When people are upset over self checkouts; does it upset you?

[skimomma]

They just make me feel like an idiot, LOL!

None of the stores I frequent locally have self-checkout so it is not an option for normal shopping.  In fact Walmart is the only store I know of in the area that has it and I have never set foot in that store and never will due to ethical concerns.  I hate shopping in general so it is not like a recreational activity when I am traveling.  So, my experience is mostly when grocery shopping in foreign countries.  Language, different practices, and self check-out usually has me comically flustered.  In theory, I would prefer it as I prefer to pack my own bags and don't really like small talk.  I have used it maybe a total of 5 times elsewhere in the US and something has gone wrong each time, but I chalk that up to inexperience.

I'm not sure that there is much of a jobs difference.  For every self-check-out, you still have 1/4-1/2 of an employee assisting/monitoring.  Then you have the manufacturing, installation, and maintenance jobs, software/hardware engineers, auditors, security people, etc......  I suspect that companies that are moving to this are doing so more out of trying to streamline and reduce employee errors/theft than actually saving on wages.  

[SKL]

I think self-checkouts are fine, as long as they actually work without employee intervention.

Not like the store that requires you to have a member card to use the kiosk.

Not like the ones that don't work properly so you have to wait around for assistance.

And I think they need to have at least one checkout for odd orders / people who don't understand, for example, how to check out bulk produce etc.

Old people like me remember when self-serve at the gas pump was new.  Some people were annoyed for some time ... maybe some still are ... but it is what it is.

[MEmama]

3 minutes ago, skimomma said:

They just make me feel like an idiot, LOL!

None of the stores I frequent locally have self-checkout so it is not an option for normal shopping.  In fact Walmart is the only store I know of in the area that has it and I have never set foot in that store and never will due to ethical concerns.  I hate shopping in general so it is not like a recreational activity when I am traveling.  So, my experience is mostly when grocery shopping in foreign countries.  Language, different practices, and self check-out usually has me comically flustered.  In theory, I would prefer it as I prefer to pack my own bags and don't really like small talk.  I have used it maybe a total of 5 times elsewhere in the US and something has gone wrong each time, but I chalk that up to inexperience.

We were recently in Iceland and figured self checkout at the grocery would be similar enough to what we are accustomed to that the written language barrier wouldn’t pose an issue. Man we were *so* wrong, lol. After several frustrating attempts and a machine that wouldn’t stop beeping menacingly at us, an unamused worker finally dragged herself over and rescued us. Turns out we weren’t allowed to bag our groceries right after scanning them, but instead had to pile them up until the transaction was paid. I would have never guessed! 

[skimomma]

3 minutes ago, MEmama said:

We were recently in Iceland and figured self checkout at the grocery would be similar enough to what we are accustomed to that the written language barrier wouldn’t pose an issue. Man we were *so* wrong, lol. After several frustrating attempts and a machine that wouldn’t stop beeping menacingly at us, an unamused worker finally dragged herself over and rescued us. Turns out we weren’t allowed to bag our groceries right after scanning them, but instead had to pile them up until the transaction was paid. I would have never guessed! 

Yep.  Iceland was one that got me.  I now just give myself a pep-talk on the way in:  "I am going to mess this up, I am going to have to get help, I am going to feel like an idiot, I will never see these people again, just be patient and grateful for help....."  

[Soror]

I usually prefer self-checkout, because as others mentioned I'm usually faster than a cashier. 

If I have a big order it is usually easier to go through a cashier because many of the self-checkout areas aren't designed well for big orders. It just gets awkward trying to figure out where to put bags so they aren't in the way of the groceries I still need to ring up.  Kroger recently redesigned their self check areas so they have more room and don't spaz when you put things in the cart but it still needs improvement. 

I usually only get big orders at Aldi's and they do not have self-checkout and really speedy cashiers so it's perfect for me.

re: ordering items on the conveyor-- I used to be a stickler about this but Aldi's cashiers-- where I primarily shop-- has their own way of putting things in the cart so it doesn't really matter. I do sort things by bags when I bag them so they are faster to put away when I'm home.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Oh, and whether I do self check out or not depends on how long the lines are and if Becky is cashiering. I will take self checkout every day over Becky. (Sorry, Becky, but you are sooooo slow!). 

[skimomma]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Oh, and whether I do self check out or not depends on how long the lines are and if Becky is cashiering. I will take self checkout every day over Becky. (Sorry, Becky, but you are sooooo slow!). 

We have a "Becky" named Yvonne.  I could walk up to any random stranger in town and ask them if they know who Yvonne is and I would get a 50% return rate of "YES, that's the slow, cranky cashier at XXX store!"  I think there are support groups for people who have been tongue-lashed by Yvonne.

[Loowit]

I pretty much exclusively do grocery pick-up, but if for some reason I do actually go into a store I will likely use self-checkout because it is likely just a rogue item I could not order online easily and need right away.

When I used to shop in stores in my former pre-pandemic carefree life, I had switched to mostly a scan-bag-go method, where I took a scanner and bags with me through the store and then I could scan as I put things in the bags in my cart then, just quickly paid on the way out.  It was so nice.

In stores without this, I would do self-checkout for small purchases and cashiers for large orders because I am a very slow bagger.  Although we do have one grocery store in town that has cashiers, but you do your own bagging.  I made my kids do the bagging.  They got pretty good at it, and I would get them lunch afterward for payment.

My DD worked as a bagger at a grocery store for a while and heard a lot of people complain about the self-checkout.  She is not against self-checkout.  I think stores would be wise to have the option of both, because for some people self-checkout is not practical.  It can be harder for some people with disabilities, parents with young children, etc., so having options available for customers would be the wisest choice.

[Jean in Newcastle]

6 hours ago, skimomma said:

We have a "Becky" named Yvonne.  I could walk up to any random stranger in town and ask them if they know who Yvonne is and I would get a 50% return rate of "YES, that's the slow, cranky cashier at XXX store!"  I think there are support groups for people who have been tongue-lashed by Yvonne.

I’m in Becky’s line catching up on the board…. It’s gonna be awhile…

[Clarita]

7 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Oh, and whether I do self check out or not depends on how long the lines are and if Becky is cashiering. I will take self checkout every day over Becky. (Sorry, Becky, but you are sooooo slow!). 

Oh I did forget I have made except for "Becky". I don't like to judge people for their appearances but if I see "Becky" and her 2 inch nails I'm not in her line, even if it means I need help over at self check-out.

[Guest]

Y’all are cracking me up with the “Becky” discussion. I do think we have all seen that the one human-manned cash register is “Becky” and have groaned, “Oh well. Self-check, here I come.” 

[Scarlett]

So I went to the nicer grocery store today.  Lines to human cashiers were sooo long.  So I did self check.  Not near as usual friendly as WM.  I could not scan an item until I had put the previous item in the bag.  I did not even realize I scan that way…..I pick up two items…one in each hand….and scan one then two then plop both items in the bag.  

[kristin0713]

I'm a little late to this thread and it may have already been mentioned, but I really miss the Wegman's Scan & Go. It was so efficient to scan and bag everything as I shopped!! Then just scan, pay, and leave! Even without the Scan & Go, I much prefer self-checkout, but the checkout areas are too small for a full cart of groceries. 

[Emba]

I don’t use them unless I have only one or two items. My favorite grocery store put in two self checkout lanes and I revise to use them.

I feel like some progress is automation, but I don’t feel like it’s progres most of the time to put in self checkouts, close down the cashiered  lanes and have people do their own.  I mean, bravo if it works for you better than cashiers, but trust me I’m slow, and so are all the people in front of me, nearly all the time.

[BronzeTurtle]

I hate self checkout because I hate scanning and bagging my own stuff, but reading over the responses I get more and more concerned that it seems like more and more people eschew normal human chit chat. I just think there's value in looking a person the in the eye and saying hello, how are you, whatever, even if it seems meaningless. progress is progress, it just seems good to interact with other humans in this way that's hard to explain.

And I think covid exacerbated this as sort of like we don't want to be around germs..... not people, not fellow humans but just potential for germs and calculating all interactions based of of another human being a vector for disease. It's a weird "unclean, unclean!" sort of vibe along with not wanting to bother to have a hello/thank you interaction that just seems very human as opposed to whatever it is i'm doing now, which is interacting with people that I can't even see, and interacting with them only on my terms when I want to, without having to listent to them or even respond if I don't want to. I don't like to linger at the cashier but a friendly hello or the right little joke can really be mood lifter if I'm having a crappy day.

mainly, I just hate having to wrangle all my groceries out of the cart, then having to wrangle the scanner and then the bags, then having to get them back in the cart myself, then out to my car myself. I like there to be at least one other person doing one of those steps, but I guess this makes the case for delivery rather than human checkout, haha. But even then I would thank the delivery person, want to acknowledge their work I think?

[KungFuPanda]

I feel like if they can charge you for using the store’s bags they have the technology to give you a discount for checking out your own groceries. Also, they either trust you to do it or hire someone to do it. Getting me to self check then checking my work at the door is a bad combination. I either work here or I don’t. 
 

I only use self checkout as an express lane. I also go to Aldi and lidl a lot and they don’t have self check. Costco self check is handy when I JUST want a rotisserie chicken. 😄

[jen3kids]

9 hours ago, kristin0713 said:

I'm a little late to this thread and it may have already been mentioned, but I really miss the Wegman's Scan & Go. It was so efficient to scan and bag everything as I shopped!! Then just scan, pay, and leave! Even without the Scan & Go, I much prefer self-checkout, but the checkout areas are too small for a full cart of groceries. 

Wegman's Scan & Go was amazing!!!!  Our local Giant has a similar program (using a hand-held scanner instead of an app) but it isn't without it's issues - if an item won't scan I am usually flagged for an 'intervention' at the checkout, even if it eventually scans.  The employee who is monitoring the self-checkout area is very quick and apologetic when she checks my items.  

[marbel]

8 hours ago, BronzeTurtle said:

I just think there's value in looking a person the in the eye and saying hello, how are you, whatever, even if it seems meaningless.

I agree with you, but in my experience at grocery stores, clerks don't want to say hello, look me in the eye, etc. I mean, they barely acknowledge the customers. I don't feel personally affronted by it, but who needs it? 

My main store has an attendant at the self-check. Some of them sit on their stool looking at their phone, and ignore the signal that a shopper needs help as long as they possibly can. You can see them sighing as they get up off the chair and wander over. Some though are very attentive, quick and helpful, and those I always am sure to say hello/goodbye to, and thank them, even if I didn't need help.  Those are also the ones who say "thank you for shopping here today" or similar.  

(There is one notable exception, a store with clerks who love to chat. That is a store with low turnover and probably happier employees.) 

My ideal store would have friendly, helpful employees but ones who wouldn't need to get an update on the customer's entire family while I wait to get my groceries checked out. 😎 

[teachermom2834]

I was in Target last night. It was crazy and why I normally avoid in person shopping a week before Christmas. I had just a small basket of odds and ends and I needed an ID check so I was planning on just waiting for a cashier no matter how long even though I almost always use self checkout at Target. Well the line for self checkout was snaked back through the whole checkout area and there were two real human cashiers open with only a couple in each line. And then they came and opened another. So the human lines were moving much faster, which is unusual.

I did think to myself that those people in the self checkout line were very commited to avoiding the human. We sure do become creatures of habit. I guess some young foks have grown up hardly ever going to the humans? I know I get a bit of social anxiety doing new things. Maybe to the younger set of people going to the human is the newer uncomfortable thing? Self checkouts have been around about 25 years now and the people in line for the self checkout were young. 

[theelfqueen]

9 hours ago, BronzeTurtle said:

. But even then I would thank the delivery person, want to acknowledge their work I think?

Most of my instacart delivery folks put all the groceries on my porch, then message me the photo of my delivery after they leave without ringing the doorbell or knocking. They do not want to chat.

 

[marbel]

15 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

I was in Target last night. It was crazy and why I normally avoid in person shopping a week before Christmas. I had just a small basket of odds and ends and I needed an ID check so I was planning on just waiting for a cashier no matter how long even though I almost always use self checkout at Target. Well the line for self checkout was snaked back through the whole checkout area and there were two real human cashiers open with only a couple in each line. And then they came and opened another. So the human lines were moving much faster, which is unusual.

I did think to myself that those people in the self checkout line were very commited to avoiding the human. We sure do become creatures of habit. I guess some young foks have grown up hardly ever going to the humans? I know I get a bit of social anxiety doing new things. Maybe to the younger set of people going to the human is the newer uncomfortable thing? Self checkouts have been around about 25 years now and the people in line for the self checkout were young. 

I'm thinking about the Targets in my area and their self-checkout areas. I think each line feeds to somewhere between 5  and 10 terminals, depending on the store. So, even a long line can go very fast, if people don't have huge cartfuls/are just slow/have a problem scanning or paying.

I don't go out of my way to avoid a human, but once I'm in a line I'm unlikely go leave it to go to another unless there is an obvious problem in front of me that is clearly going to cause a delay.  No doubt there are some people with anxiety who are going to have a strong preference for self-checkout, but it could also be inertia. Or habit, as you noted.

I remember in my youth being embarrassed when buying pads and tampons; if there was a male cashier I would avoid that line. I don't know if that is a factor for young women anymore but if so, it can add to the appeal of self-check. 

[blue plaid]

They make me very grumpy!  Perhaps this is because I rarely go to the store for only one or two things.  Here there is a Target with maybe 16 checkout lines, which routinely will have only one of these lines open and the self-checkout lines on each far side will have a long line of people waiting.  At the grocery store I don’t like looking up all my produce, and evidently if I set the produce on the scale before entering its code I get an error which a cashier has to fix. So I have to hold it in the air and read the code and enter it before setting it down. If I have a decent number of items they won’t all fit in the bagging area and I don’t want to put bagged stuff in the cart with unscanned stuff.  When stores take out regular check out lines to install more self check out it makes me grumpy because I feel like they are trying to force people to use it.  I do think my grumpiness about this probably means I am getting old.  I try not to show my grumpiness but definitely feel it inside.

[teachermom2834]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

I'm thinking about the Targets in my area and their self-checkout areas. I think each line feeds to somewhere between 5  and 10 terminals, depending on the store. So, even a long line can go very fast, if people don't have huge cartfuls/are just slow/have a problem scanning or paying.

I don't go out of my way to avoid a human, but once I'm in a line I'm unlikely go leave it to go to another unless there is an obvious problem in front of me that is clearly going to cause a delay.  No doubt there are some people with anxiety who are going to have a strong preference for self-checkout, but it could also be inertia. Or habit, as you noted.

I remember in my youth being embarrassed when buying pads and tampons; if there was a male cashier I would avoid that line. I don't know if that is a factor for young women anymore but if so, it can add to the appeal of self-check. 

I was actually thinking the same about personal products. And I will still choose self check out over a teen boy for personal products and I'm nearly 50 years old. LOL. 

And yes Target self checkout usually is much faster but last night was extreme. Like sixty people in line for I think five self checkouts while there were just two people in the regular lines. Who knows what people were thinking? Probably all sorts of things. I know sometimes I think there is a "catch" when I see that situation. I think there real lines are shutting down or someone in line is doing a complicated return or there is some reason no one is getting in the line. Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't. People are funny. 

[Tenaj]

I just remembered that we went to a international grocery store earlier in the week with no self- checkouts and I remember now why I love self-checkout - the cashier felt the need to comment on most items I was purchasing!  So irritating - we were purchasing some special Japanese food for some gifts and she picked up each item to try to figure out what is was, then made some comment on an American product "well, at least I know what this is", had to comment on why my three kids were with me on a school day . . . It went on and on.  I felt like it was kind of invasive - by the time we left she knew we homeschool, knew my husband grew up in Japan, knew our hometown . . It was crazy!

[Ellie]

No, it doesn't bother me. I will often use the self-checkout when I have only a handful of items; in fact, my regular grocery store limits self-checkout to 10 items or less, whereas I've seen some where there is no limit, and people are (slowly and inefficiently) self-checking a shopping cart full of groceries, including produce without bar codes so each one has to be looked up. That bugs me. I go there because I want to get in and get out, TYVM.

Also, my grocery store has an online shopping service, so employees who might once have been stuck checking groceries are now filling orders to be picked up as well as orders to be delivered. IOW, no one has lost a job because of technology, which is a complaint some of my friends have. I might also say that some of these friends don't get along well with technology in general, and would probably be the ones who take for.ev.er at the self-checkout so that I would be grumbling, lol.

[Ellie]

2 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

I was in Target last night. It was crazy and why I normally avoid in person shopping a week before Christmas. I had just a small basket of odds and ends and I needed an ID check so I was planning on just waiting for a cashier no matter how long even though I almost always use self checkout at Target. Well the line for self checkout was snaked back through the whole checkout area and there were two real human cashiers open with only a couple in each line. And then they came and opened another. So the human lines were moving much faster, which is unusual.

I did think to myself that those people in the self checkout line were very commited to avoiding the human. We sure do become creatures of habit. I guess some young foks have grown up hardly ever going to the humans? I know I get a bit of social anxiety doing new things. Maybe to the younger set of people going to the human is the newer uncomfortable thing? Self checkouts have been around about 25 years now and the people in line for the self checkout were young. 

I usually do a quick assessment when I'm ready to check out. I almost never shop at Target, but I don't think the one near me has self-check lines. If a self-check line was that long, and the others were under populated, I'd go to the under-populated ones. I just want to get in and get out ASAP, so I go to whichever one I think will do the job most efficiently. Sometimes I am wrong, though. ::heavy sigh::

[BronzeTurtle]

5 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

Most of my instacart delivery folks put all the groceries on my porch, then message me the photo of my delivery after they leave without ringing the doorbell or knocking. They do not want to chat.

 

Maybe I used the wrong words. I'm not really talking about chatting or going beyond the normal time it would take to check out or drop off an order. Just a hello and thank you. The UPS guy doesn't chat with me but if I'm outside when he comes I do holler a thank you. I do think those little micro-interactions are important, the more I think about it. Being further and further separated from other humans for automation seems less and less good, isolating to people, all that. I see a convenience factor, I get it that it is easier for some people to scan and go.

I just think deliberately avoiding human interactions for the sake of avoiding human interactions, even the small ones, maybe especially when it comes to service people, is not great. after reading the thread I can see I'm in the minority of this opinion. 

[BronzeTurtle]

6 hours ago, marbel said:

I agree with you, but in my experience at grocery stores, clerks don't want to say hello, look me in the eye, etc. I mean, they barely acknowledge the customers.  

The clerks I get in our city are just a variety of people...some don't want to talk, some are chatty, some just say hello, some give stickers to the kids, some don't, some make jokes. Here it isn't like all clerks are like you describe. Maybe that's part of it is I'm not encountering just one type of person that clearly doesn't want to talk. It's just regular people. I try to read the vibe.

[math teacher]

2 hours ago, BronzeTurtle said:

Maybe I used the wrong words. I'm not really talking about chatting or going beyond the normal time it would take to check out or drop off an order. Just a hello and thank you. The UPS guy doesn't chat with me but if I'm outside when he comes I do holler a thank you. I do think those little micro-interactions are important, the more I think about it. Being further and further separated from other humans for automation seems less and less good, isolating to people, all that. I see a convenience factor, I get it that it is easier for some people to scan and go.

I just think deliberately avoiding human interactions for the sake of avoiding human interactions, even the small ones, maybe especially when it comes to service people, is not great. after reading the thread I can see I'm in the minority of this opinion. 

I agree with you that even small encounters with other humans are very important.I try to make it a point to speak to parents and students as I load them in vehicles in the afternoon. It would be a sad world to lose human contact.

[KungFuPanda]

I went to Target this evening and thought of this thread. There were three full service lanes open and the lines were only 4 or 5 people deep. The self check single line, that funneled into about 12 registers was snaked over to the side doors and backed up through the side aisle about a third of the way to the back of the store! I went with the cashier and she was delightful. Her mask had a smile on it. ☺️

[Miss Tick]

7 hours ago, BronzeTurtle said:

I just think deliberately avoiding human interactions for the sake of avoiding human interactions, even the small ones, maybe especially when it comes to service people, is not great. after reading the thread I can see I'm in the minority of this opinion. 

 

4 hours ago, math teacher said:

I agree with you that even small encounters with other humans are very important.I try to make it a point to speak to parents and students as I load them in vehicles in the afternoon. It would be a sad world to lose human contact.

You all are not alone, I listened to this Hidden Brain podcast recently featuring a scientist who studies this exact thing.

[Kalmia]

I will always choose go through the cashier line in our friendly chain supermarket, Hannaford. I know the four long-term cashiers by name, one makes very funny plays on words, one has a nephew with autism like my kid, one is very passionate about her tattoos, and one loves skiing. They are real people who live in my small town and knowing them (and them knowing all of us!) adds to the sense of community here. They are also faster than I am and the baggers are happy to load bags at your individual weight limit or keep the cold stuff together, or put the stuff for your mom in a separate bag. I will go into the self-checkout ONLY If  have a few items and if all the lines are super long (like the day before Thanksgiving) and I always regret it as something will go wrong with the stupid machine. Then I find myself talking back to the machine, aloud, and as I said, it is a small town... 

 

[Laura Corin]

Here self checkout is usually for just baskets. Most trolley checkouts are still staffed. There's one shop with a completely lovely and very chatty cashier whom I sometimes avoid when I can't cope with the bonhomie. This article discusses many of the self check issues.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/16/self-checkout-us-retail-walmart?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[Scarlett]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Here self checkout is usually for just baskets. Most trolley checkouts are still staffed. There's one shop with a completely lovely and very chatty cashier whom I sometimes avoid when I can't cope with the bonhomie. This article discusses many of the self check issues.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/16/self-checkout-us-retail-walmart?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I learned a new word today.  🙂

As to that article, I follow an attorney on social media who says she will never use self check(especially WM) because they are aggressively prosecuting people……which fine if you are an actual thief, but she said there are unintentional errors on shoppers part and mistakes on WMs part.  
 

I still use it in my small town……but now I am extra careful. 

[marbel]

9 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I learned a new word today.  🙂

As to that article, I follow an attorney on social media who says she will never use self check(especially WM) because they are aggressively prosecuting people……which fine if you are an actual thief, but she said there are unintentional errors on shoppers part and mistakes on WMs part.  
 

I still use it in my small town……but now I am extra careful. 

https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/tucson-walmart-self-checkout-shoppers-cited-and-sent-to-court-for-mistakes

https://www.the-sun.com/news/6204988/walmart-charges-shopper-self-checkout-theft-lawsuit/

[gardenmom5]

I thought of this last night when I was at Fred Meyer - and they were so seriously understaffed, the lines were very very long.  Even the self-checkout line was super long.

All I wanted was a bag of cat kibble because we were out.  I left without it.

anyone complaining about self-checkout lines deserved to stand in those lines.

[stephanier.1765]

41 minutes ago, marbel said:

https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/tucson-walmart-self-checkout-shoppers-cited-and-sent-to-court-for-mistakes

https://www.the-sun.com/news/6204988/walmart-charges-shopper-self-checkout-theft-lawsuit/

This is so scary! Walmart is where I buy our wet cat food because it has the best price. I usually buy 36+ cans at a time and now I'm freaked that I may miscount or mis scan while doing self checkout. I thought I was doing a cashier the favor of not having to deal with so many cans of food but now it's probably in my best interest to have the miscount be on them and not on me.

[prairiewindmomma]

The Guardian has an article today about self checkout. It mentions Walmarts AI in the cameras and several other points that came up: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/16/self-checkout-us-retail-walmart

[shawthorne44]

On 12/15/2022 at 7:52 PM, Scarlett said:

So I went to the nicer grocery store today.  Lines to human cashiers were sooo long.  So I did self check.  Not near as usual friendly as WM.  I could not scan an item until I had put the previous item in the bag.  I did not even realize I scan that way…..I pick up two items…one in each hand….and scan one then two then plop both items in the bag.  

The self-checkout machine used to always yelling at me.   

Fortunately the only place I do self-checkout now is at The grocery store in my small town.   I think they have a button that tells the machine, "We trust this person.   Don't complain"   
 

[TravelingChris]

On 12/15/2022 at 10:32 AM, MEmama said:

We were recently in Iceland and figured self checkout at the grocery would be similar enough to what we are accustomed to that the written language barrier wouldn’t pose an issue. Man we were *so* wrong, lol. After several frustrating attempts and a machine that wouldn’t stop beeping menacingly at us, an unamused worker finally dragged herself over and rescued us. Turns out we weren’t allowed to bag our groceries right after scanning them, but instead had to pile them up until the transaction was paid. I would have never guessed! 

Back in early 00's, we were living in Belgium.  We went to an Ikea to get some items for our new house.  Now we lived in Wallonia but hadn't realized that we were in a mostly Vlanderen area.  Didn't matter in finding our stuff since signs were in at least French and Vlanderen and maybe even in English?  But we get to the checkout, which is with a cashier, and she get s really mad at dh.  She starts talking to him in Vlanderen.   He is a strawberry blond, light skinned person who resembles them and turns red and starts speaking in English, with me interjecting in French too, because she thought we were locals and just really stupid.  I don't remember what the exact issue was w our way of bringing the items, but whatever it was, it was different than it had been in the US.

[SHP]

I hate self checkout. My husband loves it. But he cannot bag groceries for anything. Eggs under a gallon of milk. The box of candy canes I picked out that were not broken? In a million pieces. He also bags groceries when not using self check out. 

Now, if he has to use the self check out at a Lowes or Home Depot he bags nothing. 

I get curbside pick up where ever possible. 

[stephanier.1765]

11 hours ago, SHP said:

I hate self checkout. My husband loves it. But he cannot bag groceries for anything. Eggs under a gallon of milk. The box of candy canes I picked out that were not broken? In a million pieces. He also bags groceries when not using self check out. 

Now, if he has to use the self check out at a Lowes or Home Depot he bags nothing. 

I get curbside pick up where ever possible. 

The only person I let help me bag at self checkout is DS3's girlfriend because her standards are the same as mine. Everyone else, just back off. LOL

[Faith-manor]

We went to the new Aldi that just opened about 13 miles from here. It was built for self checkout. There is only one cashier line with long conveyor belt. All the other lines are self checkout.

We don't go to Wal-Mart anymore. Not only are their self-checkouts very person dirty and so every single time we would use them, we had to get help anyway with the employee usually swearing under their breath at the dumb machines, but even though the vast majority of people are now refusing to use the self checkouts, the manager refuses to hire cashiers. It is the only big box store in the county besides Tractor Supply, and until Aldi opened just two weeks ago, the main grocery store. Yet, there are never more than two cashiers. On a good day, it is a 30 minute wait to check out sometimes more. I cannot imagine what it was like right before the storm.

Except for a couple of items, nothing in Aldi was better priced than our Mennonite Bulk Food store which is just over the county line on my side of the county. So I will be shopping there, and they have no self checkouts, and the staff is the happiest, friendliest lot you will ever meet. But, the salad greens were WAY better quality at Aldi so I will be going there once a week, and that will be self checkout. Mark runs once a week to the supermarket near his mom's house to grab items for her, and they have the slowest cashiers you can possibly imagine. Mark is fast at the self checkout and bags the groceries correctly which they do not. I am not kidding when I say that they think nothing of putting a five lb bag of potatoes on top of a bag of tortilla chips!

Customer service in other countries is so much better a lot of the time. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping in France, Iceland, and Egypt. Enthusiastic, friendly faces, so helpful. This is saying a lot because I truly, deeply, hate shopping! In Nice, my sister has become good friends with the owners of several of her favorite places like the gluten free bakery, the fabric shop, and the local hardware.

To be fair, we have an excellent relationship with the staff of our local hardware. LOL, we have always been the ones to come in and need a collection of items that looks bizarre congregated together on the counter causing them to wonder just what in the world we were doing, and of course it was always crazy engineering projects for our 4H club or rocket team. They told us that they eventually learned that they needed to keep extra 5 minute epoxy and 15 hr JB Weld just for us! 😁 It is nice when those kinds of relationships develop.

[Bootsie]

When I went to to grocery store this evening, all of signage at the checkouts had been changed.  All of the signage referring to "self-check" has been removed and replaced with "ASSISTED CHECKOUT" signage.  

I don't know what that is supposed to mean--that I am assisting the business or that the person who comes by when (inevitably) something goes wrong at the self-out will be assisting me checking myself out.  

[TechWife]

On 12/14/2022 at 6:37 PM, Jean in Newcastle said:

Life is too short to get upset about such a trivial thing, in my opinion. Sometimes I use it. Sometimes I get in line for the cashier. 

Agreed. If I have a few things, I use it. If i have a cart full or coupons, gift cards or will need to show my ID I much prefer the regular checkout line as the checkers are much quicker than I am at those details. They also can do quantity purchases for the same item easily. 

For self check I prefer Target because they have good scales and the machine doesn’t complain if I don’t put something in the bag, but say, drop it in my purse or hand it to ds.  I don’t  Harris Teeter because they are too finicky weighing things and it doesn’t have a wand/gun thing for large items so I don’t have to take the 40 lb bag of cat litter out of the cart - Target has those & it’s nice.

Michaels has just started self checkout here. They have short staffed their stores for years now. I think I will eventually like it, but it has some quirks using vouchers. It lets the buyer enter a quantity then scan the item one time. That’s a game changer for crafters after telling the cashier “I have 24 of these florist picks with glitter and jingle bells (mess and noise) and they still have to count every single one. If I know I bought five wire wreath frames I can scan one frame put 5 in the qty section and move along. 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, TechWife said:

For self check I prefer Target because they have good scales

So funny; I was just at Target too and used the self-check and had a similar thought. 
 

I was at a grocery store last week, though, and I was buying a lot of fruits and veggies and that was super annoying. I had to keep looking them up, making sure I chose the correct thing, and had to get assisted twice for stuff I couldn’t find. Also, in one case, I chose “Jalapeño Pepper”, which was not exactly correct, but I could not keep searching for the precise hot pepper so I called it close enough. Presumably there wasn’t much price disparity. 
 

I could tell the guy waiting behind me was thinking, “Great; I pick the line with the woman whose New Year’s resolution must be ‘eat more vegetables’…” 

[marbel]

Target's has become a pretty great store all around, at least in my area.  Their self-check area is great - the assistants are prompt to help and don't act as if I'm messing up their day if they have to come over. But it's rare that something won't scan or another problem comes up. 

The 2nd best thing about Target is their return process. It's so quick and easy (assuming I have a receipt, which I always do). 

It's not perfect - I think their clothing is overpriced for the quality and their grocery selection isn't good enough to make it my  main store - but I enjoy shopping there. That was not always the case. 

[Indigo Blue]

So I wonder how easy it is to cheat at the self checkouts and go unnoticed. Like, ringing up your organic produce as conventional, or picking an expensive produce such as one organic red bell pepper and ringing it as something much less expensive. I don’t mean like what Quill did. I mean with intent to be dishonest and getting away with larger amounts of money involved. I’m not usually a self checkout user, unless it’s just something very straightforward. So, how easy is that? How do the workers oversee or catch this?  
 

If the machine no longer screams at you for not putting your item down in the bagging area, doesn’t this make it easy for people to steal stuff? To what extent, if any, is this a problem? How is it mitigated?

I’ve always wondered this.

[Farrar]

I like them when they're not oversensitive. They made a new rule at my grocery where they have to watch the video of what you're doing every single time. Once my video had to be watched FIVE TIMES in a row because the item was something heavy (I think it was a thing of soda the kids were buying?) and didn't fit all the way on the little scale so it could never get the weight. It was so frustrating. And also like, come on, do you really think I'm stealing at this point. If I was stealing, why would I ring it up in the first place?!?

Anyway, now I go to the checkout people, even if it takes longer sometimes. Because at least there's a clear order of events and wait time.

[Arcadia]

24 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

So I wonder how easy it is to cheat at the self checkouts and go unnoticed. Like, ringing up your organic produce as conventional, or picking an expensive produce such as one organic red bell pepper and ringing it as something much less expensive. 

Its easy to ring up organic stuff as the non organic equivalent. People can easily key in the code for non organic red bell pepper when they are actually buying organic red bell peppers.  The staff at my local Safeway has like 8 self checkout stands to assist and would not be staring to see if people key in the correct produce code. It is basically an honor system.
Also, supermarkets do have a certain amount of lost written into their budgets/accounting due to shoplifting, people blatantly eating, spoilage.