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Kroger Makes a Change Customers Hate (Walmart and Target May Follow)
Grocery giant Kroger makes a not-very-customer-friendly move, and it could open the way for other retailers to follow.
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I know there are people here that abhor this idea. I'm on the fence, as I've probably gone through an actual manned check-out lane in Kroger 2 times in the past 100. Being single, I just don't buy in bulk, so I can zip through the self check-out scanner pretty quickly. I actually use one of the small baskets to do my shopping...don't need anything larger.

The thing that bothers me about this whole idea is the loss of jobs. Being a checker is a good "after career" for retirees and at the particular Kroger at which I shop, they hire baggers who are mildly challenged either mentally and/or physically. THAT'S what bugs me...hate to see them lose their job.

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Kroger going "all self checkout"???

It would seem that way. There were no cashiers on duty at the one I went to last Sunday evening. All self.

I hate self checkout if I'm buying more than a few items. If I have a full cart or two, I want the checker to do it and bag it. If they want me to do it, I'll have that self checkout monitor running ragged.

My HEB is packed and always a bunch of checkouts open. Management visibly present and will even jump on a cash register to help out.

The nearest Kroger is gigantic and not very crowded in the aisles. The crowd is all at the checkout as they typically only have 2 cashiers. Never seen a manager. Self checkout won't be much of a change.

Unless they are offering me a discount for doing their job I will not use self check out.

I was at Bjs wholesale club and was asked to use self check out, it was right after they opened for the day. I asked for a discount and was looked at like I was crazy. I told the lady you want me to do your job I should get a discount for the money you are saving for not having a clerk do it for me. They got someone for me.

Our big grocery chain here in SE PA is Giant and I’ve noticed them doing this too. Just using the regular checkout lanes and putting in a scanner and terminal where the human used to be.

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I know there are people here that abhor this idea.

Nah, I abhor Kroger.

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
My HEB is packed and always a bunch of checkouts open. Management visibly present and will even jump on a cash register to help out.

The nearest Kroger is gigantic and not very crowded in the aisles. The crowd is all at the checkout as they typically only have 2 cashiers. Never seen a manager. Self checkout won't be much of a change.

We use the same HEB, well staffed, as Todd mentions.
I haven't been a Kroger regular in over a decade.

The HEB by my brother in law's place, [Willis] for those familiar with N Houston, has a jumbo self checkout with the conveyor belt. 1 employee that bags for 2 checkouts IIRC. Worked pretty well the 1 time I used it.

I like self checkout as I get out the door faster. I won't give workers shit either and ask for a discount "for doing their job" because I value my time more than scanning a few items.

It's not like they made that policy. Don't like that policy, let corporate know.

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Kroger going "all self checkout"???

My first thought was, "ooh, that's gonna suck!"

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Originally posted by egregore:
It would seem that way. There were no cashiers on duty at the one I went to last Sunday evening. All self.

And my second thought was, "egregore is right! Finding cashiers at Kroger more and more difficult these days."

At my Kroger store an alcohol purchase isn’t allowed in self checkout.

I get along well with self checkout, but I usually have less than 8 items. Even item lookup is easy for produce without bar codes.

If you have small kids, self checkout sucks.

trust me on that.

Before I could tend to the kids while being checked out. Now it's a circus. I'm sure most parents of small ones feel the same way.


Which reminds me, they are staring self serve gas here. I DO NOT want to pump my own gas. I avoid Washington State for that very reason.

We don’t have an HEB.
Kroger is starting to be a serious sore spot in our neighborhood. Really pisses me off to see elderly people with a full cart, including lots of produce that has to be looked up, trying to check themselves out. They are also not able to navigate the “digital coupon” shit on things they used to benefit from sales prices on. Hell, they can barely stand long enough go do their own check out. Shame on Kroger. On the OTHER higher income side of town the store is nice and they always have checkers.

I prefer self checkout. I’ve walked up to a checkout and caught the checker picking something (gum?) out of the tread of her shoe with her fingernail. She seemed not to understand why I asked her to use the hand sanitizer before handing my groceries.

I generally prefer to use the self checkout. There tends to be a shorter line there, or none at all, so I get out quicker even though I have to bag it all myself. Whenever I have to wait in a manned checkout line it always seems there's some woman in front of me who wants to stop and chat with the cashier about anything and everything. Weather, prices, coupons, her grandchildren, you name it. So I'm standing there waiting, biting my tongue wanting to holler "Ladies, this is a checkout line, not a chat room. Can we move things along here please?!"

There are a couple things I find annoying about the self checkout though. People (other customers) who haven't figured it out yet take for freaking EVER to get done. Then the stupid machines almost always choke on something that's either missing a barcode or isn't set up right in the computer, then you have to wait for the attendant to show up and fix it.

I prefer self check out myself.
This transition reminds me of a few decades ago when gas stations went to self service or full service for a higher price per gallon.
Guess which idea won?
Now we don't think anything about it.

I was at a neighborhood Walmart in Morgan City, La a few years ago. It was all self checkout they said it was the first in Louisiana.

I love self checkout I can bag my stuff they way I want. And be out of the store be out the store faster.

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
I prefer self check out myself.
This transition reminds me of a few decades ago when gas stations went to self service or full service for a higher price per gallon.
Guess which idea won?
Now we don't think anything about it.

I remind people when they bitch about self checkout most are old enough to remember the gas stations. I told them no one stopped driving.

We have stopped using Kroger. Mainly due to my smarter half. The wife hates the way their coupons, sale adds, etc. work. They require a smart phone to make it happen. You need to read the "QR" code on the price tag and "add it to your app". She also refuses to use self checkout because she likes to chat with the cashier before checkout.

OLD SCHOOL

I prefer the self checkout as well. Don’t like the bread squeezed or the cilantro mashed.
Our Fred Meyer requires picture ID scanned by the attendant for alcohol purchases.
Pain in the ass and no one can tell me when it will end.