Anyone else totally fed up with the self check out machines at grocery stores?

Surprised people ever had a problem at Target. I usually use the cashier and the open extra lines if one is three deep. The self checkout there has and attendant walking back and forth like a tiger stalking its prey.

Wal-Mart, on the other hand, wants you to spend as much time in line hoping to upsell you a Mounds bar.

Sara Palin wrote:

Surprised people ever had a problem at Target. I usually use the cashier and the open extra lines if one is three deep. The self checkout there has and attendant walking back and forth like a tiger stalking its prey.

Wal-Mart, on the other hand, wants you to spend as much time in line hoping to upsell you a Mounds bar.

Mounds bar, yuuummm. Chocolate and coconut. I wolf one down waiting in line as my revenge on having to wait. When caught (rarely), I claim to have done it to avoid a diabetic seizure.

pfahsjsh wrote:

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Sounds like operator error.

It's not my job to scan groceries. You're selling me something and I have to do the work?

Maybe I'm a moron, but so are lots of others, because almost every time I've used them, either I or someone else in line had to wait for an employee to clear the thing. I'll never use them again.

Agree. The one supervisor or whatever is scrambling from line to line helping people.

And yes, unless I get a discount, the store can do the work.

Will I next be slicing ham?

Unboxing canned goods?

Scaling fish?

Counting pills?

Repairing carts?

FCKKKKYOU Grocery stores. Unless Ive got 1 item, and the line is long...I'll wait for the human checker.

A business is there to make money. A basic rule of business: If you've got people lined up waiting to give you money, then get someone there to take it. The more people in line, the more people there to take the money.

Every employee should be trained on the cash registers. As soon as there is even a slight build up in the lines, open another register.

I avoid Wal-mart for this reason. They have a dozen check out lanes with about three open, even though the lines are 4-5 deep. Open up those cash registers, and have a human being doing the check out. At Wal-mart you need a person there because every other customer has food stamps or some other free social service pay for there food, and you can't do that in the self check out lane. Then after they get all their free food, they have to be checked out again because they pay cash for their Red Bull, beef jerky, National Inquirer and candy.

GOD>>>>>>>PLEASE GIVE ME AN F'ING SLEDGE HAMMER!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, but to Walmart, they don't look at is as "customer service" by having more cashiers..they look it as an expense. It's win-win for the consumer and for Walmart. Because their prices are so low and people THINK they are saving so much money, they will stand in these lines. If they open up more registers, ie 15 of the 32, you have to pay 7 more employees. The people have spoken and they are willing to stand in the lines, so what is the point of opening more registers?

About 10 years ago, I went to a Walmart and they actually had the self-checkout machines (which they got rid of after 6 months due to increased "shrink" or theft). It was one of the most aggravating experiences of my life. Not because of the machines, but because the people trying to use them were the biggest bunch of f*****g morans I have ever seen. I walked out of there and said to myself "They need to hang a banner that reads: If you don't know how to use these machines, then don't use them. You know who you are and DON'T be that person"

I absolutely love self-checkout when I only have 4 or 5 items. If I am doing a big grocery shopping trip, I will have the cashier check the items out.

Logins might be insecure wrote:

Bill Burr had a pretty good riff on selfcheckout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxINJzqzn4w

Dang! Beat me to it!

It's all about the scale and bagging. If you don't get the order right it triggers the call for the attendant. It things you're stealing stuff. Slow down a little and do it right and your problems will be minimized.

forthekeeuds wrote:

truth bomb wrote:

Check whose in line in front of you before going to a self check-out. If there is a senior citizen, woman, or immigrant in line ahead of you, your best bet is to get in line to get checked out by a person.

THIS. Every f'ing time. Old person, woman, non-English speaker. Go to a different line. Even with manned checkout lines I have to balance the need for fewest people ahead of me vs how many dam women are up there (counting out their pennies, writing checks, sorting through their coupons for just the right one).

Or just go shopping whenever there are no women, senior citizens, or immigrants present. They'll all appreciate it.

We had four at my store and they just took them out, replaced them with four "15 item or less" lanes, but they're never all staffed. I really prefer to do it myself, I don't like the feeling of being waited on, feels inefficient

I don't understand how one can be "fed up" with something that they don't even have to use. It seems like self checkouts can either be a convenience, or they can be completely irrelevant to you. They can't really be an inconvenience, because you just won't use them if you don't like them.

what am I missing? wrote:

I don't understand how one can be "fed up" with something that they don't even have to use. It seems like self checkouts can either be a convenience, or they can be completely irrelevant to you. They can't really be an inconvenience, because you just won't use them if you don't like them.

give it a few years, it will become less and less of an option over time. They're easing you in to it now, making it think its for your convenience. Once they feel like you have assimilated to the new process, it won't be an option any longer.

I guess y'all live in areas with teens or other still-plastic-brained ppl.

I *hate* having to deal with the green-haired, hideous and, above all, MORANIC checkout drones at my local store. I hate having to listen to their idiot gossip, I hate having to see their, um, *definitely* non-runner physiques.

To each his own.

The self checkout line is the only thing that makes organic possible for those of us on a budget. *wink, wink*

keepnitgreen wrote:

The self checkout line is the only thing that makes organic possible for those of us on a budget. *wink, wink*

Heh

OP, just wait til Amazon Go stores are everywhere. Just grab your stuff and walk out, and you get charged automatically. It's nice.

RvaRunner wrote:

Yes, but to Walmart, they don't look at is as "customer service" by having more cashiers..they look it as an expense.

More than that, queues are considered profit centers. With the major battle being figuring out a way to get people to wait in queues.

Self Checkout machines take jobs away from lower income workers.

It depends on my mood. Sometimes I am feeling too lazy to bag my own items so I rather wait in line for a cashier to do it.

On the other hand when I am at the store and buying some Rogaine for my receding hairline, I definitely use the self-checkout.

I love them. It gives me an opportunity to steal extra plastic bags for the dog sh!t.