Retailers in Europe, like Booths supermarkets, and the United States, like Walmart, are pulling back on having self-checkout in light of complaints and shoplifting.
This really is it. I managed a grocery store for years, and the problem these companies have is thinking that the self checkout can replace too many cashiers. Note that it can take the place of 1 or 2, but really, the boon of the self checkout is to really function as the best express lane ever. It should take the heat off your normal cashiers and provide an option best suited for quick purchases under 10 items.
But what ends up happening is schedulers drop their usual front end down from 4 cashiers to 1 and a self checkout host and completely nullify any gains their customers would have gotten from the enhanced service options. People really do like self checkouts but resent the hell out of being forced to use them as a blatant cash grab.
I will put one other mistake in there, is self checkouts with too many prompts. I avoid using self checkout at a few stores because the minimum number of prompts is higher than 3.
Good: scanning starts the process, select done AT MOST asks for how many bags, then payment type, swipe and pay (optional email receipt on pin pad).
Bad: Cant’ start till you tap start, asks for member ship card up front, asks if you want to donate, scan, asks if you want to use your rewards, asks for number of bags, also would you like an email receipt?
One cool thing I’ve found is that you can scan your card on the reader at any time.
I walk up to the machine, scan my first item, tap my card, then do the rest of my scanning. When I hit “done”/“pay” it just processes the card and prints a receipt
I stopped shopping at a local grocery store because the damn self checkout made you scan everything and place it on the stupid scale. I couldn’t put my own personal bag there as it would upset the whole system. It ended up wasting more of my time. If they want self checkout to be used more they need to understand someone isn’t stealing and paying at the same time. Sure something might get missed on accident, but I’m not scanning $100 in groceries to steal some arbitrary amount.
Also, Home Depot took self checkout to the extreme and it sucks ass for it.
No no no, people definitely steal and pay at the same time. I was guilty of doing so when i was younger and more stupid. Older self checkout were so easy to scam by tag swapping or only scanning some of my items and not others.
You were going to steal in the first place. This doesn’t change anything. Ethically ambiguous people “stealing” by purchasing something at a slightly lower price doesn’t equate to a company therefore making it so I have to use weighted systems. It’s part of the cost of doing business. Odds are good they still broke even after profit margin. Im not going to argue any of that, but it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have to put my stuff as I’m scanning on a scale. Either trust me to ring it up correctly or put the proper amount of people on checkout.
This is so key. If don’t have enough regular lanes (which at times is just 1), the old/slow/large/complex orders are much more likely to go through self-checkout. Now they’re annoyed that they “have” to use the machines, and so is everybody behind them that has to wait for them. Congratulations: you’ve managed to piss off literally everyone!
Walmart in my area was pretty famous for dropping all cashiers at certain times of the day, and splitting the self checkout “watcher” with customer service. Bit of a clusterfuck but they kept it up for years before 2020 made them shake things up.
Same. I’m purchasing 2 small things and there’s a line with the creepy incel cashier? Yep self checkout FTW. I have an entire cart full of stuff and the store doesn’t even have a cashier? FML.
Ya, having a lot of items, or odd items like vegetables or bulk items at a grocery store that need to have a code entered or need to be weighed suck at self checkout.
I would also say large items, but home depot and costco provide wireless scanners which work very well. Can just roll your cart up grab the scanner scan and go without taking stuff off.
I like self checkout as an option, almost everywhere.
I DON’T like REQUIRED self checkout.
This really is it. I managed a grocery store for years, and the problem these companies have is thinking that the self checkout can replace too many cashiers. Note that it can take the place of 1 or 2, but really, the boon of the self checkout is to really function as the best express lane ever. It should take the heat off your normal cashiers and provide an option best suited for quick purchases under 10 items.
But what ends up happening is schedulers drop their usual front end down from 4 cashiers to 1 and a self checkout host and completely nullify any gains their customers would have gotten from the enhanced service options. People really do like self checkouts but resent the hell out of being forced to use them as a blatant cash grab.
I will put one other mistake in there, is self checkouts with too many prompts. I avoid using self checkout at a few stores because the minimum number of prompts is higher than 3.
Good: scanning starts the process, select done AT MOST asks for how many bags, then payment type, swipe and pay (optional email receipt on pin pad).
Bad: Cant’ start till you tap start, asks for member ship card up front, asks if you want to donate, scan, asks if you want to use your rewards, asks for number of bags, also would you like an email receipt?
You missed incessant “place your item in the bagging area” and failing/requiring “assistance” if you scan too fast.
Ya and some of them will let you put your own bags in the bagging area in the start so you can fill your bags as you scan, while others do not.
What I find works pretty well is to have the bag ready and put the first item into it and then set it down on the bAgGiNg ArEa together
Scanned orange juice bottle “wrong item weight. Please wait for assistance.” Yes I have actually encountered this. :(
One cool thing I’ve found is that you can scan your card on the reader at any time.
I walk up to the machine, scan my first item, tap my card, then do the rest of my scanning. When I hit “done”/“pay” it just processes the card and prints a receipt
That trick likely only works on specific brands of these self checkout terminals.
Last time I was at a Target with only self checkout I went to customer service and had them scan me out.
It’s a baller move. It probably annoys the person at the customer service counter in the moment, but I respect it.
It helped to be polite but firm about it.
“There are no staffed checkout lanes and I hate those robots. Please check me out here.“
I gotta remember that for the future.
That’s not being polite, that’s just being an entitled dick head thinking you deserve special treatment.
I stopped shopping at a local grocery store because the damn self checkout made you scan everything and place it on the stupid scale. I couldn’t put my own personal bag there as it would upset the whole system. It ended up wasting more of my time. If they want self checkout to be used more they need to understand someone isn’t stealing and paying at the same time. Sure something might get missed on accident, but I’m not scanning $100 in groceries to steal some arbitrary amount.
Also, Home Depot took self checkout to the extreme and it sucks ass for it.
No no no, people definitely steal and pay at the same time. I was guilty of doing so when i was younger and more stupid. Older self checkout were so easy to scam by tag swapping or only scanning some of my items and not others.
You were going to steal in the first place. This doesn’t change anything. Ethically ambiguous people “stealing” by purchasing something at a slightly lower price doesn’t equate to a company therefore making it so I have to use weighted systems. It’s part of the cost of doing business. Odds are good they still broke even after profit margin. Im not going to argue any of that, but it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have to put my stuff as I’m scanning on a scale. Either trust me to ring it up correctly or put the proper amount of people on checkout.
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This is so key. If don’t have enough regular lanes (which at times is just 1), the old/slow/large/complex orders are much more likely to go through self-checkout. Now they’re annoyed that they “have” to use the machines, and so is everybody behind them that has to wait for them. Congratulations: you’ve managed to piss off literally everyone!
Walmart in my area was pretty famous for dropping all cashiers at certain times of the day, and splitting the self checkout “watcher” with customer service. Bit of a clusterfuck but they kept it up for years before 2020 made them shake things up.
They schedule what is budgeted by corporate, ime.
Same. I’m purchasing 2 small things and there’s a line with the creepy incel cashier? Yep self checkout FTW. I have an entire cart full of stuff and the store doesn’t even have a cashier? FML.
Ya, having a lot of items, or odd items like vegetables or bulk items at a grocery store that need to have a code entered or need to be weighed suck at self checkout.
I would also say large items, but home depot and costco provide wireless scanners which work very well. Can just roll your cart up grab the scanner scan and go without taking stuff off.
That and age-gated items like alcohol and [some] medicines. If the one human managing the self-checkout horde is busy, you’re just left waiting.
Somehow Costco has managed this well (as has Sam’s Club).
Costco always has sufficient ID checkers in the self-checkout, and Sam’s checks your ID as you leave the store if you do the Scan-as-You-Go feature.
Quick and easy for both.
They really need to just pay for extra cashiers. And* can’t they also have “express lanes?”
Exactly. Seems Costco and Sam’s do just that.
I don’t mind self checkout. It turns out i can be so incompetent that the self checkout watcher has to scan everything for me.