Self- checkout kiosks....do you use them?

[Miss Carly]

I was at a retail store earlier. Out of habit I used the self checkout kiosk..I heard one of the checkers on the next till wave over a customer who too was heading for the self checkout, it occured to me....why am I doing this self- checkout, when there is an employee that probably needs more people to come thru his line to keep his job safe? I think I will boycott the self checkout from now on, I would rather see a checker keep his/her job.

Carly

[huskerlaw]

1. Sometimes.

If I only have a few items and the other check-outs are full, I do.

Then again, there are usually 2 or 3 employees manning the 4 self-checkout centers, so I don't feel like I'm helping them fire anyone.

[texanwitch]

2. No.

The damn things are taking away a job somebody needs, and besides the price of what I am buying isn't cheaper.

[Oldtimeralso]

3. Amen to that TW!

[texanwitch]

5. I notice in the stores that I go to most people do not use them.

Where is my discount, I should at least get a discount for doing the work myself.

[Inchworm]

17. Yup

That's how I feel, too, on both counts.

:thumbsup:

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Yes.

The only time that I've gone to a self-checkout area was at a Home Depot where only one register was open and the line snaked to the back of the store. Meanwhile the clerk assigned to the self-check area could have been napping most of the time. He was on top of customer problems right away, but it was pretty clear to me that it was an inefficient use of resources from a customer perspective, if not a conscious ploy on the part of management to steer customers to the self-check area. I would have left the merchandise and walked out, but the SO was willing to try the self-check. Never again.

[KitchenWitch]

4. I refuse to use the self checkouts on the principle that it is bad for labor.

[Kool Kitty]

13. Agree.

I think it gets rid of jobs, too. I don't use them.

[Digit]

6. No, because it bothers me that it has replaced jobs

Plus it is aggravating as all get out, and takes longer.

The Kroger across the street mostly is self-checkout after 9pm, so I have changed my shopping habits.
I now go to the Food Lion down the street, but not before I told Kroger management several times WHY I was changing my shopping habits.

[Tektonik]

7. Only if I'm in a rush and have like 2 items in my hands

Some of my breaks are so short that I have only a couple of minutes to shop in the supermarket anyhow that I can't wait longer to stay in a regular checkout line.

edit: Also barely anyone in my area uses the self checkout lines, so they're ALWAYS 75% open. There's so much staff at this certain grocery store that I hope that the self checkout lines there have not replaced any jobs at all.

[ccinamon]

8. I don't use them...they use slower computers than what the checkers

use!!

If there is the same number of people in the self-check out as the checker lane, and each customer has about the same amount of items, than the checker is MUCH faster.

[haele]

10. I had a store manager tell me the self check computer is slower to watch for cheaters

There is usually a off-second variable delay programmed in the self check line so you can't get a rhythm going and perhaps "miss" the occasional small item like food or sauce packets. It's also programmed to slow down for the weight sensors in the bagging area. If you bring your own bag, the kiosk worker is supposed to reset the scale.

Haele

[alarimer]

9. Absolutely. It save me LOTs of time when I only have a few things.

I'd rather not have to deal with idiot cashiers/clerks and their stupid bullshit small talk. I can do it myself much faster (unless I am behind some idiot customer that can't figure out the machine, despite the voice prompts).

[yellowdogintexas]

11. NEVER.

I hate them, I hate the whole concept that it costs people their jobs.

and half the time I can't get them to work right anyway.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. One of those damn machines tried to rip me off!

I'm not the sharpest tack in the box but I knew something was wrong when a damn computer tried to charge me eighty bucks for a pair of pants that only cost twenty. When I saw that I slowly backed away from the bastard machine and left the store. For all I know, those stupid trousers are still sitting next the that criminal machine. I will never go near one of those things ever again. BOY am I just steamed thinking about that time.

[amitten]

14. No, because I hate them. n/t

[PRETZEL]

15. I happen to like them,

I don't necessarily see this as a was of cutting labor. The Giant that I go to all the time has 6 of them and they're generally all in use at the same time.

Granted I only use them when I only have a couple of things and I don't feel like standing in the express lane which is usually limited to 15 items.

But, the way I see it, they have someone manning the station as opposed to having another checkout line open. It's still one person whether they're at a register or at a station monitoring the self-checkout. I guess I don't see the difference.

[Deep13]

16. I never use them.

Part of it is an unwillingness to use something so unfamiliar. Part of it is the fact that the machine has no union card.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I use the self-checkout to avoid long lines.

They never seem to have enough regular checkouts open where I shop...:shrug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. Nope - I use people so that they remain employed. Fuck self-checkout kiosks.

They are an abomination.

[AngryOldDem]

20. Not usually.

I've had some bad experiences with those things so I don't bother. Plus, I like to support the employees.

[Zavulon]

21. No.

I honestly have little regard for the job security of today's checkers, but those kiosks are maddening. I'm not a violent guy at all, but I almost put my fist through one of those the other day.

[grace0418]

22. I only use them when I have delicate produce or the lines are way too long.

It seems like every time I spend time picking out nice peaches or berries, I get the cashier who thinks it's fun to see how hard they can slam my produce into the bag. Followed, of course, by throwing the heaviest item I've purchased on top of it.

[NV Whino]

23. No, they're a pain in the ass

The only one I've used... or attempted to use was at Home Depot. I'll never do it again.

[NJmaverick]

25. I use them at Home Depot, but not at the super market

HD, was always so slow, and their cashier terrible. At the Super Market, there is the issue of dealing with produce and baked goods and coupons. Too much to deal with.

[flvegan]

26. At times I have.

For example, if I'm at the Home Depot and management has seen fit to only have 2 registers open on a Saturday afternoon, then yes I'll use them to avoid the stupidly long lines. I won't choose one over a clerked checkout for reasons other than capacity. The humans, surprisingly enough, are usually faster anyway.

[BarenakedLady]

27. I just came from BJs

They had ONE line with a cashier and at least 5 of the self-checkers open. I went with the cashier. I don't like self-checkout kiosks at all.

[Fox Mulder]

28. I don't use it.

For that very reason: to help the employee who needs his/her job.

[Chan790]

29. go one step farther...

write to corporate office of the retailer and let them know you will not be using them. Then tell friends, neighbors, and family to do the same. They're expensive to buy and large number of letters received from a given area usually discourages further roll-out. While they eliminate jobs, it takes nearly 3 years to break even on the purchase of one. Not surprisingly, they usually come packaged with a large across-the-board price bump. They're bad for labor and bad for the customer. Good for the stockholders though.

I live in one of the highest-profit areas of the country for grocery, where any advantage which can be gained is tested first, and they're almost not-existent here because they've gotten the message that they will not be used. Many of the units that were deployed here have been re-furbished and shipped elsewhere.

(Chan790, son of a grocer.)

[lukasahero]

30. I have a different perspective - and yes, I use them

All the time.

Here's where the difference in perspective comes in. I am a software engineer who provides maintenance, support and modifications to "ATM" machines. When these machines first came out, the call was the same - don't use them, save a teller's job. Teller's have lost jobs but more to mergers than ATMs.

We like to believe these machines run themselves and reduce the need for human labor, but the fact is, they just change the level of skill the laborer needs.

So, use 'em, don't use 'em. But if you so "nobly" stop using ATMs so the teller can keep his/her job, you'll likely be costing me mine.

[mitchum]

31. No, I am pro-labor; self-service checkout kills jobs

[lukasahero]

34. See the post right above yours...

How do you measure whose job matters and whose doesn't?

Edited for grammar.

[Phentex]

37. Your job is safe with me...

those self checkouts don't ever seem to work for me. I will still try them sometimes, but I can't remember an experience where an employee didn't have to be called over anyway to fix whatever was wrong. User error maybe, lol? I don't even try it at the grocery store anymore.

[madinmaryland]

32. When available, I do.

Like it was said elsewhere in the post, it is a matter of transfer of labor. What about the jobs created building, installing, programming, and maintaining them. I would think that the jobs lost by this would be replaced by higher paying jobs for the self-checkout machines.

:shrug:

[SacredCow]

33. Sometimes...

but begrudgingly so. I resent that the concept of doing the store's work for them, yet I'm not getting any kind of discount for it.

Honestly, most of the checkers in the stores I frequent these days are VERY obviously not wanting to be there working anyway. A few days ago, I was in a checker's line and when she finished with the person in front of me, she turned to the employee in the next checkout stand and began a gossip conversation- totally ignoring me. And this was, literally, right in front of the floor manager's stand (who was also wholly uninterested in what was going on, yapping on his phone about his personal business). I tried to politely redirect the cashier, but she blew me off. I had put a great deal of stuff on the belt (including deli meats and perishables), but finally got so ticked off that I just walked away. The manager looked as if he was going to say something, but I have him a look and he just shrugged and went back to talking on his mobile phone.

[LeftyMom]

35. Do I get a discount for using one? No? If I'm not getting paid to cashier, I'm not doing it.

:shrug:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

36. Only at the gas station.

At grocery stores and retail stores, I use the actual cashier.

Something about paying via an automated machine disturbs me. It seems so dehumanizing.

[One_Life_To_Give]

38. They don't like me

Case of light bulbs at the Home Depot. Machine can't handle the weight of the case. And at Wally World I have been surprised by stuff that is "Age Restricted".

[tjwmason]

39. Only used once

Won't be doing so again. They're rare over here, but one shop does have them - this is also the only place in the town centre which sells alcohol ready chilled, and that was the only reason I was in there. I was in a rush and thought it would be quicker - of course as soon as it scanned the bottle I needed a person to come over and confirm that I'm over 18 and ok to buy alcohol :eyes:

I do, however, use the self-scanning thingy at the supermarket - it's far quicker, and means I can pack my bags in a sane and reasonable order rather than the order they come from the cashier.