Comments on: Self Checkout Lanes: Utterly Useless, But There’s Still Hope

By: tiffany

tiffany — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 16:40:37 +0000

i wholly concur with brad! i used to have the “if i wanted to work at the grocery store, i’d pick up and application” mentality, but i’ve done away with it now. i like that i can pack my bags the way i like. at many grocers, the baggers are too overly cautious and will use 9 bags, plastic and paper, for 20 items. it’s too much. the only thing is that the self checkout lanes do not let me use my market bag or paper bags i’ve brought from home. i guess because everything is regulated by weight, it will keep screaming at me “unidentified object! unidentified object!”

i have to disagree about not accepting cash at self check outs. i like to physically see the money i use. i don’t carry my debit card around (too much temptation) and credit cards are for die hard emergencies. so if it’s a last resort emergency situation, chances are i am not going to be able to pay the balance off in full. i refuse to pay interest on peaches and spinach and ramen noodles.

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:35:06 +0000

I’ll use the self checkout whenever it’s available. If there’s no line at a real cashier, fine. But there always is! I find self-checkout to be faster some 90% of the time, especially if it’s an “express” checkout, allowing 15 items or less. Why wait behind people with full carts when you can scan 4 items yourself and get the hell out of there? I don’t mind doing things myself when it’s faster and more convenient for me to do so.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 03:25:11 +0000

I love the self checkout when I’m buying lots of frozen dinners, but it depends on the time of day too. During the after work rush, it’s stupid to be in that line. But if you’re shopping at 8pm, it works out pretty well. I find it only OK. I do like that people often leave their coupons so I can take them instead!

By: LennyP

LennyP — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 22:52:27 +0000

I also refuse to use these for the reasons you stated plus, as other commentors have stated, I am not being paid to be a cashier or a bagger. What I find annoying as all is that several supermarkets have stopped staffing the express lines since installing these. So now I have to stand behind a person buying what appears to be the next years of groceries at 3 in the morning while I wait to pay for my loaf of bread.

By: Lord

Lord — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:19:04 +0000

Why is it that I always find the item not in the computer? Perhaps the checkout should just mark them as free.

By: Summer

Summer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:53:55 +0000

I refuse to use the self check out line. The grocery store does not pay me to do their work. Until they make it worth my financial while, I will not use them.

By: This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:10:58 +0000

I shop at a union store so I’ll never use a self check out as I am a member of a union.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:51:02 +0000

It’s only a matter of time before you peel open a banana and an RFID microchip tag falls out.

“Bananas: now with 50,000% of your daily allowance of silicon.”

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:56:51 +0000

I definitely like the idea of graduating to more advanced checkout lines. Also, I’m sure someone will mention RFID chips on all the products will definitely speed things up (for your auto-scanning idea).