Self Checkout Lanes are for Idiots.

[waggy]

IF i have under 12 items i use them. it's faster to just use them then wait in line.

 

[natto fire]

I worked at Kroger when they installed their first self checkout 10 years ago. It was funny to watch people get frustrated after being outsmarted by such a simple machine. One guy left his groceries there, threw his arms in the air, said he hated computers and walked out.

I thought these things were pretty common now, and I know Maddox is a little slow on the uptake, but why this rant so late after these things have been around?

I have found the ones at Wal-Mart to be slower than any other stores, but it is just a friendly reminder to not shop at Wal-Mart unless necessary. I also don't like the ones at Giant Eagle, which require their shopper card (that i dont have) to even use.

Most of the time, it is smooth sailing, as the morons and technophobes avoid them, and there are rarely lines. I see even this 'tech-savvy' forum has a sizeable number of people who don't use them. Thanks for not clogging them up for the rest of us!

 

[Kaido]

My local grocery store got v2.0 self-checkouts in maybe a year ago, they are a LOT better than the old ones. They also have a live person manning every 4 self-checkouts, so they are quick to help you if you get stuck. The new ones are way better at oddball things like bags of fruit, but you still need a live person for things like gift cards.

I like them because not a lot of people use them, so they're usually faster to check out at if you don't have anything you know will make the scanner or treadmill thing flip out on. It's nice walking in, grabbing a few things, checking yourself out, and not having to talk to anyone. Maybe that's antisocial, but it's so much quicker when you just need something quickly. The ones at Home Depot are pretty good too. The only time I really use the regular checkouts if I have a full cart's worth of stuff...quicker to having a person with a scanner do it.

 

[Fenixgoon]

that was a disappointing maddox article.

for some items i find the self checkout kiosks to be more convenient, but not always. for example - very small items, like a pack of screws, often do not trigger the weight sensor, and then the system throws an error. in a case like that, i'd use a regular cashier.

 

[CoPhotoGuy]

I've often questioned the efficiency of self checkouts. Some of it is the fault of stupid people but I also think that the is fault in the design. Ringing up produce in particular is a pain in the ass, and things that vary in weight throw the scales off which means you'll need assistance.

Honestly, I think the idea of scanning your groceries and putting them in your own cart and weighing when make your purchases is a much better solution.

Or better yet. Place orders online and since we buy mostly the age things every week, we could set certain items to be selected by default. Pay online and set a time to pick up your items. Drive to the store and everything is bagged and ready to go in the trunk.

What they really need are RFID tags on everything except items priced by weight. Just bag everything as you shop, push the cart through a scanner and get the items needing to be weighed out. It would be worth a bit more cost for the items to cover the tags I think. You could also probably have some device that would weigh items and spit out a tag you just put in the cart too, but people would likely abuse something like that.

 

[KeithP]

I use them all the time and rarely have a problem. Although I will admit they aren't as useful as they once were.

The problem is the people that can't seem to operate them properly and always have issues slowing things up. When they first came out, the dullards seemed frightened of them and stayed away. Those were the golden years.

But now, the same simpletons that can't keep malware off their computers/phones have gotten up the nerve to use the self checkout lanes and they just don't seem to get.

I would be in favor of a licensing system where you have to get checked out first before being allowed to use the lanes. That might return the speed back to the self checkout process.

-KeithP

 

[Sonikku]

I thought they were great when I considered them in addition to cashiers. But slowly yet surely, I observed that as they piled up on them the number of cashiers dwindled by a seemingly proportionate amount. As a supplement, they'd be good. But as a replacement, they suck. They don't really save that any time when they're just a replacement for cashier aisles. And seeing as how that is the case and the savings are not passed onto us, I see no reason to use them.

 

[natto fire]

What they really need are RFID tags on everything except items priced by weight. Just bag everything as you shop, push the cart through a scanner and get the items needing to be weighed out. It would be worth a bit more cost for the items to cover the tags I think. You could also probably have some device that would weigh items and spit out a tag you just put in the cart too, but people would likely abuse something like that.

While I would appreciate this kind of system, I think you are underestimating how much added cost this would bring. It would basically have to be done at store level, while stocking. I can't see this making it to the manufacturing or even food broker level in any appreciable amount of time.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

It also seems they replace the "glass"? once every 50 years and are so scratched up they look frosted. So everything you try to scan has to be held in every possible angle and distance from the scanner for it to take and when it doesnt the attendant has to come basically show me their employee code/password to login to input it manually.

 

[Red Squirrel]

We have some at Home Depot, I rarely use them, unless I have like one or two small items. They take away people's jobs, so I rather just go to the cash. That saidI really wish Walmart would have them as I would use it. They have like 40 cash registers and only 1 or 2 are open at any given time.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Costco got rid of theirs.

Considering the rise in theft, I wouldn't be surprised if they increased costs to the companies.

I like 'em, but I'm 1) not an idiot, 2) I know some of the cashiers, and feel weird being "waited on" by people I know. (I know it's just their job, but...)

 

[Engineer]

I worked at Kroger when they installed their first self checkout 10 years ago. It was funny to watch people get frustrated after being outsmarted by such a simple machine. One guy left his groceries there, threw his arms in the air, said he hated computers and walked out.

I thought these things were pretty common now, and I know Maddox is a little slow on the uptake, but why this rant so late after these things have been around?

I have found the ones at Wal-Mart to be slower than any other stores, but it is just a friendly reminder to not shop at Wal-Mart unless necessary. I also don't like the ones at Giant Eagle, which require their shopper card (that i dont have) to even use.

Most of the time, it is smooth sailing, as the morons and technophobes avoid them, and there are rarely lines. I see even this 'tech-savvy' forum has a sizeable number of people who don't use them. Thanks for not clogging them up for the rest of us!

Kroger's self checkout lanes have improved greatly and they certainly are much better than Walmart's. I've not went through the one at Meijer since it crashed through a decent sized order a few years ago and I had to pull every item from the bags and start all over again. Of course, I don't go to Meijer much either.

With that said, I've went through Kroger to see people waiting in line to use the self checkouts while the regular lanes were clear. Have also witnessed people in the lanes waiting with small orders while the self checkout was clear. People seem to get hung up at the self checkout lanes at times but Kroger is pretty good at having one roaming cashier taking care of 8 of them (or more) at a time.

 

[OverVolt]

Maddox still has a site? Had to look at the year of the post to be sure I wasn't getting pulled into a necro thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlA_YXDm9bg

Thats him.

 

[OverVolt]

Pretty soon people will be bringing their own bags. Oh wait.

 

[Ketchup]

I do support for sco lanes (among other things) in grocery stores and get tickled at replaying transactions on these things that have over a dozen produce items and total well over $100. Yeah, that was so much better than going to a cashier who has all those PLU's memorized!

 

[brianmanahan]

i go to whatever is fastest. seems obvious?

you would think, but some people just want to have SOMETHING to complain about

 

[chimaxi83]

Looks like a couple of paragraphs written by an idiot, for idiots.

 

[alcoholbob]

tl;dr Self checkout lanes are for idiots because idiots shoplift and get free stuff, smart people go to the manned checkout lane and pay for everything.

Great article

 

[pete6032]

When I go to the grocery store about 1/3 to 1/2 of my purchase is fruit, vegetables, or some other non Barcode item, so self checkout is pretty slow for me.

 

[eelw]

People here complaining against self checkout must be same ones that complain about reverse parking here.

 

[djnsmith7]

Self-Checkout is fine, use it all the time; grocery stores, Target, etc.

If you're tired of going to the grocery store, email Amazon & find out when AmazonFresh will be offered in your area. Very popular in San Francisco.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

tl;dr Self checkout lanes are for idiots because idiots shoplift and get free stuff, smart people go to the manned checkout lane and pay for everything.

Great article

Are you seriously endorsing shoplifting?

 

[BoomerD]

I refuse to use the self-checkout...and will do so until the retailer gives me a 5-10% discount for doing their job.
I'm rarely in enough of a hurry that waiting for a few people in line matters to me.

 

[Beau]

I may be an idiot (because I use them whenever possible), but wouldn't you rather have idiots isolated to using the self-check lines and avoid the exponential delay of idiots interacting with idiot cashiers in the regular lines?

 

[Beau]

When I go to the grocery store about 1/3 to 1/2 of my purchase is fruit, vegetables, or some other non Barcode item, so self checkout is pretty slow for me.

Depending on the vendor of the software, you can save time by memorizing your most commonly bought produces' PLU codes. Most are universal. (though the one's I've written support scanning the small barcode on the stickers/twisty bands to make this easier)

I've actually written a couple of the self-check-out solutions out there, and in the process of testing I did just that... Bananas: 4011; Honey Crisp apples: 3283; jalepeños: 4693; red-leaf lettuce: 4075, etc.

If it wasn't for the pesky delay of weight verification on the bagging scale (checker's don't usually have this restriction on their workstations), you could get to be nearly as fast as the checker.