Stupid Self Checkout!

[OldSaw]

I had to run over to the local grocery store and pick up a bag of ice for one of my kids that is recovering from ACL surgery. I was in a hurry, as she was in a great deal of pain, so I decided to use the self checkout. What a joke that is.

Everything was going fine, I swiped my card and entered my PIN, then (and I almost missed this in my hurry) it flashed up on the screen that $61.29 had been charged to my account! I was pretty hacked off and then the high school kid came over to help. Apparently it gave me $60.00 cash back, which I had not selected, and the cash back trough is way down low and not anywhere near the receipt which is way over to the other end of the machine. If I had not caught that flash on the screen I would have simply grabbed the receipt, stuffed it in my pocket and walked out with the bag of ice leaving the cash for the next person to enjoy.

I called the store manager after refilling the ice cooler and let him know how upset I was. After I got off the phone my stepdaughter said the same thing happened to her at the same store. This is not a discount grocery warehouse or something like that, it is a high end store with prices that reflect that, yet they deliberately understaff the regular checkouts to force people to use the self checkout.


So there's my rant. I don't like self checkout and if something is going to go wrong at the checkout the odds of it happening increase at least 10 fold when using the self checkout.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I like it. I've never really had a problem, except a few times the screen has frozen and someone has had to reboot it.

Also, it makes buying certain items a lot less awkward. Ahem. Ahem-hem-hem.

 

[PFP_Dad]

I prefer self checkout and use it every chance I get. IMO often times there is a better chance of not experiencing problems than when I'm relying on the cashier. My exception is if I'm buying alcohol because then I have to wait while someone walks over to put in my birthday.

 

[_JP_]

When it comes to gorceries, I'll use the regular checkouts when I have produce or other items that don't scan, or items that are so light the system doesn't detect them being put in the bag. If it's busy, then the regular lanes can be faster than the self check. And I'm old enough to not feel awkward about buying anything.

 

[dpm802]

I prefer self-checkout, but it has its drawbacks. Like I worry about leaving stuff behind on those little spin-around trays where you put your things into bags. And I have to stop and think about what I'm doing as I bag items, so the bread doesn't get crushed by a bottle of soda.

Also, its rare that I get through my entire basket without something not scanning correctly, and I have to wait for the clerk to come and figure it out.

All in all, self-checkouts are more fun, but going through a regular cashier lane seems to easier and often faster.

 

[Toothpick]

If I'm processing my own transactions then I expect prices throughout the store to reflect that. Which do not. Prices increase AND I have to check myself out? I don't think so. I don't like self checkouts at all. I will say though that if i have 1 or 2 items I will go to one. if i have a cart then I wait in line and let the cashier do the work. What does upset me is when you shop late at night and that's all they have open. No lanes with a real person. I swear next time this happens to me i'm going to request a real person just out of spite.....even if they do use a self checkout.

 

[njpaddy]

I like the self-checkout at Home Depot (wish Lowes had it too), but never use it at the grocery. Something always goes wrong at the grocery. Either some item doesn't scan or my ATM card won't work

 

[cb91710]

I prefer the self checkout.

The less physical human contact I am required to participate in, the happier I am.

 

[NCJack]

Like so many things in our Brave New World, when it works it's fast and great; when it doesn't it's FUBAR

 

[OldSaw]

I prefer self-checkout, but it has its drawbacks. Like I worry about leaving stuff behind on those little spin-around trays where you put your things into bags. And I have to stop and think about what I'm doing as I bag items, so the bread doesn't get crushed by a bottle of soda.

Also, its rare that I get through my entire basket without something not scanning correctly, and I have to wait for the clerk to come and figure it out.

All in all, self-checkouts are more fun, but going through a regular cashier lane seems to easier and often faster.

I did that once. I had finally made it all the way through the self checkout process at a Walmart and was so excited that I grabbed my receipt and headed out the door. I was about 30 miles down the road when it dawned on me that I left my bag of stuff at the checkout. I was truck driving at the time so it wasn't worth going back (would have lost well over an hour off my log and been dinged by the company for out of route miles) for $18 worth of groceries.

 

[OldSaw]

I prefer the self checkout.

The less physical human contact I am required to participate in, the happier I am.

This literally made me laugh out loud.

I'm surprised to see how many people prefer the self checkout. Maybe I need to be a little more open minded about it.

 

[maxman]

They never work right for me.
I'm always the guy who's got something marked down 50% in his bin and have to get help from the clerk anyway.

Or I'll get the barcode that can't be read by the machine.

I'm the Ziggy of the self-check line.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

The less physical human contact I am required to participate in, the happier I am.

Yeah, I was going to add that, but I chickened out.

One thing I like about it is that it seems to be relatively new here in NYC, so people over the age of 50, and there are a lot of them in my present neighborhood and my old neighborhood, tend to view the self checkout lanes as though they're some sort of fairy tale demon that's popped out of the forest and is like, "Come on! Follow me! There's a pot of gold right behind that oak tree!" So they're looking at it askew and suspicious, like they want to try it, but maaaaaaaaaaaybe it's not such a good idea and they ultimately opt for the regular checkout lane. My point being is that very few people ever try them and so I breeze right through nearly every time. I almost never have to wait.

 

[OldSaw]

They never work right for me.
I'm always the guy who's got something marked down 50% in his bin and have to get help from the clerk anyway.

Or I'll get the barcode that can't be read by the machine.

I'm the Ziggy of the self-check line.

You make me feel so much better about myself.

 

[wrinkles2]

I like them, they are faster.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I cannot stand self checkout. To me it is like diving to the pizza joint, then going in the kitchen to make you own.

 

[Katia]

I hate self-checkout. Nobody knows how to use them... if I have to wait, I'd rather it be in a regular line (although it does seem I always have the luck of being behind the person disputing prices/whose card won't work/whose stuff doesn't ring up correctly/whatever).

I don't get embarrassed about anything I buy, either. Perhaps it's because I'm female; you learn early on. But I'm simply... not embarrassed about my bodily functions or the fact that I may participate in sexual relations. It happens to just about everyone and if someone wants to judge, they're probably a hypocrite for doing so. At any rate, I probably will never see them again anyway.

 

[California Cajun]

It would be nice if it worked, but much of the time it does not. I think we're standing in longer checkout lines than we did a few years ago as well.

 

[rxonmymind]

I found twenty dollars in one once. Woot!...Then ran to catch to the older gent who was thankful. Otherwise if I have one or two items, fine. But if you think I'm going to do your work for you your mistaken.

 

[Rushman2112]

Hmm. If I wanted to work as a cashier in a supermarket I think I would have done so in the first place. Are things cheaper doing their work for them? If there was a discount at the end of the transaction I'd be fine with it, but otherwise, no thanks.