Your thoughts on self check outs?

[Ogandydancer]

I am in the school that does NOT and will not use them.

I see no point to paying the prices they have on goods and then having to turn around and do their job for them.

The local Walmart I use never has more than three manned check outs running and they are always backed up all the way to the entrance aisle and there is always one that has an old woman checking that is as slow as Molasses in Feb. on a cold plate. I always try to avoid her. I complained one time to the customer service about her. I told them they should try to find something for her to do that would better suit her speed.

The self checks always seem to snag for some reason or another and there is never an assistant to help, a classic example is if you are purchasing alcohol they will freeze up until an assistant arrives to confirm your age and if you are buying Tobacco you still have to go thru a second manned check out that is staffed for that purpose.

Both Walmarts that are local to me have about 15 or 16 regular check outs and never more than one or two manned. Grocery stores are almost as bad.

 

[SC_Mike]

I mainly see them at the local HD where there are four of the self checkouts and usually a clerk hovering around them. I'll use it if someones there and they aren't busy. Other than that I don't "take advantage" of the self checkouts at all.

 

[WR Moore]

I think they were installed mainly for those who go in to buy a couple items and just want out of there as fast as possible. I've sorta-kinda gotten the hang of them in one local supermarket. However, they do have their issues. My major kvetch is on the touch screens.

 

[URIT]

Walmart employees use the garden center checkout when the front lanes are packed.

 

[NYlakesider]

I am in the school that does NOT and will not use them.

I see no point to paying the prices they have on goods and then having to turn around and do their job for them.

The local Walmart I use never has more than three manned check outs running and they are always backed up all the way to the entrance aisle and there is always one that has an old woman checking that is as slow as Molasses in Feb. on a cold plate. I always try to avoid her. I complained one time to the customer service about her. I told them they should try to find something for her to do that would better suit her speed.

The self checks always seem to snag for some reason or another and there is never an assistant to help, a classic example is if you are purchasing alcohol they will freeze up until an assistant arrives to confirm your age and if you are buying Tobacco you still have to go thru a second manned check out that is staffed for that purpose.

Both Walmarts that are local to me have about 15 or 16 regular check outs and never more than one or two manned. Grocery stores are almost as bad.

Right on! You do not get anything for doing their work. Its just a racket for the stores.

We are retired and can shop most anytime so we if possible go shopping when the stores are well stocked up during the regular business day. Beats putting up with people milling around and getting in the way.

My wife on occasion will go self serve if she has a small order, as for me I will go to a cashier line and let them do their thing, heck they even pack it for you.

 

[Jeff423]

I would rather not use them because I think it's a way store's use to reduce the number of employees. However I will if things are really backed up and I only have a couple of items.

 

[nachogrande]

ANYTHING THAT SPEEDS UP CHECKOUT!!!

VERY OFTEN I'd rather have an older check out person vs a dumb as a bag of rocks kid with an attitude. Self check outs often have no line, BUT can be difficult/impossible for some items. IF you know which items will cause you problems, DON'T GO THERE with those items. My inner NY may be showing but more than 1 person in line down here & you could be there for a while. "BACK HOME" many deli's, Pizza parlors, etc. had 1 employee. They would take your order, get it to you and ring you up, VERY QUICKLY.

 

[Tom S.]

Our local Kroger stores offer no alternative in the early morning hours that I typically go shopping, but later in the day, when there are staffed registers available, I almost always select them over the DIY units. My philosophy is the self check outs are taking jobs away plus it sticks in my craw that I'm forced to perform a job without pay.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Don't/Won't use "em".

 

[sigp220.45]

I almost always use the self checkouts. I’m not in a hurry or anything, I just like doing it myself.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I almost always use the self checkouts. I’m not in a hurry or anything, I just like doing it myself.

Love 'em. I'm usually not in a hurry either, but it speeds the process. Almost always an open lane, I can get cash back if I need it, and it gets bagged the way I want it . . .

 

[Marine Corps Air]

I use them as often as possible. Usually, I only have a few items to purchase (I plan my shopping trips) and want to be in and out mui pronto!

Usually the cashiers in the regular lines are not the problem, it's the customers. Don't believe me, ask a few cashiers.

It frosts my cookies when:

a) a customer with a half or three-quarters full basket attempts to sneak through the "15 Items or Less" line that I am in with my two items, or

b) a customer who wants to write a check (if accepted) is surprised when the sale is completed and then they begin to fill out their check. Given the time that they take, it is usually the first time that they have not written a check in a long time, or

c) The customer is a "coupon clipper" and dumps a load of coupons on the cashier after the sale, some of which have expired, or the customer did not purchase the qualifying item in the first place, or the line is longer than it would be on "Free Ammo Day", or

d) the customer thinks that they are the only one being served and they can enjoy the experience, or

e) the customer leads a lonely life and this is a "social opportunity" to share pictures of their grandchildren with the cashier (or anyone else in line), or

f) the customer digs through their pockets and purse for their credit card for the correct amount, or they just can't find an acceptable credit card that is not already "max'd out"!

I have seen all of the above situations far too many times!

Bill

 

[tops]

There should be some kind of price incentive for people that use the self checkout. Using the self checkout and paying the same price is working for free. When the regular checkout lanes are backed up customers should demand that more lanes are opened and if management refuses just leave the loaded carts. Larry

 

[double-dipper]

I prefer scanning the items myself verse going through a checker line. It's faster usually no line or a very short line. I know I'm only being charged once for the item that I scanned. Also canned goods wont end up on top of my bread or eggs.

 

[Bill Bates]

No self checkout for me or my wife. My better half is a cashier and says she won't work for free for Walmart.

You get no discount for helping Walmart to not hire cashiers even though you are lowering their labor cost.

Often when standing there with one or two items I'll told by the front end manager there is no waiting at self checkout. I point at the cashier and will say, "No thank you, I just want to make sure that cashier and you still have jobs."

 

[Rammer Jammer]

If I'm going to use a self check out I want an employee discount.

 

[Delta Expatriate]

Don't like them. I use them only when directed to do so by an employee who then volunteers to assist me. Like others said, they may take away jobs. Standing in check out lines has been a reality for most of my life, and I usually do not mind standing in line, if it is not too backed up. As a general principle, I don't like change.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Here is the new business model:

A store covering 5 or 10 acres, 20 check-out lanes with cash registers and computer terminals, and never more than 2 check-out clerks available.

Self check-out is usually an improvement.

 

[brjr51]

When I was in high school, I bagged and carried out groceries at a local supermarket. In the days before bar codes, the two or three older women who manned those old cash registers on Saturday morning were incredible to watch. Probably about the same speed as the scanners worked today. I still don’t know how they did it so fast. Can’t imagine any of today’s crop of cashiers functioning like that. Plus you had to hand stamp the price on every can and box.
As far as self checkout, I’ll use it if I only have a couple of items, but usually a problem crops up and you need assistance anyways.

 

[rwsmith]

What good are they......

You almost invariably have to get help to get through one. And if you have something that's very light, the scale won't register it.