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HAB911

(8,811 posts)
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:20 AM Mar 2019

Why Self-Checkout Is and Has Always Been the Worst

Automation is often presented as an inexorably advancing force, whether it’s ushering in a threat to jobs or a promise of increased leisure or larger profits. We’re made to imagine the robots rising, increasingly mechanized systems of production, more streamlined modes of everyday living. But the truth is that automation technology and automated systems very often fail. And even when they do, they nonetheless frequently wind up stranded in our lives.

For every automated appliance or system that actually makes performing a task easier—dishwashers, ATMs, robotic factory arms, say—there seems to be another one—self-checkout kiosks, automated phone menus, mass email marketing—that actively makes our lives worse.

I’ve taken to calling this second category, simply, shitty automation.

Shitty automation usually, but not always, comes about when new user-facing technology is adopted by a company or institution for the ostensible reason of minimizing labor and cutting costs. Nobody likes wading through an interminable phone menu to try to address a suspect charge on a phone bill—literally, everyone would rather speak with a customer service rep. But that’s the system we’re stuck with because a corporation decided that the inconvenience to the user is well worth the savings in labor costs.

https://gizmodo.com/why-self-checkout-is-and-has-always-been-the-worst-1833106695

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Why Self-Checkout Is and Has Always Been the Worst (Original Post) HAB911 Mar 2019 OP
allow businesses to replace cashiers with machines HAB911 Mar 2019 #1
In California they passed a law Mr.Bill Mar 2019 #76
Can't check IDs yet SoCalNative Mar 2019 #80
They have self checkouts at every store I visit. There is a checker stationed there. Tipperary Mar 2019 #82
Yes, that's one way to do it. Mr.Bill Mar 2019 #84
When there is only automated checkout I always ask for help delisen Mar 2019 #101
Most of this automation put the labor onto the customer! treestar Mar 2019 #90
I piss my wife off sometimes HAB911 Mar 2019 #93
Charming. WillowTree Mar 2019 #117
If I am nothing else, I'm charming HAB911 Mar 2019 #122
Our local Target store has only self checkout early in the morning spinbaby Mar 2019 #2
Because the one person can cover 4 checkout stations. It works great at my target, nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #6
At that hour, they don't have four people checking out spinbaby Mar 2019 #29
I always use a real cashier if no line, it is easier. nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #33
Even when there are lines, which there always are, I use a real cashier. Cassidy Mar 2019 #69
I absolutely homegirl Mar 2019 #75
Weird how it takes longer and is more invasive when I use a teller at PNC. Ligyron Mar 2019 #97
What's with the self checkout hate? It is easier. PTWB Mar 2019 #106
It sucks on all levels. Tommy_Carcetti Mar 2019 #3
+1 happybird Mar 2019 #104
I like it...... USALiberal Mar 2019 #4
I don't love it, but it's usually faster. A friend uploads Hortensis Mar 2019 #41
Before grocery carts were invented mercuryblues Mar 2019 #81
Don't know. Far fewer jobs, no matter how they're designed, Hortensis Mar 2019 #91
Here is a cute story about that. Scarsdale Mar 2019 #51
LOL, that is great! nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #120
There won't even be self checkout in the future madville Mar 2019 #5
So if someone gets ahold of your phone,they can clean out the store? MichMan Mar 2019 #7
No different if they took your wallet and Credit Card. nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #9
It's done partly with facial recognition madville Mar 2019 #10
Our Giant grocery store iamateacher Mar 2019 #8
Because she only has to do that one item! nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #11
I hate self checkout. marble falls Mar 2019 #12
Totally agree. EOM TruckFump Mar 2019 #22
Don't use it. See it as an affront to having employes and customers doing the work to save notdarkyet Mar 2019 #26
I do not use it. Just one of the many reasons I won't shop Walmart. marble falls Mar 2019 #40
Walmart was having people arrested for their self check out not working properly. Oppaloopa Mar 2019 #88
It's been a while since we had one of these let's go back 100 years thread when it worked better. madinmaryland Mar 2019 #13
And there is no stopping it and we should not try to. nt USALiberal Mar 2019 #15
Did you ever stop and think about how all this 'progress' just might be the underlying cause sinkingfeeling Mar 2019 #31
This! Stinky The Clown Mar 2019 #68
Agree and thank you. Oppaloopa Mar 2019 #89
The stores near me that have self-checkout always have lots of cashiers working as well LongtimeAZDem Mar 2019 #14
The movement from full service to self service has taken a long time MineralMan Mar 2019 #16
I remember going to the gas station panader0 Mar 2019 #53
I worked in a gas station like that. MineralMan Mar 2019 #79
Even past that Eko Mar 2019 #118
Personally, I'd rather be an employee who makes, maintains, trouble-shoots, installs, etc., robots Hoyt Mar 2019 #17
I don't know how old you are; I turned 60 my last birthday. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #44
Well, we could always stop technological advances. Of course, there would be even more people Hoyt Mar 2019 #57
It isn't a zero sum game MichMan Mar 2019 #62
You're misreading me as a luddite. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #107
I'm sure most people feel that way. However, there will be fewer of those jobs than the more menial Sapient Donkey Mar 2019 #119
It's not just "automation", it's shifting the burden of work onto the customer. eppur_se_muova Mar 2019 #18
+1 treestar Mar 2019 #92
When was the last time anyone demanded that an operator place a phone call? brooklynite Mar 2019 #19
Around 1974. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #38
Exactly obamanut2012 Mar 2019 #70
My wife. Cold War Spook Mar 2019 #115
Yesterday it took me 10 minutes to get two beverages at a McDonalds Generic Brad Mar 2019 #20
And if you use cash, you need the employee... Phentex Mar 2019 #59
Their new system is atrocious. Ms. Toad Mar 2019 #83
Late at night only automated checkout is available in most stores here, and the tblue37 Mar 2019 #21
Our Giant does that...grrr Freddie Mar 2019 #27
I love it. tymorial Mar 2019 #23
It is absolutely great for those few-items-at-a-time trips. Iggo Mar 2019 #45
I definitely do not disagree with you regarding a full cart. tymorial Mar 2019 #48
I like self checkout. Kaleva Mar 2019 #24
I use self-check out because they don't train the baggers how to bag groceries. CrispyQ Mar 2019 #25
Or they distribute the frozen foods into bags with room temperature items milestogo Mar 2019 #65
I love it when I don't have much stuff. Gets me in and out quick nt Quixote1818 Mar 2019 #28
Kroger had a deal on 24 pack soft drinks. House of Roberts Mar 2019 #30
I never use it but 90% of my shopping is at local family businesses that don't have Self-Checkout nt yaesu Mar 2019 #32
I like self-checkouts but I wish more stores had them with long conveyer belts. I like bagging Luciferous Mar 2019 #34
telephone bots barbtries Mar 2019 #35
Well, I simply cannot resist this teachable moment :) PatrickforO Mar 2019 #36
Well said. paleotn Mar 2019 #39
Good post! bluestarone Mar 2019 #43
Excellent post underpants Mar 2019 #56
+++++++++++ HAB911 Mar 2019 #95
Yes! Duppers Mar 2019 #111
Yogurt standard packaging was originally 8 ounces Wednesdays Mar 2019 #121
Sorry, but self checkout doesn't make my life worse.... paleotn Mar 2019 #37
Same here. trev Mar 2019 #94
Self checkout is easy to defeat SHRED Mar 2019 #42
This message was self-deleted by its author Mosby Mar 2019 #72
Better lawyer up! They will have you on video if you try and sneak out with even a pack of bubble g madinmaryland Mar 2019 #73
If I use the self-checkout mac56 Mar 2019 #46
Funny I do take an employee discount on organis if I use self checkout. underpants Mar 2019 #49
exactly, I want compensation for my labor HAB911 Mar 2019 #96
I'll admit I use it (if I don't got to the customer service desk) really just to be nice underpants Mar 2019 #47
I prefer the self-check out....don't have to deal with cashier asking me where I got something HipChick Mar 2019 #50
This message was self-deleted by its author Huffleprecious Mar 2019 #52
Every generation will have its Luddites that refuse to move on Tarc Mar 2019 #54
Automation and AI are realities and will only get more advanced and more pervasive. Blue_true Mar 2019 #55
Disagree about having people assigned to a machine MichMan Mar 2019 #67
A vending machine isn't at the level that I envision, not even remotely. Blue_true Mar 2019 #113
And don't forget the fossil fuel industry getting us to pump our own gas. jalan48 Mar 2019 #58
We did that not them. EX500rider Mar 2019 #108
True, we did put a lot of mom and pops out of business because they couldn't sell the cheaper gas. jalan48 Mar 2019 #109
I like it. I don't like having all my items crushed into bags that don't make sense. we can do it Mar 2019 #60
I'd like it a lot better if it actually worked. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2019 #61
I still wind up needing a person 90% of the time, anyway. Stupid. GoCubsGo Mar 2019 #63
I always use self checkout when I don't have a full basket of stuff. Much faster and more efficient. Nitram Mar 2019 #64
" Unexpected item in the bagging area" California_Republic Mar 2019 #66
Self-Checkout doesn't make my life worse Politicub Mar 2019 #71
Stores will not open 10 items or less lanes AwakeAtLast Mar 2019 #74
Stores have always hated those low # of item lanes. Mr.Bill Mar 2019 #77
I love 'em - and my kid NEEDS them Blue_Adept Mar 2019 #78
As long as it is the belt type register - Ms. Toad Mar 2019 #85
I avoid them because they can't cope with a backpack as the "bag you provide yourself" muriel_volestrangler Mar 2019 #86
I'm so old, I remember when the cashier would empty your grocery cart for you. OMGWTF Mar 2019 #87
I prefer self-checkout Maeve Mar 2019 #98
A look ahead to the year 2039: mac56 Mar 2019 #99
The strange thing is... jmowreader Mar 2019 #100
I never use them. dawg day Mar 2019 #102
I'm a fan, due to the speed and the fact I'm able to bag my groceries with less plastic... VarryOn Mar 2019 #103
Eh I like it. Loki Liesmith Mar 2019 #105
Self checkout is corporate greed in the flesh JCMach1 Mar 2019 #110
Sherlock had a scene with Watson having a "row" with the self checkout machine. suffragette Mar 2019 #112
the plan is to do away with checkouts entirely JI7 Mar 2019 #114
We use self-checkout because it is better than waiting in line. Cold War Spook Mar 2019 #116

HAB911

(8,811 posts)
1. allow businesses to replace cashiers with machines
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:23 AM
Mar 2019

“By automating labor, self-checkouts may allow businesses to replace cashiers with machines, and thus shed significant labor costs... Most of the self-checkout manufacturers’ websites readily acknowledge their savings in labor-related costs; a report on NCR’s website states that ‘self-checkout…allows stores to cut labor costs, which account for more than ninety percent of the costs associated with running the front end of a retail store.’ Likewise, Optimal Robotics notes that a four-station, one-attendant configuration would require approximately one hundred and fifty fewer labor hours a week compared to the regular checkouts…”

Mr.Bill

(24,104 posts)
76. In California they passed a law
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:43 PM
Mar 2019

that no alcoholic beverages can go through an automated checkstand. I would bet the Retail Clerks lobbied for this law, and rightfully so. An automated checkstand can't check IDs.

 

Tipperary

(6,930 posts)
82. They have self checkouts at every store I visit. There is a checker stationed there.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:05 PM
Mar 2019

The checker is there to help those who have difficulty with the scanner or to check IDs. Sometimes there are two checkers tationed there.

Mr.Bill

(24,104 posts)
84. Yes, that's one way to do it.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:07 PM
Mar 2019

But nevertheless, it's the law in California. I wonder if other states have this law?

delisen

(6,039 posts)
101. When there is only automated checkout I always ask for help
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:34 PM
Mar 2019

The machines are poorly designed I am an not interested in being a test subject .

There should be a 10% discount for automated anything

treestar

(82,383 posts)
90. Most of this automation put the labor onto the customer!
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:35 PM
Mar 2019

That's my beef with it. We are just doing more work. We have to do what the cashier did, basically, running each item over the scanner.

HAB911

(8,811 posts)
93. I piss my wife off sometimes
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:43 PM
Mar 2019

because I will not bag my own groceries even. I'll stand there and watch her do it if she's in a hurry, LOL.

spinbaby

(15,073 posts)
2. Our local Target store has only self checkout early in the morning
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:28 AM
Mar 2019

It annoys me to no end. I refuse to use it, so the employee manning the self checkout stand checks me out. I don’t understand why the employee babysitting the self checkout can’t just be put on a register instead.

spinbaby

(15,073 posts)
29. At that hour, they don't have four people checking out
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:36 AM
Mar 2019

At 8:00 am, when I usually shop, there are maybe six customers in the whole store and the employees are busy with restocking and their weird morning pep rally. They don’t need four checkouts; they barely need one checkout.

Cassidy

(200 posts)
69. Even when there are lines, which there always are, I use a real cashier.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:30 PM
Mar 2019

Then I begin a conversation with those around me, how, if I am going to work at that store - by checking myself out - I expect to get paid. I keep the tone humorous, but lively, and I keep it going. You would be amazed how fast they can open up another check-out line when you use this technique. And yes, it is another checkout LINE, because so many people were waiting!

homegirl

(1,419 posts)
75. I absolutely
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:42 PM
Mar 2019

refuse to use a self checkout.

The first time I encountered a bank employee touting the virtues of using an ATM, she was startled when I asked her why she was campaigning to eliminate her job.

It was 4 decades before I used an ATM, and that was because I was 11 thousand miles away from my bank. Have since converted due to long lines in the bank---too few employees!

Ligyron

(7,592 posts)
97. Weird how it takes longer and is more invasive when I use a teller at PNC.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:16 PM
Mar 2019

Never use self checkout with current S.O. unless I only have a couple items and there's a long line at the regular check out.

That's the only advantage. Speed.

 

PTWB

(4,131 posts)
106. What's with the self checkout hate? It is easier.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:54 PM
Mar 2019

I always go to whichever lane has the shortest wait. That said, if self checkout is open and a clerked lane is open, I’ll do self checkout every time.

Why would I want some clerk to ring me up when they’ll almost certainly want to make small talk and / or be incredibly slow? I can do it faster and better most of the time. And my time is valuable.

Tommy_Carcetti

(43,085 posts)
3. It sucks on all levels.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:30 AM
Mar 2019

Not just because of automation but also because on the rare times I use self-checkout, things never work as planned and I always need an associate anyways.

USALiberal

(10,877 posts)
4. I like it......
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:30 AM
Mar 2019

At target, it saves me a lot of time as there are 12 stations, no waiting. And the process is just going too get better.

You cannot and should not stop automation. ATMs, Self pumping gas, online banking, bill pay, etc.

This process has happened throughout history. Hell, at one point there were street light lamp lighters and people who went door to door to wake people up before alarm clocks.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
41. I don't love it, but it's usually faster. A friend uploads
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:56 AM
Mar 2019

her shopping lists to the market and pays at home and then just picks it up. I use the grocery stocks to "inspire" and just haven't gone that way. Yet.

But coming soon to me, willy-nilly, will be a scanner for checking items as I drop them in the cart, or probably directly into the resuable bags I already bring, and then of course just leaving.

No problem to me as a shopper, although I'll miss pleasant chat with cashiers inclined to it, but the loss of jobs. Tens of millions are already on the blocks due to technology that's already been developed.

Maybe we should start warning the cashiers who are lying awake in the middle of the night wondering what's going to replace their income to vote Democrat.

mercuryblues

(14,491 posts)
81. Before grocery carts were invented
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:04 PM
Mar 2019

people used to go to the counter and pick out what they wanted from the cashier, who then rang them up. At some point the goods were placed on the floor and baskets provided. Less cashiers were needed. The downside to that, for the grocer was when the baskets became heavy the shopper would go to the cashier. Some stores provided someone on the floor to help the shoppers, by carrying the baskets.

Then one grocer got smart and invented the cart, in the late 1930's. That eliminated the helpers on the floor.

Now we are back to the giving the cashiers a list and them selecting the merchandise you want, ringing it up then handing it to you.

In the stores that offer this convenience, even though they also have a self checkout are the workers being displaced or are they being retrained for new jobs that didn't exist 5 years ago?

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
91. Don't know. Far fewer jobs, no matter how they're designed,
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:37 PM
Mar 2019

though, right?

I enjoy the musing about how it used to be. Population growth and explosion of availability of goods due to production advances had already lead to shopping carts when I was a child, but I especially remember the barrel or jar of giant dill pickles small stores still had at the checkout counter and pointing to the one I wanted.

I hadn't made the circle to presenting a list to the store then and now, but yes. In future, though, I'll be elsewhere while groceries are chased down in a warehouse and delivered to the pick-up point for a time I've scheduled. Wonder if you can track your grocery order's progress. Will images of the products being processed be available for upload to to our phones like the USPS does?

Scarsdale

(9,426 posts)
51. Here is a cute story about that.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:08 PM
Mar 2019

Every morning my father took a bus to work. He got off the bus, walked along a certain street and knocked on doors, waking his friends. It was called "Knocking people up"!! My future husband, a GI was staying over at our house for the first time. My mother asked "What time do you want me to knock you up in the morning?" His face was so shocked, I did not know what was wrong with him. He stuttered and stammered. Afterwards, he explained to me the difference in the meaning between the UK and the US.

madville

(7,397 posts)
5. There won't even be self checkout in the future
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:32 AM
Mar 2019

I went in an Amazon store last year, you just take what you want off the shelf and walk out, you get a receipt on your smartphone within a minute or two.

madville

(7,397 posts)
10. It's done partly with facial recognition
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:38 AM
Mar 2019

There are cameras everywhere that know who is grabbing what specific item from where and how many.

iamateacher

(1,088 posts)
8. Our Giant grocery store
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:37 AM
Mar 2019

Has a new twist on self checkout. When you check out large items (like a 12 pack of seltzer), you can opt to skip putting them in the bagging area. But when you try to pay, the machine stops you and the attendant has to come over and use her card to start the payment process again.
If this is an option in the automation process, why have it if it requires a human to make it work?

notdarkyet

(2,226 posts)
26. Don't use it. See it as an affront to having employes and customers doing the work to save
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:22 AM
Mar 2019

The company money.

Oppaloopa

(862 posts)
88. Walmart was having people arrested for their self check out not working properly.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:17 PM
Mar 2019

Never use self checkout people.

madinmaryland

(64,920 posts)
13. It's been a while since we had one of these let's go back 100 years thread when it worked better.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:44 AM
Mar 2019

Sheesh. Progress happens.

sinkingfeeling

(51,279 posts)
31. Did you ever stop and think about how all this 'progress' just might be the underlying cause
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:36 AM
Mar 2019

of the great divisions among us? Back in the day, we had face contact with a wide variety of people at gas stations, supermarkets, clothing stores, etc. You talked to people every day. I'd bet there are some folks on DU who haven't spoken, in person, to someone else in a week.

You call it 'progress'. I see it as a negative. Kids no longer have to use their minds to commit facts to memory when there's Google always available. You no longer have to work on relationships when you can be a 'friend' to a stranger on FB. Everybody's now an 'expert', free to debate or insult any educator, lawyer, or scientist who puts out a comment or publishes a paper. Even us old folks have given up memorizing other folks' phone numbers when they're on a smartphone. And look how technology has destroyed our election.

I think it's a big mistake to turn over human control to technology. I see "Ready Player One" in your future (not mine since I'll be dead).

Fire away.

LongtimeAZDem

(4,494 posts)
14. The stores near me that have self-checkout always have lots of cashiers working as well
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:46 AM
Mar 2019

the ones that don't have it usually have only one or two cashiers, and long lines.

YMMV

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
16. The movement from full service to self service has taken a long time
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:51 AM
Mar 2019

in the retail industry. But, the transition is inexorable. Very few of us remember how stores worked in the early years of the 20th century. Back then, you came in, asked for what you wanted, and someone went and got it for you from the dark shelves in the store. It was brought to the cash wrap or service counter, where you could inspect it and either accept it or ask for something else.

This was true in department stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, and almost everywhere else. Customers did not wander around, looking for what they wanted. They got personal service for their requests.

When you paid for your purchases, your money was sent to a cashier elsewhere in the store, using various methods, ranging from a page who ran your money there, to pneumatic tubes which carried it to the cashier. The front of the store personnel were not allowed to make change, provide receipts or do much of anything else. It was a matter of trust, I suppose.

That all changed fairly early in the 20th century. Stores began to display goods on shelves to allow customers to seek out and select their own goods. Why? To cut down on the number of employees, of course. Next, the remote cashier was eliminated and your transaction was completed at the cash-wrap counter. Again, this reduced the number of employees.

Once you had made a purchase, in the olden days, you could have it delivered to your home, where your household servants would accept the goods. Then, as self-service stores advanced, this was replaced by either the cash-wrap employee or another worker bagging your purchase in a bag that advertised the store. As grocery stores became supermarkets, some discount supermarkets stopped bagging customers' purchases, relegating that task to the customer as well. Again, fewer employees for greater profits and competitive pricing.

Now, the self-checkout system promises to eliminate the cashier altogether, giving the customer the job of tallying purchases and dealing with payment, using either paper money or plastic debit or credit cards. The systems to do this are still imperfect, and everyone who goes through the self-check lines has experienced issues. So, the store stations an employee to monitor several check-outs to deal with those problems. Again reducing the number of employees is the goal, making the customers, once again, work for the store with each purchase.

What's next? Well, the new Amazon stores don't even have checkout counters or cash-wrap stations. You come in, pick up what you want, and it is automatically charged to your account. You needn't interact with store employees at all in this new wave of self-service technology. Someone is, no doubt, watching over the store, perhaps from a remote security station, and you're being recorded on video at all times, but hey, it's fast, easy and you needn't even look at anyone if you don't want to.

We've all been trained, over the years, to accept more and more of the responsibility of serving ourselves. For a while, we miss the guy in the service station who used to pump our gas, wash our windows, and check our tires and oil. But, we got used to it, for the most part. We miss the baggers at the supermarket, but we got used to it. We've even been trained to like this new self-service system.

Soon, and even now, we won't have to go to the store at all. We can plug in our electric car in the garage and do all our shopping on our smart phones. Just click the Buy Now! button, and a vehicle will come to your door very soon and drop off what you bought. No need to leave your home. No need to go out of doors. No need to interact with other people. What joy, eh?

panader0

(25,816 posts)
53. I remember going to the gas station
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:09 PM
Mar 2019

and the attendant would gas you up, check your oil, show you the dipstick,
clean the bugs from the windshield, and check the tire pressure. No extra
charge and the gas very cheap.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
79. I worked in a gas station like that.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:57 PM
Mar 2019

Back in the 60s. If you needed tires, an oil change, or other minor services, like a car wash ($2.50), I did that, too, all for $2.50/hr. During the day, there were three of us working in that station, so it cost the owner $7.50/hr. to staff the service station.

We had a Coke machine and a rack with chips and stuff on it, but that was the extent of our other offerings. Mostly that stuff got purchased by the employees, mostly. Now, stations have a mini-mart, and the three employees work in there, making about $12.50/hr. But more money is made on what's for sale in the store than at the pumps. Out there, customers are on their own. Gas costs more, the car wash costs a LOT more, the food is lousy in the mini-mart, and you have to go elsewhere to get your car serviced, but that's how we do it in 2019.

Eko

(7,170 posts)
118. Even past that
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 06:52 PM
Mar 2019

some of us can just go online and order things that way we can bypass all the human interaction.

 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
17. Personally, I'd rather be an employee who makes, maintains, trouble-shoots, installs, etc., robots
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:51 AM
Mar 2019

than someone who slides a bar-coded item across a scanner. I'd also like to see a society where we retrain and support people who are displaced by automation/technology/progress/etc.

PatrickforO

(14,516 posts)
44. I don't know how old you are; I turned 60 my last birthday.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:00 PM
Mar 2019

I can remember when I was in high school, they showed this movie by a 'futurist' named Alvin Toffler. It was called 'Future Shock.' It make a lot of interesting prognostications such as hair dyed pink, green and blue.

The teacher in this class told us, having read the book, that we'd better develop some serious hobbies because with increases in productivity driven by technology, we'd only need to work 25 hours a week.

Funny, eh? Last time I had that light a schedule was working p/t while in high school and undergrad.

My question now, after experiencing 45 years in that wonderful world we call 'work' is this: If a technological advancement causes ten workers to lose their jobs, but four are retrained and brought back to manage the technology, what do we do with the other six?

This, and the environmental degradation caused by the carbon emissions and other polluting acts of our species, may point to a sea change in how we organize ourselves. We've got to get rid of the whole primacy of the shareholder doctrine because that is in irreconcilable conflict with our interests as a species.

Too many people have been wiped out, enslaved or impoverished by 'business interests,' and it's always bothered me a great deal that in this world where we have all this advanced technology, upwards of 25,000 people die of starvation every day. Every day. Starvation. And in this country we have 25 million people who are, according to the current euphemism, 'food-insecure.'

The bottom line, I think, is that we must grow up as a species and begin planning around human need and the continued habitability of our planet.

But, hey, I sure get warm fuzzies when I think of all those billionaires and corporations that got that massive tax cut in 2017, don't you? Bunch of parasites too short-sighted to see how badly they are fouling their own nest.

 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
57. Well, we could always stop technological advances. Of course, there would be even more people
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:14 PM
Mar 2019

starving.

I'm actually 16.2% older than you, remember using out-houses, cesspools, living in small shacks, etc. I'm glad for certain kinds of progress, although I think even middle-class America has been living beyond our means for some time. It's not just the rich.

In any event, I agree "we must grow up as a species and begin planning around human need and the continued habitability of our planet." But, I don't see many people willing to give up what they have, other than the poor.

I'm still waiting for the politician with the guts to tell Americans the truth -- we've taken more than our share of the world's wealth and resources and it's time to cutback for the good of all. They won't make it through Iowa or New Hampshire caucuses/primaries.

MichMan

(11,790 posts)
62. It isn't a zero sum game
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:20 PM
Mar 2019

Your point could be attached to nearly all technological advances

A farmer with a tractor is more productive than dozens of field hands

A bulldozer with one operator can do more than hundreds of workers with shovels

A truck or train can move tons of freight much more efficiently than horses and carriages.

Do they damage the environment more than tons of horse manure everywhere?

I remember when everything needed to be typed with typewriters; computers are far more efficient

All of the above displaced workers, but companies like Microsoft, Caterpillar, John Deere, and Kenworth all employ millions of employees.


Is anyone suggesting that these technologies were bad for society ?


PatrickforO

(14,516 posts)
107. You're misreading me as a luddite.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 03:18 PM
Mar 2019

Not so. Technology is great - I would not want to be without my cell or my PC, for sure.

My point is just that we've got to somehow conquer the all-powerful force of human greed, and get our heads around planning for human need. This planning is not WITHOUT technology, or to get rid of technology or otherwise curtail it. Rather, let's use it to help one another.

Of course, Hoyt makes the point that America makes up around 4% of the world's population, but we CONSUME about 25% of its resources, just like a bunch of locusts.

Would I be willing to downsize? Yes.
Drive an electric car. Yes.
Recycle. Yes.
Conserve. Yes.

Point is, we need to use the very best in technology and we need to do these things together as a matter of policy.

We, as a species, are crucifying ourselves on the cross of greed, NOT technology.

Sapient Donkey

(1,568 posts)
119. I'm sure most people feel that way. However, there will be fewer of those jobs than the more menial
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 07:07 PM
Mar 2019

jobs. And in other cases a single employee doing similar work can manage several machines at once. So instead of six cashiers they now have one or two. This is going to be a continuing theme that started decades ago, but which in recent years has rapidly increased in speed. Even skilled technical jobs are facing this and will continue to face this issue. So as these systems mature and become more common place, they end up being far more reliable and perhaps cheap enough to just be swapped in and out by regular folks when they are damaged.

eppur_se_muova

(36,227 posts)
18. It's not just "automation", it's shifting the burden of work onto the customer.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:53 AM
Mar 2019

The company doesn't have to pay as many cashiers because YOU -- with the help of the machines -- are working for the company when you use self-checkout. Thanks, but we're not going to compensate you for your labor except by shortening your wait time.

Menu-driven phone systems are perhaps the worst case of this, in case you hadn't guessed.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
92. +1
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:38 PM
Mar 2019

The phone menus could go because online systems could replace them, but who does the entry of data now? We do.

 

Cold War Spook

(1,279 posts)
115. My wife.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 05:49 PM
Mar 2019

2 days ago. Actually 411 (is it still 411?). She got a person, not a machine, and she dialed the number.

Generic Brad

(14,270 posts)
20. Yesterday it took me 10 minutes to get two beverages at a McDonalds
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 10:59 AM
Mar 2019

No one was manning the cash register. I ordered two drinks from the self service. I had to take a number and wait for an employee to hand me the two paper cups so I could pour my own ice tea. I had to stand there and wait ten minutes for someone to hand me the cups that were behind their counter just beyond my reach.

Before they automated, my wife and I would have bought, paid for, and consumed two small ice teas in the time it took them to hand us our cups.

Phentex

(16,330 posts)
59. And if you use cash, you need the employee...
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:16 PM
Mar 2019

I stopped in to use the restroom and grab an iced tea. People were milling around behind the counter but the customers were all hovering on the other side. They pointed me to the kiosk. However, I wanted to pay with cash so I was sent back to the counter to get the cup and pay. So basically, I saved the employee having to press "beverage" on the register.

I got free use of the facilities so there's that.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
83. Their new system is atrocious.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:06 PM
Mar 2019

Every order - even just a drink order - goes into the queue. You only get your cups (and I only get my coffee) after everyone else who was in front of us gets their 15 big mac meals, etc. (Even when I order at the counter)

In the past, if you just ordered a drink, the cashier got it for you immediately. Handing me a coffee doesn't make the person with the 15 big mac meals wait any longer - their meals are being cooked and bagged by someone else.

tblue37

(64,982 posts)
21. Late at night only automated checkout is available in most stores here, and the
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:07 AM
Mar 2019

line backs up despite many empty ones, because we all wait for help room the one store employee available to help us.

Whenever I have to use the auto, I need help, but every time the employee has to perform mysterious actions to correct the machine when it insists that unscanned objects must bff removed from the bag. Even customers who try to use the machines end up having to that one employee over to help when the machine wrongly claims they have unscanned objects in their bag.

Thus a trip to the store at 10:30 or 11:00 at night for one or two items or a just a few items turns into an hour long ordeal.

Freddie

(9,232 posts)
27. Our Giant does that...grrr
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:31 AM
Mar 2019

They open at 6 am but don’t put real cashiers on til about 8. Found that out when I had to do a “big shopping” early. I’ll use the self-checkout for 2 or 3 items but I want a human (and maybe even a bagger) for my regular weekly trip.
It’s also a PITA when buying bakery items or fruit.

tymorial

(3,433 posts)
23. I love it.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:13 AM
Mar 2019

I have control over the checkout process and I rarely buy more than a few items at a time when I go to the store. It's frustrating being stuck in a slow checkout line where the cashier is slow or incompetent. The you have the people who wait for the last item to be scanned before they open their purse or wallet. The people who wont help bag their own groceries when there is a long line behind them and too few staff helping with bagging.

I will always take self check out.

Iggo

(47,489 posts)
45. It is absolutely great for those few-items-at-a-time trips.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:00 PM
Mar 2019

Bang. Zoom. Out a there.

But for the week's-worth basket-loads of grocs and supplies, I go to the line with the trained cashier, and I wish others would, too. That way I don't hold up the few-items-at-a-time line.

tymorial

(3,433 posts)
48. I definitely do not disagree with you regarding a full cart.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:06 PM
Mar 2019

I should have clarified. A self checkout should have limits.

CrispyQ

(36,231 posts)
25. I use self-check out because they don't train the baggers how to bag groceries.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:15 AM
Mar 2019

They grab the first thing that comes down the check stand & put it in the bottom of the bag. If it's your tomatoes or bread, you better be paying attention. Another pet peeve is when they load one bag so it's 30 pounds & the second bag is 5 pounds. I usually walk to the store so even weight distribution is important. They get really annoyed when you bag your own groceries, so I go to self-checkout & do it all.

milestogo

(16,829 posts)
65. Or they distribute the frozen foods into bags with room temperature items
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:23 PM
Mar 2019

instead of keeping them all together. Drives me nuts.

House of Roberts

(5,122 posts)
30. Kroger had a deal on 24 pack soft drinks.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:36 AM
Mar 2019

I had to buy five of them in one transaction to get them all at the sale price.
You can't pile them on the bagging area so the machine can weigh them because it's too small. An associate has to use a handheld scanner for you to get them through the checkout. Also, my Kroger card is on my phone, and the self checkout won't read it, so the employee has to scan it too. I wouldn't use the self checkout, but that's all they have after 11pm, when I go through there after work. I hate self checkout. At least Publix doesn't have it yet.

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
32. I never use it but 90% of my shopping is at local family businesses that don't have Self-Checkout nt
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:36 AM
Mar 2019

Luciferous

(6,067 posts)
34. I like self-checkouts but I wish more stores had them with long conveyer belts. I like bagging
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:39 AM
Mar 2019

my own stuff because I know it will be done properly, and I'm usually faster than the cashier.

PatrickforO

(14,516 posts)
36. Well, I simply cannot resist this teachable moment :)
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:44 AM
Mar 2019

The root cause of this is unregulated capitalism, otherwise known as the 'primacy of the shareholder' doctrine. Get rid of that and we solve so many problems it isn't even funny.

Capitalism is irredeemable without government regulation to check the excesses inherent in an economy operating on the doctrine of the primacy of the shareholder. If you are the CEO of a publicly held company, your ONLY responsibility is to increase earnings for shareholders.

Because of this, you will bust the unions, drive wages down as far as possible, illegally gobble up worker pension funds if you can get a away with it.

And for consumers - if you find your product is unsafe, you won't necessarily recall it and fix the problem unless your lawyers and accountants tell you settlements from litigation will cost more than doing the right thing. Otherwise you'll leave it alone and just pay the settlements when your product kills or maims someone.

Let's not forget decreasing the amount of product in the package but charging the same amount. Yogurts are a good example. They used to be 6 ounces. A cup. Then, to increase profits, manufacturers decreased the size of the package to 5.3 ounces but still charged the same price.

Finally, if you are the CEO, and it comes to your attention that your company is fouling the environment, you will first try to bribe legislators with donations to keep you from being bothered with 'pesky' regulations. This is what the big-oil lobby has done - hired pseudo-scientists to cast doubt on global warming science, and of course Trump has been a big help gutting the EPA.

All this ensures shareholders make money (and yes, I know many of us own equities), but at the expense of workers, consumers and the environment.

This is what is 'irredeemable' - the fact that over the last decades, corporations have carefully and thoroughly corrupted our government until those we elect quake in fear at these powerful lobbies because they are afraid they won't be reelected if they do what is right instead of what the lobby wants.

underpants

(182,281 posts)
56. Excellent post
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:12 PM
Mar 2019

They also (Agra and I think supermarkets) really put a hurting on farms that sold real food. The place we used to go to for beef closed because the county suddenly came up with all kinds of stupid hurdles for them to jump through and it just wasn't worth the effort to sell anymore. They're still operating as a farm just not selling in retail. This was about in 2007 or 2008 when the foodie thing was really starting to take off. They told us that all these new steps came from Powers they couldn't fight getting things changed behind the scenes.

Wednesdays

(17,249 posts)
121. Yogurt standard packaging was originally 8 ounces
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 09:45 PM
Mar 2019

Same thing with tuna cans. Waaaaay back in the olden days, tuna cans were 8 ounces--a half a pound. Then they were 7 and a half ounces, then 7 ounces, and so on. Now they're something like five and three-quarters ounces. Unreal.

Canned vegetables once were sold in one-pound quantities, and now the standard has crept down to 14 ounces. And ice cream packages were always sold in half-gallons, but in recent years have shrunk to 3.5 pints and now even down to 3.0 pints.

paleotn

(17,781 posts)
37. Sorry, but self checkout doesn't make my life worse....
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:45 AM
Mar 2019

It allows me to get a few things on the way home from work without having to wait behind those with full buggies. Now, if I have more than a handful of items, I go through the regular checkout as a courtesy to those with just a few items. But overall, self checkout is a huge time saver.

Phone menus on the other hand...I'm with you! Time wasters...type 2,478 if you want such and such.. UGH!!!

trev

(1,480 posts)
94. Same here.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:46 PM
Mar 2019

I lived in Europe for many years, where I became accustomed to the local practice of grocery shopping every day. I still do it. As a result, I only buy a few items at a time. And I ALWAYS use the self-checkout.

 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
42. Self checkout is easy to defeat
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 11:56 AM
Mar 2019

I haven't done it but I've checked out with no one around and it would have been easy to not scam some items.

Response to SHRED (Reply #42)

madinmaryland

(64,920 posts)
73. Better lawyer up! They will have you on video if you try and sneak out with even a pack of bubble g
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:33 PM
Mar 2019

Gum. Just look up and wave hello to the cameras watching you check out.

underpants

(182,281 posts)
49. Funny I do take an employee discount on organis if I use self checkout.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:07 PM
Mar 2019

I just put in the lower priced code for the same object.

underpants

(182,281 posts)
47. I'll admit I use it (if I don't got to the customer service desk) really just to be nice
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:06 PM
Mar 2019

If I don't bring my own bag I tend to use self check out because I don't want to look like an asshole when I have to explain that "One bag please" means everything goes in one bag and ONLY one bag. No double bagging. WTF do you think ONE BAG means? There are two very simple parts to that phrase. Sorry pet peeve of mine.

I never realized how many plastic bags we used when we had our cats. I'm going to take some to the store to recycle.

The customer service desk can ring you up too. I'll go there if there long lines elsewhere. Typically they can't weigh anything like produce but there is usually a scale in the produce area that you can weigh things on and then tell them the weight. Big time saver.

HipChick

(25,485 posts)
50. I prefer the self-check out....don't have to deal with cashier asking me where I got something
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:07 PM
Mar 2019

making comments on my purchase...in and out...

I was at my local Home Depot the other day....they no longer even have a cashier...100% self check out, with assistants standing by, if you need help...

Response to HAB911 (Original post)

Tarc

(10,472 posts)
54. Every generation will have its Luddites that refuse to move on
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:10 PM
Mar 2019

For the big weekly shopping I'll hit the regular checkout, otherwise I'll take the self-service route for all the smaller shopping excursions.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
55. Automation and AI are realities and will only get more advanced and more pervasive.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:12 PM
Mar 2019

The issue will be how we manage that as a society. Just shutting it down is a non starter, good automation and AI vastly reduce mistakes and increased output. I even look forward to robotic farm equipment like tractors and weeders, they can make food more nutritious and less costly. But I also believe that each robotic tractor should have a human sitting in an air conditioned cab overseeing the work of the tractor, so the goal would be precision and reproducibility instead of saving on wages and benefits, my argument is that the improvements in results will vastly lower the cost of food and make food safer to eat.

MichMan

(11,790 posts)
67. Disagree about having people assigned to a machine
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:28 PM
Mar 2019
"But I also believe that each robotic tractor should have a human sitting in an air conditioned cab overseeing the work of the tractor, so the goal would be precision and reproducibility instead of saving on wages and benefits"

That is ridiculous IMO to have someone "on duty" for no reason other than employing them. Should every ATM or vending machine have someone standing by for assistance 24/7 ?

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
113. A vending machine isn't at the level that I envision, not even remotely.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 05:37 PM
Mar 2019

The people in the tractor cab would be trained to intervene and to redirect the tractor as needed. Because something like such a machine would work fast, errant one movement by it could easily destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars of crops in the high density agriculture that I envision that such a machine would be utilized. The situation is simply a risk/reward choice, pay a human controller for maybe doing nothing but sit all day, or let a errant machine destroy all or most profit of that particular operation in maybe a couple of hours. In very large operations one person could be controlling several tractors at one time, so the person isn't getting paid to make work.

EX500rider

(10,532 posts)
108. We did that not them.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 03:40 PM
Mar 2019

When self serv gas 1st appeared there were still lots of full serv stations but the self serve stations could offer cheaper gas prices due to lower cost of doing business so most people switched to buying gas there so the other stations switched or went out of business.

jalan48

(13,798 posts)
109. True, we did put a lot of mom and pops out of business because they couldn't sell the cheaper gas.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 04:11 PM
Mar 2019

I would think if people didn't choose to check their own groceries the stores would drop the service.

we can do it

(12,118 posts)
60. I like it. I don't like having all my items crushed into bags that don't make sense.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:16 PM
Mar 2019

I like organizing my items so I just take each manageable bag to cupboard, fridge etc. Plus don’t like my produce or chips smashed or bagged with cleaning products.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,280 posts)
61. I'd like it a lot better if it actually worked.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:18 PM
Mar 2019

I understand that time marches on and that automation is getting more automated, but I hate self check-out because it never fucking works and I always have to have someone come over and reset something. I'm not such an idiot that I can't follow directions, and I do exactly what the stupid machine tells me to do, and it doesn't work. So after the troubleshooting employee comes over and restarts everything, the whole process ends up taking more time than if I'd gone to the human at the checkout counter in the first place.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
63. I still wind up needing a person 90% of the time, anyway. Stupid.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:20 PM
Mar 2019

My local Kroger pretty much forces their customers to use self-checkout. They usually have only one cashier on duty, and the line is usually four or five deep, all with loaded carts. So, it's either self-checkout or wait in line a half an hour. Most of the time, I need assistance, because some items don't scan properly, or at all, and I often have paper coupons, which require someone to scan. And, that means waiting and waiting for someone to actually come and help. Usually, the assistant is off helping another self-serve customer check out their purchases. Which defeats the purpose of self-service checkout. Idiotic. I fucking hate it. And, it's not like they're lowering their prices to make up for any of it.

Nitram

(22,671 posts)
64. I always use self checkout when I don't have a full basket of stuff. Much faster and more efficient.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:22 PM
Mar 2019

If supermarkets opened twice as many checkout lanes, that would be fine, but personally, I just want to pay and get out of the store with my purchase. Whole Foods has a separate set of check out lanes for fewer purchases, and that moves very fast. No need for self checkout there.

Politicub

(12,163 posts)
71. Self-Checkout doesn't make my life worse
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:32 PM
Mar 2019

It doesn't effect me at all.

But then again, one of my first jobs was cashier. I can scan like a madman and I'm comfortable with touchscreens.

I do go through a staffed checkout lane if the line is short, though. I do it because I want the cashier's job to be justified.

It's selfish to choose convenience over principle. But I hate waiting in line at the grocery store; it drives me bananas.

AwakeAtLast

(14,112 posts)
74. Stores will not open 10 items or less lanes
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:39 PM
Mar 2019

if they have self checkout. You have to make a choice to wait 15-20 minutes (or longer!) behind overflowing carts or use self checkout.

Mr.Bill

(24,104 posts)
77. Stores have always hated those low # of item lanes.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:51 PM
Mar 2019

My mother was a career grocery checker. It's a known fact in the industry that those lanes take in less money during a given time period than regular lanes. It's because they spend more time doing transactions with a higher amount of customers.

Blue_Adept

(6,384 posts)
78. I love 'em - and my kid NEEDS them
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 12:56 PM
Mar 2019

Not everyone is able to interact with cashiers.

I've used these self checkouts for ages. Markets in particular were good for them simply because those working there taking a break could swipe a snack and a drink quick.

If you're just getting a few things, it's in and out.

But for my kid with social anxiety, it was far easier working with her on how to check out and the process of it through a self-checkout than with a register.

And at least nobody is standing in that line with a goddamn check trying to pay.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
85. As long as it is the belt type register -
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:15 PM
Mar 2019

I prefer it. I can shave about 50% of the time it takes a cashier to check me out, especially when I have veggies the cashier doesn't recognize so I have to tell her or waith while she searches the item for the PLU code. I very rarely need assistance - and I can purchase a full cart (not just a few items) - unlike some of comments to the article

I refuse to use the weight sensor (you're-stealing-becasuse-you-had-to-shift-something-in-your-bags) version. Those are, and always have been the worst. I don't unload my items from the cart in the order they need to go in the bags - and the machines are designed to call the cashier if it appears you are trying to put something in the bag that you haven't just scanned - making it impossible to rearrange items in the bag.

(Using self-service does involve philosophical questions that are thorny - but those are separate from whehter the technology makes life easier or harder. In my experience, the belt-type self-service check-out makes life much easier.)

muriel_volestrangler

(101,157 posts)
86. I avoid them because they can't cope with a backpack as the "bag you provide yourself"
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 01:16 PM
Mar 2019

(or they couldn't the last few times I tried them; I suspect they couldn't be bothered to fix it, since I don't see that many others using backpacks to carry home shopping, and the pain of finding out they still haven't isn't worth it). And if you have to put all your shopping unbagged on the weighing plate, and then, once you've finished, start packing it, it's slow. I can pack the backpack at about the same rate as a cashier scans items.

Also I'm typically buying a bit of alcohol, so a cashier would have to come and scan the "yes, this geezer has been over-age for decades" code in.

Maeve

(42,224 posts)
98. I prefer self-checkout
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:31 PM
Mar 2019

I'm faster than most checkers I've dealt with, I shop most days so it's usually just a few items and I can pack my own bags better than someone else can. Yes, sometimes I need help (Kroger doesn't let you scan your own coupons, for instance) but the self-check clerks know me and if I argue that the price rung up isn't right, they believe me and fix it right then. OTOH, my Mom not only wants to go thru the regular line, she wants me to empty her cart. But then, she can barely carry the detergent, much less load the water bottles into the cart--I suspect population aging is a major push behind the "store shopper" services rolling out recently.

Pumping gas myself isn't a big issue...except during bad weather. Then I would still happily pay someone else to do it (or just have Hubby use my van and take care of it!)

mac56

(17,561 posts)
99. A look ahead to the year 2039:
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:31 PM
Mar 2019

"Back in my day, youngsters, we would bring the items we wanted to purchase to a person called a 'cashier.' He or she would total up what they cost, we would pay them, take our items and leave."

"Gosh, Grandpa, you mean you didn't have the chip implanted in your forehead that scanned your purchases and instantly deducted the amount from your bank account? How quaint!"

jmowreader

(50,453 posts)
100. The strange thing is...
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:32 PM
Mar 2019

With the exception of Home Depot - whose stores always have fewer than 10 registers anyway - I've never been in a store that used all its registers. Yesterday I went to a Saturday morning sale at a locally owned grocery store. The place was packed, lines to the back...and there were two closed registers. (This store only has nine registers.) Walmart? Forty registers, ten staffed at the busiest times of the day. The local Lowe's only ever staffs four registers.

So...except for the complaint (which is valid) that self checkout (SCO) means we're working for the store for free, what exactly is SCO hurting? If they're only going to have four cashiers any damn way, why not stick one of them on a four-position SCO system and let those of us with small orders get the hell out of the store quicker? I use SCO for two reasons: it's quicker for me to go through an SCO register than a staffed one, and me using SCO frees up a cashier for someone who doesn't use SCO.

dawg day

(7,947 posts)
102. I never use them.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:34 PM
Mar 2019

I'd like to say it's because I want to help preserve human jobs.
But actually it's because the human cashier is faster and the human bagger is better.

 

VarryOn

(2,343 posts)
103. I'm a fan, due to the speed and the fact I'm able to bag my groceries with less plastic...
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 02:35 PM
Mar 2019

I also use the Pike Pass lanes on the tollway (rather than the manned booths), check-in kioskes at the airport, and pay-at-the-pump at gas stations.

JI7

(89,182 posts)
114. the plan is to do away with checkouts entirely
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 05:43 PM
Mar 2019

I don't really consider self checkout automation.

but the plan is for people to have cards which will identify them as they walk through the door and whatever items they want will automatically be checked out . so the person just has to walk in and get whatever they want and walk out.

no more cashiers at all.

there are already some stores like this and videos of it to see how they work.

 

Cold War Spook

(1,279 posts)
116. We use self-checkout because it is better than waiting in line.
Sun Mar 24, 2019, 05:52 PM
Mar 2019

What we wont do is let someone else pick out our groceries for us. Why trust someone else to pick out you vegetables and fruits?

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