I'm far too old-fashioned to use a self-checkout. I'm a bit of a klutz at figuring anything out that I'm not experienced with. 
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Self-Service Checkouts
- Thread starter Vivian
- Start date
The big problem with the systems we have over here is the 'Unidentified item in the baggage area' or 'place the item in the baggage area'. The baggage area is hardly ever clearly labelled.
I think if you have a basket full of items it's well worth it, if I'm buying a bottle of coke or some crisp then it makes much more sense as theres hardly ever any queues for them here.
I think if you have a basket full of items it's well worth it, if I'm buying a bottle of coke or some crisp then it makes much more sense as theres hardly ever any queues for them here.
Khalessi
Guest
As reported on a current affairs show that aired on tv tonight ..
People who use these .. should get a discount off the total of their grocery bill. Maybe 5% or something like that. After all, it's the customer who is actually doing all the work aye?
People who use these .. should get a discount off the total of their grocery bill. Maybe 5% or something like that. After all, it's the customer who is actually doing all the work aye?
Khalessi said:As reported on a current affairs show that aired on tv tonight ..
People who use these .. should get a discount off the total of their grocery bill. Maybe 5% or something like that. After all, it's the customer who is actually doing all the work aye?
Yeah! We should!
Most people just can't follow instructions. Of course, not everything that goes wrong with them is the customer's fault, but "place item in bagging area" doesn't mean "put item back in cart" unless you're pressed the skip bagging button.
That said, I use them all the time, even on (somewhat) large shopping trips, just because I work around them all day.
That said, I use them all the time, even on (somewhat) large shopping trips, just because I work around them all day.
Smooth said:
This. I just read an article about McDonald's replacing employees with machines, and A LOT of people commented about how much they were so excited because they "didn't have to deal with horrid customer service workers". I understand this in some cases, but not every customer service employee is a horrid person who either treats you like shit or is too chirpy and friendly.
I work in retail, and we are trained to get a read on the customer as we're interacting with them. If they're chatty, we chat back. If they're not very vocal and seemingly want to get through the transactions, I only really ask the pertinent questions (eg. about receipts, whether they want a bag, etc). It's not difficult to determine what the customer wants and doesn't want, so I think a lot of people are just being extremely anti-social and or overly dramatic.
And to be honest, it frightens me to think that a lot of people don't respect or see the need for customer service positions. Many people I come across feel they need to be replaced with machines, to take that "nagging, annoying cashier, hostess, waitress, call center..." jerk out of the picture and risk cutting millions of jobs. Sure, if this was the case, it would most likely be implemented slowly and in increments, but I think that we DO need to keep those positions instead of just bringing in a machine to do it.
While I understand the theory of wanting to streamline technology and make it more efficient for customers, to ring out more people and thus make more money, I feel we're getting rid of some truly crucial jobs that rely on customer service that a machine simply cannot provide.
They are not there to save you time, they are there to save the company wage costs. If you check you own stuff out, they don't need to pay someone to do it for you.
Nebulous said:
Agreed. It always need an employee to come over and reset or enter a code. Kind of annoying and inconvenient.
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seasidemike said:
Very true.
The best system for the self service I have seen so far is in a supermarket where when you enter you are given a hand scanner.
You scan your items as you shop, and when you are finished you rerun the scanner and pay the total. Very simple
You scan your items as you shop, and when you are finished you rerun the scanner and pay the total. Very simple
Last time I went to wal mart, I legitimately accidentally forgot to scan these $25 wrangler-brand carpenter shorts (wearing them right now). Didn't notice until I got to my car. Oh well. Didn't feel like going back in and explaining and a soulless retail giant like that won't miss them.
I don't think you WANT any social interaction with a WalMart employee!
I don't think you WANT any social interaction with a WalMart employee!
The employees are just regular people, shout out to anyone who can hold down a steady job (no matter what it is). I'd say watch out for some of their clientele though!
I went through the self checkout the other day and forgot to scan something again. Oops.
People can do that? 😯
Some people do it on purpose. I remember someone telling me they bought a bunch of t-shirts from there. Picked them up in pairs and scanned the bar code once for every 2 shirts he picked up. Guess he created his own buy one / get one free discount.
