4 ms·

I disagree. I have had almost no issues with self-checkout, and I use it every week when buying lots of groceries. I think I only had an issue once or twice w

I disagree. I have had almost no issues with self-checkout, and I use it every week when buying lots of groceries. I think I only had an issue once or twice when the item I was trying to buy wasn't in the system.

ghaff 3y ago
Self-checkout is mostly fine for a few barcoded items that don't require age approval (like alcohol). Even awkwardly shaped items at places like Home Depot work pretty well these days given hand scanners. But having half a cartload of groceries including a bunch of produce? I'd much rather have a cashier. Aside from the slow process of looking things up, self-checkout areas just aren't setup for checking out and bagging a big pile of goods.
- Olreich 3y ago
  Grocery needs a little more tech to be perfectly convenient. Best I've seen are handheld scanners with electronic scales in the produce area to let you get barcodes for all your produce. The handheld scanner to let you scan and pack away from the checkout area. When you get to the checkout area, you generate a barcode that loads all the items into the self-checkout and pay.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    Sounds like more work than I want to do to buy produce. And there's still the problem that self-checkout at grocery stores is really optimized around the person scanning half a dozen items.
cogman10 3y ago
Agreed. In fact, the complaints the article starts off with seem to screem "I'm an idiot that can't follow simple directions". All the self checkout systems I've used are near identical. You move unscanned items past a scanner and onto a scale in the bagging area. Nothing confusing about that
- vegetablepotpie 3y ago
  Self check outs in high cost of living areas vs. low cost of living areas are different. Low cost of living areas you have many more reliability issues, I suspect because of high use and poor maintenance. Examples of poor reliability I’ve experienced are: - Scale not working for produce, requiring the attendant to re-tare it - Machine stuttering when scanning, resulting in not scanning, then double scanning an item - Machine refusing to scan after a small number of items. Staff response to that was “try not to use the small machines, they have issues” You also have some vicious anti-patterns that when combined with suspicious staff support make the checkout experience - At Kroger, similar items share the same picture. I was once scrutinized by a staff member who reached into my bag to see the item I had just place in there when scanning celery because celery sticks and celery bundles share the same picture in the checkout screen. - Kroger also issued coupons by mail to compensate for raising prices. When scanning coupons, you need to have staff support to take the coupons, which prevents completing checkout before their intervention. You combine that with the fact that many people in low cost of living areas also have health issues, which degrade their ability to follow instructions and respond to complex stimuli, you have a situation where self checkout lines backup, people get over charged, and it’s for the benefit of the company and not their customers.
  - danaris 3y ago
    I can't speak for everywhere, of course, but I live in a fairly low-cost-of-living area (rural upstate NY), and the self-checkouts in the grocery stores I frequent are largely well-maintained, reliable, and easy to use, with the exception of one store where they're configured to be just a little too finicky about warning you to "place the item in the bag". (I say "configured" because the sensitivity level has changed several times since their introduction a few years ago, so there must be some level of configurability to it.) Personally, I love self-checkout, and would be happy to use it every time, even at the place where it's a bit oversensitive. (Just have to remember to place the item in the bag, wait a second, then move the full bag back to the cart...) I think the notion that it's a "failed experiment" relies on a number of assumptions that the author's experiences are universal. It needs more fine-tuning in places, and possibly some more regulation to ensure that it's not being used in predatory ways (either toward the customers, or in terms of cutting down on employees and forcing everyone to use the self-checkout).

ghaff 3y ago

Self-checkout is mostly fine for a few barcoded items that don't require age approval (like alcohol). Even awkwardly shaped items at places like Home Depot work pretty well these days given hand scanners. But having half a cartload of groceries including a bunch of produce? I'd much rather have a cashier. Aside from the slow process of looking things up, self-checkout areas just aren't setup for checking out and bagging a big pile of goods.

Olreich 3y ago
Grocery needs a little more tech to be perfectly convenient. Best I've seen are handheld scanners with electronic scales in the produce area to let you get barcodes for all your produce. The handheld scanner to let you scan and pack away from the checkout area. When you get to the checkout area, you generate a barcode that loads all the items into the self-checkout and pay.
- ghaff 3y ago
  Sounds like more work than I want to do to buy produce. And there's still the problem that self-checkout at grocery stores is really optimized around the person scanning half a dozen items.

cogman10 3y ago

Agreed. In fact, the complaints the article starts off with seem to screem "I'm an idiot that can't follow simple directions". All the self checkout systems I've used are near identical. You move unscanned items past a scanner and onto a scale in the bagging area. Nothing confusing about that

vegetablepotpie 3y ago
Self check outs in high cost of living areas vs. low cost of living areas are different. Low cost of living areas you have many more reliability issues, I suspect because of high use and poor maintenance. Examples of poor reliability I’ve experienced are: - Scale not working for produce, requiring the attendant to re-tare it - Machine stuttering when scanning, resulting in not scanning, then double scanning an item - Machine refusing to scan after a small number of items. Staff response to that was “try not to use the small machines, they have issues” You also have some vicious anti-patterns that when combined with suspicious staff support make the checkout experience - At Kroger, similar items share the same picture. I was once scrutinized by a staff member who reached into my bag to see the item I had just place in there when scanning celery because celery sticks and celery bundles share the same picture in the checkout screen. - Kroger also issued coupons by mail to compensate for raising prices. When scanning coupons, you need to have staff support to take the coupons, which prevents completing checkout before their intervention. You combine that with the fact that many people in low cost of living areas also have health issues, which degrade their ability to follow instructions and respond to complex stimuli, you have a situation where self checkout lines backup, people get over charged, and it’s for the benefit of the company and not their customers.
- danaris 3y ago
  I can't speak for everywhere, of course, but I live in a fairly low-cost-of-living area (rural upstate NY), and the self-checkouts in the grocery stores I frequent are largely well-maintained, reliable, and easy to use, with the exception of one store where they're configured to be just a little too finicky about warning you to "place the item in the bag". (I say "configured" because the sensitivity level has changed several times since their introduction a few years ago, so there must be some level of configurability to it.) Personally, I love self-checkout, and would be happy to use it every time, even at the place where it's a bit oversensitive. (Just have to remember to place the item in the bag, wait a second, then move the full bag back to the cart...) I think the notion that it's a "failed experiment" relies on a number of assumptions that the author's experiences are universal. It needs more fine-tuning in places, and possibly some more regulation to ensure that it's not being used in predatory ways (either toward the customers, or in terms of cutting down on employees and forcing everyone to use the self-checkout).