quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
I don't use them because the few times I tried I had a problem every single time.

Regarding Fast Food checkout, I'll be the germophobe in this thread.
Yeah, I want to eat food with my hands after touching that kiosk screen that 1200 people before me, with questionable hygiene, have touched.

I'm with you here I don't like touching things other people of touched, especially right before eating.

I don't use self check out things, they break or don't work to often, then I have to have some chick come over and put a code in it. Then it yells at me if it doesn't weight the product right or if I don't want to bag the one item I am buying.

If the made them easier to interact with and more reliable I'd give them a try, especially if I don't have to touch the screen.

Home Depot has almost completely done away with cashiers here, drives me nuts.

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:

Regarding Fast Food checkout, I'll be the germophobe in this thread.
Yeah, I want to eat food with my hands after touching that kiosk screen that 1200 people before me, with questionable hygiene, have touched.

Have you checked out Cletus, Darlene, and Que'Shayda preparing your food? Probably cleaner in the local truck stop bathroom than it is in some of their homes . I can't see them being any cleaner than the thousands touching the screen before me. Plus, I know how to use my knuckle to touch the screen rather than my fingertip

I NEVER use them. Part of the price I am paying is for someone else to scan and bag my stuff.

I want my money's worth.

I use 'em if the lines at human-served check-out lanes are overly busy or if there'd be any wait at all and I have just a couple items.

Otherwise I try to use the human-served check-out lanes.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
Regarding Fast Food checkout, I'll be the germophobe in this thread.
Yeah, I want to eat food with my hands after touching that kiosk screen that 1200 people before me, with questionable hygiene, have touched.

I'm with you here I don't like touching things other people of touched, especially right before eating.

Some of you guys crack me up.

Regarding the self check out thingies, I've often wondered how much stores lose in theft at these things. It would be quite easy to just toss items in the bag without scanning them.

I use human cashiers unless none are available.

If the store wants to encourage me to use them, they should offer a discount.

At a fast food joint, assuming there's no bar codes / reader to fool with and assuming it's programed with a decent interface, I'd have no issue at all ordering via a kiosk.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I go the path of least resistance, be it the self check-out or the cashier line.

.


This

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
Regarding Fast Food checkout, I'll be the germophobe in this thread.
Yeah, I want to eat food with my hands after touching that kiosk screen that 1200 people before me, with questionable hygiene, have touched.

I'm with you here I don't like touching things other people of touched, especially right before eating.

Some of you guys crack me up.

Regarding the self check out thingies, I've often wondered how much stores lose in theft at these things. It would be quite easy to just toss items in the bag without scanning them.

It's weighed every time you ring something up. The bag is on a scale. If you wring up something and the weight doesn't match then it freezes the machine and someone has to come check what's going on.

I use whatever looks like it will be quicker.

Most often there is only one or two lines with cashers open. Much quicker to just do it myself.

My supermarket also offers handheld scanners you can use to scan your groceries as you shop, bag them as you select them, and then run the scanner once through the self-checkout kiosk. It tells you how much you owe, you pay and you're out the door.

quote:

Originally posted by Crom:
I NEVER use the self service because it is never really self service. There is always at least one item that won't scan properly or has the wrong price, so then you have to WAIT until a clerk comes to investigate. So "self service" = "extra slow sevirce".

I'm getting the feeling many people just don't how to use them properly. I can normally fly through a self checkout register. I have issues maybe 10% of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Reasonable arguments.

So if these "first time" jobs go away, what replaces them?

For some (imo) this a reasonable step as far as employment. For others there won't be another step up.

Employers need people with some basic skills. Sometimes the public schools are producing them, sometimes they are producing tree hugger idealists. Don't forget the political leaning of a majority of teachers.

If a "living wage" is required for first time employees I am guessing you are not going to like the new price of your bagels.

There are things that will never go away. Someone will always need to scrub a toilet or stock the shelves of the store, and lawns will always need to be mowed. To answer your question though: A replacement might be as simple as web or app design. As was stated earlier, if you take away the tedious, menial jobs, you create an opportunity to get into something else right out of the gate. Most teens today are a lot more technologically skilled than most of us were at that age, so perhaps banging out a few lines of code isn't outside of the realm of possibility. I will re-state what I said before though...one has to have the desire to become employed, so it's not even a point worth discussing if the majority of those that could benefit from low skill jobs are unwilling to even try a low skill job.

As far as wages go: a living wage isn't what is reasonable nor prudent for a low skill job. If a cheap machine can replace the human in any given role, then I don't see why a human should get gobs of money to do the exact same task! Machines show up to work on time, don't talk back, and put 100% of themselves into their job. Can you say the same for most teens today?

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I go the path of least resistance, be it the self check-out or the cashier line.

This.

I use the self checkout when I have 6 items or less, the wife and I use the larger self checkout because I can bag while she scans.

I never use self checkout to try and buy alcohol, or when I'm by myself and have a cart full of groceries.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Yes, because I value my time.

Yep.

Only caveat is that if the cart is more than half full I will use a regular checkout line if it's available. As 12131 said - I use the path of least resistance.

I also don't worry about the buggy whip makers and drive a car as well. Technology and jobs change over time.

This is silly.

A couple of hundred years ago, there were riots when mechanized looms began to replace the hand looms used in many homes to produce merchantable thread and cloth. The violence destroyed a great many of the mechanized looms, but the economics was unstoppable. There was some temporary distress during the changeover but eventually the economic impact was far better.

Recall the introduction and progress of computers since the 1950's. Think of all the jobs that were lost, industries eliminated, changed, etc. Anybody want to go back to film developing? Manual typewriters? Dial phones? Mimeograph machines?

I think having the option to self check-out is good. I do it often when I have just a few items. It just goes faster. I understand those that don't like doing self check out and if that's your preference go for it. But reasoning you are saving peoples jobs by going to regular assisted check out line really doesn't wash. Automation and improved methods and procedures have been changing the work environment for as long as there's been employers and employees, and I would say for the most part it's been all good in the long term.

Quicker... I zip through.

The only self checkout I use is at wally world. But then, I don't do much shopping, either. The Mrs. does 99.9% of it.

I have checked out at wally world with quite a few items. Goes faster than waiting on a cashier. And I hate to wait in line, or for some cashier that acts like they died 6 months ago and are waiting for burial.

I only use them if the manned registers are ridiculously long, and I'm not buying a large number of items and/or alcohol or produce.