• will_a113@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    I know this isn’t the most popular opinion, but I love self-checkout systems when they’re available and used correctly. My local supermarket closed 2 10-item-or-less lanes and put 6 self-checkouts in the same space. I probably make 2 trips/week to the store for fewer than 10 items, and being able to check myself out has been a huge time saver. There are still another 8 lanes with cashiers for larger shopping trips. If the supermarket can avoid the race to the bottom thinking of "well, we replaced 2 lanes, maybe we can also replace the other 8), it’ll be a nice compromise.

    Now contrast that with my local Home Depot, which typically has 1-2 cashiers MAX at any given time. They have turned the checkout process into a tedious pain in the ass, and I’ve more or less stopped shopping there as a result.

    • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      My supermarket implemented these barcode scanner you can carry in the store so that you can scan and put your stuff in your grocery bags in your cart as you go, as well as some scales so that you can also scan those items paid by weight, which you can then scan at the self-checkout terminal. They also spot-check every 4th scanners and scan for random items in the cart to make sure you actually added them to your list as a theft-deterrent.

      It’s way faster and less finicky than dealing with the scale that checks if you added the item you just scanned (and complains often that something’s wrong).

      I hope this kind of system will stay, it’s really nice going to a self-checkout terminal and pay with your bags already filled.

    • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Your store did it smart. My local grocery store has 8 self checkouts by one door and 8 more on the other end by the other door. Although there are 10 or more normal checkouts with human cashiers, Ive never seen more that two open at a time.

    • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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      10 months ago

      Yeah. I’m fine with using them at wal mart most of the time, but the grocery store where I load up at once every other week just went full send on self checkout and outside of being a pita dealing with so many bags and no place to set them without going into the cart with stuff you haven’t even scanned yet, some have a stupid conveyor belt after you scan and if you let like ten items get on it the damned machines locks you out until a worker comes by and unlocks it after the belt has been cleared off. Total piece of junk, but there’s now usually only 1 real person.

    • LordKitsuna@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Is there something weird about how your Home Depot did it? I absolutely love the self-checkout at the Home Depots in my state. They all have the wireless hand scanners so I just pull my cart up, beep beep beep beep beep beep beep and off I go I fucking hated before they had self checkout at Home Depots it always took for fucking ever now I’m in and out regardless of whether I need one thing or 20 things

      • will_a113@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        There are two in my area and both have the same problem: there will be a single non-pro bank of 8 self-checkout lanes, and then a bunch of empty lanes, one or two of which will have cashiers. Of the 8 self check-outs , one or two are always broken, so that leaves 6. Add in a bunch of large/heavy/bulky items that are hard to scan and now the line for self check-out is pushed back into the store, blocking multiple lanes and aisles. And as soon as you have certain items in your cart (molding/lumber by the LF, loose fasteners, etc.) you need an assistant to come help you anyway. Maybe it’s just the customers in my stores, but it’s just a terrible, slow, inefficient process.

        • LordKitsuna@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Maybe it is just the customers in your area, mine is usually not backed up. I don’t have any problem with the various loose items there is always a barcode somewhere and if I don’t see one on the product I’ll take a picture of the one on the Shelf so I can just scan it right off my phone at the checkout¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Fuck this bullshit article.

    I fucking love self service. I don’t want to deal with people.

    Just let me buy my stuff and get out. I don’t want or need small talk.

    I want the disgusting supermarket shop to be as cold and sterile as possible.

    I bring my own bag. I’d Honestly rather just scan everything as I go. And just pay as I walk out.

    Current system is stupid. Walk around shop picking things up. Then take everything out and rebag

    • spinelessorange@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      There are stores trialling exactly your preferred method. One of my local supermarket chains has portable barcode scanners on a wall. You pick one up, scan your groceries as you collect them, then take the scanner to a self checkout that links to the scanner. At that point you pay for your items and leave.

      • icedterminal@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Best Buy started doing this with their app. I’ve used it multiple times already. It’s so convenient. Scan the barcode with your camera in the app, it adds to the cart, pay when you’re done.

        Anecdotal experience: Unfortunately, products that are locked up create a problem. I went in for two items. One of which was a single RAM stick for laptops. The employee refused to give me it even though I was literally going to pay for it on the spot as I had already collected the other item I wanted. He insisted it goes to the register per policy. I quickly got the barcode as he held it, then paid. “There. Paid for. See” as I showed him the screen. Dude was so annoyed as he handed me the RAM.

      • Willy@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        They aren’t just trialing it. I’ve been shopping this way for 15 years. Once the system was down so I went to another location. I won’t shop without a handheld scanner ever again.

    • OhShitSon@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      That system has been a thing for at least a decade in most supermarkets in Sweden, is it not a thing in (I assume) the US?

      • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Assumption wrong.

        Although may be correct. I don’t know USA shops.

        In the UK some shops have had them for 10 + years but not all shops. Lidl for example did not.

        Although my current area is NZ. Some shops again do have them but not all.

      • Onii-Chan@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        That’s fucking brilliant and would actually make me not hate shopping with a passion. That system just makes so much more sense.

      • nicetriangle@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Yeah the little self scanner thing you can take around the store as you shop is not much of a thing in the US.

        • YerbaYerba@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          My local grocery store does it with their smartphone app. I shop this way almost every time. Bag as I go, then stop at a special self checkout at the end to pay.

      • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Note to self. Move to Germany.

        To do list

        Learn German. Get a German job

        Cheap ass rent control. C’mon.

        Bratwurst. Kick on

    • Chreutz@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Scan and Go is becoming very wide spread in Denmark. It’s lovely! Cuts down the time for a quick shopping trip on the way home from work to less than half

    • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      You can do scan and go at Walmart now, if you were previously only using that at Sam’s Club. It’s fantastic.

      • WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Last I checked you had to be a Walmart+ member to do that. It used to be available to everyone, but then they put it behind paying them a monthly fee to be able to do it.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I stopped using them. It’s always something, requiring me to wait for and deal with people.

      The rack with the mobile scanners is full, and scanner not in the rack is not paying, so flag someone to deal with it.

      The thing double scanned an item, and it takes someone from the shop to remove the scan, so wait and then explain.

      I had a coupon, but the system can’t deal with those. Again wait and explain.

      And because now apparently I’m a trouble maker I get flagged for a random check by the system regularly. Again wait and deal with that.

      On average, it turned out to be less waiting and dealing with people by getting in line at the regular cashier.

    • CyanFen@lemmy.one
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      10 months ago

      What you’re requesting is exactly how Amazon fresh works. the cart itself has barcode scanners on it

    • DrRatso@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Is self scan that rare around you? One of our (Latvia) two big brand supermarkets have scanners you carry around, then deposit at the slef checkout lines. The other one, however, I just scan everything with my phone, then at checkout scan a QR code with my phone and pay.

    • PixTupy@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      I always use the store app to scan as I shop and just pay at the machines at the exit here in Portugal. Hate shopping any other way.

    • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
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      10 months ago

      Sure, it works great if you’re a single person who doesn’t have all that much to buy, but here’s the thing; if you’re shopping for a family or a multi person household or whatever, and you have to buy a lot of things at once, your self checkouts just plain suck ass because pretty much no matter what you do, you’ll get dinged with an error message every ten or 12 items and have to wait for the overworked and underpaid attendant to come free you up so you can keep going until the next inevitable fuckup.

      Self checkout is fine if you have something like 15 or less items, but anything more than that and it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

  • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    I love self-checkout. Faster, don’t have to rush because someone is waiting for me, don’t have to interact with people, can easily double check it had the correct price etc. They’re fantastic

    • SkyNTP@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      It’s faster until you need the human operator to keep coming over because the anti-theft sensors keep getting tripped up by false positive readings. Or you need to find some vegetable code that a normal cashier has memorized.

      Self checkout is great when it’s done well, and total shit when poorly executed. And unfortunately, it’s not always just a matter of technology (which normally keeps improving); it’s often a matter of business model: sometimes customer convenience is really important, other times loss prevention (which creates frustration) is more important.

      I’ve seen countless good self-checkout experiences backslide into crap experience because the business felt that a controlled client is more profitable than a convenienced client.

      • SilverFlame@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Fun fact: PLU’s (Product Lookup Units) are searchable on Google, though it’ll look like you’re just on your phone while at the register

      • LifeOfChance@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I hear this argument frequently but I’m curious how often does this happen to you where you need assistance? I’ve used SCO for as long as it’s been around and I could probably count on 1 hand missing some fingers where I needed help. Sure back in the day with the faulty scales that kept tripping it was rough but manageable. I don’t say any of this with malice I’m just curious if it’s you or if you speak of a lot of people. If it’s the later wouldn’t it just make sense that maybe all the people struggling may just have difficulties with technology as a whole and not just the SCO?

        I truly mean no ill intent or hatred as I ask these types of questions as a way to learn and grasp the realities of others since no one person can know and see all.

        • numberfour002@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          In the USA at least, any time you buy alcohol, tobacco, or any number of other random things that the retailer decides to flag as requiring ID, then you’ll need assistance from a cashier. Random things include razor blades, compressed air, some herbal supplements, spray paint, butane torches, or any of dozens of other items. Any time you accidentally scan something twice, you’ll need a cashier’s assistance. Any time something rings up the wrong price or any time the UPC doesn’t scan, you’ll need a cashier’s assistance. Also, if you’re buying gift cards, you may need a cashier’s assistance.

          Also, different stores have different machines and different machines work better than others. Many places have ridiculously sensitive machines that freeze up if so much as a fruit fly farts on it. Some places use “AI cameras” to detect theft, which basically the algorithm for that seems to be “If (customer scanned something OR customer didn’t scan something) then (theft, so freeze and call cashier for assistance)”.

          So, the frequency is highly variable. For some stores, I can usually manage to get by with almost never needing assistance. For others, it’s practically every visit.

    • bus_factor@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      At my grocery store the line for self checkout is longer than for the registers, so people would very much be waiting for you. And instead of the time the cashier takes to scan all your stuff being out of your control, they’ll judge you personally for being slow instead.

      • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Even with the same lenght line, in here you’d get through much faster because instead of lining up for the one register you’re lining up to several self-checkouts

        • bus_factor@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          But the people at the self checkouts do it at a fourth of the speed, so it cancels out. Plus the line for the self checkouts is four times as long anyway.

          Although it’s not always easy to predict how long something takes. Self checkout is less vulnerable to someone paying in all nickels or having an issue with their food stamps. I’ll take that chance to not have to stand there and guess what species of banana I’m trying to buy, though.

          • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            Not here, people at the self check-outs go fast because they usually have less stuff and slower boomers are afraid of them anyway so they’ll be out of your way.

            I’ll take that chance to not have to stand there and guess what species of banana I’m trying to buy, though.

            Here you weight your vegetables, fruits, candies in the shop before you go to the checkout. Apart from Lidl which has either the cashier weighting them for you at the register or you’ll weight them at the checkout. But it’s the odd one out

            • bus_factor@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              I remember we weighed our own vegetables in Norway in the 90s. It stopped when they got the fancy registers which scanned barcodes and had a built-in scale.

              • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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                10 months ago

                I hope they don’t change it here. I like weighing my own stuff. Nicer to check how much I got and no need to remember what sort of tomatoes I got since the number is in the price tag. And no way for the cashier to fuck me over by weighing them as a pricier thing.

                Spanish tomatoes for the price of Finnish ones? Get the fuck out of here! What do I look like, fucking Croesus??

                • bus_factor@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  You’ve presumably had registers with barcodes for several decades now, so I’m guessing your way of weighing produce is pretty safe.

      • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        10 months ago

        they’ll judge you personally for being slow instead.

        If you’re slow because you’re old or disabled, it is what it is. I might even help if I’m up front.

        If you’re tired or something but clearly trying, it is what it is, people judging you are the dicks.

        If you’re on your cell phone, or not paying attention, or so incapable of reading that you have to call over a Walmart employee to tell you that yes, that says napkins on the monitor (actual thing I saw once and yes it’s cuz she couldn’t read, she said so): you deserve the judging.

  • Facebones@reddthat.com
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    10 months ago

    I don’t mind self checkout.

    I mind that I need the one employee overseeing 12 checkouts every other scan because the system decides something is wonky. I mind that it now has AI that assures said single employee that I’m fleecing them for an $0.80 can of tomato sauce and I now have to wait for this person to dig through my 3 bags looking for this hoisted sauce.

    If they’re so determined that every customer is lifting everything at checkout all the time - if only there was a way they could have an employee verify every item gets scanned, every time, perhaps by doing it themselves. Then we could wait in a line and feed our items to them so they can rest easy knowing everything was scanned appropriately. Oh, what science fiction Dreams I have.

    • ExfilBravo@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Or just RFID chip all the food items and I just walk out of the store and it charges me later based on what I walked out with. If no account exists automatic deployment of security personnel to catch the thief.

    • nixcamic@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      This exactly.

      Also trying to fit a bunch of awkward stuff off the scale and some of it is leaning against the edge and you have to balance everything just right cause heaven forbid it be off by a gram. Or it getting stuck because a bag doesn’t weigh enough to register.

      Like if you don’t trust me fine but don’t half ass it. If I’m gonna steal something from a grocery store it’s gonna way more than a gram and sure as heck isn’t gonna be an empty plastic bag.

  • iarigby@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    What are they talking about, self checkouts are great. It makes the shopping experience more fair for those with fewer items

    • AnomanderRake@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      I feel the people who don’t like self checkout keep trying to push the idea that it’s bad or putting people out of jobs, rather than just admitting it’s convenient for most people. If i want to buy one or two items I don’t want to queue up behind 5 people with a full trolley.

      • mint_tamas@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I don’t like self checkouts, but not because of that. Probably depends on what chains you go to / where in the world you live, but it was almost always very slow and full of errors for me (most of the time, incorrectly detecting the weight of either side, thus stopping the whole process and making me wait for a human to unlock it). And even if everthing goes well, I have no chance to even reach half the speed that a cashier can.

        The one exception is a clothing store that used RFID tags. You put the items in the box and everything is instantly scanned, no mistakes. If it were like that everywhere, I would much prefer it.

        • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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          10 months ago

          This is a very good point- consider all of the friction points that make self-checkout slow and cumbersome. How many of them apply to manned checkouts?

          The weight thing is absolutely the most frustrating, and I would put money that it’s not an effective theft deterrent.

          I don’t know if it’s intentional, but the places around me seem to have largely solved the problem of cashiers being faster, by putting the slowest people on earth as cashiers…

        • AnomanderRake@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          I’ve never seen a clothing store using RFID tags before but that’s quite interesting technology. I’ve just done some reading up on it and I hope more places start using it it seems convenient and something I’d like to see adopted on a large scale.

          • havocpants@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            Don’t know what country you’re in, but Decathlon in the UK (and possibly other countries) does this. There are no traditional manned checkouts in there at all.

          • GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk
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            10 months ago

            It’s pretty great. Though I’m sure it’s built into the price (assuming they’re talking about Uniqlo).

            On the other hand, being able to walk into the supermarket, fill a trolly, then walk through an archway to get rung up…That would be pretty amazing.

        • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          10 months ago

          If it always has issues it makes sense you wouldn’t like it, where I use it there are rarely any errors and there are usually regular cashiers still if you don’t want to self checkout, personally I’d rather scan my groceries than have someone else do it. I do agree it would be much better if they had an RFID system like you mention though.

        • Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Most grocery stores I’ve been to in the U.S. have regular self checkout and express checkout 10 items or fewer.

    • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      10 months ago

      I have a lot of anxiety, sure I can just ‘get over it’ or ignore it and go to the actual cashier, but I love having the ability to scan things myself, it is also much quicker because I usually have less items than most. They still have the employee there, there are still other cashiers so I’ve never seen it get too hectic where I go.

    • Spedwell@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Having express self-checkoit is great. The Kroger near me went full-self-checkout. They have large kiosks that mimmic the traditional checkout belt kiosks, except the customer scans at the head of the belt and the items move into the bagging area.

      If you have a full cart, you scan all the items, checkout, walk to the end of the belt, and bag all of your items. Takes twice as long as bagging while a cashier scans (for solo shoppers), and because of the automatic belt the next customer cannot start scanning until you finish bagging, or their items will join the pile of your items.

      It effectively destroys all parallelism is the process (bagging while scanning, customers pre-loading their items with a divider while the prior customer is still being serviced), and with zero human operated checkouts running you get no choice

      • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Depending on the system you have, some of them have a divider bar halfway down for that exact purpose.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        If you have a full cart, you scan all the items, checkout, walk to the end of the belt, and bag all of your items.

        Okay? But there’s no cost savings on my end and I don’t have all the codes memorized, so it takes longer than if a dedicated employee handled it.

        with zero human operated checkouts running you get no choice

        The humans are still there, though. They’re hovering over your shoulder to make you did the job right and you’re not buying booze under-aged and you didn’t steal anything. All the business has done is off-load the manual labor onto the customer and slowed down the checkout process as a result.

    • T156@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Especially those ones where you can grab a hand scanner to scan your items as you go, and use it to put everything into the terminal when paying.

  • TheMurphy@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Ehm, it’s pretty much a success where I’m from. Sounds more like a personal opinion.

    • ooli@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      they back it up with companies rellying heavily on self chekout losing more money

      • turmacar@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Would be curious if that’s actually the case or if it’s just the next iteration of the “organized theft is causing billions in lost profit” from last year that was just BS.

        Reality and the current narrative a C-level is pushing to get the result they want ain’t always all that similar.

      • PLAVAT🧿S@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Not sure about down vote(s), that’s what it says.

        Although here’s my prediction: this is the start of yet another narrative to justify why food prices must go up (to satisfy investors and line pockets).

        Start planting that seed now, “sorry folks, self check out is losing us money, we have to increase prices another 10%!”

  • PixelProf@lemmy.ca
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    10 months ago

    I almost exclusivity self-checkout for groceries, and it had drastically sped up my checkout time as most people in my area opt to use traditional checkout and the stores are still keeping lots of lanes open (just closing the express lanes). The last 3 times I’ve used a non-self checkout, each time I was double charged for items or didn’t have reduced prices applied and didn’t notice because I was bagging.

    • Aermis@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Same but mostly because I like to scan each item and see it associated with the price on the screen before adding another item

      • PixelProf@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        That too, and I can really efficiently manage the items going into bags given I backpack my groceries and want pretty specific configurations…

    • MashedTech@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I use self checkout on the machines that don’t weigh what you buy. Those work so well. The kind that have to weigh what you buy are slow and they always have an issue when I put items in bulk on them. Like two cans of beer if I don’t set both of them down at once it just breaks down and tells me I have the wrong weight in any configuration.

      • PixelProf@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        Totally agree. I forgot about those, as I’ve only encountered the weighing ones once in the past very long time and it was a mess, I can totally get hate if weighing ones are the only experience with them.

  • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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    10 months ago

    Usually I quite like self check

    Except at ALDI.

    Before they put in self check the cashiers sped through transactions at lightning speed. Now they’ve cut the number of cashiers and people sit at SCO slowly scanning and bagging everything…

    It’s ALDI bruh scan that shit and go to the bagging counter.

    • Sendbeer@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Oh shit, I just started going to Aldi and sounds like I am one of the idiots doing it wrong. The store I am going to seems to be setup same as a typical SCO though. I don’t know that I have noticed a bagging counter. Will be looking next trip I guess.

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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        10 months ago

        Ah I’m mostly grumbling anyways. The SCOs look the same as anywhere else had I begun shopping at Aldi after SCOs got there I probably wouldn’t do anything different either.

        But famously the cashiers at Aldi were super fast. They don’t bag anything. They just toss it into your cart. They’d often have a spare cart or two and if you had a lot of groceries they’d put it into a new cart for you instead of waiting for yours to be empty. (And also is one of very few places in the US where they let cashiers sit down).

        People who would attempt to bag their groceries while at the cashier (unless they only had a few things and got it done very quick) would attract ire from both the cashier and other customers for holding things up since they’d usually be done scanning before you’d get done bagging. Check this meme: https://x.com/ladbible/status/1270736248546758656 and the replies to it calling them out for bagging at checkout.

        After you checkout, you were meant to go to the bagging counter and bag your stuff (in your own bags or some people use empty display boxes.) The bagging counter is on the front wall of the store right by the exit (see picture)

        But if you notice next time, all the store brand stuff (90% of the stuff there) has unusually large and tall barcodes usually on multiple sides to help the cashiers be as fast as they are.

        Also the SCOs at ALDI are some of the quickest I’ve EVER used in terms of scanning items. It doesn’t need any delay between scans. If I only have one layer of stuff in my cart I usually just scan it while it’s still in the cart using the hand scanner and can be gone in under two minutes.

        • Sendbeer@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          Hey that’s pretty cool. I did see the unbagging area when picking up few items yesterday. Going to give it a shot next time I go to Aldi. It’s not a busy store and I always see an empty register, but maybe that’s because everyone else is doing their shit right.

          I did notice the bigger bar codes and that the Aldi registers scanned real well but somehow didn’t put the two things together.

        • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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          10 months ago

          Pro tip: Use (sturdy) boxes instead of bags.

          Set them in the completed area of SCO before starting the process, or in the empty cart before the cashier starts. That way it gets scanned and goes straight into the box. The box then makes it easy to put into your car, and into your home.

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          They just toss it into your cart.

          That’s a US thing. In Germany it’s common practice everywhere that the cashier does the scanning, you do the putting in your cart, or wherever, but if “wherever” is slower than a cart you’ll get death stares from other customers. They probably introduced that to deal with Americans who’d otherwise just stand there twiddling their thumbs.

          Also ALDI cashiers have gotten slow: They introduced scanners very late, before that cashiers would rummage through the belt with one hand and enter four-digit codes with another. It was possible to keep up with fresh cashiers but the seasoned ones were absolute speed-hogs – not that they’d mind you being slower, they just were done quickly because with practice, you get blazing fast at code entering.

  • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I think self checkout is a good way for stores to get more customers through faster but the stores seem to think they are a replacement for human cashiers and they are not at all. They are nice to have in addition to human cashiers.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I don’t get their point that shoppers “need to be socialized into using self-checkout”. Who ever needed to be persuaded? It’s just that they try hard to make it painful. Self checkout was always an over-complicated conglomeration of parts with poor usability, then poorly thought out additions to try to control theft and no counter space . It just never works well. Maybe we should “socialize” retailers into getting their shit together she it can work more smoothly

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Consumers want this technology to work, and welcomed it with open arms.

      That’s an actual sentence from that actual article. The fuck? I read it, like, four times. Is that even - what??

    • guyrocket@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      I think I used self checkout once in my life. I very quickly realized that they’re pushing their work onto me and never went to self checkout again.

      I also think those jobs matter. Not great jobs, sure. But they are jobs. I’m sure tech will eliminate cashier jobs someday but I don’t see self checkout doing so.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Those jobs may be important but they’re not the customer’s responsibility. My goal is to get out of there as conveniently as possibly for me, and sometimes that involves self-checkout.

        Of course I was recently on the other side of this conversation when trying to buy beer at self-checkout. The other person claimed it’s easy, but I claimed the extra steps and edit made it less convenient

  • gladflag@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    I hate self checkout because they make the system frustrating as if they don’t trust you. Which they don’t. So they make it weigh items and it yells if you’re too slow putting the item in the bagging area.

    If you don’t trust me to do it. Pay someone else to do it.

    • avater@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Problem is they save on the humans so you have to do their work too but you don’t see any price reduction or benefit for doing so, and that is on top of all the usability issues…

    • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It gets better, they’ve converted the Walmart tech help for the self checkout into sales people for their master card now.

    • Snekeyes@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I don’t think that’s what the article is talking about. The cart and hand scanner are different.

    • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I know entirely too many people who don’t use the hand scanner, and it’s crazy to me. It is by far the most efficient way to shop. I get irrationally angry when there are people in the self checkout line with a whole cart of groceries. This line is not for you. Get with the times.

  • barsoap@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    This seems to be an implementation issue. In my neighbourhood discounter, in Germany, there’s three self-checkouts and while they’re a bit small they also don’t do any of that weighing and whatnot bullshit: You scan your stuff, pay, done. The only thing they can’t do is apply best-before rebates.

    There’s also always a manned till open (or at the very least, when things are slow, a worker hanging out in the vicinity). In practice if the queue is empty you go there, if you have lots of stuff you go there (because it’s bound to be faster as you can focus on packing while things get scanned), otherwise you have the choice to use self-checkout. Never had to stand in line for self-checkout, before that happens they open another manned till. What the self-checkouts do is keep small purchases away from the manned tills when they’re busy which is exactly what they’re good for. I

    • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      If they cannot apply best before rebates then the store needs to change the system of applying them. One of our local chains uses orange stickers with new barcodes for best before discounts so the self checkout scans and accepts the new barcode with a lower price.

      • barsoap@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        I’m sure they will at some point but it just doesn’t seem to be a priority. It’s not like they closed the manned tills, and the total number of items is quite low. Basically only applies to the packaged meat section and then maybe two handful of items a day, if you don’t shop in the morning you’ll probably never see a sticker.

        My guess is that with other items they run an ordinary rebate well before the best before to get rid of stale stock but meat spoils too fast for that.

  • Blackmist@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Self checkout is just fine, as long as you have enough of them.

    Even better are the handsets you can take around the shop and scan as you go, as nobody wants to really be doing an entire trolley at the self checkout.

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Absolutely agree.

      Here most self-checkouts are often called something like “express checkout” There is often a rule of max 15-20 items per customer (The rule is not enforced in any way, so you are just supposed to follow it for others sake)