1d ago

Honest mistake

238 comments

If I look at this topic the American skewedness is so obvious.
In Belgium the only thing you get by going the old fashioned way is they scan your shit and push it off at the end or you need to rush to put it in your cart. Same in The Netherlands. There are no baggers.
So yeah, let me just scan my items, put them in my bags like I want them, scan the thing at the self checkout, put scanner in tray, pay, walk out.
Every so often you get a bag check and if less people cheated on their scanning there would be less of that (is what they hope you think)
- I don't know how the self-checkout is constructed in Belgium, but in the US (at least, the stores I go to), the self-checkout is a small kiosk with a small weight-sensitive platform where you bag your groceries. You're supposed to scan each item and then place it in the bag so the scale can register it, and then scan and bag the next item, and so on. The problems are that:
  The technology is buggy and doesn't always recognize that you've bagged an item, so it locks up and won't let you scan your next item until an attendant comes to assist.
  Certain items like cooking wine or cough syrup or matches require proof that you're old enough to purchase it (again, an attendant has to get involved)
  If god forbid you take a second to rearrange items in one of your bags to make more room for your next item, the stupid machine nags you and then - yep you guessed it - locks up until an attendant comes.
  The machine-monitored security camera sometimes misinterprets what it sees you doing. For example, one time I was done scanning my items and realized I was still holding onto my shopping list, so I tucked it into my pocketbook as I was getting my credit card out. The camera must've thought I was stealing something, so it locked up until an attendant came to review the video footage.
  The bagging platform is too small for a full week's worth of groceries, so it's really only useful if you're picking up a handful of items, meaning you still need to go through an attended line if you're doing your weekly shop.
  Honestly I prefer bagging my own groceries, and if the problems with self-checkout were fixed, I'd be happy to only do self-checkout. But the way it is now, it's annoying to use.
  
  Around here there are a variety of supermarket solutions. Morrisson's for example near me has about a dozen cashier lines, usually 3 or so open unless there's a rush. They have a self-checkout section like people are describing, with the small bagging area (about big enough to cage a toddler), maybe 10 of these. They also have a trolley self-checkout area, which is the same but has a bagging area big enough to cage a lioness.
  M&S have cashiers, basket self-checkout, and a third scan-as-you-shop section, where you put things in your basket and scan them, and on your way out you put the scanner back and tap your phone and bag stuff, or if you're using a trolley, just push it out to your car, whatever.
  
  We had that weight platform system like early days of self checkout. It sucked hard and thankfully they just gave up on it.
  Do still have age checks when buying alcohol and doing self checkout
  
  Your self checkouts oversee bagging and lock up constantly? No wonder you hate it.
  
  Polosh self checkout:
  One cashier per 6-8 machines, on watch to take care of age verification or occasional lockuo
  Machines do lock up when weight doesn't match...and unlock when scale decides that it's okay after all. Happens sometimes with lighter things, or when someone fucks up values in software (once met error where buns were 900g per piece xD Cashier gal was busyyyy that day, had their fixed code, but until it got into menu, they had to punch it themselves)
  Age verification, of course, is there
  There's only scale. Sometimes you need to also scan your receipt to leave. That's all.
  Sometimes that cashier taking care of self checkouts even gets their own command center - console that can allow to give age verification without physically moving or to bypass weight alerts (useful when cashier sees from far away you carry, for example, hair bands. )
  
  American here. Haven't had most, or any, of the hassle in a long time. #2 is a fucking pain though. Yes, I'm 54 and am allowed to buy spray paint. OTOH, the attendant usually clears it before I even notice.
  
  The only time it's ever useful for me is when I have to come in and grab 2-3 things fast.
  I hate that it basically kills cashier jobs and I hate having to do a weekly grocery on them because of how shitty the systems are... It's to the point where I'll avoid places where there's no cashier the day I do my grocery or do it online and pick it up or get it delivered.
  
  I hate that it basically kills cashier jobs
  It was kind of a dying job anyway, checkout operators have a higher turnover rate than other departments in retail, because enough people still like to treat checkout workers as some sort of indentured slave, people don't want to be treated like crap at work by customers and checkout workers seem to catch the brunt of that because they can't walk away from the situation.
  I work in retail and quite often get pulled out of my department to jump on checkout and even when I've stopped my job to put these customers through, they still want to have a go at me for the fact that self service exists.
  If we could all be chill with checkout operators we would have more checkouts open.
  Also I know most people are chill, but the ones that aren't chill, make it not worth coming in.
  
  Yeah most self checkout at grocery stores is hot garbage for all the reasons you mentioned and more.
  My favorite self check out experience is at Uniqlo. You walk up to what is effectively a plastic bucket with an iPad attached. Toss your shit in the bucket it shows you what it thinks you put in there and you click ok and tap you CC. It takes like 30s.
  Grocery stores are just cheap and won't put the 5 cent RFID tag on things.
  
  Haha, I want to believe the thing just guesses what you buy 😂
  
  In my supermarket they don't have the scale under your bag and no camera, and the plagform is just big enough for a weeks groceries, so it works a lot better
  
  The store nearest my house, where I shop a lot, is a bit more upscale. They've installed fancy self-checkout kiosks that tell you to continue scanning items while waiting for the attendant to come deal with an issue. The giant, discount grocery store with locations on the edge of town have enough room that they've installed self-checkout lanes that have about a 2-meter conveyor belt to a large bagging area. It's enormous.
- American here. Love going to Aldi. Cheap as hell and I can bag as I like it. (My first job was grocery bag boy, I know how I want it.)
- I think Amazon tried that here and shut it down
  This only works in a respectful society that isn't exploited
  
  So one in which Amazon doesn't exist!

238 comments