Should get a discount or something
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Companies are now intentionally under-staffing checkout lanes
They make record profits while I either have to wait longer, or do the work myself. Why, exactly, shouldn't I be able to complain about that?
Because you will be complaining to people who have no tangible means of changing the situation.
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We all love to hate on Walmart, but in my part of the world, it's got the closest implementation to what I consider acceptable self-checkouts.
The biggest quality of life feature is that they don't use the the weight sensors in the bagging area. You can use the hand scanner to scan every item in your cart sans weighted produce, as fast as your body will allow.
On the flip side, most of the chain grocery stores in my area have the bagging area scanners that need constant overrides, use AI cameras that lock up after every third item and require an override each time, slow machines that seem to have to compute the pi to the 10 sextillionth digit after each item is scanned before it will be ready for you to place it in the bagging area, and things of that nature. Those suck for sure.
Walmart perfected it first. I don't go many places but Lowe's and Aldi have great checkouts. Home Depot used to be a damned nightmare but they seem to have got it together.
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We all love to hate on Walmart, but in my part of the world, it's got the closest implementation to what I consider acceptable self-checkouts.
The biggest quality of life feature is that they don't use the the weight sensors in the bagging area. You can use the hand scanner to scan every item in your cart sans weighted produce, as fast as your body will allow.
On the flip side, most of the chain grocery stores in my area have the bagging area scanners that need constant overrides, use AI cameras that lock up after every third item and require an override each time, slow machines that seem to have to compute the pi to the 10 sextillionth digit after each item is scanned before it will be ready for you to place it in the bagging area, and things of that nature. Those suck for sure.
While I have only been to Walmart once in the last decade, it was a year or two ago and the experience was the exact opposite. All the grocery stores in my area figured out the 'unexpected item in bagging area' thing well before COVID and are easy to use with no issues, but Walmart still had the stupid weight issue for the two things I was buying.
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Also fucking greeters who want check your receipt. I don't stop, my wife won't acknowledge them. If you don't trust me to scan and pack my shit then bring back cashiers. Fuck that noise. And yes we should get a discount.
So you disrespect the person doing the job? I won't insult them so.
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I don't use self checkout because I'm afraid of messing up something and getting judged by people
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Self checkout is the greatest thing ever and I will never understand why so many people seem to prefer waiting in line for a few minutes instead of just using the self checkout.
No human interaction, usually faster because I don't have to wait. What's not to love? Sure occassionally you might get selected for a random check and have to wait a bit, but that still beats the line.
They used to be awful here 10-15 years ago, with a scale for your scanned items that would complain over nothing all the time, but now everywhere I've been has done away with that in favor of random controls and the receipt for opening the gate. I think my highlight so far was the clothing store where you didn't even have to scan, you just put your items in a box and it told you what you have to pay.
receipt for opening the gate
What is that?
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Yes, it's the consumer's fault, not the giant corporation under-staffing their stores so they can hit another record profit quarter
Please. By all means, go and try to complain to someone who has the ability to enact change. You will not be able to. Most staffing is done by an equation that penalizes any deviation from it. And the people who put it in place also put several layers of obfuscation so that you can't reach them.
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"Don't you hate it when you walk into a grocer and they expect you to pick out the items yourself? I don't work here, I just want to say "1 pound of ham and 2 loafs of bread" at the clerk, pay and pick them up. I've been to this new Piggley Wiggly, can't find anything, spent like an hour to find beans. Imagine if I was paid for that time, I would have made 15¢!"
OP in 1925, probably.
This is actually pretty funny with the number of stores that offer the option to have stuff gathered by staff and ready for curbside pickup.
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Try ordering ahead with curbside pickup if you haven't yet and it's an option for you.
If not ... Idk ... You'll be alright. I actually prefer self checkout and to bag my own stuff so do keep in mind people have the literal opposite feelings on this topic too.
Not to say anyone's right or wrong, but I do agree with the post you replied to, I bet so many people were mad they couldn't just make a list and hand it to the clerk. I wonder how many tried at first to give the cashiers or other employees a list to get for them and then were surprised when they said they had to go get it themselves.
Now we've gone full circle with the curbside pick up stuff! I really like it, but sometimes they do bag stuff nonsensically but no big deal.
Curbside pickup is an inconvenient option. Screens are a terrible interface for picking groceries. Maybe in the future a VR option will be as, or more, convenient
I prefer the fastest and most convenient option. Picking out products in person is faster, and having a cashier scan the items is faster
Seems most people like self-checkout because they have anti-social tendencies. That's perfectly valid, but I don't have that issue. I actually enjoy small talk with strangers
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It's not the cashier's fault, but why would I keep going to that grocery store
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Curbside seems great until some kid making poverty wages is picking out your produce and grabs whatever. Cant find red onions? Eh, red potatoes are close enough. Wanted bananas that would last a week? Heres a bunch that are almost to black for even banana bread.
It is a godsend for those with mobility issues though. A friend uses it because of that and its been a big help for her. (Though she does like to complain about the produce choices)The big brained solution is to use curbside for stuff like canned items, chips, liquids, etc. and then go in to get the fresh produce/meats/whatever else needs to be picked through personally.
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Self checkout is the greatest thing ever and I will never understand why so many people seem to prefer waiting in line for a few minutes instead of just using the self checkout.
No human interaction, usually faster because I don't have to wait. What's not to love? Sure occassionally you might get selected for a random check and have to wait a bit, but that still beats the line.
They used to be awful here 10-15 years ago, with a scale for your scanned items that would complain over nothing all the time, but now everywhere I've been has done away with that in favor of random controls and the receipt for opening the gate. I think my highlight so far was the clothing store where you didn't even have to scan, you just put your items in a box and it told you what you have to pay.
The people that complain probably have had far worse experiences with self checkout. I've been to a few stores where it was absolute hell between the machines working terribly and unhelpful staff, but on the opposite side all of the grocery stores near me solved the self checkout issues years ago and it is the best thing ever where it works well.
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Decathlon is a step back from that. They have Rfid tags but you have to put them in the box that scans them. They have a barcode scanner for items that are too big for the box.
I was thinking of Decathlon. You're right, items must be placed in the box.
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So you're the slow motherfucker in front of me in self checkout...
in front of me
Where I live it's single line to many self-checkouts. It's nice
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I'm shocked the cashier cared enough to stop you!
The cashier would have had to put all those items back. They chose the option that involved less work for them. Double duty on register and self-checkout is less work than self-checkout and restocking a large cart
I put the blame on Target management and corporate
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I pass the time ignoring the dangerous substance I'm handling untrained by thinking about how we stopped employing a specialists so that someone's quarterly profits could go up a bit more.
You don't need a tucking specialist to pump gas lmao
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I thought that was a basic design principal since it's so widespread.
That sucks for you and your area
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"Unexpected item in the bagging area."
"Please place the item in the bagging area."
"Unexpected item in the bagging area."
"Please wait for assistance."This was funny like a decade ago when it was commonplace.
Stores in my area solved that at least 6 years ago, maybe even earlier than that.
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That sucks for you and your area
It does.
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I'm split on this. On the one hand if they didn't have self checkout, they'd need more checkout people. On the other hand, before self checkout they didn't really give a fuck if you had to wait in line (especially Walmart holy shit that was one of the biggest reasons I never went there, the fucking checkout line).
In my area, short lines are a priority for most retailers. If a lane has more than 3 people, they'll be ringing for another cashier.
