Self Checkout (2 Viewers)

[gummbo70114]

I was at Walmart when they first introduced these, I called the employee over and asked them. What time did they want us at the store the next day so we can unload the truck and unload the product, and was this group of customers also responsible for down, stocking the items on the shelves? I said it loud enough so that everyone could hear it and they were more than a few chuckles.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Sporting events and concerts are the worst.

You’re already charging me $10-$15 for a 16 oz can/bottled beverage (that likely cost you less than a buck, wholesale) and then I’m asked to throw 18-20% tip to someone who pulled said beverage from a horse traugh full of ice and opened it for me?

I get that they have runners to restock the trough and such, but c’mon. I realize I have the option to not purchase the beverage and/or not tip, but I still tip to help the workers.

What next? If I buy a bottle of water or a snack from a vending machine, will the machine ask me to include a tip?

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

LOL - Theranos Grocery

Though it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labeling videos to ensure accurate checkouts. The cashiers were simply moved off-site, and they watched you as you shopped.

Amazon Ditches 'Just Walk Out' Checkouts at Its Grocery Stores

Amazon Fresh is moving away from a feature of its grocery stores where customers could skip checkout altogether.

gizmodo.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[St. Widge]

This is part of my problem with self-checkout. It seems like a good idea and I tried to use them years ago when they first cam out, but it seemed like I always got stuck behind someone who did not know how to use them or I would use it and it would malfunction (which could explain the issues other people seem to have in front of me). Then there are the ones where you self-checkout and then they want you to stop to make sure that you paid for all the items in your bags. When they do that, it really saves me no time, it just allows them to hire fewer employees.

I thought the point when they came out years ago was to make things more efficient and fast while also cutting their costs. But at this point, it's all about cutting their costs while making self-checkout inconvenient and slow for the customer.

 

[DaveXA]

This is part of my problem with self-checkout. It seems like a good idea and I tried to use them years ago when they first cam out, but it seemed like I always got stuck behind someone who did not know how to use them or I would use it and it would malfunction (which could explain the issues other people seem to have in front of me). Then there are the ones where you self-checkout and then they want you to stop to make sure that you paid for all the items in your bags. When they do that, it really saves me no time, it just allows them to hire fewer employees.

I thought the point when they came out years ago was to make things more efficient and fast while also cutting their costs. But at this point, it's all about cutting their costs while making self-checkout inconvenient and slow for the customer.

I think it depends. Like the Safeway close by. It has 12 self checkout registers. That's enough to where you'll have 1 or 2 stuck at a monitor and the rest are processing at a reasonable pace, so unless the store is stupid busy, it goes fairly quick. They also changed to a max of 15 items for self-checkout, and that also helps.

That said, not all stores are the same.

 

[St. Widge]

I think it depends. Like the Safeway close by. It has 12 self checkout registers. That's enough to where you'll have 1 or 2 stuck at a monitor and the rest are processing at a reasonable pace, so unless the store is stupid busy, it goes fairly quick. They also changed to a max of 15 items for self-checkout, and that also helps.

That said, not all stores are the same.

I do the vast majority of my shopping on Amazon or other online sites. The only place I really buy stuff from in person are the grocery and the pharmacy so my experience with self-checkout in the last 10 years or so is limited. I don't do it at the grocery because it's always a bunch of stuff for the weekly groceries and there is no self-checkout for prescription drugs. And the closer grocery I go to for a few items at a time doesn't have self-checkout.

I'm sure there are places it works well, and I recall it working okay at Home Depot, but most of the places I go now it's not really an option.

 

[DaveXA]

I do the vast majority of my shopping on Amazon or other online sites. The only place I really buy stuff from in person are the grocery and the pharmacy so my experience with self-checkout in the last 10 years or so is limited. I don't do it at the grocery because it's always a bunch of stuff for the weekly groceries and there is no self-checkout for prescription drugs. And the closer grocery I go to for a few items at a time doesn't have self-checkout.

I'm sure there are places it works well, and I recall it working okay at Home Depot, but most of the places I go now it's not really an option.

Yeah, we do a lot of shopping online, but groceries at Safeway, or sometimes Walmart on rare occasions when I need to get a specific item I can't get nearby.

Amazon is getting better with shipping options for some items. Our blender died, so we ordered another one on Amazon and they shipped it to us same day. Like 5 hours after I ordered it, for free. I probably would have gone to a local store to pick one up, but the price was the same on Amazon and free same day shipping was a no-brainer.

 

[St. Widge]

Yeah, we do a lot of shopping online, but groceries at Safeway, or sometimes Walmart on rare occasions when I need to get a specific item I can't get nearby.

Amazon is getting better with shipping options for some items. Our blender died, so we ordered another one on Amazon and they shipped it to us same day. Like 5 hours after I ordered it, for free. I probably would have gone to a local store to pick one up, but the price was the same on Amazon and free same day shipping was a no-brainer.

I'm really picky about what I buy to the extent that I tend to do a lot of research on most anything and I want to have a lot of options. And I often end up becoming attached to buying specific things that I can't get locally. Plus, if you go to a store, you have to deal with people which I never find is a good thing.

I suspect that part of that is that retail giants like Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's, and Costco took over so you just don't have the smaller places that are options anymore. And I'm sure I'm contributing to that by buying everything from Amazon, but given the local options these days I'm not sure what else you can do. It seems that local places tend to only carry niche items these days. The exception being restaurants and I really only go to or order from local places.

As far as Amazon, they are hit and miss here. Sometimes stuff gets here in like 12 hours and other times it gets lost for a week. My brother recently moved to Houston for awhile and he said because of the hub Amazon has in Katy, they sometimes get things delivered the same day.

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[zeetes]

i'm perfect, so i don't screw up, but i have seen others make this face.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

i see some Walmarts have upped their self checkouts. while i was checking out, a screen popped and said possible unscaned item (or something like that) and the red light came on over the register. she came over there and put her code in, and the video showed me putting something in the bag that it thought i didn't scan. but she looked on the screen and saw it on the list of items i scanned (bag of oranges).

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I’ve probably already made this post in this thread, but Costco has best self checkouts
And I’m glad Trader Joe’s doesn’t have any

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

I typically place all my Target orders online because delivery is free for orders over $35. A few weeks ago, I was out of laundry detergent and had forgotten to place my order for some things I needed so ended up having to go to the store. Almost everything in the store that I needed was locked up and they had closed down all the self-checkouts due to theft.

While I am not advocating theft, I am advocating theft if it causes them to close down the self checkouts. I am only against them because there is no cost-savings associated with the burden of doing the job of an employee and it's not always more convenient because half the time something gets screwed up (either customer error or computer) and causes the lines to back up.