ours is sometimes. Loblaws and all of them are way behind on how it should work. Look at the Netherlands and how it's often done there, you walk around with a scanner so you can scan as you go and quickly pay at the end.
Or even better, look at how Uniqlo is doing it. It's all RFID, so you just drop your basket on the checkout, and it scans it all for you basically instantly.
The problem isn't self checkout, it's that the grocery stores are using it to purely cut costs and don't actually care if it's better for the consumer in any way. But hey, at least it's easy to "accidentally" not scan something right now.
Look at the Netherlands and how it's often done there, you walk around with a scanner so you can scan as you go and quickly pay at the end.
Walmart and Sam's Club have this with their Scan & Go app in the US. Scan the barcode with your phone, add it to your cart, pay from your phone, and someone at the door will scan a QR from your phone then scan a few random items in the cart and you're done.
I pretty much wouldn't shop at Sam's if it didn't exist. The checkout lines there have always been long and a pain. It cuts a ton of time standing around waiting in line out of a trip.
This commercial was made at least 17 years ago. This is what we need. We have the technology. We just need the price to come down.
Uniqlo stores around me almost have this implemented. You don't scan the individual items, you just place your basket on the machine and it somehow knows every item in there. Super fast and convenient. I think it's only a matter of time.
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I try to do self checkout whenever i can. Cashier is one of the most soul crushing jobs, no one needs to be dealing with food shoppers
I don't mind there being a self-checkout, but for the love of everything good in this world, these companies need to stop asking 21 questions when you use one! "Do you want to apply to a credit card?", "Do you want to donate?", "Did you want a receipt emailed?", "Did you want to fill out a survey?", "How many bags did you use?", etc.
And if it's a self-checkout at Walmart, expect to have 10 available, but only 2 working and three staff overlooking them...
I always use lines with cashiers because:
-
their jobs will evaporate if people don't use them
-
self checkout means that you're doing that job FOR FREE for the company
It is a misconception that work has value. Time is what has value.
If it takes longer for a cashier to ring you through, you are giving up more to the business than you would using the self-checkout. If you are worried about working for the company, this is what you want to avoid.
Granted, in practice, self-checkout is rarely implemented well and can often be slower than meeting with the cashier.
That doesn't make sense. I'm not giving the business my time by using the cashier. I may be wasting my time, but it's not part of the transaction. The business isn't receiving a ledger with "Time from Customer" on one side and "Time Banked" on the other side. And yes, labour has value. What are you smoking, "work has no value". You mustn't be in a union.
My insistence on paying cash for in-person purchases means that I can't—and won't—shop at a store that only offers self-checkouts. I haven't come across any yet in this neck of the woods that don't have at least one cashier, but if I did, chances are good that I'd put the goods down and walk out without buying.
I do understand, however, that most people aren't willing to make that level of sacrifice just to keep the credit card companies from tracking part of their purchase history.
I genuinely don't think I've paid in cash in Canada for about 10 years now.
I prefer self checkout if I have a few items but it can be a pain the more items you have. There isn't a lot of room in the bagging area and I have to fight with the machine freaking out over unexpected items in the bagging area 🙄
I don't mind self-checkouts, though I will admit most of those systems are utter garbage. What I hate is a worker telling you that "hey the self-checkouts are open here". If I wanted to do self-checkout I wouldn't be waiting in that line. Had some even bait saying "i'll serve you here, but then they just lead you to self-checkout". Their managers should be fired.
Most stores near me don't let you use the self checkout with more than a basket, but then they will not have anyone at any of the normal checkouts while having 3-4 employees just chilling "watching" the self checkouts.
Most self-checkouts range from mildly annoying to downright unusable. Except Home Depot. Home Depot self checkouts are wonderful.