I love self checkout, i can do it fast and easy and be on my way. I really love scan and go at Sam's Club. Scan my stuff, swipe to pay with my stored CC, let the person up front scan the code on my phone and a few items and I'm gone!

At the stores others go to that have self-service checkouts, do they have one employee watcher per station? All the ones I go to that have anywhere from four to eight (possibly more) have one employee doing the watching—and sometimes not even one. I’m guessing that if there were four to eight regular checkout lanes available (in addition to the others) that that would require four to eight employees to operate them—no? What am I missing?

My wife ( retired ) was a manager at Lowe's . She said the Self Checkouts were a major headache for her for various reasons . She tried not to open them but the store Manager would see it and tell her to do it .

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
At the stores others go to that have self-service checkouts, do they have one employee watcher per station? All the ones I go to that have anywhere from four to eight (possibly more) have one employee doing the watching—and sometimes not even one. I’m guessing that if there were four to eight regular checkout lanes available (in addition to the others) that that would require four to eight employees to operate them—no? What am I missing?

I go to just about every self checkout I can find and I've never seen more than 2 employees for 8 to 10 stations. In most of the cases though, there was just 1 employee for 8 to 10 stations.

quote:

Originally posted by p08:
I love self checkout, i can do it fast and easy and be on my way. I really love scan and go at Sam's Club. Scan my stuff, swipe to pay with my stored CC, let the person up front scan the code on my phone and a few items and I'm gone!

Sam's scan and go is great. Most self checkouts are garbage and take significantly longer than it should to check out with the numerous voice prompts, inability to enter a number of similar items by scanning one and selecting how many items you've got, and so forth.

Only self check out lines in Lowe’s Dripping Springs, Texas. Forced to use them.

4 registers and 3 employees standing there thumb banging their butts while “monitoring” the process. They have to step in and assist about every 3rd customer.

Would be faster for everyone if those 3 employees manned registers instead of standing around waiting for a self check out to fail.

Unless my purchase requires some special attention (i.e. large/bulky or fresh produce, anti theft tag...), I prefer to use self checkout.

As for employees hawking over you, never really felt that and it shouldn't bother you unless you're actually trying to steal something.

Went to HD yesterday . All of the Self Check Out's were marked " Card Only " . I wanted to pay cash .The Pro Desk is manned by a real live cashier . It's down by the big lumber doors .

quote:

Originally posted by MitchbSC:
You're doing it wrong.

They "filled up their carts, and simply walked out."

I had an encounter over summer. I pulled into my local HD and parked further out next to a island. I was sitting talking to a buddy on the phone when I see a black male headed my direction with a cart full of copper wire and a few power tools. He ended up unloading the cart into a vehicle occupied by another BM just on the other side of the island. The fact that he was a bit hurried and a HD employee was somewhat following him indicated to me that he likely utilized his five finger discount. I got out and took a few photos which really didn't seem to faze him. He was startled a bit that I was open carrying (I uncover while driving and usually cover back up when I get out) but he continued loading up his items. When I went into HD I contacted the manager and offered up a statement and the photos. She took my statement but didn't care to take the photos nor was local PD called as far as I know.

Walmart addresses your problem:

“Walmart is continuing to remove self-checkout machines from its stores in what it claims is an effort to improve the 'in-store experience' for customers.

In two stores - in Shrewsbury, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio - the retailer said it would replace kiosks with staffed checkout lanes which will 'give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service.'

In reality, many retailers are ditching self-checkout kiosks because they are especially vulnerable to shoplifters - and the biggest retailer in the world's U-turn could be a landmark moment. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/13341161

Walmart and Target are getting robbed blind at the self checkouts and now it's going full circle back to human staffed checkouts. I noticed that my local Walmart seemed to have more human checkout people the one day I was in there than I have seen in years but all the self checkouts are still operating.

I usually need to grab only a few things and I be dammed if I'm going to stand in line for 10+ minutes if they eliminate them and cause long lines at the regular staffed checkouts. Already they seem to have a whole lot more things locked up there that I never noticed before. Need a simple cable or case for your phone? Locked up tight now. Need a can of spray paint? Locked up tight now. Good luck finding someone with a key smart enough to know how to use it.

Inflation. The cost of the stuff stolen has risen faster than the workers wages.

A regional grocer put in 10 self serve checkouts last year and left 2 human checkouts.
The over 40 crowd lined up at the 2 human ones.
6 months later there is 6 human checkouts.
That is how you do it.
Do not comply.

It’s about the stealing.
I hate thieves. Hate them. And I might just be too dumb to steal. Last time I was at my neighborhood grocery, there was an open kiosk for self check and I took it. As I tried to scan, it kept asking me to check out, and I called over a clerk..he knew right away what had happened while I was still mulling over what I had done wrong while keying..
And that was the first time I genuinely realized it’s all around us, even in my decent middle class neighborhood in a small town. Low morals, low integrity, just crap for people.

As an introvert, I love the self checkout. Hate to see it go away, but understand why.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

I do things the way I want and avoid the insanity of double-bagging a carton of milk or not putting a carton of oatmeal in the same bag as a bottle of dishwashing detergent.

I group items on the conveyor belt and I tell the cashier or bagger to bag them the way I have them grouped. Frozen things in one group, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

I do things the way I want and avoid the insanity of double-bagging a carton of milk or not putting a carton of oatmeal in the same bag as a bottle of dishwashing detergent.

I group items on the conveyor belt and I tell the cashier or bagger to bag them the way I have them grouped. Frozen things in one group, etc.

I do similar & they usually do a decent job of it.
Occasionally, they'll put thing in the cart at random & produce ends up under some boxed items, but rarely is anything damaged [at least no more damaged than stuff falling over on the drive home].

RE: Self Checkout:
Really annoying if I have 1 or 2 things & it'll be quicker to DIY, then someone has 2 carts full & things requiring ID verification ends up in front of you at the self checkout.
Then they pay with multiple forms of payment.

I started using self-checkout at supermarkets because I too regularly kept coming across mistakes and errors with how checkers were ringing up items. Not to mention that the checkout process is much faster than waiting in line when picking up a small handful of items than standing behind several carts loaded full of stuff. That habit found its way to other stores like HD and Lowes. The human monitors at the self-checkout here are actually quite helpful, especially when I exhibit my 'deer in headlights' face.

I can't say how other places around the country are, but so many of these big box stores around here that use self-checkout always seem to have 'help wanted' signs out, so while there's less need for cashiers, they still have need to fill other positions.

Before self checkout at WalMart they never have enough cashiers in place at any of the super locations, there is always a long line for every checker, and never does a manager get more staff to checkout, ever. Self checkout has at least improved the speed of getting out of the store.

Our HEB [grocery] also has a hybrid self checkout.
Belt like a regular checkout but you scan it. 2 lanes, 1 employee at the end that bags everything as you scan it.

The couple stores I've been to that have it, it's on the opposite end from the 'regular' self checkout.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Inflation. The cost of the stuff stolen has risen faster than the workers wages.

Wow! A positive side to inflation: higher employment.