9 ms·

Self-checkout? Best invention of the 2000's

Scoundreller 5y ago
Sorta. Took them a while to turn it off criminal mode. Wasn’t long ago you had to bag an item before you could scan the next. But I have more than 1 hand. Sometimes multiple people. French ones still run in criminal mode.
- taurath 5y ago
  They’re in criminal mode in the US depending on the store location. 2 Safeway’s about a 10 minute drive from each other have opposite policies, also the more poor the area the less likely to have self checkout at all
  - m-ee 5y ago
    The checkout situation alone has made it so I haven’t gone to my local Safeway in almost two years except to use the DMV registration machine. The self checkout is almost unusable, and ever since the private equity buyout years ago I’ve never seen more than two normal registers open at once.
    - taurath 5y ago
      Private equity is synonymous with “customers and employees will suffer” in my mind. I get really miffed at how our system of economics seems set up to destroy rather than promote the common good.
  - draw_down 5y ago
    I’ve walked out of more than one Safeway because the self checkout refused to let me proceed and nobody was helping. Those machines are so shitty, they’ve gotten better but I still try not to use them.
- varsketiz 5y ago
  What is criminal mode?
  - pbourke 5y ago
    I think they mean when the machine is set to a strict weight measurement tolerance (or similar) so that for nearly every item it complains about putting things into or taking them out of the bag. You often have to call the checkout area minder over to fix it. It makes the process take much longer than it should.
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      That and when you can’t pick up multiple packages of something, scan them and then bag them all at once. You have to complete each individual process before starting the next. Painful for small items or when you have a helper.
    - Biganon 5y ago
      The machines weigh stuff? I don't understand that. Here in Switzerland you just scan the barcode of every item and place it in a bag, done. What is there to weigh? Also recently I started using what I guess is the Swiss (Coop) equivalent of Scan and Go: I scan with my phone in the aisles, but stuff in my bag directly in the aisles as well, and when I leave the list of items I've taken is transmitted to a classic self checkout machine and I just have to pay. I wish I could avoid the machine entirely and pay from my phone, I assume it will exist one day.
      - Scoundreller 5y ago
        The big bagging area will be one big scale. It's not that big of a deal when programmed correctly. You can place your own bags on it too (but there's usually a button you have to press so it tares it correctly). The scanning area will have it owns weight sensor for unweighed fruits and vegetables. This scale is usually calibrated/verified by a government body because it relates to pricing. In Europe, it's common to bag and weigh your produce in the produce section, but in N. America, it's integrated with the checkout process. I live near a Walmart "flagship" store and they are/were testing out a system where you scan items are you pick them and then can bag them in your cart, with a special aisle for exit. I suspect the cart also goes over a scale and they determine if it matches correctly.
- treeman79 5y ago
  Oh the anxiety of having kids and those. Every single bump set it off and required someone to come over. More then a few carts got left half unloaded.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    I’ve had a large person on the other side leaning on it and set it off…
AuryGlenz 5y ago
It’s great when you want to buy a few things. It’s terrible if you have a cart full of things.
- grasshopperpurp 5y ago
  This is how I view it. There's a Publix just down the street from my work, and I always use self-checkout there, but when we're shopping for home (full cart), we don't even consider it an option. I don't think Publix checks your cart or anything, so it's not about that. Last time we went shopping, there wasn't a bagger, and we didn't mind, so that's not it either. I think it's just that it's a lot quicker for them to scan your items, and you don't have to pay extra attention to make sure you've scanned everything. Related, Publix is one of the South's top selling points. It's easily the best grocery store I've used. Up until I moved to Florida and experienced Publix, all grocery stores felt more or less the same.
- smegger001 5y ago
  it depends for me it is almost universally better unless something has a security device on it. on the other hand i worked as a cashier and latter lead cashier (i trained all the new cashiers on how to use the register) for years while in collage. So I can get through my cart much faster than most whoever is working the check out just because i know whats coming and what should be bagged together optimally. and then also the lack of forced social interaction makes me far happier.

Sorta. Took them a while to turn it off criminal mode. Wasn’t long ago you had to bag an item before you could scan the next. But I have more than 1 hand. Sometimes multiple people. French ones still run in criminal mode.

taurath 5y ago
They’re in criminal mode in the US depending on the store location. 2 Safeway’s about a 10 minute drive from each other have opposite policies, also the more poor the area the less likely to have self checkout at all
- m-ee 5y ago
  The checkout situation alone has made it so I haven’t gone to my local Safeway in almost two years except to use the DMV registration machine. The self checkout is almost unusable, and ever since the private equity buyout years ago I’ve never seen more than two normal registers open at once.
  - taurath 5y ago
    Private equity is synonymous with “customers and employees will suffer” in my mind. I get really miffed at how our system of economics seems set up to destroy rather than promote the common good.
- draw_down 5y ago
  I’ve walked out of more than one Safeway because the self checkout refused to let me proceed and nobody was helping. Those machines are so shitty, they’ve gotten better but I still try not to use them.
varsketiz 5y ago
What is criminal mode?
- pbourke 5y ago
  I think they mean when the machine is set to a strict weight measurement tolerance (or similar) so that for nearly every item it complains about putting things into or taking them out of the bag. You often have to call the checkout area minder over to fix it. It makes the process take much longer than it should.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    That and when you can’t pick up multiple packages of something, scan them and then bag them all at once. You have to complete each individual process before starting the next. Painful for small items or when you have a helper.
  - Biganon 5y ago
    The machines weigh stuff? I don't understand that. Here in Switzerland you just scan the barcode of every item and place it in a bag, done. What is there to weigh? Also recently I started using what I guess is the Swiss (Coop) equivalent of Scan and Go: I scan with my phone in the aisles, but stuff in my bag directly in the aisles as well, and when I leave the list of items I've taken is transmitted to a classic self checkout machine and I just have to pay. I wish I could avoid the machine entirely and pay from my phone, I assume it will exist one day.
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      The big bagging area will be one big scale. It's not that big of a deal when programmed correctly. You can place your own bags on it too (but there's usually a button you have to press so it tares it correctly). The scanning area will have it owns weight sensor for unweighed fruits and vegetables. This scale is usually calibrated/verified by a government body because it relates to pricing. In Europe, it's common to bag and weigh your produce in the produce section, but in N. America, it's integrated with the checkout process. I live near a Walmart "flagship" store and they are/were testing out a system where you scan items are you pick them and then can bag them in your cart, with a special aisle for exit. I suspect the cart also goes over a scale and they determine if it matches correctly.
treeman79 5y ago
Oh the anxiety of having kids and those. Every single bump set it off and required someone to come over. More then a few carts got left half unloaded.
- Scoundreller 5y ago
  I’ve had a large person on the other side leaning on it and set it off…

AuryGlenz 5y ago

It’s great when you want to buy a few things. It’s terrible if you have a cart full of things.

grasshopperpurp 5y ago
This is how I view it. There's a Publix just down the street from my work, and I always use self-checkout there, but when we're shopping for home (full cart), we don't even consider it an option. I don't think Publix checks your cart or anything, so it's not about that. Last time we went shopping, there wasn't a bagger, and we didn't mind, so that's not it either. I think it's just that it's a lot quicker for them to scan your items, and you don't have to pay extra attention to make sure you've scanned everything. Related, Publix is one of the South's top selling points. It's easily the best grocery store I've used. Up until I moved to Florida and experienced Publix, all grocery stores felt more or less the same.
smegger001 5y ago
it depends for me it is almost universally better unless something has a security device on it. on the other hand i worked as a cashier and latter lead cashier (i trained all the new cashiers on how to use the register) for years while in collage. So I can get through my cart much faster than most whoever is working the check out just because i know whats coming and what should be bagged together optimally. and then also the lack of forced social interaction makes me far happier.