The unpopular rise of self-checkouts(bbc.com)
bbc.com
The unpopular rise of self-checkouts
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170509-the-unpopular-rise-of-self-checkouts-and-how-to-fix-them
62 comments
The vast majority of the problems with self-checkout machines are caused by the item weight check. Try shopping in the better part of town.
In the UK, self-checkouts in Tesco and Sainsbury's (where the poor do their shopping) will have this up to 11, whereas Waitrose (for affluent people) turn it off. So you can steal as much as you want, too, since there's only 1 person looking after 6 machines (when there's anyone at all).
Only time I've been happy to pay the premium to shop there.
In the UK, self-checkouts in Tesco and Sainsbury's (where the poor do their shopping) will have this up to 11, whereas Waitrose (for affluent people) turn it off. So you can steal as much as you want, too, since there's only 1 person looking after 6 machines (when there's anyone at all).
Only time I've been happy to pay the premium to shop there.
>Try shopping in the better part of town.
I alluded to this in my other comment in this thread. Switzerland is 'the better part of town' in its entirety. Europeans only hear about the lowest common denominator in the US. I'm not saying it's not a tragedy, but I didn't create this system and I don't know how to fix it.
I alluded to this in my other comment in this thread. Switzerland is 'the better part of town' in its entirety. Europeans only hear about the lowest common denominator in the US. I'm not saying it's not a tragedy, but I didn't create this system and I don't know how to fix it.
Your comment is spot on about the tech (won't comment on the social points). The weight check is broken. If you have to pay for bags, you want to use the least bags possible. This is incompatible with the operation of all the check out machines I've seen. Get rid of the weight check OR allow all you can use bags for free.
> The vast majority of the problems with self-checkout machines are caused by the item weight check.
I understand the purpose of the weight check; it's to make sure that an item is in the bagging area iff it has been scanned. I don't get why it needs to be run after each item and can't be run just once -- after all items have been scanned and the payment process begins.
I understand the purpose of the weight check; it's to make sure that an item is in the bagging area iff it has been scanned. I don't get why it needs to be run after each item and can't be run just once -- after all items have been scanned and the payment process begins.
I imagine there's considerable variance in the weight of products, such that any attempted calculation of the final weight of a long list would be unacceptably vague. Also, if there's a single item whose weight is out of tolerance, it needs to be clear which one so that the issue can be resolved.
Systems like that exist in the US. For example Stop and Shop has the exact same system you describe.
That implies a level of honesty and trust that doesn't exist in the US. In Switzerland, a store can trust customers to scan everything they place in their carts. In the US, they can't.
The result is a worse society, because in the US, stores have to take measures to not be ripped off. Those measures get in everyone's way, including the people who would not steal from the store.
The result is a worse society, because in the US, stores have to take measures to not be ripped off. Those measures get in everyone's way, including the people who would not steal from the store.
I'm guessing stores realize theft and even unintentional mis scanning due to 'amateurs', will happen, and have decided that the cost savings of using self scanning is still worth it.
There is usually one to two persons supervising a row of self checkout machines and they claim to randomly sample people, though I've never seen them doing that. Though I think these two things act as a deterent to stealing.
Personally, I love self checkout in switzerland. 20 checkout stations vs. 5 is faster, tell me what you want.
Personally, I love self checkout in switzerland. 20 checkout stations vs. 5 is faster, tell me what you want.
> In Switzerland, a store can trust customers to scan everything they place in their carts.
You flatter us, but I'm not convinced the Swiss are particularly honest. And I'm not convinced that anything the US register does is particularly helpful to catch cheating.
You flatter us, but I'm not convinced the Swiss are particularly honest. And I'm not convinced that anything the US register does is particularly helpful to catch cheating.
I can take you to stores where the self-checkout is as good or better in the US as you describe. How many different corporate entities and how many different communities did you visit in the US?
I am by no means trying to claim to have a comprehensive perspective on the stores on both countries, but the two machines I describe were both located in middle class grocery stores (Migros and Safeway, respectively) located in prosperous areas of the respective countries.
The US is a massive administrative area with some cities the size of Switzerland and very different demographics and qualities of life in different regions.
Walk into an Apple Store in Berkeley and you can self check out expensive items using only your iPhone.
The generalization you are trying to make doesn't work.
Walk into an Apple Store in Berkeley and you can self check out expensive items using only your iPhone.
The generalization you are trying to make doesn't work.
> Retailers tell us that self-checkouts are all about providing more choice, convenience and speed
Oh yes, of course. It's certainly not just about the cost of an employee at a cash register, which is why retailers give you a little discount when you self-checkout. They do, right?
Sincerely: Does anyone believe there is any reason at all for pushing these other than squeezing labor cost, to the retailer's exclusive benefit?
Oh yes, of course. It's certainly not just about the cost of an employee at a cash register, which is why retailers give you a little discount when you self-checkout. They do, right?
Sincerely: Does anyone believe there is any reason at all for pushing these other than squeezing labor cost, to the retailer's exclusive benefit?
I prefer having the choice to self-checkout. Given a free self-checkout and an empty lane with a cashier, I almost always go for the self-checkout: there is no need to interact with someone who is forced to smile and greet me by corporate policy, and I can arrange the groceries in my bags in the way that I like.
Plus - it always feels better to do things with one's own hands. Since the rise of the self-checkout, going to a grocery store that only has human checkout clerks is starting to feel as uncomfortable as driving to a gas station in New Jersey and being forced to rely on a human attendant.
Plus - it always feels better to do things with one's own hands. Since the rise of the self-checkout, going to a grocery store that only has human checkout clerks is starting to feel as uncomfortable as driving to a gas station in New Jersey and being forced to rely on a human attendant.
I prefer them as well.
It feels sorta weird going thru a regular checkout now and just standing there not doing anything the whole time. It's boring.
It feels sorta weird going thru a regular checkout now and just standing there not doing anything the whole time. It's boring.
I think these exist entirely to squeeze labor costs, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
First, allowing grocery stores to operate with smaller staffs means we get more grocery stores. The small, cramped grocery store that recently opened within walking distance of my apartment probably wouldn't be able to operate if it had to provide not just pay, but parking and work space for another dozen full-time employees. That's a food desert in a dense urban core that doesn't exist anymore and a smaller, but still substantial, group of available jobs that otherwise wouldn't be there.
Second, if I were to approach you and tell you I had two plans for a machine. Both are about evenly efficient, but one requires two people to stand at the machine doing boring, repetitive, mindless drudge work for hours on end. I, for one, definitely prefer the one that doesn't require human suffering to operate. Automated checkouts eliminate jobs, but specifically they eliminate shitty jobs that we should probably feel bad about asking anyone to do in the first place.
First, allowing grocery stores to operate with smaller staffs means we get more grocery stores. The small, cramped grocery store that recently opened within walking distance of my apartment probably wouldn't be able to operate if it had to provide not just pay, but parking and work space for another dozen full-time employees. That's a food desert in a dense urban core that doesn't exist anymore and a smaller, but still substantial, group of available jobs that otherwise wouldn't be there.
Second, if I were to approach you and tell you I had two plans for a machine. Both are about evenly efficient, but one requires two people to stand at the machine doing boring, repetitive, mindless drudge work for hours on end. I, for one, definitely prefer the one that doesn't require human suffering to operate. Automated checkouts eliminate jobs, but specifically they eliminate shitty jobs that we should probably feel bad about asking anyone to do in the first place.
I agree with you in that I would hate a job as a supermarket cashier. However, I know people who really like it. What you and I think of as boring drudge work, they see as an opportunity to be social and chat with people all day long.
People vary.
People vary.
How much of that cost reduction goes into building new stores? How many new stores in any case are going to food deserts rather than places more profitable for the retailer?
I would guess nowhere near enough to support the notion that this cost reduction leads to new stores, or that new stores would appear in food deserts.
I don't want self-checkouts to disappear. I just don't want to be lied to about their purpose, and in particular they ought to make it worth my while to use them by offering at least some tiny discount. The fact that they don't tells us all we need to know.
I would guess nowhere near enough to support the notion that this cost reduction leads to new stores, or that new stores would appear in food deserts.
I don't want self-checkouts to disappear. I just don't want to be lied to about their purpose, and in particular they ought to make it worth my while to use them by offering at least some tiny discount. The fact that they don't tells us all we need to know.
> How much of that cost reduction goes into building new stores?
Probably almost none of it, at least not directly.
> How many new stores in any case are going to food deserts rather than places more profitable for the retailer?
Probably a lot of them.
Places where it's profitable to run a grocery store already have grocery stores. Food deserts exist in the first place because they're not profitable places to put grocery services for one reason or another. Lowering the fixed cost of running a grocery store means that some places that previously could only support N grocers can now support N+1, so that's where the opportunity is. This is no less true when N=0.
Probably almost none of it, at least not directly.
> How many new stores in any case are going to food deserts rather than places more profitable for the retailer?
Probably a lot of them.
Places where it's profitable to run a grocery store already have grocery stores. Food deserts exist in the first place because they're not profitable places to put grocery services for one reason or another. Lowering the fixed cost of running a grocery store means that some places that previously could only support N grocers can now support N+1, so that's where the opportunity is. This is no less true when N=0.
Oh good, so poor people in the ghetto would have to slog their way through checkout themselves more than we privileged people would, shopping as we do in more profitable stores.
Otherwise if you mean that all of a retailer's stores should have self-checkout in equal measure, then we're back to square one: The same places are as less profitable as the more profitable ones. Why impose this deeply unwanted downgrade on your already profitable stores?
I'm not making an argument about market mechanics. I'm just saying that it's dishonest for a retailer to claim self-checkout is about anything other than the obvious.
If providing groceries to food deserts were really a motive for these cost savings, there is one thing they could do to promote self-checkout that would absolutely work where all of those other efforts in the article don't: Offer the tiniest token discount for doing it yourself.
But they don't, and there's the answer.
Otherwise if you mean that all of a retailer's stores should have self-checkout in equal measure, then we're back to square one: The same places are as less profitable as the more profitable ones. Why impose this deeply unwanted downgrade on your already profitable stores?
I'm not making an argument about market mechanics. I'm just saying that it's dishonest for a retailer to claim self-checkout is about anything other than the obvious.
If providing groceries to food deserts were really a motive for these cost savings, there is one thing they could do to promote self-checkout that would absolutely work where all of those other efforts in the article don't: Offer the tiniest token discount for doing it yourself.
But they don't, and there's the answer.
> I'm not making an argument about market mechanics.
No, but I am :-D.
Pretty obviously the motive for these cost savings is _cost savings_. But that extra profit has to go somewhere.
Sometimes it'll go into lining the pockets of whoever owns the store, which kinda sucks. Go advocate for higher capital gains taxes. I'll be happy to help. Past a certain point, though, stores that just pocket the extra profit won't be around for long. Someone who's willing to make less money as a grocer will come along and start a cheaper store across the street.
Most of that savings has to go to somewhere. Either there's more checkout lines or a better selection or cheaper goods across the board or whatever. Sometimes a store will be profitable where it otherwise wouldn't be. At this point, the savings are mostly priced in. We are already benefiting massively from this automation.
Everyone hates these automated checkout terminals, but I doubt many people really want to have their neighborhood grocery store close and all the rest in their town get more expensive.
No, but I am :-D.
Pretty obviously the motive for these cost savings is _cost savings_. But that extra profit has to go somewhere.
Sometimes it'll go into lining the pockets of whoever owns the store, which kinda sucks. Go advocate for higher capital gains taxes. I'll be happy to help. Past a certain point, though, stores that just pocket the extra profit won't be around for long. Someone who's willing to make less money as a grocer will come along and start a cheaper store across the street.
Most of that savings has to go to somewhere. Either there's more checkout lines or a better selection or cheaper goods across the board or whatever. Sometimes a store will be profitable where it otherwise wouldn't be. At this point, the savings are mostly priced in. We are already benefiting massively from this automation.
Everyone hates these automated checkout terminals, but I doubt many people really want to have their neighborhood grocery store close and all the rest in their town get more expensive.
How much money do they really save when you include initial capital costs - six figures for four to six lanes - and maintenance/updates?
What's the projected lifetime?
I'm also sure we're going to have even faster RFID readers within a decade at the outside, so I'm wondering what the savings will be over that period.
I suspect speed and throughput is at least as much of a motivation as expense.
What's the projected lifetime?
I'm also sure we're going to have even faster RFID readers within a decade at the outside, so I'm wondering what the savings will be over that period.
I suspect speed and throughput is at least as much of a motivation as expense.
> I, for one, definitely prefer the one that doesn't require human suffering to operate
In the US, grocery worker jobs are some of the only blue-collar jobs left that still provide a middle-class income with benefits. There are lots of people for whom getting one of these jobs is something to aspire towards, not some terrible fate to dread.
This has a lot to do with the fact that grocery workers are better unionized that most -- 19% of workers in the retail grocery industry are union members, compared to less than 7% in the private sector overall (source: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/P...). Which is one of the reasons for the push towards self-checkout; it pushes those numbers down, which reduces the bargaining power the union can wield on behalf of those workers who the machines don't replace.
In the US, grocery worker jobs are some of the only blue-collar jobs left that still provide a middle-class income with benefits. There are lots of people for whom getting one of these jobs is something to aspire towards, not some terrible fate to dread.
This has a lot to do with the fact that grocery workers are better unionized that most -- 19% of workers in the retail grocery industry are union members, compared to less than 7% in the private sector overall (source: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/P...). Which is one of the reasons for the push towards self-checkout; it pushes those numbers down, which reduces the bargaining power the union can wield on behalf of those workers who the machines don't replace.
If some mad gazillionaire decided to start paying people to hit their own thumbs with hammers, I'm sure she could find a price point where a lot of people decided they wanted to do that. If she kept doing it for long enough, self-hammer-mangler might even become an honorable profession to which a lot of people aspired. That doesn't imply that we, as a society, want people to be spending their time and energy hitting themselves with hammers.
As a society, we spent the last few centuries having the problem of providing a comfortable standard of living to ourselves and our peers and the problem of getting shitty drudgework done be two problems that largely solved each other. We are well on our way to actually solving the shitty drudgework problem. That means we badly need to find a new solution to the comfortable standard of living problem, but deciding not to fix the other, fixable problem doesn't sound like a viable long-term strategy.
As a society, we spent the last few centuries having the problem of providing a comfortable standard of living to ourselves and our peers and the problem of getting shitty drudgework done be two problems that largely solved each other. We are well on our way to actually solving the shitty drudgework problem. That means we badly need to find a new solution to the comfortable standard of living problem, but deciding not to fix the other, fixable problem doesn't sound like a viable long-term strategy.
My local Safeway has no self checkout line. They don't hire more cashiers to offset this fact, they just make me stand in line longer. It's miserable. I'd love for them to have all 6 lanes open but no more than 2 ever are. Even at peak shopping times.
Self checkout would be an awesome boon.
Self checkout would be an awesome boon.
While Safeway/ Randolph's/ Ralph's was trying (and failing) to compete with WholeFoods, they lost their way and got bought out by what is now Albertson's. Meanwhile, Kroger was kicking ass and competing on price/quality/ variety. Try not shopping at Safeway, even WalMart is better.
They're great for shy teens buying condoms or husbands buying tampons for their wives. Other than that, it's worse service for the same price.
I always use the self checkout at my grocery store because its just faster than waiting in line.
They recently added a way for people to just use an app to scan barcodes while shopping and then just scan your phone at the self checkout but I haven't tried it.
They recently added a way for people to just use an app to scan barcodes while shopping and then just scan your phone at the self checkout but I haven't tried it.
Capitalism seeks to squeeze as much profit out of as little labor as possible. This should not be a surprise to anyone.
Capitalism can be more than just cost cutting, that isn't the only good in the equation, right?
I avoid the self checkouts as much as possible because they're annoying and because I figure I might need a job as a checkout clerk sometime after I retire. It's self-interest, which is also a feature of capitalism.
I avoid the self checkouts as much as possible because they're annoying and because I figure I might need a job as a checkout clerk sometime after I retire. It's self-interest, which is also a feature of capitalism.
I have never used one. Even when there is a queue and a person monitoring offers to scan for me I still queue. I'm never in that much of a hurry and I enjoy being as nice as possible to the assistant. I completely avoid stores that have self-checkout only. The time saved is often negligible or sometimes it is even much faster depending on whether the person I am casually racing has tried to check out some disallowed item eg. booze. or the machine has a fit which seems to happen a lot. I also get to people watch when I queue. I don't care when it is slower since I have been waited on - which is also nice. Why on earth people would want to do it themselves is beyond me even though I am very much a type A, am quite impatient and really dislike queues in general.
Ah, how nice: a like-minded person! I'm just like you in that respect, 100%.
I think another way to save costs (if that is what the stores are after) is to make the cashiers they do employ more efficient. For instance, while living in Melbourne, Australia, I sometimes went to a local Aldi store and the cashiers there weren't exactly slow, but not the fastest either. In comparison, while living in Germany, if you go to a Aldi there, they check your items out faster than you can chuck them into your cart! (Yeah, that's right, they don't pack stuff up in bags for you over there.)
It's really amazing how fast they can be... and they have to because it's sometimes unbelievable how much stuff people in front of me can fit into a single cart. Because of that, however, you still get waiting lines -- it's the sheer mass of items people put on the conveyer belt. But the speed at which Aldi cashiers operate could certainly be a lesson to other stores as well if they want to maximize throughput per cashier.
I think another way to save costs (if that is what the stores are after) is to make the cashiers they do employ more efficient. For instance, while living in Melbourne, Australia, I sometimes went to a local Aldi store and the cashiers there weren't exactly slow, but not the fastest either. In comparison, while living in Germany, if you go to a Aldi there, they check your items out faster than you can chuck them into your cart! (Yeah, that's right, they don't pack stuff up in bags for you over there.)
It's really amazing how fast they can be... and they have to because it's sometimes unbelievable how much stuff people in front of me can fit into a single cart. Because of that, however, you still get waiting lines -- it's the sheer mass of items people put on the conveyer belt. But the speed at which Aldi cashiers operate could certainly be a lesson to other stores as well if they want to maximize throughput per cashier.
It's changed now, but Aldi didn't use to use barcodes - the cashier had to memorise all the product codes.
This meant they could go really fast.
This meant they could go really fast.
For me the only possible benefit was to save time, and on that self-checkout machines have failed miserably. Generally there is at least one problem but often two problems that these machines refuse to clear for me without waiting for help from an employee, and that almost obliterates any time savings all by itself.
A lot, if not all, of the problems are self-inflicted poor design choices!
There is NO REASON TO CARE ABOUT BAGGING; I’m sure this is some ill-conceived notion of anti-theft or whatever but when you aggravate 200 paying customers for every banana theft that you prevented, you’ve still lost. A human cashier can scan dozens of items and toss them aside in seconds!! You cannot come even close to that rate of speed when Every Single Item has to be scanned (and often re-scanned), then moved all the way over somewhere else (and then removed and added again before the computer is happy). And if you have the audacity to buy a vegetable, whose codes cashiers mostly know by heart, you will again be much slower yourself. Not to mention that the entire idea of bagging breaks down with the recent craze to bring your own bags or simply choose not to use a bag, because the computer freaks the hell out when you just want to scan your two items and pay and get out without leaving the required sacrifices on the Altar of the Bagging Lord.
And there’s always at least one employee doing almost nothing except resetting computers. You know what that person could do? Accept cards in advance to start running them through the system while you’re screwing with your groceries, then press a button so that when you’re ready to pay you basically just have to tap a button and sign. Yet of course they don’t do that, they’d rather create the slowest and most unhelpful self-payment system in history, while people are waiting, which of course you can’t even reach until you satisfy the Bagging Lord in the previous step.
A lot, if not all, of the problems are self-inflicted poor design choices!
There is NO REASON TO CARE ABOUT BAGGING; I’m sure this is some ill-conceived notion of anti-theft or whatever but when you aggravate 200 paying customers for every banana theft that you prevented, you’ve still lost. A human cashier can scan dozens of items and toss them aside in seconds!! You cannot come even close to that rate of speed when Every Single Item has to be scanned (and often re-scanned), then moved all the way over somewhere else (and then removed and added again before the computer is happy). And if you have the audacity to buy a vegetable, whose codes cashiers mostly know by heart, you will again be much slower yourself. Not to mention that the entire idea of bagging breaks down with the recent craze to bring your own bags or simply choose not to use a bag, because the computer freaks the hell out when you just want to scan your two items and pay and get out without leaving the required sacrifices on the Altar of the Bagging Lord.
And there’s always at least one employee doing almost nothing except resetting computers. You know what that person could do? Accept cards in advance to start running them through the system while you’re screwing with your groceries, then press a button so that when you’re ready to pay you basically just have to tap a button and sign. Yet of course they don’t do that, they’d rather create the slowest and most unhelpful self-payment system in history, while people are waiting, which of course you can’t even reach until you satisfy the Bagging Lord in the previous step.
I've used self checkout about 10 times. The first time took forever because I didn't know they were weighing my goods. Maybe the 4th or 5th time was slow because I bought produce and it took a long time to find the goods. After that when I had produce I just waited in lines for a clerk and when I went to the self-checkout it was very quick (just because the no lines, not because I'm quick at checking out). If there's no line or a short line for a clerk I just wait in line.
Surprised to see so much hatred for self-checkouts.
I find it a pretty frictionless experience most of the time.
It's usually quicker than using a cashier, and if I'm getting my goods cheaper through reduced payroll costs, who am I to complain?
I find it a pretty frictionless experience most of the time.
It's usually quicker than using a cashier, and if I'm getting my goods cheaper through reduced payroll costs, who am I to complain?
Agreed. It's usually the older generation I see having trouble with them.
Ouch. The ones I've used (US) are a UI catastrophe. Is blaming the user really a good solution here?
I see everyone having trouble with the bad ones, because the bad ones are fundamentally broken. One big local store wasted a month getting the weight checking to work reliably. Much frustration was caused.
The good ones are relatively friction free. Although my ideal would still be to avoid the checkout altogether and have some kind of smart-scan zero friction pay-as-you-leave system that only required a thumbprint or some other simple auth on exit.
The good ones are relatively friction free. Although my ideal would still be to avoid the checkout altogether and have some kind of smart-scan zero friction pay-as-you-leave system that only required a thumbprint or some other simple auth on exit.
If the self checkout could recognize vegetables I would be OK with it. But in general I don't see an advantage other than the company saving salaries for cashiers.
It would make more sense if everything had an RFID and you could just load your shopping cart and the checkout would scan everything at once without having to put things on a scanner. This would be really useful. You could put your items straight into a shopping bag while shopping.
It would make more sense if everything had an RFID and you could just load your shopping cart and the checkout would scan everything at once without having to put things on a scanner. This would be really useful. You could put your items straight into a shopping bag while shopping.
My local grocery chain has scales in the produce area (and bulk foods area) that weigh and print a sticker with a barcode. If you use those, you can take fruits and vegetables through the self-checkout. The checker at the regular checkout can also scan them.
If you can't type in the code for a given piece of produce or at least use the 'type by name' I'm not sure I can help you. It sounds like we fundamentally disagree about what the experience should be like. I've probably already memorized the codes for ~40 veggies.
To me it's easier letting the cashier figure out the codes. Obviously, I could do it myself but at that point the self checkout has no advantage for me. It only saves money for the company.
Are people really that against interacting with someone, even if it is forced, for a few minutes? Money saving aside, it's hardly conclusive to whether or not self-checkout is superior. Such reasoning such as reluctance to make conversation says more about the person making the claim than standard checkout as a whole.
> Are people really that against interacting with someone
This is HN, what do you think the answer to that is?
That said, I hate self-checkout machines. Usually there's someone in line ahead of you with a 'problem' of some sort, and that's even assuming the machine itself is functioning properly. Our local supermarket actually removed theirs because they sucked so bad.
This is HN, what do you think the answer to that is?
That said, I hate self-checkout machines. Usually there's someone in line ahead of you with a 'problem' of some sort, and that's even assuming the machine itself is functioning properly. Our local supermarket actually removed theirs because they sucked so bad.
It's simply more efficient. I can go to the store early in the morning where one guy can manage 6 to 12 registers. Why do I need to pay more? It's almost like asking, 'why do I need to think about this?' like there is no cost. As people become more accustomed to self-checkout and learn how their neighborhood stores work, it will only get faster.
I don't think anybody really wanted them outside of the bean counters to start. People that prefer them now probably did some mental judjitsu around the horrible interface.
I have been using them for 10 years at kroger, and they work perfectly for me. I go to the grocery every other day at ~630am. I am OCD about my veggies being fresh (I also hate wasting food), and the store is on my morning jog anyway. I find that self-checkouts in poorer neighborhoods are more strict about discrepancies, so they may be a factor.
I doubt you have OCD.
The best self-checkout system I've encountered are the ones they have at Sams Club (and presumably at similar warehouse clubs like Costco and BJs). There you swipe or insert your membership card. Once it has processed that, you can take the hand-held scanner and scan all the items in your cart (when putting things in the cart, I'll make sure the UPC codes are exposed).
Once you're done scanning, you place the scanner back into its holder, choose your payment option, and make your payment. The only other thing you need to do is have someone check your receipt before you exit the store.
It would be nice if those types of machines were in more stores as opposed to the ones that require you to take items out of the cart and either scan or weigh/enter code and then bag them.
Once you're done scanning, you place the scanner back into its holder, choose your payment option, and make your payment. The only other thing you need to do is have someone check your receipt before you exit the store.
It would be nice if those types of machines were in more stores as opposed to the ones that require you to take items out of the cart and either scan or weigh/enter code and then bag them.
I'm still not sure why drive-through grocery stores aren't more common. Pick your items and pay from the website, grab your stuff at your convenience in 5 mins tops. We have them everywhere in France.
Personally I love self checkout more than a cashier. My things are bagged faster and correct things are bagged together. I dont have to make stupid small talk. And I can do it quicker since I know what I have and to expect. And old people that'd hold up the line using checks (it's 2017, checks should be banned from grocery stores for several reasons) are too scared to use them so I won't get stuck behind someone like that.
I'm not sure if I hate self-checkout or not. But I do think they're abused too often by stores who don't have adequate staff. I know it's all about a cost saving measure but I have to wonder how much are they saving when people are avoiding them?
I find that those who use the self-checkout are lacking in compassion for others.
What logic did you employ to reach that conclusion?
I read the other comments and reasoned that it would be fun to mock them.
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Swiss self checkout machines are small, silent except for beeps, and fast: https://subito.migros.ch/dam/jcr:afca29de-d490-4621-8844-868...
The latest option is that you can grab a scanner before shopping, scan items as you place them in your cart, and just walk up to a station to pay.