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anon_8675309 ,

I hate self checkout. I don’t go shopping just to work. Fuck that, check me out and bag my shit.

TORFdot0 ,

Honestly we all carry a barcode scanner in our pockets. If I were running a grocery store, I’d be investing in scan and go instead of self checkout

BorgDrone ,

Where do you live that supermarkets don’t have this?

TORFdot0 ,

The bigger supermarkets such as Walmart have it here, but the regional ones are still putting in the self checkouts.

BorgDrone ,

Here you can choose between scanning at the self checkout (easiest if you just have a basket with a few items and you don’t have a free hand for the scanner), or you get a hand scanner, or you use the app on your phone.

xenspidey ,

Sam's club has this and it is amazing

Sendbeer ,

You got that right. It's so great walking right by everyone queued up at the registers.

makingStuffForFun ,
@makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml avatar

Many German supermarkets do this. You scan as you put items in the trolley.

iknowitwheniseeit ,

Same in the Netherlands.

mechoman444 ,

The self check out was supposed to decrease the amount of cashiers the store would have to use so they wouldn't have to pay so many cashiers.

They're a detriment to society.

BorgDrone ,

Why? Seems like a win for everyone. The end goal should be to eliminate all jobs so we dan spend our time doing things we enjoy.

mechoman444 ,

You're right! There should be no jobs!

asdfasdfasdf ,

The job hasn't been eliminated. You are just the one doing it now. The only benefit is that the store doesn't need to pay you.

GrayBackgroundMusic ,

You're right, it should be, but greedy CEOs will find a way to make us all still have to have jobs so they can see us toil. Remember, rich have to have something to make themselves feel above us plebeians.

firadin ,

Not a win for the shopper, who now has to scan and bag their own items. Not a win for the now laid-off cashier who is unemployed. Only a win for the company, which has gained free labor.

BorgDrone ,

Oh no, bagging your own items. I already had to do that because we don’t have demeaning jobs like that on this side of the pond.

Massive win for me as a shopper as the self checkout is much faster and doesn’t require human interaction.

barsoap ,

I'm quite sure I'd go mental over in the US as I very much doubt a bagger can tetris my backpack as well as me.

firadin ,

I'm sure the baggers would rather be employed rather than laid off. I'd rather have the money go to a bagger than the CEO's pockets.

TheFriar ,

Yeah, you know, this is mostly my view on AI. Eliminate jobs! But they’re not going to ditch capitalism, so losing jobs doesn’t mean no work. It means people suffer and starve. Because businesses want us to have money, they just don’t want to pay us that money. I mean, without money, we wouldn’t buy their shit. And eliminating jobs (“costs”) means keeping more of the money for themselves. And more money for themselves means more power and sway over policy.

Can you ever foresee a future in which the world is filled with businesses hiring no one, but people still having money via UBI or however they would arrange to keep capitalism afloat through the continuous circulation of money? The more jobs they cut early, the more money they have to fight the tax increase that UBI would necessitate (in this hypothetical mostly jobless society). If we can’t secure more power in a system that actually values human life, AI and increasing automation will only lead to us, the working class, suffering and dying while the baron class keeps amassing power and money.

In short, capitalism and full automation/AI are incompatible with human life.

(I mean, capitalism is incompatible with human life. But we need a complete overhaul of the entire concept of modern life itself before we allow capitalism to go on automating. It only spells disaster for us—even though it could mean utopia. Capitalism will not let utopia exist because it’s not generating profits.)

shiroininja ,

nope. hate dealing with a cashier, never going back. If I'm grabbing an item or two, I can be out in like 2 minutes. Most places I don't even have to touch the screen or fiddle with a card reader. scan scan, tap phone, I'm out! even at wallmart you can finish a transaction without pushing anything.

nintendiator ,

scan scan, tap phone,

Do we tell him?

shiroininja ,

What?

notasandwich1948 ,

self checkout is a default for me

Snapz ,

Self checkout could be fine, the failure is capitalism/corporations in execution

firadin ,

Turns out even under socialism, I'd still rather have someone else scan and bag my things.

1050053 ,

Self checkouts that require the receipt barcode to open the exit door are quite alright.

It's usually fast except for the idiots that bring their small children in there to play around with everybody else's time.

GentlemanLoser ,

Sorry, they lock you in until you pay? What country is this?

elshandra ,

Think that's dystopian? At a local here in aus, if the self service checkouts think someone is about to walk out without paying, they lock off the entire self service area, and all the trolleys in the store freeze and refuse to move - Even if you've been through the manned register, and already paid for your groceries.. You have to wait for them to unlock all the shit. Idk how people shop there.

Cultural_Hope ,
@Cultural_Hope@lemmy.world avatar

At my grocery store I can't collect or use points, discounts don't register properly so you need help and no carts are allowed at self checkout. I would rather wait in line.

bdonvr ,

Usually I quite like self check

Except at ALDI.

Before they put in self check the cashiers sped through transactions at lightning speed. Now they've cut the number of cashiers and people sit at SCO slowly scanning and bagging everything....

It's ALDI bruh scan that shit and go to the bagging counter.

Sendbeer ,

Oh shit, I just started going to Aldi and sounds like I am one of the idiots doing it wrong. The store I am going to seems to be setup same as a typical SCO though. I don't know that I have noticed a bagging counter. Will be looking next trip I guess.

bdonvr , (edited )

Ah I'm mostly grumbling anyways. The SCOs look the same as anywhere else had I begun shopping at Aldi after SCOs got there I probably wouldn't do anything different either.

But famously the cashiers at Aldi were super fast. They don't bag anything. They just toss it into your cart. They'd often have a spare cart or two and if you had a lot of groceries they'd put it into a new cart for you instead of waiting for yours to be empty. (And also is one of very few places in the US where they let cashiers sit down).

People who would attempt to bag their groceries while at the cashier (unless they only had a few things and got it done very quick) would attract ire from both the cashier and other customers for holding things up since they'd usually be done scanning before you'd get done bagging. Check this meme: https://x.com/ladbible/status/1270736248546758656 and the replies to it calling them out for bagging at checkout.

After you checkout, you were meant to go to the bagging counter and bag your stuff (in your own bags or some people use empty display boxes.) The bagging counter is on the front wall of the store right by the exit (see picture)

https://thelemmy.club/pictrs/image/00d07635-7bab-4156-9e61-b637863f8d1c.jpeg

But if you notice next time, all the store brand stuff (90% of the stuff there) has unusually large and tall barcodes usually on multiple sides to help the cashiers be as fast as they are.

Also the SCOs at ALDI are some of the quickest I've EVER used in terms of scanning items. It doesn't need any delay between scans. If I only have one layer of stuff in my cart I usually just scan it while it's still in the cart using the hand scanner and can be gone in under two minutes.

barsoap ,

They just toss it into your cart.

That's a US thing. In Germany it's common practice everywhere that the cashier does the scanning, you do the putting in your cart, or wherever, but if "wherever" is slower than a cart you'll get death stares from other customers. They probably introduced that to deal with Americans who'd otherwise just stand there twiddling their thumbs.

Also ALDI cashiers have gotten slow: They introduced scanners very late, before that cashiers would rummage through the belt with one hand and enter four-digit codes with another. It was possible to keep up with fresh cashiers but the seasoned ones were absolute speed-hogs -- not that they'd mind you being slower, they just were done quickly because with practice, you get blazing fast at code entering.

Nollij ,

Pro tip: Use (sturdy) boxes instead of bags.

Set them in the completed area of SCO before starting the process, or in the empty cart before the cashier starts. That way it gets scanned and goes straight into the box. The box then makes it easy to put into your car, and into your home.

Sendbeer ,

Hey that's pretty cool. I did see the unbagging area when picking up few items yesterday. Going to give it a shot next time I go to Aldi. It's not a busy store and I always see an empty register, but maybe that's because everyone else is doing their shit right.

I did notice the bigger bar codes and that the Aldi registers scanned real well but somehow didn't put the two things together.

themurphy ,

Ehm, it's pretty much a success where I'm from. Sounds more like a personal opinion.

ooli OP ,

they back it up with companies rellying heavily on self chekout losing more money

Plavatos ,

Not sure about down vote(s), that's what it says.

Although here's my prediction: this is the start of yet another narrative to justify why food prices must go up (to satisfy investors and line pockets).

Start planting that seed now, "sorry folks, self check out is losing us money, we have to increase prices another 10%!"

turmacar ,

Would be curious if that's actually the case or if it's just the next iteration of the "organized theft is causing billions in lost profit" from last year that was just BS.

Reality and the current narrative a C-level is pushing to get the result they want ain't always all that similar.

1984 ,
@1984@lemmy.today avatar

All these things are just designed to make the shop do less work, and for you to do their job for them for free.

I'm sure in the future we won't interact with people at all, because that's whats cheapest for the company. We will be true "consumers", like animals being fed by machines.

Well, at least if capitalism continues.

DarkThoughts ,

I'm sure in the future we won't interact with people at all

Oh god I wish.

nbafantest ,

I can scan and bag my stuff better and faster any cashier I've met. Fuck standing in lines for someone to do it slower and shittier for me.

Kazumara ,

Sounds like low trust society issues to be honest. I only see those systems expanding in Switzerland, and they never use annoying scales or complain about unexpected items, because there aren't even any sensors for that.

lemmyvore ,

Over here it's a mix, some chains use the scales + sensors, some use simple scan machines. I absolutely hate the scale + sensors, some of them are almost completely unusable and the attendants have to keep running around fixing errors or resetting the ones where people just give up mid-cart and go to a manned checkout.

beeb ,

Can confirm. The only deterrent is the potential for an random bag check by an employee but that never happened to me in years of using self checkout. Some shops have a worker over watching a dozen of stations to help out or just identify suspicious behavior but it's very unintrusive.

Buttons ,
@Buttons@programming.dev avatar

I've been a checker and have monitored self-checkouts. We get no training or instructions to watch for suspicious behavior. It's not the job of a checker / cashier to confront people for suspicious behavior, we don't get paid enough to do so, or to even care.

withabeard ,

So much chocolate weighed through the scales as "fresh veg potatoes"

beeb , (edited )

Thanks for the clarification! My assumptions were wrong ^^ although I saw once a lady who tried to leave without paying, but the worker noticed and they spent a good 5 minutes convincing her to put in cash into the machine, which apparently she had but had to look for in her bag for a looong time.

JohnEdwa ,
@JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz avatar

Here in Finland handheld scanners have been getting added to more shops, you grab one, scan and bag as you go, and at the end you return the scanner and pay it all at once.

MirthfulAlembic ,
@MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world avatar

One of the regional grocery stores in my part of the US has these (if you have an account). Before I did online ordering with curbside pickup, this was how I shopped. I didn't understand why it wasn't more popular. It made checking out so quick. Every twenty or so trips I'd be randomly "audited," where some poor employee had to rifle through my bags to double check I wasn't stealing anything.

frosty ,
@frosty@pawb.social avatar

We used to have this (scan-as-you-shop) at Wegman's in the northeast US, but at some point they decided to withdraw the program to re-think on it.

jol ,

The chance to be randomly audited would put me off from ever using it again. Specially when you know that randomly = you look brown or immigrant most of times.

flumph ,
@flumph@programming.dev avatar

At Giant, I'm pretty sure it's decided by the system based on some algorithm, not the employee. The one time I was audited, we were in the store for a long time and had removed a few items from the cart after adding them.

The audit consisted of the employee scanning ten random items and confirming we had scanned them too.

raynethackery ,

When I was using food stamps/EBT, I was audited every time I used the hand scanner at Stop and Shop. Luckily, I don't have to use food stamps anymore.

flumph ,
@flumph@programming.dev avatar

Well that's some bull. The software knows what items are covered and which aren't, so that's just assuming folks needing help are thieves.

raynethackery ,

Yeah, luckily an Aldi opened down the street and I started shopping there. I don't need food stamps now but with the way prices are going...

jol ,

Ah, yes, yes. We're not racist, it's the system! It's an algorithm! I never heard that one before. It's also a sustym that randomly checks you at the airport.

Nollij ,

It all depends on how truly random the system is. Each checkout (or ticket, or whatever) assigned a random number between 1 and 20, with 20 meaning audit? That's non-discriminatory. But it's also not tuned for the purpose of finding shoplifters (etc).

When you start adding criteria, they are often at least correlated with discrimination. Food stamps were mentioned elsewhere. Flight history to/from a list of hostile countries for airports. The list goes on. Technically not based on things like race, but it's a paper-thin distinction in some cases.

jol ,

How do you know there's not someone looking at se purity cameras triggering random audits?

Nollij ,

Then that's not random by any definition of the word. It's targeted.

It's entirely possible, even likely, that management would keep claiming that it's random when it's not. But then we're not talking about any algorithms.

jol ,

That's the point I'm making.

hulemy ,
@hulemy@ani.social avatar

We have both happen, sometimes combined or scan with phone. I've seen some of the American systems, with sensors and weights and speakers (with some voice lines), those are creepy to me.

crazyCat ,

For sure, I use self checkout at at least 5 different places in China and they all work fantastically, including a Walmart.

grabyourmotherskeys ,

To be fair, anything that allows a Swiss person to avoid small talk will be overwhelming popular.

NegativeInf ,

Am.. am I swiss?

nbafantest ,

All of Lemmy is Swiss apparently

moitoi , (edited )

My guess is that we are half of the population on lemmy.

moitoi ,

I avoid places where self checkout isn't available. And, it's not just me. I stopped counting how many time the cashier is jobless and the self checkout area is full.

Kusimulkku ,

I love self-checkout. Faster, don't have to rush because someone is waiting for me, don't have to interact with people, can easily double check it had the correct price etc. They're fantastic

SkyNTP ,

It's faster until you need the human operator to keep coming over because the anti-theft sensors keep getting tripped up by false positive readings. Or you need to find some vegetable code that a normal cashier has memorized.

Self checkout is great when it's done well, and total shit when poorly executed. And unfortunately, it's not always just a matter of technology (which normally keeps improving); it's often a matter of business model: sometimes customer convenience is really important, other times loss prevention (which creates frustration) is more important.

I've seen countless good self-checkout experiences backslide into crap experience because the business felt that a controlled client is more profitable than a convenienced client.

LifeOfChance ,

I hear this argument frequently but I'm curious how often does this happen to you where you need assistance? I've used SCO for as long as it's been around and I could probably count on 1 hand missing some fingers where I needed help. Sure back in the day with the faulty scales that kept tripping it was rough but manageable. I don't say any of this with malice I'm just curious if it's you or if you speak of a lot of people. If it's the later wouldn't it just make sense that maybe all the people struggling may just have difficulties with technology as a whole and not just the SCO?

I truly mean no ill intent or hatred as I ask these types of questions as a way to learn and grasp the realities of others since no one person can know and see all.

numberfour002 ,

In the USA at least, any time you buy alcohol, tobacco, or any number of other random things that the retailer decides to flag as requiring ID, then you'll need assistance from a cashier. Random things include razor blades, compressed air, some herbal supplements, spray paint, butane torches, or any of dozens of other items. Any time you accidentally scan something twice, you'll need a cashier's assistance. Any time something rings up the wrong price or any time the UPC doesn't scan, you'll need a cashier's assistance. Also, if you're buying gift cards, you may need a cashier's assistance.

Also, different stores have different machines and different machines work better than others. Many places have ridiculously sensitive machines that freeze up if so much as a fruit fly farts on it. Some places use "AI cameras" to detect theft, which basically the algorithm for that seems to be "If (customer scanned something OR customer didn't scan something) then (theft, so freeze and call cashier for assistance)".

So, the frequency is highly variable. For some stores, I can usually manage to get by with almost never needing assistance. For others, it's practically every visit.

ARg94 ,

This is an important point. The execution of self-checkout seems to vary widely. I have only experienced poor executions like you described. I think a scan and go system sounds great and I would interested to see one tested at a shop in my area.

SilverFlame ,

Fun fact: PLU's (Product Lookup Units) are searchable on Google, though it'll look like you're just on your phone while at the register

bus_factor ,

At my grocery store the line for self checkout is longer than for the registers, so people would very much be waiting for you. And instead of the time the cashier takes to scan all your stuff being out of your control, they'll judge you personally for being slow instead.

gamermanh ,
@gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

they'll judge you personally for being slow instead.

If you're slow because you're old or disabled, it is what it is. I might even help if I'm up front.

If you're tired or something but clearly trying, it is what it is, people judging you are the dicks.

If you're on your cell phone, or not paying attention, or so incapable of reading that you have to call over a Walmart employee to tell you that yes, that says napkins on the monitor (actual thing I saw once and yes it's cuz she couldn't read, she said so): you deserve the judging.

Kusimulkku ,

Even with the same lenght line, in here you'd get through much faster because instead of lining up for the one register you're lining up to several self-checkouts

bus_factor ,

But the people at the self checkouts do it at a fourth of the speed, so it cancels out. Plus the line for the self checkouts is four times as long anyway.

Although it's not always easy to predict how long something takes. Self checkout is less vulnerable to someone paying in all nickels or having an issue with their food stamps. I'll take that chance to not have to stand there and guess what species of banana I'm trying to buy, though.

Kusimulkku ,

Not here, people at the self check-outs go fast because they usually have less stuff and slower boomers are afraid of them anyway so they'll be out of your way.

I'll take that chance to not have to stand there and guess what species of banana I'm trying to buy, though.

Here you weight your vegetables, fruits, candies in the shop before you go to the checkout. Apart from Lidl which has either the cashier weighting them for you at the register or you'll weight them at the checkout. But it's the odd one out

bus_factor ,

I remember we weighed our own vegetables in Norway in the 90s. It stopped when they got the fancy registers which scanned barcodes and had a built-in scale.

Kusimulkku ,

I hope they don't change it here. I like weighing my own stuff. Nicer to check how much I got and no need to remember what sort of tomatoes I got since the number is in the price tag. And no way for the cashier to fuck me over by weighing them as a pricier thing.

Spanish tomatoes for the price of Finnish ones? Get the fuck out of here! What do I look like, fucking Croesus??

bus_factor ,

You've presumably had registers with barcodes for several decades now, so I'm guessing your way of weighing produce is pretty safe.

lemmytellyousomething ,

I don't see the benefit for me.

They save money and keep it and fire the workers........

BearOfaTime ,

And have us do the work for them.

I said all this at the beginning self checkout. I'm for it, but where's the discount for using it since I know it's dropping staff hours tremendously.

I've seen stores drop from 6 cashiers to 1. Listen corp, my din your work is saving you gobs in taxes, insurance, HR costs, scheduling, etc, etc. Where's my cut?

uriel238 ,
@uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

My troubles with self checkout usualy has to do with the confirmation weight scale which slows things down tremendously. Sam's self check out featured a lack of scale (Sam's also had a scan-as-you-go app my wife loved).

Death_Equity ,

The two places I go to that have self-checkout seem to have disabled the scales. The only thing that is an understandable hassle is having to check my ID for alcohol.

One of those places knows me well enough to authorize the sale before I can get my ID out, which might be a sign that I have a different problem than the hassle of having my ID checked at the self-checkout.

50gp ,

they also often dont work with any discounts or bulk buy

EngineerGaming ,
@EngineerGaming@feddit.nl avatar

And my biggest problem is that the self-checkouts I see in stores around me do not accept cash (even though earlier there WERE cash-accepting models - in the chain now merged with another). So even if there are faster lines to the self-checkout, that doesn't help me much.

BorgDrone ,

Self checkouts don’t have those here. Just scan all the barcodes. What is even the point of the scales?

uriel238 ,
@uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I believe they were introduced as an inventory control mechanism, though they got way worse as customer-supplied bags became the norm.

BorgDrone ,

But they already know what is sold by the scanned barcodes. What do the scales add to that?

uriel238 ,
@uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

It allows them to confirm what you bought is the same as what you scanned. It also makes sure you didn't miss-count your multiple items. (Either double-scanning an item or failing to scan an item.)

Having now lived in lower-class areas and gentrified areas, stores that can afford a self-checkout kiosk tend to trust poor people less. (At the same time, they over-estimate their losses from theft or accidental shrinkage).

BorgDrone ,

Here they just do random bag checks. When you press ‘pay’ there is a chance you get a notification to wait for an employee to check your bag. They then scan a random number of items from your bag (up to 10) and see if it matches what you scanned.

No_Eponym ,
@No_Eponym@lemmy.ca avatar

I donno, asking why self-checkouts haven't delivered anything is kind of like asking why your cook never mows your lawn, dontcha think?

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