fun fact: you can get a discount at a self-checkout! grocery stores hate this one trick!
Yeah, better pay cash n wear a mask tho. They are starting to bust people for that.
https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/self-checkout-machine-retail-theft-shopping/64244074
UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA! 😡
The self checkout person always thinks I’m cute and gives me good deals
This thread has made me feel so incredibly millennial.
I feel seen!
Genx here
Ok boomer
Some of us prefer non-human interaction
Still ought to be discounted since it’s eliminating jobs.
there’s a five finger discount
Do you prefer any human interaction?
/s kinda
I won’t help the company save what they should give to their staff. Fuck self-checkouts.
I know I’m in the minority but I prefer self checkout so I don’t have to talk to people. Same reason I quit customer service work. I do not want to hear about your day I want to pay for my shit and leave.
I know I’m in the minority
Dude look around the comment section. 90% talk about prefering self checkout
Lemmy doesn’t exactly reflect the general population.
All of the top comments are from people who prefer tellers over self checkout.
I’m with him, though, every few months the anti-self-checkout crowd is all up in arms
I somehow don’t remember the anti-ATM machine crowd angry about putting tellers out of work or the anti-microwave crowd putting restaurant workers out of work, or the anti-car crowd upset about putting trolley drivers out of work
Automated teller machine machine
In Europe it’s becoming popular to have scanners at the store entrance that you can take and scan your products as you go. Sometimes you can also do it with a phone app instead. Then, at the self-checkout, you just scan one code instead and pay right away. I love this system because it’s quicker and you get to avoid the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly.
I would kill for this. Maybe not kil, it’s not a big deal. But I used to walk into my local grocer and just drop shit in the reusable bags I always bring. Then people were stealing, obviously, so they said you gotta use the baskets or a cart. So I use a cart, and it’s not a big deal, it doesn’t matter, but if I could scan, drop in my bag, and walk on, it would save a couple minutes. But as I said, it’s not a big deal, nothing matters.
the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly
Haha, spotted the German. This isn’t really a thing elsewhere, not to that extent.
Speak for yourself
I mean the level of pressure is lower elsewhere than in Germany, of course it’s still easy to feel anxious anywhere
I will never understand those who are afraid to face down a cashier. Is it REALLY that bad?
So many people complain about how modern society is isolating, but then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves.
Am I afraid to face down a cashier? No.
Is it REALLY that bad? No.
Can I make awkward small talk with a stranger? Yes.
Do I want to make awkward small talk with a stranger? No.
Am I relieved that I’m not forced to interact with a stranger and can continue to have to my own inner thoughts and not have to spend time rehearsing in my head what to say if they ask me how I am because I feel weirdly compelled to answer it honestly instead of simply saying “fine” like most do? Absolutely.
A grocery store I used to frequent, I always picked this one lady’s cashier line if she was around 'cause she was nice to talk to. She liked Mortal Kombat and making her own pickles.
Hearing about small talk an the checkout never ceases to be bizzare to me. In all the countries I’ve been to, the cashiers only say the sum to pay and then goodbye.
Are cashiers in the United States of America really required to initiate meaningless conversations? I’ve also heard of the occupation of a door greater, which sounds even crazier.
Are cashiers in the United States of America really required to initiate meaningless conversations? I’ve also heard of the occupation of a door greater, which sounds even crazier.
The corporate ideal has their weird idea that everyone desperately wants to have conversations with employees. I think it comes from positive feedback often taking the form of, “Your employee was so warm and helpful and we had a delightful chat about X.” and never, “Your employee was polite and didn’t bother me with needless conversation.” One of the trainings my employer has even includes a scenario, which is presented as ideal service, where the employee ends up chatting with a complete stranger about his dead wife including sharing pictures from his wallet.
That said, while I’m sure corporate cares none of my in store managers cared when I was a cashier. Indeed, I had regulars who would seek me out because I specifically didn’t attempt to inject small talk into the interaction. I’d still get pulled into it by customers who initiated such but otherwise it was mostly, “Morning. Coupons? That’ll be $X.XX. Have a good one.”
I’ve never even considered it. If I have too many items, I go cashier. We shoot the poop or we don’t, I bag my groceries and go home. If I have few items, I qualify for the self-checkout, I do my shit, say “Thank you” to the person who monitors the lanes, and then I go home. I give none of it a second thought because it’s such a meaningless part of my day.
then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves
Mmm yeah, cos it’s such quality time interacting with the cashier. Like, you’re not totally wrong about the problem, isolation does make us even less able to handle interaction, but making people bag groceries for a living is not the way to solve that problem. Anyway, it’s not fair to force your desire to have a conversation on someone who is trapped working somewhere.
I used to work service, and having people to talk to generally made the day much better. I definitely had favorite customers, and what do you know, it was typically people who were social.
It’s not that bad, it’s just more bad than self check.
Personally I hate waiting in line, I can feel the life leaving my body. I self check for speed.
Apparently line impatience is an ADHD thing, but regardless of where it comes from I appreciate being able to do it myself instead of waiting.
I have add. Proper diagnosis from a doctor and everything.
I’ve had to learn how to curb impatience. It is not a permanent affliction, it is a bad habit. Patience is a virtue that can be nurtured.
Yes cultivating patience is a great skill, but I have no interest in spending more time in line than I have to.
sometimes I do, but if I’m having a really good day I like to see if I can spread it to the customer service staff.
oh nooooo, how dare they offer you a convenient option that saves time
UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA. Sorry, Jandro, I’m not here to get yelled at by a clanker.
maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve never had that particular issue. the only time it’s been slightly annoying is if I’m buying alcohol and the people watching self checkout are busy, and other than that, they’re easy to use. I don’t buy huge chunks of groceries at a time, though, ad I imagine large shops would be annoying
I’ve heard self checkout is terrible in the US, however in Europe they’re generally pretty nice
idk why people say it’s bad! even at fucking Walmart i don’t have issues
I went to the US for a few days. Their self checkouts seem to be universally awful, compared to the UK or German equivalent.
While the hardware is far less reliable, and more convoluted, it’s the users that seem the main issue. Self checkout is generally intended (over here) to shift the fast, small shops out of the main queues. 1 big line and a dozen or more tills. In the states they treat it as just another till. Built for trollies, and 1 queue per till. Combined with a slow user and it becomes hell rapidly.
My local grocery store limits self checkout to 10 items or less. My guess is that people have a hard time counting to 10 and just assume that their cart full of groceries is probably 10 items or less.
To be fair, that’s a fairly universal problem. In the UK it’s a basket Vs trolley split. They do have trolley self checkouts, but it’s separate, and mainly intended for scan as you shop.
On a side note, what’s with American supermarkets not having baskets at all. Did I just have really weird luck?
Might’ve just been bad timing where baskets were piled up at the end of the checkout counters and the staff hadn’t had the chance to bring them back near the entrances.
clanker
*Claptrap
You’re support taking away jobs
if you wanna know my actual beliefs on the matter, people shouldn’t have to do meaningless labor to live
Wait, is this a thing? What’s wrong with you people?
I love my self-checkout, so much better than waiting in line for a slow cashier to make chitchat.
Cashiers are fast. I don’t want to search for the catalog number for all my produce. The cashiers have it memorized
Most produce has a sticker with the code on it and most stores have now made it to where you can just scan the little sticker barcode anyways.
I mean, I don’t much care about the chitchat, but self-checkout is almost always faster. I only avoid it when I have alcohol or pharmacy items.
We were talking about this the other day. Is it faster, or does it appear faster since they have removed so many cashiers? Like 20 lanes and 1 cashier, with 4 self checkouts.
Well, most stores over here have around 10-16 self checkouts in the space that would be occupied by 4-6 regular lanes. So I’d say it is faster even accounting for people taking longer.
Meh. I’m usually happy to just scan my own shit and bounce. Even a $500 Costco trip. I usually shop with earbuds in, so it’s just me and some tunes anyway. I just switch off my brain, follow my list, and go.
I am definitely not an outgoing or social person, but a big “Thank You” to all those pro-self-checkout folks ITT for making me feel like a social butterfly. I’m gonna brag and annouce I can say, “Hi.” and “Thanks” to a cashier like a goddamn boss.
That is if the cashier isn’t even more socially awkward/angry at their boss than I am and refuses to talk at all.
Woot! I’m gonna run for office!
Reporter: “Sturger, how are your policies going to improve life for the average voter?”
Me: “Get these goddamn cameras and microphones out of my fucking face. Thanks.”Camera pans as I my shopping cart out the door like a pro.
In every store I’ve been in, I’m the guy who has to take everything out of my cart and put it on the little conveyor belt thing. Self checkout is a second or two on top of that (which is usually made up by not having to wait in line) with no real additional effort (I’m already picking up and placing my stuff in a specific spot) I also can type in my number for the coupons at the same time I’m scanning my card, and move the bags into my cart as my payment is being processed, which ends up saving even more time.
The only place I appreciate a cashier is when I get a boatload of groceries at Costco, those folks are box-packing wizards.
The discount you get at the self checkout is the 5 fingered discount.
I get that you are technically doing someone’s job for free, but you can always collect your “pay” by giving yourself a “discount.” Personally, I prefer to scan my avacados as potatoes so I can have my avocado toast every day and be able to save up for a house. I’m almost there, it’s only gonna take 30 more years for a down payment! 😁😀🙂😐☹️😢😭
If im too exhausted to steal competently, ill just wait in front of a checkout line.
It’s also kind of a labor issue.
We all love to hate on Walmart, but in my part of the world, it’s got the closest implementation to what I consider acceptable self-checkouts.
The biggest quality of life feature is that they don’t use the the weight sensors in the bagging area. You can use the hand scanner to scan every item in your cart sans weighted produce, as fast as your body will allow.
On the flip side, most of the chain grocery stores in my area have the bagging area scanners that need constant overrides, use AI cameras that lock up after every third item and require an override each time, slow machines that seem to have to compute the pi to the 10 sextillionth digit after each item is scanned before it will be ready for you to place it in the bagging area, and things of that nature. Those suck for sure.
use AI cameras that lock up after every third item and require an override each time
As a customer than once I’ve had those cameras trigger because I leaned in a bit too much to press a prompt on the touch screen and it flagged my head as some item I’m trying to fake scan. As an employee it is also fun to watch the cameras trigger on purses and children and grind things to a halt so it can warn me that someone’s kid hasn’t been scanned. Though my absolutely ‘favorite’ interaction with those cameras as an employee is having them trigger over me attempting to sign in using my name badge on the scanner. So it would interrupt my attempt to sign in to do something for the customer to make me sign in and reassure it I wasn’t trying to steal something and then I had to sign in again to actually help the customer.
While I have only been to Walmart once in the last decade, it was a year or two ago and the experience was the exact opposite. All the grocery stores in my area figured out the ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ thing well before COVID and are easy to use with no issues, but Walmart still had the stupid weight issue for the two things I was buying.
walmart is trying to take over the local grocery business here, so we’ve got big mega walmarts and small local grocery walmarts in the region. one of the megas and three or four i can’t remember of the groceries in my town specifically. the mega has it figured out. like twelve self scans that can be monitored by one or two persons, all of them have hand scanners, and a few lanes with cashiers manned for the folk who are desperate for human interaction or just don’t use self checkouts for reasons. the grocery, they have like three self checkouts that are not quite so good and a bunch of cashiers. maybe they are still afraid of the banana trick idunno.
Walmart perfected it first. I don’t go many places but Lowe’s and Aldi have great checkouts. Home Depot used to be a damned nightmare but they seem to have got it together.
I haven’t seen a self-checkout in any store that weighs the bags in quite a few years in my area.
But absolutely they got machine vision looking. Once I got flagged for potential theft because I put the box to the far side of the scanning area before scanning. It flagged me as trying to steal it after I had scanned it with the scanner gun, and I got to see the video ‘evidence’ of my theft, including grabbing the scanner gun and starting to move toward the box.
They’re hit-or-miss as a customer convenience because their actual purpose is to cut labor costs.
