Should get a discount or something
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So Idk where you guys live and how your self checkouts look but here is my German perspective.
- If I need a new gas cylinder I have to exchange it at the cashier's
- If I buy alcohol or cigarettes I also have to get my ID checked. The self checkout will then be put on pause until some worker shows up and realizes I am well in my 30s. I can also not buy things like razorblades at self checkout.
- Often the stuff will be weighted to ensure I put it in the bag and not more or less. When I buy something light, think a small back of herbs of like 15 grams, the scale doesn't realize it and again a problem occurs and a worker has to come
- If I make a mistake like scanning twice I cannot cancel and again a worker has to come
- It usually is a much more crammed space. I don't even need a whole trolley for it to become uncomfortable. More than 5-10 items just don't work because I have no space. Putting everything out of the trolley on the conveyor belt, getting it scanned, and then putting it back in the trolley is much easier.
- If there are any items with a sale (30% off because BB date is approaching) I cannot scan this and again a worker needs to come.
- I am not as fast. Not only because it is not a conveyor belt and I am not sitting at a scanner deck, but also I am just slower than a cashier who knows the code for fairtrade bananas and the avocados from spain but not from peru by heart. It's my first time scanning this can of beans, where is the bar code? While it is 9 am and the cashier has already scanned this can of beans 25 times today.
(8. In some supermarkets my kid gets a free fruit which it not necessary but I find super cute. This is only a thing at the cashier's)
All I have to say is "hello", "card please", and "good day". And I can also just wave these things. So yeah, I am absolutely standing in line if it is possible. It is so much faster and more convenient and going to self checkout to then get an error code and wait for help to arrive for 10 minutes is absolutely not worth it. (Looking at you, cursed Rewe in Munich). Then I also have to explain what's the problem much more embarrassingly than any "hi thanks yeah with card please have a great day you to bye" conversation could ever be.
Edit:
I just thought of an important 9.- I feel so much more anxious and pressured in the self checkout. How fast I am done with scanning, paying, and packing things up depends entirely on me. And I feel the stares of the people in line at self checkout stabbing my back. Telling me to hurry. I try to be fast but the more I try the more I fuck up. So for all the folks who don't like cashiers because of social interaction, don't you feel the angst of the line?
Also germany, but yea makes sense, I don't have gas canisters, rarely buy alcohol, the self checkouts around here stopped with the weighing, and I rarely buy more than 5 things at once+am decently fast at scanning, so it maybe costs me 15 seconds.
Also I did scan an item twice today and the lidl self checkout actually allowed me to delete it, at first I also thought I'd have to get an employee.
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I won't help the company save what they should give to their staff. Fuck self-checkouts.
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A store near me has RFID tags on all products, and simply approaching the self-checkout machine is enough to have all products detected.
On one hand, that's handy.
On the other hand, that's so much ewaste...
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Genx here
Ok boomer
Some of us prefer non-human interaction
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I know I'm in the minority
Dude look around the comment section. 90% talk about prefering self checkout
I'm with him, though, every few months the anti-self-checkout crowd is all up in arms
I somehow don't remember the anti-ATM machine crowd angry about putting tellers out of work or the anti-microwave crowd putting restaurant workers out of work, or the anti-car crowd upset about putting trolley drivers out of work
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oh nooooo, how dare they offer you a convenient option that saves time
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Is there something physically preventing you? That sounds like a thing the fire department would shit all over.
It's a normal gate like those you have at entrances to stores.
I am sure they open automatically when the fire alarm rings. You can of course just go out through the normal cashier's line.
If this country obsesses over one thing excessively, then it's fire safety, so I have no concerns about that here.
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Am I afraid to face down a cashier? No.
Is it REALLY that bad? No.
Can I make awkward small talk with a stranger? Yes.
Do I want to make awkward small talk with a stranger? No.
Am I relieved that I’m not forced to interact with a stranger and can continue to have to my own inner thoughts and not have to spend time rehearsing in my head what to say if they ask me how I am because I feel weirdly compelled to answer it honestly instead of simply saying “fine” like most do? Absolutely.
Hearing about small talk an the checkout never ceases to be bizzare to me. In all the countries I've been to, the cashiers only say the sum to pay and then goodbye.
Are cashiers in the United States of America really required to initiate meaningless conversations? I've also heard of the occupation of a door greater, which sounds even crazier.
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fun fact: you can get a discount at a self-checkout! grocery stores hate this one trick!
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The self checkout person always thinks I'm cute and gives me good deals
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I know I'm in the minority
Dude look around the comment section. 90% talk about prefering self checkout
All of the top comments are from people who prefer tellers over self checkout.
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I love my self-checkout, so much better than waiting in line for a slow cashier to make chitchat.
I mean, I don't much care about the chitchat, but self-checkout is almost always faster. I only avoid it when I have alcohol or pharmacy items.
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oh nooooo, how dare they offer you a convenient option that saves time
UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA. Sorry, Jandro, I'm not here to get yelled at by a clanker.
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Genx here
Ok boomer
Some of us prefer non-human interaction
Do you prefer any human interaction?
/s kinda
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I love my self-checkout, so much better than waiting in line for a slow cashier to make chitchat.
Cashiers are fast. I don't want to search for the catalog number for all my produce. The cashiers have it memorized
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This thread has made me feel so incredibly millennial.
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Cashiers are fast. I don't want to search for the catalog number for all my produce. The cashiers have it memorized
Most produce has a sticker with the code on it and most stores have now made it to where you can just scan the little sticker barcode anyways.
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It's not that bad, it's just more bad than self check.
Personally I hate waiting in line, I can feel the life leaving my body. I self check for speed.
Apparently line impatience is an ADHD thing, but regardless of where it comes from I appreciate being able to do it myself instead of waiting.
I have add. Proper diagnosis from a doctor and everything.
I've had to learn how to curb impatience. It is not a permanent affliction, it is a bad habit. Patience is a virtue that can be nurtured.
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I mean, I don't much care about the chitchat, but self-checkout is almost always faster. I only avoid it when I have alcohol or pharmacy items.
We were talking about this the other day. Is it faster, or does it appear faster since they have removed so many cashiers? Like 20 lanes and 1 cashier, with 4 self checkouts.
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UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA. Sorry, Jandro, I'm not here to get yelled at by a clanker.
I've heard self checkout is terrible in the US, however in Europe they're generally pretty nice
