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Cashier apparently is here because is the substantial amount of people, who will steal if not watched, but won't take a risk of cashier will confront them or wi

Cashier apparently is here because is the substantial amount of people, who will steal if not watched, but won't take a risk of cashier will confront them or will call a police.

BoorishBears 7y ago
So how do you explain self-checkout which is not watched nearly as carefully? It's not a binary outcome. Self-checkout increases shrinkage, of course there are people who steal when not watched as carefully. But the vast majority of people walking in a store are not stopped from stealing because of the odds of being caught. Like, stores would literally not work if that was the case. Margins these stores have a razor thin. The amount of shrinkage they'd have to deal with, and the amount they'd have to invest in LP would be insane. Similarly, the vast majority of people who are borrowing books would not steal them instead just because there was no late fee (it's not like there's no due date). And similarly, libraries would not work if that was not the case. When you keep a book, it still has to be replaced before someone else can use it, and if you don't pay the late fees/replacement fees the library either eats the whole cost, or sends it to a collection agency and eats part of the cost. How many libraries could afford to deal with a populace hellbent on stealing books regardless of late fees?
- rhizome 7y ago
  >Self-checkout increases shrinkage If this is true, and I'm not sure it is, I bet the money they lose to theft is dwarfed by the amount they save by laying off most of their checkers.
  - vanniv 7y ago
    self-checkout does somewhat increase shrinkage. Many stores (Target, for one) combat this by having a screen right on the self-checkout machine that shows the camera footage of you checking out, to remind you that you're being watched even if there isn't a human right there doing the watching. But yeah, the increase in theft is probably a lot less than the savings from having to pay more checkers (since they typically can have one observer per 4-6 self-checkout kiosks)
  - BoorishBears 7y ago
    Not only is it true, self-checkout machines can be adjusted to account for expected shrinkage. In one neighborhood the machine can be configured to be extremely sensitive to weight and quick to give loud warnings as soon as a mismatch occurs, in another it can be configured for easier use, by ignoring single weight mismatches and allowing voiding of cheaper items without employee oversight ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/retail/marketing/pdf/sco/RTE03002-USEN-00.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330214157_SELF-CHECKOUT_IN_RETAIL_MEASURING_THE_LOSS https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330214157_SELF-CHEC...
    - rhizome 7y ago
      Keep in mind the truism that most retail lossage leaves through the employee entrance.
- robbrown451 7y ago
  This might work better for a library than a for-profit institution like a grocery store. I imagine that self checkout doesn't get all that many cheaters because people think there are cameras, and being busted for stealing is a pretty humiliating big deal most people wouldn't want to risk, even if the risk is small.

Cashier apparently is here because is the substantial amount of people, who will steal if not watched, but won't take a risk of cashier will confront them or will call a police.

BoorishBears 7y ago

So how do you explain self-checkout which is not watched nearly as carefully? It's not a binary outcome. Self-checkout increases shrinkage, of course there are people who steal when not watched as carefully. But the vast majority of people walking in a store are not stopped from stealing because of the odds of being caught. Like, stores would literally not work if that was the case. Margins these stores have a razor thin. The amount of shrinkage they'd have to deal with, and the amount they'd have to invest in LP would be insane. Similarly, the vast majority of people who are borrowing books would not steal them instead just because there was no late fee (it's not like there's no due date). And similarly, libraries would not work if that was not the case. When you keep a book, it still has to be replaced before someone else can use it, and if you don't pay the late fees/replacement fees the library either eats the whole cost, or sends it to a collection agency and eats part of the cost. How many libraries could afford to deal with a populace hellbent on stealing books regardless of late fees?

rhizome 7y ago
>Self-checkout increases shrinkage If this is true, and I'm not sure it is, I bet the money they lose to theft is dwarfed by the amount they save by laying off most of their checkers.
- vanniv 7y ago
  self-checkout does somewhat increase shrinkage. Many stores (Target, for one) combat this by having a screen right on the self-checkout machine that shows the camera footage of you checking out, to remind you that you're being watched even if there isn't a human right there doing the watching. But yeah, the increase in theft is probably a lot less than the savings from having to pay more checkers (since they typically can have one observer per 4-6 self-checkout kiosks)
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  Not only is it true, self-checkout machines can be adjusted to account for expected shrinkage. In one neighborhood the machine can be configured to be extremely sensitive to weight and quick to give loud warnings as soon as a mismatch occurs, in another it can be configured for easier use, by ignoring single weight mismatches and allowing voiding of cheaper items without employee oversight ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/retail/marketing/pdf/sco/RTE03002-USEN-00.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330214157_SELF-CHECKOUT_IN_RETAIL_MEASURING_THE_LOSS https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330214157_SELF-CHEC...
  - rhizome 7y ago
    Keep in mind the truism that most retail lossage leaves through the employee entrance.
robbrown451 7y ago
This might work better for a library than a for-profit institution like a grocery store. I imagine that self checkout doesn't get all that many cheaters because people think there are cameras, and being busted for stealing is a pretty humiliating big deal most people wouldn't want to risk, even if the risk is small.