Self checkout - Good or Bad

[hollydolly]

Ten to fifteen items or less, self checkout.
I noticed something recently in Walmart. After the sale there is a customer survey, rate one to five. Haha haha rate WHAT customer service experience? You mean my own? I've picked up more clothes off the floor than most employees.
I've taken back many a basket left in a parking space. I get a FIVE! You don't!

Since the onset of self checkouts, we no longer have any 15 or less items, checkouts...

 

[Jules]

Since the onset of self checkouts, we no longer have any 15 or less items, checkouts...

We can go to one area that is 15 or less, or to other areas that have no limit. I’d like to throttle the clerks that don’t crack down on people with full carts going through the <16 items. Having an overflowing cart in this areas allows them to fake confusion and perhaps not scan everything.

 

[Pinky]

Stores here that have self-checkout, are losing money due to theft. Many plan to remove them.

 

[hollydolly]

Stores here that have self-checkout, are losing money due to theft. Many plan to remove them.

that's exactly what's happening here which I posted near the beginning of the thread...

 

[hollydolly]

We can go to one area that is 15 or less, or to other areas that have no limit. I’d like to throttle the clerks that don’t crack down on people with full carts going through the <16 items. Having an overflowing cart in this areas allows them to fake confusion and perhaps not scan everything.

we used to have them, but not now for years since the self service checkout came into play. We have one area for the SS checkouts, one area for people to checkout who have used smart price guns..

..and the manned checkouts inbetween...usually there's only 3 maximum manned checkout... often only one.. in 25 checkouts.. it's very annoying!

 

[Macfan]

Self checkout - I'm glad the option is there for those that choose to use it. It's just not for me. Maybe in my next lifetime? Don...

 

[Sunny]

Self checkout not only provides opportunities for theft against the stores, people also steal from other shoppers! I once had my favorite tote bag lifted out of the cart, filled with groceries, when I turned my back for a few seconds. It was in the brief moment after I had paid for the groceries, and before I headed for the door. I didn't even realize the tote bag was missing untl I got out to the car.

It was an expensive lesson, and I only bring junky 10 cent plastic bags to the store now. I didn't mind a hungry person stealing my food, but I was really mad about that bag!

Of course, this can happen in a regular checkout lane also, but I think when doing self-checkout, we are more distracted.

 

[Warrigal]

At my age shopping is entertainment and self service at the checkout is an adventure.

 

[Fyrefox]

I only use self-checkout if I have just a few items, and rather enjoy it as I liked playing “store” in kindergarten. My local dollar store briefly went to self-checkout, at which time living cashiers were nowhere to be found; probably a lot of unpaid merchandise walked out the door during this experiment.

My Walmart, Lowe’s, and similar places have banks of self-checkouts loosely overseen by a single, burnt-out employee. Buy something like a fuel additive, and that employee is summoned due to fears that you’re a kid buying the product to use it in your meth lab. Hilarity ensues when that employee checks to see if you’re over 18…

 

[Mobilman44]

I've disliked "self checkout" since day one, and my reasons remain the same.

- They are effectively taking jobs away from those who really need them.
- My workload and stress is increased, sometimes significantly.
- Theft is majorly increased, which in the end, raises prices.
- We lose the interaction with another human being, adding to our isolation.

As a grocery enthusiast and shopper since I was a kid (my parents owned a grocery for 10 years), I tend to evaluate stores I patronize, and have found that most have a friendly and helpful staff. The few exceptions I've seen tend to be in a stressful managerial environment, overworked and paid the minimum.

While I'm here, I have to give a "shout out" to the HEB stores we have here in Texas. They have all the things you would want in a supermarket, but where they truly excel is in the check-out process. The folks that work that end do a terrific job, and I make sure I tell them that !

 

[Mobilman44]

On a bit different subject - that being "shoplifting". It is a fact it has increased dramatically since self service has arrived. But here is the twist... over 50 percent of caught shoplifters do NOT fit the stereotypical profile. They tend to be normal looking individuals - both men and women. And they steal for the thrill, for the want (vs. need), and for bragging rights, and not because they are starving or can't afford a "need".

My nephew (retired Chicago area police lieutenant) started out as a security guard in a large mall. He caught many shoplifters, and surprisingly (esp. to him), they were mostly middle class women! I recall him saying he learned early on that you can't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Pappy]

Don’t like it, never will. Only use it if forced to do so.

 

[Rae]

I use self checkout sometimes but most of the time go to a cashier checkout. I do not like bagging my groceries with the self checkout.

 

[birdy]

Having someone ring up my groceries is starting to feel like a luxury. I'm not a fan of self checkout unless I have only a couple items, and even then.....

 

[hollydolly]

I use self checkout sometimes but most of the time go to a cashier checkout. I do not like bagging my groceries with the self checkout.

...and it's made more uncomfortable trying to bag items with so little space between you and the next customer checkout..

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I used to absolutely hate self check outs. Whenever I tried to use one, especially at Walmart, something would go wrong then I had to wait for a clerk to come help me. It wound up wasting time instead of saving time. Then when Covid hit, my local supermarket installed self check outs and those were the only ones open if customers checked out before 9 a.m. Since I preferred to be there when the store opened during which time there were hardly any other customers, I had to get used to using them.

Now I actually prefer using the self check outs at my local store, which is where I do most of my shopping, because I usually only get a few items at a time and I realized cashiers who touch all kinds of stuff, including filthy money, are not handling my items. An added bonus, I don't have to wait in a line. I still don't use them at Walmart and Costco though.

 

[IKE]

I refuse to use them.

You know the guy you see at Walmart that walks up and raises hell with the store manager to open another register when they are trying to force you to use self checkout by only opening one or two registers and there's a long line at each one and after the guy does raise hell with the store manager one or two registers quickly get opened ?....that guy is me.

 

[Mobilman44]

Ike, we are brothers!!!

More than a few times I'd be the guy standing in line (usually walmart or kroger) to go to someone in charge and strongly request some help with another line or two.

My younger sister retired from walmart, and she will vouch for their frugality when it comes to staff.

 

[Michael Z]

For Aldi foods, I don’t like self checkout. In the store without it, they are quick to open other lanes if shoppers back up. And the checkout people are a lot faster than me. In the Aldi with self checkout, it is actually slower.

But in other stores, that allow shoppers to back up while we see staff milling around up front seemingly doing nothing (this is frustrating), self checkout is a welcome addition.

 

[Purwell]

Don’t like it, never will. Only use it if forced to do so.

Agree with you on this.

 

[Jules]

A offshoot of this grocery store discussion. Are there still bag boys? The term is probably baggers now, not bag boys. The last time I experienced this was over 20 years ago. No one takes out your cart for you.

In a full service grocery store, the clerk will pack your bags. Many stores have clerks, but you have to pack your own groceries.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I hate those ******* self checkout machines. If the damn things actually worked well, I wouldn't mind using them. Some idiot figured that if a dumb clerk could scan a product, so could a customer. The thing is the dumb clerk can handle situations that are out of the usual, machines can't. For a few items, self checkouts can be easier and faster. But I've noticed that with large orders, since only one human is doing everything, they easily bog down. I don't think I'm a hardened career thief, but I could come up with all kinds of ways to go through a self checkout with $200 worth of goods, for which I paid only $19.
If you can't outwit a self checkout, it's time to check into the home. Having them in your store is an invitation to steal.

 

[MarkinPhx]

we used to have them, but not now for years since the self service checkout came into play. We have one area for the SS checkouts, one area for people to checkout who have used smart price guns..

..and the manned checkouts inbetween...usually there's only 3 maximum manned checkout... often only one.. in 25 checkouts.. it's very annoying!

The grocery store I shop at has a Scan,Bag, and Go option. Customers scan and bag items as they shop with their phones and then pay when they are done shopping with their phone or at a checkout. I've never tried it so I don't know how bags are checked to make sure that customers scan everything as they shop.

 

[jimintoronto]

I've disliked "self checkout" since day one, and my reasons remain the same.

- They are effectively taking jobs away from those who really need them.
- My workload and stress is increased, sometimes significantly.
- Theft is majorly increased, which in the end, raises prices.
- We lose the interaction with another human being, adding to our isolation.

As a grocery enthusiast and shopper since I was a kid (my parents owned a grocery for 10 years), I tend to evaluate stores I patronize, and have found that most have a friendly and helpful staff. The few exceptions I've seen tend to be in a stressful managerial environment, overworked and paid the minimum.

While I'm here, I have to give a "shout out" to the HEB stores we have here in Texas. They have all the things you would want in a supermarket, but where they truly excel is in the check-out process. The folks that work that end do a terrific job, and I make sure I tell them that !

Do you use the ATM's to get cash , or do you go INTO the bank and get it from a teller ? If you are going to complain about self check outs, at least be aware about how you get your cash ?? If you are worried about people loosing their jobs, use the human at the bank, not a machine. I bet when you have to make an extra effort to go into the bank to get money, you won't actually do it . JImB.

 

[MarkinPhx]

I hate those ******* self checkout machines. If the damn things actually worked well, I wouldn't mind using them. Some idiot figured that if a dumb clerk could scan a product, so could a customer. The thing is the dumb clerk can handle situations that are out of the usual, machines can't. For a few items, self checkouts can be easier and faster. But I've noticed that with large orders, since only one human is doing everything, they easily bog down. I don't think I'm a hardened career thief, but I could come up with all kinds of ways to go through a self checkout with $200 worth of goods, for which I paid only $19.
If you can't outwit a self checkout, it's time to check into the home. Having them in your store is an invitation to steal.

At the grocery store I shop at, a few of those "dumb" clerks are retired people who are working there to make some extra money or to keep themselves busy. I know one of those "dumb" clerks is a retired teacher.

Edit- Sorry for the snarky reply. I misread the point you were making