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In the Netherlands, self-checkout doesn't use scales. I simply scan all the items in my basket, and put them in my backpack immediately. Once in a while, you ar
by maartenh 6y ago
In the Netherlands, self-checkout doesn't use scales. I simply scan all the items in my basket, and put them in my backpack immediately. Once in a while, you are flagged, and a sample of your items are scanned to make the probability low that you are stealing something. Scanning the loyalty card helps to prevent too many checks over time.
All in all, the total overhead next to scanning your items is a mere few seconds.
This is a huge contrast with my experience in the UK. Those scanners are talking, are slow to move between states, require you to put everything from one to another scale. This is indeed often slower than a human worker, and amazes me to no end.
- kevincox 6y agoThat sounds way better, and quite possibly more effective at actually catching shoplifting. My experience in the UK, Ireland US and Canada has been the bad example as you have described. It seems to be a classic case of bureaucratic risk aversion without proper cost analysis.
- a_c_s 6y agoSome items like fresh fruits & vegetables are usually loose & sold by weight. How are things like this handled without scales?
- maartenh 6y agoThere is/are scale(s) in the vegatable/fruit corner, and one next to the self checkout corner.