Self checkout at a grocery-or any-store

November 10, 2019, 08:28 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Pale Horse:
I love self checkout. I never buy more than a dozen items in any trip to a store and I’m faster than most cashiers plus I get to bag things how I want to and I don’t have to talk to anyone. I love it.

Me, too!
I will wait for a self-checkout position when cashier lines are open. My peeve is when something doesn’t work right, but that isn’t too often and it’s a better bet than getting behind a cashier and customer who decide to discuss their grandkids. And no, I don’t need my half gallon of milk double or triple bagged. If I can carry it, a single supermarket plastic bag will hold it.

November 10, 2019, 08:34 AM

clubleaf206

I hate them and refuse to avail myself of them.

November 10, 2019, 08:51 AM

V-Tail

quote:
Originally posted by NK402:

What happens when you buy some horrendous item at Walmart like shotgun shells. I assume all sorts of alarms go off and the one cashier runs over to check your ID.

No, ammunition is still handled the way it always was. You have to chase down somebody who has the key to the locked case, and pay for it right there, when it is removed from the case and handed over to you. No change in that procedure.

November 10, 2019, 08:55 AM

Jimbo54

I like bagging my own stuff to avoid having some idiot cashier putting a gallon of milk on top of the grapes or tomatoes for instance. Yes, it has happened. I'm sure that the push for $15 hr. is escalating the transition. Get used to it.

Jim

November 10, 2019, 10:22 AM

arfmel

I prefer it. No need to have a cashier handle my groceries after picking something grody out of the bottom of her shoe with her fake fingernail.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arfmel,

November 10, 2019, 10:36 AM

joatmonv

quote:
Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I hate them with a fucking passion! I buy lots of groceries because I don’t eat out often, preferring to make all my meals for the week. So when I hit the grocery store I’m buying more than a few items. That got damn self checkout deal. So I’m filling up bag 3 or 4 and have to move them out of the way and the computer is bitching about it, acting like I’m stealing or something. “Need cashier” or whatever the message is. The lady comes over, swipes her card to get Her9000 to shut the fuck up. Another bag or two (I’m loading the full plastic sacks back into my cart) it starts bitching again. She has to come over and swipe her card yet again. Then like others, the damn thing won’t read some of the bar codes. Or you sift through the touch screen trying to find the produce code for your produce or veggies. I want to pull out the semi and put a mag into the thing. I’ve got shit to do.

I won't use one at all, I refuse to.
The local grocery store I shop at has 4 self checkout machines but I'm lucky that they usually have 2 lanes open with an actual person.
I have waited in line while being told that the self checkout is available. Won't do it.
Like you, when I go grocery shopping it's more than just a few things. My cart is loaded up pretty good.

November 10, 2019, 10:58 AM

RogueJSK

quote:
Originally posted by V-Tail:
quote:
Originally posted by NK402:

What happens when you buy some horrendous item at Walmart like shotgun shells. I assume all sorts of alarms go off and the one cashier runs over to check your ID.
No, ammunition is still handled the way it always was. You have to chase down somebody who has the key to the locked case, and pay for it right there, when it is removed from the case and handed over to you. No change in that procedure.

I don't know about Florida, but in the Walmarts around here, the shotgun shells are not locked up in the ammo case. They're simply sitting out in the open on a nearby shelf in the sporting goods section. You can just pick them up off the shelf and take them to the front register for purchase like any other item, but you do have to show ID to the cashier.

I haven't done self checkout with shotgun ammo, but I assume it most likely would be handled the same way as self checkout with alcohol. That is, it sets off an alert at the checkout machine, and the self checkout employee has to come over, verify your ID, and allow the sale to proceed.

November 10, 2019, 11:30 AM

az4783054

I refuse to use them at grocery stores or home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe's. When a manager directs me to self serve I ask how much discount will I receive.

I'd rather use Ace Hardware or True Value and pay a little more to get a representative help me find something and a cashier.

November 10, 2019, 12:05 PM

12131

Regular vs Self Checkout, I use them both, depending on the situations.
Few items = Self
Many items = Regular

November 10, 2019, 12:21 PM

Fed161

quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I find them great if you have 1 or 2 items with a bar code. Anything outside of that, they suck completely with the delay to weigh the item etc.

Same here. Exactly right. A couple of items with bar codes, I'm fine with self check out. Otherwise, forget it. I'll wait in line.

This brings up another issue for your kids and grandkids. Tell them to pick a career that can't be automated (at least can't be automated in the next 50 years before the robots take over completely.)

November 10, 2019, 12:32 PM

bendable

I won't even go to the regular lines at the Wal Mart, I head straight to the self checker.

20 years ago I scoffed as well

November 10, 2019, 12:45 PM

senza nome

Knew a programmer who did some coding for self-checkouts. Having seen his code ... I won't use them.

November 10, 2019, 12:56 PM

jimmy123x

quote:
Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
A version I like has been implemented by our local Smith’s stores. You get a handheld scanner when you walk in and scan items as you put them in your cart. There are wireless scales in produce for weighed items. Once you hit the self-checkout, you scan the terminal and your handheld unit transfers your order to the screen. Pay and go.

I’ve always thought the job argument against these was ridiculous. It’s called progress. Good luck fighting it forever. I don’t see any arguments for lamp lighters, stable hands, or chimney sweep jobs.

But then that brings up another problem. How do you bag your groceries this way? Especially if you get a full cart of groceries.

November 10, 2019, 02:54 PM

egregore

For small purchases of items that don't have to have a code looked up or weighed (most produce, e.g.), I don't mind Walmart's self checkout. Kroger's, I refuse to use. "Please scan item and put it in bagging area" (or something like that), "Unexplained item in bagging area," for every item, yak yak yak nonstop.

If I wanted a female voice nagging me I'd have gotten married.

November 10, 2019, 03:26 PM

fiasconva

If there are long lines or I only have a few items I'll use the self check-out. But I am soooo slow at them it's almost not worth it. Maybe I'll get faster if I use it more.

November 10, 2019, 03:32 PM

Lefty Sig

As more states push $15 minimum wage, get used to self-checkout, touch screen order kiosks at fast food places, and every other retail level unskilled worker elimination technology they can think of.

If you force companies to pay people more than they are worth, they will be eliminated.

I don't mind self-checkout, but alcohol is always a wait for the attendant that's 21 problem. But that happens in regular checkout too.

November 10, 2019, 03:47 PM

maxwayne

As stated above, the Dems keep pushing a higher minimum wage and you will see more self-checking.

November 10, 2019, 03:50 PM

mark123

I always go to the sexiest cashier. That's why self-checkout is the one I use.

November 10, 2019, 04:40 PM

P210

They would be great if it weren’t for all the people who have no clue how to use them needing assistance from the one person manning them all, while everyone else stands around waiting to have their age verified by that person for their beer purchases.