At Wal-Mart you can checkout through the garden center, sporting goods, electronics counter or through the customer service counter as long as you don't have any produce. Another good lane to use is the one where they sell cigarettes. It's always manned by a cashier.
I don't use self checkout either. Every time they tell me I can use it, I tell them no thanks, if I wanted a part-time job, I'd put in an application.
At least at my Kroger, the lady monitoring the self checkout will ask if you want to use it and she'll still scan and bag your stuff. Not so at the Wal-Mart.