Cashiers/Monitors at Self Checkouts in Grocery Stores.

[SC Maintenance]

Kinda done with them also. They went to self checkout to save themselves money so I have to DIY. Now I am treated like a criminal and subjected to the worlds worst POS system. I think they want everyone to go to online shopping so they can pawn off there expired and otherwise undesirable goods to me.

 

[factorytuned2012]

I use self checkout at Walmart all of the time and never had any issues.. I like using them...The only time is when I purchase something like brake cleaner they have to come over and check your age...other than that no issues at all...

What state does this

 

[Opelman]

I would use the Ralph's self checkout sometimes and the receipt would always have a survey invitation on it. Invariably one of the questions would be about the cashier. "Yes, robocashier 37 was polite but has no sense of humor. "

 

[Leo99]

Kinda done with them also. They went to self checkout to save themselves money so I have to DIY. Now I am treated like a criminal and subjected to the worlds worst POS system. I think they want everyone to go to online shopping so they can pawn off there expired and otherwise undesirable goods to me.

My inlaws were fearful of this but online instacart shopping is performed by an individual and is they select undesirable goods, it's bad for their reputation.

 

[SC Maintenance]

My inlaws were fearful of this but online instacart shopping is performed by an individual and is they select undesirable goods, it's bad for their reputation.

Yes but you pay for instacart. Might be worth it though. I was referring to the stores own service - they all do it now.

 

[Leo99]

Yes but you pay for instacart. Might be worth it though. I was referring to the stores own service - they all do it now.

Wegmans contracts it out to instacart. Shoprite had their own people doing the shopping. I imagine that if the cost of shrinkage significantly exceeds the cost of cashier's and shoppers' salaries, we'll reach a point in the future where shoppers are not allowed in the store and self-shopping will be a thing of the past.

 

[blkwtr]

I use self checkout at Walmart all of the time and never had any issues.. I like using them...The only time is when I purchase something like brake cleaner they have to come over and check your age...other than that no issues at all...

Dang, this happened to me yesterday. The attendant ran over and said she had to verify my age. When I asked why, she said it was because I was buying carbureator cleaner. I asked "how old do you have to be to clean a carburator?" and she said 18. I then asked her "how old do you have to be to do a brake job?" and she wanted to know why. I told her that sometimes when I was working on brakes I needed to buy brake cleaner. Seemed weird to me.

 

[GSCJR]

Last week a shopper at Costco was told by the self-checkout attendant, that their cart was too full and could not use self-checkout. That explains the small surface/scale, maybe they're meant to be used as an express lane with up to 12 items or close to that.

Further, the ID/membership scanners have been installed at the entrance with associates verifying that you are the actual cardholder (YMMV).

 

[k1xv]

I have never used a self checkout, nor do I intend to. I do pump my own gas.

 

[daves87rs]

Last week a shopper at Costco was told by the self-checkout attendant, that their cart was too full and could not use self-checkout. That explains the small surface/scale, maybe they're meant to be used as an express lane with up to 12 items or close to that.

Further, the ID/membership scanners have been installed at the entrance with associates verifying you are the actual cardholder (YMMV).

In one of our Costcos, they are moving the membership desk to the door so people can’t get too far into the store without being scanned.stopped.

 

[Pepperjunkie]

So many error messages show up on the screen while checking out, like "unexpected item" etc.

This morning a new one showed up - scale not zeroed.

Made me wonder if these are genuine or if the Cashier overlooking the self checkouts can trigger these messages just as a cover for her to come over and verify that there is no scamming going on.

I work @ walmart and yes the person working self checkout can pause anyone's transaction at any time via the work phone.
It also shows every item at every station that was scanned, it's all monitored.

 

[John105]

At the Walmart I frequent (I refuse to not get a good price so I put up with it), there is a 15 item limit.

I get flavored water, and will get about 10-12. This leaves wiggle room to get 3-5 more items.

EVERY SINGLE TIME THE SAME GIRL IS LOOKING AT MY CART AND SAYS, "How many items do you have?"

One time she said oh no, you have 17. So I showed her--2,4,6,8,10,12, 14. And she just walks away. I could tell that she could not multiply. I just have no clue why she feels people are trying to beat them at a 15 item limit. Why not just have the terminal not scan beyond 15....

I use self checkout because it's faster. Otherwise I'm all for using a human.

 

[billt460]

Self checkouts work great for a small number of items but for a full trolley they are hopeless taking 3 times as long as a manned checkout. Supermarkets know they have gone too far down the road of self checkouts and some are partially reverting to manned checkouts.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Our Walmart is a large Supercenter. One of the many problems they were having like most, is theft. Mostly from people "forgetting" to scan several items in the self checkout. "Shrinkage" has gone way up since they started all of this.

So instead of having one person watching, monitoring, and assisting the self checkout, they now have at least 2. Sometimes even 3 during very busy hours / days and weekends.

In addition to that, they also have a person wearing a reflective vest that says, "Asset Management Team" at the entrance / exit, to check anything suspicious. (They still have a "door greeter" in addition to this, "Asset Person").

So now they have at minimum of 4 people at any given time, who are basically standing around watching like a Las Vegas casino. If they put these people on registers, that's 4 checkout lanes that could be running. Most of the time you're lucky to find one or two.

"Assets" would be better protected automatically. Because far less theft would be occurring if everyone went through a manned checkout lane. So now it ends up they're still using the same amount of people most of the time with self checkout.

And they are inconveniencing everyone in the process. (Most people with a lot of items don't like or want self checkout). The whole thing is irritating more people, than it is helping the store to save money. Which was the original concept from the get go.

And they are not gaining much, if anything. Self checkout isn't catching on like self serve gas pumps did.

 

[mk378]

"how old do you have to be to clean a carburator?"

That's not what everyone uses it for. Some people, especially kids, "huff" solvents trying to get high. The store does not want the liability of selling it to minors.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Dang, this happened to me yesterday. The attendant ran over and said she had to verify my age. When I asked why, she said it was because I was buying carbureator cleaner. I asked "how old do you have to be to clean a carburator?" and she said 18. I then asked her "how old do you have to be to do a brake job?" and she wanted to know why. I told her that sometimes when I was working on brakes I needed to buy brake cleaner. Seemed weird to me.

You have to be 18 to huff brake cleaner.

 

[hrv]

What state does this

Kentucky

 

[vwmaniaman]

I don't do self checkout. If I have to wait in a line then so be it. People need jobs to pay their bills. I use a lane with a hard working checkout. Wife uses self checkout and drive through at the credit union. I go in and speak to the people that approve loans and that lets them know I think they are special Yes I know I'm old fashioned.

 

[Pew]

I use self checkout at Walmart all of the time and never had any issues.. I like using them...The only time is when I purchase something like brake cleaner they have to come over and check your age...other than that no issues at all...

I can't buy super glue without age certification either!

 

[factorytuned2012]

Kentucky

I would have thought that would be a metropolitan area thing.

 

[John105]

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Our Walmart is a large Supercenter. One of the many problems they were having like most, is theft. Mostly from people "forgetting" to scan several items in the self checkout. "Shrinkage" has gone way up since they started all of this.

So instead of having one person watching, monitoring, and assisting the self checkout, they now have at least 2. Sometimes even 3 during very busy hours / days and weekends.

In addition to that, they also have a person wearing a reflective vest that says, "Asset Management Team" at the entrance / exit, to check anything suspicious. (They still have a "door greeter" in addition to this, "Asset Person").

So now they have at minimum of 4 people at any given time, who are basically standing around watching like a Las Vegas casino. If they put these people on registers, that's 4 checkout lanes that could be running. Most of the time you're lucky to find one or two.

"Assets" would be better protected automatically. Because far less theft would be occurring if everyone went through a manned checkout lane. So now it ends up they're still using the same amount of people most of the time with self checkout.

And they are inconveniencing everyone in the process. (Most people with a lot of items don't like or want self checkout). The whole thing is irritating more people, than it is helping the store to save money. Which was the original concept from the get go.

And they are not gaining much, if anything. Self checkout isn't catching on like self serve gas pumps did.

The best one was when they found out people were walking into the store, grabbing items off the shelves, and returning them without a receipt.

Walmart started requiring a “ticket” to return items, ie an associate with a wireless printer would scan the item as a customer walked in, and generated a paper ticket used to return. This means a human issued a part ticket and validated the item was carried in. The process became so slow to return anything. Seems they dropped it. But I love how people return items that were never purchased there to begin with as the associate scans the UPC and it matches, such as from a wedding etc.

To your point my Walmart is in a sketchy area so there are no less than 6 people in the exit area. About 3 at self checkout.

I’ve said it before go to Walmart noon on a weekday, nobody there as Walmart customers tend to not be able to work from home and shop on co time, unlike Costco members (packed at the same time).