I detest u scans at grocery store

[TEB]

No cashiers usually two at 07:00 not this morning. I had to use the u scan technology I understand is progress but dammit I like cashiers.

[Sherman A1]

1. K&R

And the stores rely upon you providing the labor to them at these checkout systems. I am old enough to recall when we didn't pump our own gas, but those days are long gone for most areas.

[beachbumbob]

2. people use to say the same about the horse and buggy and having to deal with those new fangle cars

[Major Nikon]

14. The difference is that technology was for the benefit of consumers

The same alternative is available today, but generally is only used for the sake of religious reasons or nostalgia.

[beachbumbob]

15. u-scan is a benefit, I am in and of stores in half the time, not bad for

being 65+ yrs old.

[Major Nikon]

16. Not compared to an employee

At least with the current technology, there's no way I'm going to be faster at checking out compared to an employee who spends most of their time checking people out. If you have enough items, you quite often run into something that must be entered manually, may not have a code to enter, isn't in the system, or a host of other problems that require intervention by an employee. Now you're sharing that employee with numerous other people who have their own problems and you must still wait your turn for resolution. The only reason it's faster sometimes is because stores short staff, create long lines, and compel you to use the self-checkout which creates a false sense of convenience.

The market I use has no self-checkout and there's rarely more than one person ahead of me in line. More often I walk right up and check out immediately. There's no way I'm going to be able to do that myself faster. Given the market sells tens of thousands of items on a daily basis, the cost of that convenience is minuscule and has the added benefit of creating jobs in the very community I live in, which provides me with an intangible benefit.

[Orrex]

21. Your market is atypical

The market I use has no self-checkout and there's rarely more than one person ahead of me in line. More often I walk right up and check out immediately.

In contrast, my local market routinely has four or five customers at each staffed register, each customer with a nearly-full cart. Even the express lane is typically two or three customers deep.

So when I want to buy my two or five or eight items, it is absolutely and unquestionably faster for me to use the u-scan aisle. Depending on circumstances, it's often quicker for me to use the u-scan even when I have a nearly full cart.

The efficiency of the cashier isn't the only factor; line length and cart volume also play major roles.


Now, if you want to rail against the abomination of fast food restaurant kiosks, I'm right there with you.

[Major Nikon]

23. Much depends on what time you go

I go during periods when the store isn't busy. I avoid weekend afternoons and early evenings on the weekdays. Most markets have very generous hours and some never close. I suspect the typical situation is exactly the opposite you describe. The problem is people tend to go to the market at the same times and days. The problem is still markets have cut back on checkout workers and baggers because they are compelling customers to use the self-checkout. So the convenience has been manufactured by the market itself.

I have less problem with restaurant kiosks. They allow me to pick menu items myself complete with pictures of what I'm getting without feeling rushed because people are waiting behind me or because a worker has to wait while I make up my mind. So this becomes a net benefit to me and not just the corporation.

[Orrex]

25. But the fast food kiosk is the same thing, only worse

Granted, the line is typically shorter, but the transaction is significantly slower than a person:person interaction at the register.

Further, I have literally (as an English major, when I say "literally," I mean literally (hee hee)) never had a fast food kiosk order filled in less than 12 minutes.

[Major Nikon]

29. Personally I like to take my time when ordering

It would be one thing if I were going to fast food places where the menu never changes and I go there several times per week ordering the same thing.

The reality is everything is moving towards ordering things ahead of time via a phone, computer, or kiosk and then picking it up after it is ready to go and prepaid. This is true for all types of restaurants and most markets. The reason it will inevitably continue to move in that direction is because the benefit is both for the consumer and the business. I just have an aversion to a company that forces me to sacrifice my time, effort, and convenience for the sake of their profit.

[Orrex]

30. DAMMIT DON'T GET ALL REASONABLE ON ME! I WANT TO ARGUE ABOUT NOTHING!!!!!1!

[Major Nikon]

32. ...

[zanana1]

3. Those scanners replace workers.

Soon, we'll have more and more scanners and less people working.

[cwydro]

10. ATMs replaced tellers, ride sharing is replacing cabs, check-in booths at airports replace agents.

And don’t forget telephone operators, elevator men, hell, even garbage men have been replaced by the automated trucks. No more milkmen, and on and on and on.

Nothing stays the same.

[Major Nikon]

18. That doesn't mean you shouldn't complain about it

The reason some things change is because not enough people complain about it and take their business elsewhere.

For most of the things you mention, there was a tangible benefit to the consumer. In this case the tangible benefit goes to the corporation.

[Orrex]

24. If there were no benefit to customers, then customers wouldn't use them

"Tangible" is a bit of a red herring here. Is my unpaid time tangible, in this context? Is my convenience?

The reduced line-length and checkout time result in less frustration for me; is this tangible?

Or is the only "tangible" benefit in this case monetary?

[Major Nikon]

33. I never do see people using them when there's another immediate option

It's usually only when the cashier gets backed up more than 2 deep when people start to go to them.

[doc03]

28. New technology replaced auto workers, steelworkers, coal miners,

ditch diggers and farmers. It is progress you can't stop it.

[Major Nikon]

34. I've seen stores that had them and were subsequently removed

The real progress is moving in a different direction. You order your items at home or on your phone, pay for them, and they are delivered to your door.

[brush]

4. U scans represent more jobs being eliminated. It's what's coming.

[safeinOhio]

5. One time I went to Walmart

and didn’t need any help at the self check out. They asked me if I wanted the regional manager job.

[Clash City Rocker]

6. That's why I buy alcohol

Not because I like to drink it, just because it requires a human cashier. That’s how much I care.

[sl8]

7. What a humanitarian! Greater love hath no man ...

Last edited Wed Nov 20, 2019, 10:33 AM - Edit history (2)

that he sacrifice his liver for the Liquor Mart cashiers' further employment.

Has a nice ring to it, I think.

[JDC]

26. Lol

[Alliepoo]

8. Me too, TEB!

My grocery store, Kroger, requires that at least one person working is able to check you out. As a union person I try my best to save jobs so I do not use the self scanner. I like a real live human being to get paid to check out my groceries.

[Hoyt]

9. I get it, but scanners also provide higher paying jobs- manufacturing, maintenance, design, IT, etc.

I don't think featherbedding saves us jobs in long-term. Besides, they are really only good for a few items.

[Phentex]

11. I wasn't a fan but they are getting better...

my biggest beef was with produce or anything that didn't have a standard bar code. But now the machine looks at the purchase and makes a guess first so I find this to be much faster than traditional cashiers. At Costco, they are amazing. I go in to buy a handful of things and no longer have to wait behind the people with the overflowing carts!

[ProudLib72]

12. I detest u scans at Home Depot

That's why I usually go to the contractor checkout. Then I feel like I'm really somebody!

[Yavin4]

13. Maybe we need to stop defining ourselves by our jobs.

We are not what we do for a living.

[Major Nikon]

19. I use that approach at work

Each year I lobby the company to modify the dress code to include bath robes and bunny slippers so I don't have to define myself by my job. So far I've been unsuccessful, but that doesn't stop me from trying.

[Yavin4]

20. Lobby to work from home. n/t

[Major Nikon]

22. I do at times

In those instances if I wear clothes at all they are made exclusively by BVD.

[micDROP]

17. WAL MART

I hate being treated like a criminal at Wal-Mart for losing my receipt.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. I have also read that many self-checking

people simply don't scan a significant number of their items. You'd think the loss from that would be more than the cost of an employee.

Me, I refuse to use them. A lot of us older people are really angry that one specific grocery store has taken away more than half of the staffed check-out places. I believe in jobs. Not to mention, I don't work for the store. If I'm going to do the check-out, then I should get paid. Which might be the reasoning of the people who don't scan part of their order.

[delisen]

36. There should be a 10% discount for self-check out. nt

[RockRaven]

31. An introverted, socially-anxious part of me likes the option of being able to avoid interacting...

but most of me hates self-check out because it is slower and clumsier... plus sometimes the cashier and/or bagger are really awesome/sweet/funny people in a manner which it totally unexpected, and therefore very interesting.

[dawg day]

35. I always go to the cashiers too-

It's doing my little bit to keep humans employed.

Plus I don't like doing all the work myself!

[Behind the Aegis]

37. Love them.

There are problems now and again, but the same happens with cashiers too. I like using them because I can bag my groceries the way I want and use reusable bags. Most of the time there is never a line in the self-checkout. I also enjoy pumping my own gas and paying there too.