Self checkouts

[Nevakonaza]

I hate those self service checkouts,people take soo bloody long at them sometimes its no quicker,Then sometimes you scan something...shove it in the bag on the weight system and it keeps saying "please place the item in the weighing area"..then you have to call the worker over etc...arghh

 

[Youstolemyname]

You know what I meant.



They usually install two or three self-checkout systems where one till would go.

The bonus to the customer is that you (usually) get through quicker than if you used a regular till. Why do you need some kind of financial incentive as well?

Because I am saving the supermarket money by not using a human operated till. And transaction time walking up to an empty self serve vs empty human operated till, I reckon the till operator will be faster than your average person who doesn't know where the bar codes are. Granted, the queue may move faster as its usually small baskets on self serve but if you get stuck behind a pensioner you are doomed.

 

[TheVoice]

You're saving them money if you don't use the toilets, do you want a discount for that as well?

 

[fiveub]

Until idiots try and put a trolly load through.

This annoys me, it is a fast lane for shopping, and some muppet is trying to put a full trolly load of food on the self checkout! This is one thing that annoys me in life!

 

[aln]

There's far more self service tills. Nearly all designed for baskets. So you get through far faster.

Also there are plenty of people who see checkouts as a socialising event and just want to chat and take ages to pay, this generally doesn't happen on self service.

This.

In the space of one normal checkout, there are between 2-6 self service, depending on how they're spaced out. There are some annoyances though, there always seems to be someone on it who doesn't know what they're doing, and at least one is always broke.

If you have a basket full of food though (no alchol, matches, painkillers, etc) they'll almost always get you on a checkout right away when you'd probably otherwise need to queue.

I prefer them, but the first couple of times I used them was stupid for several reasons which I can only imagine are attempts at anti-theft measures.

I hate those self service checkouts,people take soo bloody long at them sometimes its no quicker,Then sometimes you scan something...shove it in the bag on the weight system and it keeps saying "please place the item in the weighing area"..then you have to call the worker over etc...arghh

This happens because you've done something to make the weight system confused. You don't need the person to come over, even though the machine doesn't make any attempt of making you aware of this. Usually you just remove and replace the item, but if you've moved something earlier to make room, you need to put it back in, etc.

It's only really age restrictions that stop me getting through the machines without asking for help, and I don't bother trying to use them if I have something that I know will trigger that.

 

[Youstolemyname]

You're saving them money if you don't use the toilets, do you want a discount for that as well?

Now you mention it, worth asking em

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Don't mind self-service tills if I only have a handful of items and if there's no queue to use them. People who use them for trolley loads of items are scum.

Exactly this. I really like self service tills because you can be in and out in ten seconds. Humans mess around too much for my liking.

They're not your servants. They are there to complete transactions, not pack your bags for you and faff around with things you've improperly placed on the conveyor belt.

I disagree with you. It depends on the shop, surely. If bagging is part of their service then it is, and if not, then it's not. I think you've forgotten that they work in the shop. They can do either depending on their policies.

I'm certainly not old enough to know much about personal services, but I'm sure it was wonderful in the day.

 

[atpbx]

I'd rather queue for a check out than use a self service till.

I

 

[Raymond Lin]

So so much better.
Mainly due to there being tons of them and you move through so much faster. Until idiots try and put a trolly load through.

For Tesco, yes
For Sainsbury's, yes
For ASDA, may be
For Morrisons' no

Morrisons' gives me more errors more times than I can remember whereas Sainsbury's machines seldom do.

 

[TheVoice]

Morrison's use different machines to the other three (who use NCR), presumably they were cheaper because they're awful to use.

 

[Hades]

I don't use them. Can't see why I would bother when there's someone there to do it for me. Many people say that they use them because they're faster. But why are they faster? It's either because the person using them is faster than a till operator which I can't really see, or it's because they are mainly used as an over-spill to the conventional tills. I don't think the tills themselves are faster. But as they get more customers used to using them, they will slowly replace more conventional tills with self-service so you have gained nothing but work.

I would say that people won't usually queue up as deep for self-service which is why they appear faster but once most/all of the tills are self-service, you will have the same queues as now

Totally agree. I try to avoid them wherever possible.

 

[Jono8]

What annoys me is when you have to CONSTANTLY ask for more shopping bags and they give you like 1-2 more each time.

So frustrating!

Ha, that reminds of this one time i was in Tesco and we clearly needed a lot of bags as we had a lot of shopping, but the guy kept giving us one at a time. ***** weirdo. We kept asking him for more "bags" but he still just kept picking up one (which was harder than picking up a few) and giving it to us - we had to ask each time.

I think he was trolling us if i am honest.

 

[daniel_owen_uk]

We have scan as you shop in our local tesco, it's sooo much easier.

Scan and pack as you go round, get to the end, scan a machine, pay, wheel trolley out, no double handling.

It is probably the biggest deciding factor when we are choosing a supermarket.

 

[Scuzi]

I'm pretty sure the Sainsbury's near me has an agreement with the local special school to supply staff. As a result, the self checkout is the best option unless you want to hear a protracted story about Sally's cats or Vincent's collection of hats.

Ignoring the awkward social issues in dealing with the mentally challenged, it takes much longer and if they do bag the groceries, which some of them do, they'll put a fresh loaf at the bottom of a bag full of cans.

Having groceries delivered is so much easier. Not only do you not have to deal with checking out, you don't have to deal with the stock replenishment people who seem to have a real problem in general with their personal hygiene.

 

[MrMoonX]

I'm pretty sure the Sainsbury's near me has an agreement with the local special school to supply staff. As a result, the self checkout is the best option unless you want to hear a protracted story about Sally's cats or Vincent's collection of hats.

Ignoring the awkward social issues in dealing with the mentally challenged, it takes much longer and if they do bag the groceries, which some of them do, they'll put a fresh loaf at the bottom of a bag full of cans.

Having groceries delivered is so much easier.

wow seriously? sainsburys provides quite good opportunities to disabled people enabling them to work, I dont see why your quite frankly shameful views on this even needed to be raised here

 

[Scuzi]

wow seriously? sainsburys provides quite good opportunities to disabled people enabling them to work, I dont see why your quite frankly shameful views on this even needed to be raised here

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for offering opportunities to the mentally challenged but my local store seems to be staffed exclusively by them. As great as that may be, it poses problems when it comes to trying to get anything other than standard achieved.

 

[wingman]

OP, only use self service check outs going forward to avoid disappointment.

 

[TheVoice]

wow seriously? sainsburys provides quite good opportunities to disabled people enabling them to work, I dont see why your quite frankly shameful views on this even needed to be raised here

Unfortunately, they're also very hard to get rid of when they're deemed wholly unsuitable for employment there.

 

[Jono8]

wow seriously? sainsburys provides quite good opportunities to disabled people enabling them to work, I dont see why your quite frankly shameful views on this even needed to be raised here

Shameful views?

They squash his bread and delay him. That would annoy me as well. Disabled or not.

I normally go shopping on Friday night after a day at work and the last thing i want to do is waste my evening talking to someone on a checkout about rubbish. There is a lady that works on the checkouts in our local Tesco who is as mad as a box of badgers and will try to engage in any sort idle/inane chatter. I purposefully avoid her, even if her checkout is clear.

 

[cheechm]

Waitrose scan and shop is great until you get hit with that one-off time where they check your trolley contents...