• Seagull
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    112 years ago

    This commercial was made at least 17 years ago. This is what we need. We have the technology. We just need the price to come down.

    • Uniqlo stores around me almost have this implemented. You don’t scan the individual items, you just place your basket on the machine and it somehow knows every item in there. Super fast and convenient. I think it’s only a matter of time.

      • SamanthaStankey
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        42 years ago

        It scared the hell out of me the first time because it somehow knew what I had in my arms and I didn’t know what to scan to check out. But the items kept appearing and I didn’t know if they were actually mine or not and it was a very creepy black mirror-esque experience for me.

        Great store though, really impressed.

    • @stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca
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      182 years ago

      As far as I can tell there isn’t a single one that isn’t a steaming pile of shit. Where have you found acceptable ones?

      That said I’m against them because it reduces the employment that a business requires while pushing the work onto the customers. Unless they are giving me a discount for using the self checkout you are effectively being an employee for free for the store.

      • @ricecake@beehaw.org
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        42 years ago

        My local store let’s me scan with my phone as I shop. When I get to the checkout I scan a QR code, it transfers everything to the register asks if I have anything else. Occasionally it’ll have someone come over and scan a few items to spot check, but not super often. Then I pay and leave.

        Usually takes maybe 30 seconds to check out.

      • @Player2@sopuli.xyz
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        2 years ago

        As some other people have said, I like the ones where you can scan with your own device or a handheld one they provide. However, I don’t mind the regular ones where you scan everything at checkout either, though that’s definitely easier given that I live alone and in walking distance, so I don’t need to buy that many things at once. I should note that I mostly saw the scan as you go types in Europe, though a Metro store in Canada also had the portable scanners.

      • @EhForumUser@lemmy.ca
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        2 years ago

        you are effectively being an employee for free for the store.

        You already accepted being an employee of the store when you decided to enter the warehouse to pick the items off the shelf yourself.

        The only question is: Can you clock out faster if your co-worker helps you process the items you picked or will it be faster if you do it all by yourself?

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    52 years ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    CBC News interviewed several people who said during recent visits to major retailers, they were frustrated to find cashiers weren’t available — only self-checkout.

    Valcov says he stopped shopping at his local Canadian Tire in June, following several store visits where only the self-checkouts were open and no staff members were available to help him.

    VideoMining, a U.S. market research company, analyzed shoppers’ checkout habits during 1.2 billion trips to more than 1,000 U.S. grocery stores in 2022.

    Sharma says retailers like self-checkout because it reduces labour costs, and that customers are increasingly drawn to the machines to avoid long lines at the cash register.

    Retailer Loblaw, which owns pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart, says its policy is to offer customers both self-checkout and cashier options at all times.

    In an email to CBC News, Loblaw offered Rayman and Winterburn an apology, and said that it has contacted their local stores to resolve the problem.


    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • Papamousse
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    162 years ago

    I like self-checkout especially when there’s lot of people and you have 1 or 2 items, it’s convenient, for me. But as written in the article, someone in need like this woman, needs a cashier lane. I’m not against self, but all stores should have at least one lane with cashier, always, for people in need.

    • @mike@lemmy.dlct.ca
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      62 years ago

      Yes I agree I think having a mix of the two is best. Let the customers decide what they would like to use.

  • @zefiax@lemmy.world
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    422 years ago

    I actually prefer self checkouts. It’s a simple task and going grocery shopping is one of my moments of solitude in the week, I don’t wanna talk to anyone that I don’t have to.

    • idunnololz
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      102 years ago

      I live by a food basic. Before they implemented self checkout there used to be a pretty long line at peak hours and weekends. After they added self checkout, there is pretty much never a line anymore. The most people I’ve had to wait behind was like 3. The difference was extremely noticeable.

      There are probably some really terrible implementations of self checkout in some stores or locations but when it’s done right it seems pretty good.

      • @CoderKat@lemm.ee
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        52 years ago

        Heck, this has even been my experience at Walmart. Even the express aisle took an eternity compared to self checkout. I love self checkouts and think they’re great. The complaints about hAvINg To ScAn mY OwN GrOCeriEs are ridiculous. I just want to buy my stuff and get home ASAP. Not like scanning groceries is difficult or anything.

        Just wish the self checkouts weren’t so shitty about mis-scans. If you accidentally scan something twice, you usually need to call an employee over. You should be able to do that yourself. If they’re worried about theft, just make the button get flagged for loss protection to scrutinize or something.

    • RyanHeffronPhoto
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      92 years ago

      You know you don’t have to have a conversation with the cashier right? I put my stuff on the conveyor, say ‘yup’ when asked if I find everything alright, and ‘thanks’ when they’re finished… Or just silently nod 🤷‍♂️

      But literally two days ago I was at the store and the self checkouts were full with 7 people still waiting to use them, while one employee ran around trying to handle all the errors… and only one standard checkout open for people with full carts. It was soo damn frustrating.

      • @zefiax@lemmy.world
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        32 years ago

        That hasn’t been my experience at least. And yes, I don’t need to have a conversation with a cashier, but I also don’t wanna watch someone do something so basic that I can easily do myself. And from my experience, lines have gotten much shorter everywhere self checkout has been implemented.

        Additionally I am not suggesting get rid of all cashiers, I just don’t want them to get rid of self checkout either. Give people the option so they can use what they prefer.

      • @zefiax@lemmy.world
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        222 years ago

        I am not suggesting that we remove normal checkouts. I am just saying I like the option of having self checkout everywhere.

  • BarrierWithAshes
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    52 years ago

    I don’t mind self-checkouts, though I will admit most of those systems are utter garbage. What I hate is a worker telling you that “hey the self-checkouts are open here”. If I wanted to do self-checkout I wouldn’t be waiting in that line. Had some even bait saying “i’ll serve you here, but then they just lead you to self-checkout”. Their managers should be fired.

    • @MiddleWeigh@lemmy.world
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      12 years ago

      I agree. Most of those computers are buggy af, and I tend to opt for live person when possible. But scanning grapes as bananas is worth it sometimes. 💁

  • @TanakaAsuka@sh.itjust.works
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    52 years ago

    Most stores near me don’t let you use the self checkout with more than a basket, but then they will not have anyone at any of the normal checkouts while having 3-4 employees just chilling “watching” the self checkouts.

  • jcrm
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    192 years ago

    I’m a huge self checkout fan, but I think we need more perspective on how shitty ours is sometimes. Loblaws and all of them are way behind on how it should work. Look at the Netherlands and how it’s often done there, you walk around with a scanner so you can scan as you go and quickly pay at the end.

    Or even better, look at how Uniqlo is doing it. It’s all RFID, so you just drop your basket on the checkout, and it scans it all for you basically instantly.

    The problem isn’t self checkout, it’s that the grocery stores are using it to purely cut costs and don’t actually care if it’s better for the consumer in any way. But hey, at least it’s easy to “accidentally” not scan something right now.

    • commandar
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      62 years ago

      Look at the Netherlands and how it’s often done there, you walk around with a scanner so you can scan as you go and quickly pay at the end.

      Walmart and Sam’s Club have this with their Scan & Go app in the US. Scan the barcode with your phone, add it to your cart, pay from your phone, and someone at the door will scan a QR from your phone then scan a few random items in the cart and you’re done.

      I pretty much wouldn’t shop at Sam’s if it didn’t exist. The checkout lines there have always been long and a pain. It cuts a ton of time standing around waiting in line out of a trip.

    • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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      52 years ago

      I steal something or choose the cheaper option on everything every time. I don’t work for free. Need to “make” a couple dollars if you force me to self checkout. Nothing is organic, every apple is a granny Smith. Anything super lightweight is free.

        • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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          22 years ago

          A false equivalence or false equivalency is an informal fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called “comparing apples and oranges.”

          • @lemmycolon@lemmy.world
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            72 years ago
            • Attendants used to pump the gas for gas station customers.
            • Associates used to scan and bag groceries for grocery store customers.

            • Gas stations no longer have attendants pumping customers’ gas.
            • Grocery stores no longer have associates scanning and bagging customers’ groceries.

            Such a false equivalence 🙄

            • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              They would check your fluids, clean your windshield and it was normal to tip them. Self service stations were at first an options and were cheaper. Sound the same? You only get a discount for self check if you steal, and I’ve never tipped a cashier at a grocery store.

              Not to mention gas pumps got a lot simpler, and added auto-shutoff. The cash register at the grocery store is requiring you to do exactly the same job they used to pay someone to do, for free.

  • Cam
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    492 years ago

    Dont forget the fact most stores refuse to hire the staff needed to run the place smoothly. Why pay eight cashiers hourly wages when you can just have two cashiers?

    • @some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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      272 years ago

      There’s a BofA branch near me that has a dozen windows. I’ve never seen more than two clerks. Whenever I see something like that I remember that there used to be a time when corporations actually cared about providing good service. That time is long since gone.

      • Cam
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        82 years ago

        Every store I go to that is not a mom and pop shop has several cash registers but only one or two in use, even on weekends.

  • gifferqqq
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    62 years ago

    I prefer self checkout if I have a few items but it can be a pain the more items you have. There isn’t a lot of room in the bagging area and I have to fight with the machine freaking out over unexpected items in the bagging area 🙄

  • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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    72 years ago

    My insistence on paying cash for in-person purchases means that I can’t—and won’t—shop at a store that only offers self-checkouts. I haven’t come across any yet in this neck of the woods that don’t have at least one cashier, but if I did, chances are good that I’d put the goods down and walk out without buying.

    I do understand, however, that most people aren’t willing to make that level of sacrifice just to keep the credit card companies from tracking part of their purchase history.

      • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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        22 years ago

        Chacun à son goût. I admit that many people I know don’t carry cash anymore, or only carry a small amount “for emergencies”.

      • Victor Villas
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        2 years ago

        I haven’t touched a note or a coin for 6 months now, last time I just had to because the machine only accepted coins

      • @CoderKat@lemm.ee
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        12 years ago

        Only at places like farmers markets for me, and even then, I’d say at least half of vendors accept credit cards. And frankly I hate using cash. I don’t want to carry physical money around when tapping my phone is so easy.

    • Nomecks
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      12 years ago

      We have Interac in Canada, which don’t use credit card debit systems, and pre-date them by like 20 years

      • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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        2 years ago

        I’m aware (I live in one of the more thinly-populated parts of Ontario). Interac just allows the bank to do the tracking instead of the credit card company, which is a distinction without a difference as far as I’m concerned. It’s the act of linking purchase to identity that I object to.

    • FreeBooteR69
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      22 years ago

      I still pay cash quite a bit, i like to avoid tracking to piss off the vultures. Also, i’d rather keep the money they would make from transaction fees.

      • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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        12 years ago

        I have yet to encounter one that does, but since I avoid self-checkouts in the first place, that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.

  • Speaking as someone with a physical handicap, self-checkout can be very difficult… especially with a larger amount of items or heavy things

    Even opening finicky bags causes me a lot of frustration, because my dexterity is bad some days. Continuously bending down to lift, bag, & load stuff into the cart? Very very bad.

    Local grocery stores in my area have been cutting back on cashiers, and it is really causing me issues.

    I’ve seen old ladies struggling a lot, too! They probably have it much worse than I do! It’s probably a thing they so they don’t have to pay more workers, but those workers are sorely needed!

    • @Smk@lemmy.ca
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      12 years ago

      There are no more cashier at all ? Usually, there’s a self checkout and cashiers, not just self checkout.

      • There’s sometimes one cashier, but apparently it is only self-checkout past 6 or 7pm. And often then, they’ll just have self-checkout only at random times.

        I’ve seen them only down to 2 cashiers at absolute peak busyness. No more than that. It’s madness.

  • @NathanielThomas@lemmy.ca
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    432 years ago

    I find cashier lines to be too slow because of the socialization so I always go to the self checkouts.

    A lot of old ladies will go to cashiers and have ridiculous questions and requests and you’re standing there with your 3 items dying inside.

        • Lynda
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          42 years ago

          @sndmn
          Good grief! I do not like waiting in lines either. But to say an employee who serves the public should not speak to that public is pretty absurd. And yes, there are fast and slow checkers, just like there is variation in us all.

              • Baggins [he/him]
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                52 years ago

                Not wasting my time waiting in checkout lines so I can act like some kind of social martyr does indeed make me happy.

                • @Dearche@lemmy.ca
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                  22 years ago

                  There’s also the fact that you can have three self checkout terminals in the space of a single cashier. Even if it takes you twice as long as a cashier to cash out, you’ll be spending 50% less time in line for every cashier that’s been replaced with self checkout.

                  Nowadays, I only use self checkout as well, because I can get through it in less than 30 seconds, almost never any lines.

      • @NathanielThomas@lemmy.ca
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        202 years ago

        Sometimes the cashiers themselves are slow and scan items like they’re regretting every life decision they ever made.

        What I love about selfcheckout is I go at my pace, as fast or slow as I want to be.

          • @frostbiker@lemmy.ca
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            32 years ago

            But that is the problem: when I go to a cashier I feel rushed to bag everything and pay in the time it takes a professional to scan everything. When I go to a self-checkout register, items are scanned exactly at the same rate that I bag them.

            At the same time, there is hardly any waiting for self-checkout lines. In other words, for my taste they are better in almost every way.

            • @LostWon@lemmy.ca
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              42 years ago

              As soon as groceries having dedicated baggers (or cashiers who bag stuff for you) ceased to be a thing, I felt that pressure too.

        • @monobot@lemmy.ml
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          42 years ago

          Sometimes the cashiers themselves are slow and scan items like they’re regretting every life decision they ever made.

          Such a good description of my local cashiers’

            • @monobot@lemmy.ml
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              112 years ago

              I was working in fast food for a long time, it was more than enough for me, thank you.

              But looks like good job to automate, let people do something better.

              • @Dearche@lemmy.ca
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                22 years ago

                You mean like those no employee convenience stores?

                I like the principal of it, but wonder how much extra work is involved in making sure all the products are properly tracked.

  • FreeBooteR69
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    22 years ago

    I never use self checkout, if lineups are too long i leave everything and go to another store.