Author Topic: self checkouts  (Read 3011 times)

Bogie

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 10,153
  • Hunkered in South St. Louis, right by Route 66
    • Third Rate Pundit
self checkouts
« on: June 04, 2021, 06:38:22 PM »
Well, my local Wally World has gone self-checkout except for one or two lanes.
Blog under construction

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,743
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2021, 06:44:38 PM »
I have generally been a fan of the self-checkout, given my misanthropy. I have recently run into the first instance of not liking it. Costco recently started self-checkout and I do not like it. It takes me way longer at the self-checkout there than going through the regular register. At most places it's the opposite.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

RocketMan

  • Mad Rocket Scientist
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 13,578
  • Semper Fidelis
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2021, 06:50:58 PM »
I have generally been a fan of the self-checkout, given my misanthropy. I have recently run into the first instance of not liking it. Costco recently started self-checkout and I do not like it. It takes me way longer at the self-checkout there than going through the regular register. At most places it's the opposite.

Why is it taking you longer at Costco versus other places where you like to use the self-checkout?
If there really was intelligent life on other planets, we'd be sending them foreign aid.

Conservatives see George Orwell's "1984" as a cautionary tale.  Progressives view it as a "how to" manual.

My wife often says to me, "You are evil and must be destroyed." She may be right.

Liberals believe one should never let reason, logic and facts get in the way of a good emotional argument.

WLJ

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27,848
  • On Patrol In The Epsilon Eridani System
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2021, 06:54:27 PM »
The only problem I have with self check outs is when I have adult drinks in the cart. Have to get someone to put in an approval.
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us".
- Calvin and Hobbes

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,743
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2021, 07:50:58 PM »
Why is it taking you longer at Costco versus other places where you like to use the self-checkout?

It's not me, I think. It's the fact that Costco checkers are super efficient. There are two to a register. While they scan everything at lightning speed, I tap my card on the reader, and everything is done. It seems like at most other places, I'm just as fast as the single cashier, except for looking stuff like fruit up, that doesn't always have a barcode.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

griz

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,030
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2021, 07:57:00 PM »
Generally I like them.  Pre-vaccination I appreciated the distance they provided from the people behind me who were in a hurry to put their stuff as close as possible to my stuff on the conveyor belt.  The cashiers are faster, but the cashier lines are longer.  My only problem is stuff that would never occur to me would be age limited, such as spray paint and cold medicine.  Then I have to wait my turn while the roving cashier comes over and certifies that I'm an old guy.
Sent from a stone age computer via an ordinary keyboard.

Hawkmoon

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27,197
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2021, 08:03:32 PM »
Well, my local Wally World has gone self-checkout except for one or two lanes.

Mine did that a year or two ago.

There's one Wally World in my area that never has any conventional checkout lanes open. Which is why I decline to patronize that store.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
100% Politically Incorrect by Design

charby

  • Necromancer
  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 29,295
  • APS's Resident Sikh/Muslim
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2021, 08:42:46 PM »
I refuse to use them, I don't work there. Offer me a employee discount at the self check out register and I'll think about it.

Iowa- 88% more livable that the rest of the US

Uranus is a gas giant.

Team 444: Member# 536

MechAg94

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 33,622
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2021, 09:15:26 PM »
IMO, Walmart forces you to use the self check out because they always refuse to schedule enough check out people.  Either stand in a long line for the cashier or FU.  As a result, half the time there is a long line at the self check also. 
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”  ― Calvin Coolidge

Jim147

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 7,587
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2021, 10:16:57 PM »
The rear times I drive the 30 minutes plus to a Walmart. I use the self checkout. I flag someone down and ring up my whiskey first and then out the door I am.
Sometimes we carry more weight then we owe.
And sometimes goes on and on and on.

BAH-WEEP-GRAAAGHNAH WHEEP NI-NI BONG

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2021, 10:21:24 PM »
I am with Charby.  Offer me a 10% discount, and I will use the self-checkout more.
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

Bogie

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 10,153
  • Hunkered in South St. Louis, right by Route 66
    • Third Rate Pundit
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2021, 10:29:03 PM »
There are two convenient to South City St. Louis - I'm gonna guess that they will soon stop selling tobacco products. Because that was ONE aisle, and was the one open after 10.
Blog under construction

French G.

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 10,184
  • ohhh sparkles!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2021, 11:01:19 PM »
Walmart is best checked out in sporting goods while buying ammo or the garden center.
AKA Navy Joe   

I'm so contrarian that I didn't respond to the thread.

just Warren

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,234
  • My DJ name is Heavy Cream.
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #13 on: June 05, 2021, 12:15:17 AM »
You can also check out in the tire center.
Member in Good Standing of the Spontaneous Order of the Invisible Hand.

Hawkmoon

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27,197
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2021, 12:42:20 AM »
Walmart is best checked out in sporting goods while buying ammo or the garden center.

None of the Walmarts around here EVER have anyone in Sporting Goods.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
100% Politically Incorrect by Design

Perd Hapley

  • Superstar of the Internet
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 61,330
  • My prepositions are on/in
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #15 on: June 05, 2021, 12:52:07 AM »
This thread again?
"Doggies are angel babies!" -- my wife

just Warren

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,234
  • My DJ name is Heavy Cream.
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #16 on: June 05, 2021, 01:22:38 AM »
Well, my local Wally World has gone self-checkout except for one or two lanes.
Member in Good Standing of the Spontaneous Order of the Invisible Hand.

K Frame

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 44,009
  • I Am Inimical
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #17 on: June 05, 2021, 08:05:30 AM »
I refuse to use them, I don't work there. Offer me a employee discount at the self check out register and I'll think about it.



Of course, the alternative way of looking at that is to say that you already got your 10% discount. By adopting more efficient business practices Walmart has been able to control human capital costs and avoid raising prices.

You're welcome.
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.

K Frame

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 44,009
  • I Am Inimical
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #18 on: June 05, 2021, 08:14:31 AM »
My biggest pet peeve with the self checkouts has always been their physical size.

If I have 70 items in a cart, the last thing I'm going to do is try to checkout at something the size of a voting booth with enough room to put, maybe, 2 or 3 full bags.

Well, just throw the full bags back into your cart! Yeah... my cart still has 62 other freaking items. Second, empty cart? Hell, there's not even enough room for the first cart at the checkout.

I walked out of a store some years ago, leaving a full cart behind, because there were no manned checkouts open (lots of room on those belts) to land stuff, and lots of room for them to stage your bags as they pack them) and the manager's attitude was basically "suck it up and/or *expletive deleted*ck off". So I told her I'd be *expletive deleted*ing off to her competition and she could deal with the cart full of stuff, including a bunch of perishable items.

The newly opened store near me has something new... belted self scan checkouts. They're the size of a regular checkout with the conveyor belt, which means you can unload your card wihthout a hassle. Much easier to use.

And, the Walmart near me also has something new -- a larger self checkout stand (no belt) but with a bunch of room on which to bag stuff once you've scanned it. No more trying to fit 70 items on a postage stamp.
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #19 on: June 05, 2021, 09:44:55 AM »
^^^Just about all the self-checkout stands up here that I use have a scale built into them, so if you remove a full bag to make room prior to payment, it has a hissy fit and won't proceed.  This is also annoying when I buy a lightweight item, like a pen, toss it in the bag, the weight doesn't register and the screen starts telling me to bag the item and won't proceed.
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,743
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #20 on: June 05, 2021, 10:14:22 AM »
^^^Just about all the self-checkout stands up here that I use have a scale built into them, so if you remove a full bag to make room prior to payment, it has a hissy fit and won't proceed.  This is also annoying when I buy a lightweight item, like a pen, toss it in the bag, the weight doesn't register and the screen starts telling me to bag the item and won't proceed.

That always annoyed me, but I have seen it be less of a problem of late. There may have been some software updates linked to type of item. Some (non-grocery) places around here, I just scan stuff in the cart and leave it in the cart, no problem. At the couple of grocery stores where I use self-checkout, it seems to not care on certain items and only wants stuff like fruit and veggies put on the scale.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,743
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #21 on: June 05, 2021, 10:25:27 AM »
Oh and yes, the size of the checkouts is ridiculously small. At the grocery stores, I look at them the same as the "ten items or less" lane. If I have a bunch of stuff, I go to the human checker. I expect that may be part of the design - a way to route people with fewer items out of the human checker lines. I'd be curious to see if there are studies on that, regarding line efficiency and speed.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

MechAg94

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 33,622
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #22 on: June 05, 2021, 10:35:25 AM »
Part of the problem I have had also is some check out people will move fast and some will go as slow as they possibly can.  Beware the checkout lane with few people. 

I used to have more issues with the weight scanner on the self check lanes.  Most stores seem to have fixed or improved that the last couple years.  Home Depot's system was about worthless a few years back.  Works better now.  The store here never very busy an d rarely has many check out people.  The Lowes isn't much better especially if you catch them at the wrong time of day. 
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”  ― Calvin Coolidge

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #23 on: June 05, 2021, 10:49:49 AM »
^^^Home Depot used to be my pet peeve: I would buy a bag of four machine screws, toss it in the bag, the weight scanner would not register, and hilarity ensued. 

Also annoying was when the self-checkout did not deactivate the security tag and the exit door scanner alarm went off.  I just keep on going; if the store feels they have sufficient probable cause to detain me, I am happy to call 911, wait for the cops and we can all have a nice chat. 
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,743
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: self checkouts
« Reply #24 on: June 05, 2021, 10:52:57 AM »
^^^Home Depot used to be my pet peeve: I would buy a bag of four machine screws, toss it in the bag, the weight scanner would not register, and hilarity ensued. 

Also annoying was when the self-checkout did not deactivate the security tag and the exit door scanner alarm went off.  I just keep on going; if the store feels they have sufficient probable cause to detain me, I am happy to call 911, wait for the cops and we can all have a nice chat.

The Despot is one of the places where I just  scan everything right in the cart and leave it there. I seem to recall having "small item" trouble there years ago as well.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."