Is Self-Service Checkout On The Way Out?

[FarCenter]

Let’s take this in two parts. First, if people prefer a conventional check out experience because that allows them to zone out then I have to wonder how Jewel’s plan to reconnect with its customers is going to work. I remember as a kid my mom having what seemed like endless conversations with cashiers. Of course, we were in a relatively small town and most of the women (they were virtually all woman) working the registers had either gone to high school with my mom or had a sibling who did.

Now we live in a more class divided society. I suspect that none of the cashiers at my local Jewel are actually from the neighborhood or that the store’s staffing policies actually build in time for cashiers and customers to catch up on how their respective in-laws are doing.

But what of the claim that the information needed to run checkouts cannot be simply encoded for computers? As much as I love self-service, I have to admit this is a valid criticism. An experienced cashier can handle produce purchases much more efficiently than a customer at a self-service lane.

Read more: http://operationsroom.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/is-self-service-checkout-on-the-way-out/

I'm guessing that the real reason is that theft has gotten out of hand.

At some point retailing will adopt the old model where the goods are behind the counter or in the storeroom and the clerk gets them for you to look at. Goods on open shelves where customers self select them will become untenable.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. I won't use the self-service checkouts.

For one thing, it eliminates a job that could be filled by someone who really needs the income. For another, my food bill won't be reduced if I do it myself. I don't see any advantages at all for myself.

[grahamhgreen]

9. +1. Never use them.

[enlightenment]

13. I used to believe that it took jobs

then I realized that they cut the jobs, anyway. What I despise now is a new version of scientific management going on at my local supermarket. They've got some hotshot 20-something management guy that literally jumps all over the checkers if they dare to stop to comment or fumble something . . . he's nice to the customers but I can't stand him. He was working a register not too long ago and I was in line behind another person. He called for me to bring my cart over to him. I declined. He said "why?" - and I told him.

Probably not my finest moment - but I like the people who work in that store and it's annoying to see this pup in there making them feel horrible because they don't check fast enough for him. I asked one of them if this was a new policy and they said it was - they are being judged by how quickly they check and it doesn't matter if someone has 10 items or 100. They're all stressed out; turning into robots -

Smile. "Hello, how are you today. Do you have a rewards card? Did you bring your own bags? How many bags did you bring? Thank you for shopping at xxxxx. Goodbye." Smile. "Hello, how are you today . . ."

It's awful.

[ScreamingMeemie]

39. I think that was a very fine moment.

Be proud of yourself for sticking up for them in really one of the only ways you can. You told him that the cashiers were far more valuable than he was to the success of the store.

More people in life should be like you.

[kestrel91316]

16. I tell the clerks I will start dong self-checkout when the store starts paying me

$10/hr to do so. Plus whatever benefits part-timers get.

[meow2u3]

21. Not only do self-service checkouts eliminate jobs

But also they rip off the customer. Customers who use self-service checkouts don't get a discount for doing it themselves; they just translate to more profits for the company.

I used to use self-service checkouts, but not any more. Not after I learned the real reason for them.

[Jenoch]

60. Do you use ATMs?

[eppur_se_muova]

65. Do you go grocery shopping after the store has closed ?

Airplanes and oranges.

[Jenoch]

71. Automated teller machines exist for the same reason self-checkout machines exist,

to cut down on labor costs.

Airplanes and airplanes.

[Grateful for Hope]

24. I feel the same way you do.

From the time they first appeared in stores I thought about how many employees were replaced because of them. I have used them a few times when there were very long lines at the other checkouts, but this has been very rare.

[fitman]

25. How many people here complaining about this taking jobs..

use an ATM, self service car wash, laundromat's ..on and on..

The people designing, building and maintaining these machines make more than the minimum wage, p/t cashiers with no benefits..

[randome]

61. Very true.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[OriginalGeek]

68. Me.

And there isn't a thing wrong with that. I use ATMs after bank hours and when I'm not near a branch of my bank and I need cash. My car wash has always been self-service - by me going out front and washing my own car. My laundromat is my washer and dryer in my house. I take my good clothes to the dry cleaner.

SO if your question was to imply I somehow don't have a right to complain about self-checkout well, I reckon that's too bad. I claim the right to complain and do all those other things too and I don't feel a single bit hypocritical about it.

[cynatnite]

31. I use them if I only have a few things and the store is crowded...

95% of the time, I use the cashiers.

[leeroysphitz]

38. My thoughts exactly.

I don't want to put somebody out of work and I don't want an unpaid part-time job.

[VanillaRhapsody]

53. Me either and I always make it a point to stop someone else from going.

...by telling them that Self-Serve aisles put people out of work. Followed by "If a store wants my money...they can damn well pay someone to take it from me" I always speak loud enough for others to hear..... (and you can see them listening).

[grilled onions]

2. Never Good If You Have A Full Cart or If You Have Limitations

It does not solve the less labor problem since there always seems to be a problem with a credit card or item no scanning. They also have to keep an eye out for those who feel they can sneak that celery in without paying. Meanwhile anyone in a wheelchair,uses a walker or other physical problems seems to always have added problems with this set up. It is not user friendly and if a store is ever trying to promote item of the week they won't do it in self check out.

[Politicalboi]

3. I love self check out

I don't want the gabby cashier that is holding the line up. I want to go in and get out as quickly as possible. At the Albertson's I go to, they have 4 self serve which are almost always empty. That's good for me.

[BlueStreak]

51. The people at Home Depot are too damned helpful

If I have one or two items, I head for the self-service checkout. 9 times out of ten, a friendly employee with a nice smile greets me and scans my items for me, then wishes me a nice day.

That really pisses me off. They just don't get the concept of self service.

[justice1]

4. Last thing I want to do when I get off work, is go to the grocery store and work for free.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Please place the item in the bagging area.

Please scan item before placing in the bagging area.

Please wait for cashier assistance.

Please place the item in the bagging area.

Please wait for cashier assistance.

Please wait for cashier assistance.

Please scan the next item.

Place the item in the bagging area.

Please wait for cashier assistance.

[DebJ]

6. Yes I won't use the Weis Self Check Outs because the computer won't shut up.

Giant's aren't that bad and you can actually turn the sound down very low...maybe off...

[Freddie]

63. You must live near me (Weis and Giant)

Love Weis but it's just a bit too far to justify shopping there.

[longship]

8. "Thank you for shopping at RoboMart."

To which I respond, "Stuff it!"

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. I run a race with the automated voice.

I try to scan and dump so I can shut her up in the middle of, "please place the item..."

[Liberal Veteran]

17. Please wait until I have finished speaking to scan next item.

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. Hehehehe...

I hate when it gets hung up on "Please wait for cashier assistance" for no apparent reason.

[Liberal Veteran]

29. Yep. A dust molecule fell on the bagging area.

Or worse, the item you placed in the bag defies gravity (a packet of Kool-aid or a birthday card) fails to register that you actually put the item in the bag. As if you would steal something by scanning it and not bagging it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. Argggggh! I hate the card thing. I actually try to "punch" them into the bag.

When my son was a small boy, it was because he was leaning somewhere that he shouldn't have been.

[xfundy]

32. Isn't there a "volume" option?

I always shut up the voice as soon as I scan the card.

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. You know, I've never looked...

Hmmm... I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip!

[PoliticAverse]

49. Sounds like you've actually used one too - lol. n/t

[Ilsa]

7. Produce? I know codes for about a half dozen items, maybe more.

I usually check myself out so I can load my groceries the way I want them. I've had checkers & baggers that crushed my produce and bread with can, or placed warm deli items on top of my ice cream. I get done faster than going through a line.

[Liberal Veteran]

10. At WINCO the cashier rings up the items and you bag your own groceries.

I rather like that because I get to decide if I want 25 cans of creamed corn in the same bag as a loaf of bread and whether I want chicken touching my produce.

[Ilsa]

14. Thats cool. I don't have a Winco. nt

[Liberal Veteran]

19. I like it for the most part, but sometimes it is a pain.

Like the person with 3 teenagers and 2 carts full of groceries and the only one bagging is some poor mom trying to keep up with the bagging while the kids are doing anything and everything except helping.

Or the person who can't put their VERY IMPORTANT CALL about what they bought for dinner on hold and bag their shit up.

[fitman]

37. I HATE the person with 31 items in the 10 item or less line

and the stores don't police it or say anything..see it all the time..that is why it's self serve for me..

[Nevernose]

47. Winco' a little slice of supermarket heaven

Ain't it?

[OriginalGeek]

69. Ahh but that's where efficient grocery-item-lining-upping comes in

Cold stuff first, heaviest to lightest so heaviest goes in first and cold stuff is all together
non-cold items heaviest to lightest next
then big stuff that doesn't get bagged (giant cat litter/laundry soap/case of water/etc - it's all going on the cart bottom anyway.
bread and chips last.

It takes some tweaking but if you are a regular at a store you get to know the cashiers and baggers and they take care of you.


Now this only works for me because I usually like talking to people. If I'm not in a chatty mood I just let my wife go shopping.

[GeorgeGist]

12. Apparently customer's don't like them.

I use them instead of the express lane which always seems to include at least one person who either can't read or count.

[PoliticAverse]

52. They're great is you have only a couple of items because they are usually less full

than the checkouts with cashiers (at the store I go to) but they are too much
of a hassle if you have more items and so I avoid them.

[kentauros]

70. As far as customers not liking them,

it must depend on where you live. On the quite rare occasion when I shop at my local Kroger when it's busy (5-6pm) all ten of the U-Scan machines are full and there's a line of at least five more people waiting to use them.

That's why I shop late at night, or early in the morning (like before work for that day's lunch.) Employees far outnumber customers (when there are any other customers at all) and the place is blissfully empty of annoying people on cellphones or dragging along their bored children

[MineralMan]

15. The supermarket I use has always understaffed the

checkout stations. Long lines are the norm. So, when they put in the self-checkout, I switched to that. I have memorized the four-digit codes for all of the produce I regularly buy, and have completely mastered the system. Lots of people don't like self-checkout, so it's very rare that there isn't a station available.

It has been months since someone had to clear something for me. I've simply learned how to use the system, and can check out faster now than any checker has ever checked me out, even if there weren't a line, which there always is at this store.

Has it cost someone a job? It doesn't look like it. The store is still understaffing its checkout lines, and there are still the same long lines and bored, slow checkers at them there always have been. I just don't stand in them any more.

Now that I know the system, I usually select Spanish as the language. People think it's weird for this old white-haired Gringo guy to be using the machine in Spanish. I get dirty looks, sometimes from other customers. It's even funnier if something does go wrong and the store helper comes over, and the screen is in Spanish. Even though they do the same thing every time to clear the problem, they seem flummoxed by the same display they've used a hundred times but with Spanish on the screen. It's my little joke. I'm evil like that. Next, I'll switch to Hmong for the language, or Vietnamese. I don't understand either of them, but I know every screen on the system.

[fitman]

18. Use it all the time

old pro at it even produce..way quicker than waiting in a regular line especially if you get behind a coupon hoarder with the loose ring notebook of 10,000 coupons and rebates..or the person who after the cashier rings it up finally brings out their checkbook and writes the check out at kindergartner speed...

People who built the machines need a job too.

[Liberal Veteran]

23. Or the person who searches for exact change at the bottom of a bottomless bag.

[Quantess]

35. I like to do that when I'm at the self check.

I bring out the sandwich baggie full of pennies and start plugging the machine.

[BlueCheese]

55. Couldn't resist.

[Shrike47]

36. Don't you love the folks who never start getting ready to pay until everything is wrung up?

They are the only people in their little world, I guess.

[BluegrassStateBlues]

20. Works great for just a couple of items and is often convenient.

But if it meant more jobs, I wouldn't mind to see it go.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

26. I never use them.

To me, they're anti-labor machines.

[Warpy]

27. Yes, the machines rely on honesty

and we know that's in short supply now that the rich have reneged on the social contract. "Why the hell should we uphold our end?" is how a lot of people are looking at it.

They would have been a hit and a time saver had they been introduced in the 1950s.

[Spirochete]

28. I use it sometimes

Plusses are you bag things your own way (not much of a plus - the way I usually bag), and you don't have customers in front of you writing checks and sending the cashier on a cigarette run, both things I have bad luck with.

On the minus side, they're constantly getting gummed up, and i have to wait while "Attendant has been notified to assist you". And try buying packages of Koolaid or something really light...

[Pretzel_Warrior]

30. It is situational for me. If I have 2 items....I'm heading to the self service and get the heck out

If I am shopping for a lot, I don't like to fuck around with it and would rather have someone else scan, look up vegetables, and bag my stuff.

I think there will end up being an equilibrium arrived at by stores for how many they deem necessary.

[DonRedwood]

40. I know someone who rings all their bulk items up as salt

the cheapest bulk item.

It makes me wonder how many people get more expensive bulk items and then self checkout themselves a deal.

Mmmmmm.... cashews for the price of salt!

[Liberal Veteran]

42. Bulk saffron for the price of salt? Sign me up!

[PoliticAverse]

54. They do seem to be ripe for fraud. n/t

[jberryhill]

41. I have an unexpected item in my bagging area

[Liberal Veteran]

43. I had that once, but the doctor gave me some pills for it.

[jberryhill]

46. And I thought you were just happy to see me

[Turbineguy]

44. I use the self-service check-out

when I want to age my wine.

[sendero]

45. I like them..

.... in stores where the other choice is to wait behind 2-3 other people. I've learned the idiosyncracies of the machines and most of the time there are easy to deal with. About the only thing I don't like is that when I buy beer, an attendant has to come over and verify my age. PITA.

[jberryhill]

48. Of course it is

Why would a store put it on the way in?

[randome]

62. Check in then check out?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[Ruby the Liberal]

50. A local Weis was an early adopter of self-checkout

Back before anyone else was doing it. About 2 years ago they remodeled, added a few express lanes and wiped out the self-checkout lanes.

I was always curious as to why they did that (thinking theft), but was glad to see more people on the clock.

[jmowreader]

56. The reason I like self-checkout has nothing to do with the employees

I use my debit card at the supermarket, as many of you do. And when I go to the cashier check line, without exception I get behind someone who stands right in front of the card reader and slowly, deliberately reads the receipt to be sure nothing was double-rung, arranges all her bags in her cart, screams at the kid to quit trying to open that thing we haven't bought and you can't have anyway, touches up her makeup...and you can't ask them to please step forward because in Republican Hell you can't ask anyone to do anything. If you can't get to the reader you can't pay. On several occasions the clerk has scanned the card on her register because the customer ahead of me took so long to move.

When I go to the self-check line I scan the shit, pay for it, put it in my cart and leave. Also consider: a store is going to put as few people on the front end as it possibly can. Go in any store and see if more than half the registers are staffed; except for payday Friday afternoons when everyone has money to spend, the answer will probably be no. They're going to staff that self-checkout stand for two reasons: one person can work four registers that way, and the equipment is so expensive Corporate demands it be used.

[alarimer]

57. I hope not. I'd rather not deal with the clerk who can be real assholes.

Especially at the local Walmart (I know, I hate it too but there is nothing else here).

They hire the biggest assholes to work in customer service I have ever seen.

One of them got all judgey on me for buying workout stuff (dumbbells and the like).

And then there are the chatty ones who thin I actually want to talk about the stuff I buy.

So I'd LOVE it if I never had to deal with a checkout clerk again.

[Blue_In_AK]

58. I never use them.

I always prefer actual people, especially because it's someone's job.

[Gormy Cuss]

59. There's only one reason why they'd remove the self checkouts.

On balance the store has determined that they will make more profit without them, whether that is because human cashiers are more efficient, because too few customers use the self-checks, or because the self-checkout system is just plain more expensive.

One can be sure however that the official reason isn't the whole story.

[Freddie]

64. One time my daughter called while I was shopping

"Mom can you pick me up a pregnancy test?" (It's good--she and her hubby are trying for #2) Didn't want the cashier seeing someone my age buying one of those, used the self-checkout that day!

[politicat]

66. I like them because I'm a compulsive reader.

If there are words around me, I will read them, even if I don't actually give a damn about what they say. I have a real hate for paparazzi. People, Enquirer, Star, InTouch - they can all go to the merry magazine inferno. I have little better to say about the diet-exercise-gooey chocolate desserts-mommy-tainment rags.

While I can, and do, carry my own reading materials with me for long lines, I still have the headline assault in the moments of checkout when it would be grossly rude to be reading and ignoring the cashier.

The self-check stands don't have that visual noise, or the impulse racks. Which is probably why the self-checks need to go -- customers aren't adding crap magazines and gum at the last second and grocery margins being what they are, those are profit centers.

I do wish the self-check stands would give me the nickel per bag credit for BYOB, but I'm not so hard up that the $1 a month lost in self-check bag credits will break my personal accounting and the five minutes without visual noise is worth it.

I would be delighted to return to the counter model. It would be absolutely more efficient if I could fill out my order form online, schedule pickup later in the day and be done.

[kentauros]

67. I hope they're not on the way out.

I use them all the time at Kroger. Then again, I'm usually shopping there either at the beginning of restocking, or the end, so there usually aren't any registers open to begin with. Plus, I still prefer to do it myself.

Interestingly, the only other grocery I shop at doesn't use self-scanners. That would be Whole Foods