4 ms·

As much as I wish we had nice fast automated checkout technology right now, having a shop like this would drive me mad. These things have become infamous here

by ElliotH 15y ago

As much as I wish we had nice fast automated checkout technology right now, having a shop like this would drive me mad. These things have become infamous here in the UK for "Unexpected Item in Bagging Area" and similar. What would be really nice is RFID or similar instant scanning of everything in your basket (a local library has this for piles of books), but that may be a way off yet.

axefrog 15y ago
It's just a case of technological progress. I find these things (I live in the UK too) work for me 98% of the time and when they don't, you only need one store assistant amongst 8-10 self-service checkouts in a busy supermarket to assist customers when these issues crop up. Ultimately the technology will get good enough to alleviate this for the most part as well.
- ElliotH 15y ago
  You're right, and they are improving. I mainly hit issues in smaller stores (e.g tesco express) where the staff are more confused by the automated checkout than I am.
- viraptor 15y ago
  Not my experience (I shop in Sainsbury's mostly). I get the "unexpected item" problem almost every single time. Cashiers in my town are so used to it, they don't even look at the baskets anymore - I actually got confused and packed one item without scanning one day - approved with no questions asked (I scanned it later, got another weight error, approved again). Those are becoming as useful as SSL warnings or UAC - just click ok, because in 99% of cases, it's bogus. That's pretty much all they do - almost all the time they're near checkouts, they're busy accepting errors. There are also products which do change weight. Electronic protection on clothes or wine bottles weight enough to confuse the scales sometimes. Condoms are packed in a plastic container which is taken off after purchase, but the weight is set for the condom pack only. I also get the error quite often because I'm thirsty/hungry and empty half of the bottle, or half a pack of brioches while shopping. (yes, that's my fault but I don't see any reasonable automated solution for it) Then again, even with all those issues, I can still self checkout faster when doing small shopping alone (15+ items usually means some repacking so I think it's faster only when I'm there with my gf).
  - axefrog 15y ago
    Maybe you need more practice ;) Seriously though, every now and again I've noticed some supermarkets upgrading to newer machines and invariably the newer machines are much less prone to these sorts of issues. In one supermarket where I sometimes shop, I had experienced the difference before and after the upgrade and it was significant.
    - viraptor 15y ago
      Ok, maybe that's the difference then. I don't think Bath's Sainsbury's got an upgrade of checkout machines since ~2005/6 (they look the same, there's just more of them now).

by ElliotH 15y ago

axefrog 15y ago

It's just a case of technological progress. I find these things (I live in the UK too) work for me 98% of the time and when they don't, you only need one store assistant amongst 8-10 self-service checkouts in a busy supermarket to assist customers when these issues crop up. Ultimately the technology will get good enough to alleviate this for the most part as well.

ElliotH 15y ago
You're right, and they are improving. I mainly hit issues in smaller stores (e.g tesco express) where the staff are more confused by the automated checkout than I am.
viraptor 15y ago
Not my experience (I shop in Sainsbury's mostly). I get the "unexpected item" problem almost every single time. Cashiers in my town are so used to it, they don't even look at the baskets anymore - I actually got confused and packed one item without scanning one day - approved with no questions asked (I scanned it later, got another weight error, approved again). Those are becoming as useful as SSL warnings or UAC - just click ok, because in 99% of cases, it's bogus. That's pretty much all they do - almost all the time they're near checkouts, they're busy accepting errors. There are also products which do change weight. Electronic protection on clothes or wine bottles weight enough to confuse the scales sometimes. Condoms are packed in a plastic container which is taken off after purchase, but the weight is set for the condom pack only. I also get the error quite often because I'm thirsty/hungry and empty half of the bottle, or half a pack of brioches while shopping. (yes, that's my fault but I don't see any reasonable automated solution for it) Then again, even with all those issues, I can still self checkout faster when doing small shopping alone (15+ items usually means some repacking so I think it's faster only when I'm there with my gf).
- axefrog 15y ago
  Maybe you need more practice ;) Seriously though, every now and again I've noticed some supermarkets upgrading to newer machines and invariably the newer machines are much less prone to these sorts of issues. In one supermarket where I sometimes shop, I had experienced the difference before and after the upgrade and it was significant.
  - viraptor 15y ago
    Ok, maybe that's the difference then. I don't think Bath's Sainsbury's got an upgrade of checkout machines since ~2005/6 (they look the same, there's just more of them now).