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> Retailers tell us that self-checkouts are all about providing more choice, convenience and speed Oh yes, of course. It's certainly not just about the cost of
by jccc 9y ago
> Retailers tell us that self-checkouts are all about providing more choice, convenience and speed
Oh yes, of course. It's certainly not just about the cost of an employee at a cash register, which is why retailers give you a little discount when you self-checkout. They do, right?
Sincerely: Does anyone believe there is any reason at all for pushing these other than squeezing labor cost, to the retailer's exclusive benefit?
- throwaway18917 9y agoCapitalism seeks to squeeze as much profit out of as little labor as possible. This should not be a surprise to anyone.
- fivestar 9y agoCapitalism can be more than just cost cutting, that isn't the only good in the equation, right? I avoid the self checkouts as much as possible because they're annoying and because I figure I might need a job as a checkout clerk sometime after I retire. It's self-interest, which is also a feature of capitalism.
- tetromino_ 9y agoI prefer having the choice to self-checkout. Given a free self-checkout and an empty lane with a cashier, I almost always go for the self-checkout: there is no need to interact with someone who is forced to smile and greet me by corporate policy, and I can arrange the groceries in my bags in the way that I like. Plus - it always feels better to do things with one's own hands. Since the rise of the self-checkout, going to a grocery store that only has human checkout clerks is starting to feel as uncomfortable as driving to a gas station in New Jersey and being forced to rely on a human attendant.
- cuddlybacon 9y agoI prefer them as well. It feels sorta weird going thru a regular checkout now and just standing there not doing anything the whole time. It's boring.
- vec 9y agoI think these exist entirely to squeeze labor costs, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. First, allowing grocery stores to operate with smaller staffs means we get more grocery stores. The small, cramped grocery store that recently opened within walking distance of my apartment probably wouldn't be able to operate if it had to provide not just pay, but parking and work space for another dozen full-time employees. That's a food desert in a dense urban core that doesn't exist anymore and a smaller, but still substantial, group of available jobs that otherwise wouldn't be there. Second, if I were to approach you and tell you I had two plans for a machine. Both are about evenly efficient, but one requires two people to stand at the machine doing boring, repetitive, mindless drudge work for hours on end. I, for one, definitely prefer the one that doesn't require human suffering to operate. Automated checkouts eliminate jobs, but specifically they eliminate shitty jobs that we should probably feel bad about asking anyone to do in the first place.
- HeyLaughingBoy 9y agoI agree with you in that I would hate a job as a supermarket cashier. However, I know people who really like it. What you and I think of as boring drudge work, they see as an opportunity to be social and chat with people all day long. People vary.
- jccc 9y agoHow much of that cost reduction goes into building new stores? How many new stores in any case are going to food deserts rather than places more profitable for the retailer? I would guess nowhere near enough to support the notion that this cost reduction leads to new stores, or that new stores would appear in food deserts. I don't want self-checkouts to disappear. I just don't want to be lied to about their purpose, and in particular they ought to make it worth my while to use them by offering at least some tiny discount. The fact that they don't tells us all we need to know.
- vec 9y ago> How much of that cost reduction goes into building new stores? Probably almost none of it, at least not directly. > How many new stores in any case are going to food deserts rather than places more profitable for the retailer? Probably a lot of them. Places where it's profitable to run a grocery store already have grocery stores. Food deserts exist in the first place because they're not profitable places to put grocery services for one reason or another. Lowering the fixed cost of running a grocery store means that some places that previously could only support N grocers can now support N+1, so that's where the opportunity is. This is no less true when N=0.
- frankc 9y agoThey're great for shy teens buying condoms or husbands buying tampons for their wives. Other than that, it's worse service for the same price.
- plopz 9y agoI always use the self checkout at my grocery store because its just faster than waiting in line. They recently added a way for people to just use an app to scan barcodes while shopping and then just scan your phone at the self checkout but I haven't tried it.
- crowbahr 9y agoMy local Safeway has no self checkout line. They don't hire more cashiers to offset this fact, they just make me stand in line longer. It's miserable. I'd love for them to have all 6 lanes open but no more than 2 ever are. Even at peak shopping times. Self checkout would be an awesome boon.
- narrowrail 9y agoWhile Safeway/ Randolph's/ Ralph's was trying (and failing) to compete with WholeFoods, they lost their way and got bought out by what is now Albertson's. Meanwhile, Kroger was kicking ass and competing on price/quality/ variety. Try not shopping at Safeway, even WalMart is better.