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#Post#: 2613--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: Gellchom
Date: May 20, 2018, 5:32 pm
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--- Quote from: menley link ---
>
> I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with self-checkout.
On the one hand, I'm an introvert living in the South, so it's
lovely to be able to get in and out without answering a million
small talk questions or commentary on my purchases. On the other
hand, I often have to go shopping with my son, and when I do, I
prefer to go into a serviced lane so that I can better keep an
eye on him while checking out. It seems more and more that our
local Target is doing away with any cashiered lines, though, and
so I'm always ushered over to the self-checkout regardless of
the number of items I have. That can make it difficult to
maneuver with a large cart, a large number of items, and a
toddler.
>
> I do think that refusing to use self-checkout as a means of
protest against automation is... a bit silly? Or short-sighted?
Keeping people employed in jobs that have no long-term viability
doesn't help them in the long run, and automation of these
things is certainly going to happen in our lifetimes.
>
--- End Quote ---
I didn’t say that I refuse to use them (and sometimes I do use
them) or that it was a “protest.” Its more like choosing to
shop at a locally owned store instead of a national chain or
signing up for a CFA produce box. I think you can try to
support something without it being a “protest” of something
else.
Anyway, that’s not the pint of the post, and I apologize for the
threadjack.
#Post#: 2678--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: JoyinVirginia
Date: May 20, 2018, 8:41 pm
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self checkouts never work for me! unless I'm getting ONE or two
items with little possibility for error. even then, the machine
doesn't like how slow I am.
#Post#: 2699--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: Get a looong little doggy
Date: May 20, 2018, 10:05 pm
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--- Quote from: Gellchom link ---
>
> I have trouble with them as I evidently have a magnetic field
that interferes with them and keeps calling the attendant. The
person at my supermarket said there are few of us like that. (I
put streetlights out, too! It's not magic, just electricity and
magnetics, and not all that rare; look up SLIDers if you're
curious).
>
> But anyway I like to use the human checkout aisles, because I
know those people need their jobs.
>
--- End Quote ---
So, there is a name for people like me and my great-aunt who
ruined watches? Who knew? :) I don't turn streetlights on and
off but I do ruin watches. It was so frustrating when I was a
teen that a watch never lasted longer than 2 weeks. My
great-aunt told me that I must be like her, that for some
reason, our body chemistry just "hated" most watches. That I
should just buy a Timex, that she never had problems with them.
I did and never had a problem with that brand but did kill an
expensive watch though it took me a year.
Many years later, I lamented that I needed a cheap watch to wear
at work since it would probably get damaged but that I "killed"
watches. A co-worker told me she had the same problem and to get
a leather watchband that went under the watch so that my skin
didn't touch it. What I did, would glue a thick piece of leather
on the bottom of the watch and that worked.
Back to the subject, I hate self-checkout, it cut our hours at
work and many times I'm forced to use it when I have to work a
later shift and need to pick up something after I check out. We
lost some good cashiers when they put those in and immediately
cut everyone's hours. Sometimes it is a constant battle to get
hours.
#Post#: 2720--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: NFPwife
Date: May 20, 2018, 11:30 pm
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--- Quote from: Get a looong little doggy link ---
>
> [quote author=Gellchom link=topic=158.msg1928#msg1928
date=1526674291]
> I have trouble with them as I evidently have a magnetic field
that interferes with them and keeps calling the attendant. The
person at my supermarket said there are few of us like that. (I
put streetlights out, too! It's not magic, just electricity and
magnetics, and not all that rare; look up SLIDers if you're
curious).
>
> But anyway I like to use the human checkout aisles, because I
know those people need their jobs.
>
--- End Quote ---
So, there is a name for people like me and my great-aunt who
ruined watches? Who knew? :) I don't turn streetlights on and
off but I do ruin watches. It was so frustrating when I was a
teen that a watch never lasted longer than 2 weeks. My
great-aunt told me that I must be like her, that for some
reason, our body chemistry just "hated" most watches. That I
should just buy a Timex, that she never had problems with them.
I did and never had a problem with that brand but did kill an
expensive watch though it took me a year.
Many years later, I lamented that I needed a cheap watch to wear
at work since it would probably get damaged but that I "killed"
watches. A co-worker told me she had the same problem and to get
a leather watchband that went under the watch so that my skin
didn't touch it. What I did, would glue a thick piece of leather
on the bottom of the watch and that worked.
Back to the subject, I hate self-checkout, it cut our hours at
work and many times I'm forced to use it when I have to work a
later shift and need to pick up something after I check out. We
lost some good cashiers when they put those in and immediately
cut everyone's hours. Sometimes it is a constant battle to get
hours.
[/quote]
I ruin watches too. I drained one really fast and went to get
the battery replaced and the jeweler suggested I switch wrists.
I wore watches on my dominant, right, hand for years. They took
a bit more of a beating and I'd occasionally have to take it off
to write/ type comfortably but a watch battery would last a
normal amount of time. I like your leather tip.
I wear a fitness tracker now and don't have (many) problems, but
there's no quartz.
--- Quote from: Gellchom link ---
>
> [quote]
> Regarding jobs, a lot of jobs are lost when new machinery or
technology is created but that new industry also creates jobs.
>
--- End Quote ---
That’s true, although I have no idea of the numbers or whether
it’s high skill jobs vs. low skill jobs and things like that.
I was just thinking of the supermarket where I do most of my
shopping. I’ve been going there so long that I recognize most
of the checkers. I can’t say I exactly know them, but well
enough that I see them as individuals more than I would at some
new store, and we are friendly with each other (not unusual for
this town). And the baggers especially; they are mostly special
needs people and sometimes immigrants who are still adjusting
and learning English. So I like to support their employment. I
don’t know how many stores hire like that, but I do know
nonskilled jobs in general can be hard to find for people who
have no better alternative.
(I had a friend who said he didn’t bus his dishes at places
where you can because it took jobs from people. After he died, I
told his widow that I had learned from that. She laughed and
said, “I think he just didn’t like doing it!”)
Back to the point — I don’t think etiquette demands not using
these lines for large orders unless the signs say so. Maybe if
the layout is not conducive to large carts it would be
courteous.
[/quote]
I've tried that on my husband when I've changed my mind about an
item and don't want to take it back to it's original spot and
just set in on an endcap in the store, "But it keeps someone in
a job!" (I always either take it back or give it to the cashier,
but sometimes I just don't feel like it.)
To the broader question about automation reducing jobs - that's
definitely an effect, but there's also a shifting of jobs. One
small example is that my Walmart really emphasizes in store
pick-up and several cashiers are now at pickup. I'm not sure
that they've laid anyone off as much as they've moved folks into
new roles.
#Post#: 2754--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: yummymummy66
Date: May 21, 2018, 7:39 am
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I do my bulk shopping at Walmart and with the new self check out
lanes that they put into my local stores, most times I will use
self check out with a full cart. Because I am usually faster
checking out than waiting in line for a cashier. We have small
self check out lanes and large ones that are like those that a
cashier would use.
As for the lady being described in the OP, yes, I think she
should have went into a cashier lane. Or at least checked her
labels out as she was putting the item into her cart. If I was
behind her, I'm sorry, I would have been doing the eye roll.
#Post#: 2755--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: LadyStark
Date: May 21, 2018, 7:55 am
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I use both self check out and the regular check out at my local
store when shopping.
Regular check out is when I have a lot of produce items, the
sort that need to be looked up and a code put in. The cashiers
tend to know the codes by heart in my area, and it's faster for
all involved if I go that route. If I have a large amount of
items, I'll also go with regular check out, and when a
particular cashier is working- she's particularly personable and
talks briefly to my little one, who loves the attention and
getting to wave good bye.
If I have a small or medium amount of items, or zero produce
items, or the self check out is pretty empty, I'll use that
route. My little one likes seeing us both on the monitoring
camera screen in front of it (pointing and saying "mommy! baby!"
before identifying all the colors they see in the "picture"),
and I like the fact that at self check out, there isn't any
brightly wrapped candy bars for my little one to eyeball and
express a desire for. It makes life easier on both of us, and
I'm pretty efficient with my scanning, have my payment and
coupons ready, and bag quickly.
#Post#: 2757--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: Athersgeo
Date: May 21, 2018, 7:58 am
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I vividly remember the Time Before Self Checkouts and getting
stuck behind some poor nightshift worker doing their weekly
grocery shop at the only open checkout in the store at 7am. It
was purgatory. The addition of self checkouts was the best thing
that happened to that store for everyone: no-one lost a job (in
fact I think it helped the store because I think they were
actually understaffed - which was half the problem!), the
nigtshift folks could do their shopping (and pay in peace) and
those of us who'd stopped in for a bottle of orange juice and a
packet of sandwiches could be in and out and not feel the need
to abandon purchases willy nilly on seeing the length of the
queue!
#Post#: 2872--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: pierrotlunaire0
Date: May 21, 2018, 2:52 pm
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Just yesterday, my sister (who like I, prefers self checkout)
was in the unlimited items self check out. She thought she was
getting in a line with little wait. But the woman at the far
end who had already paid for her items was holding up everything
by double and triple bagging everything. It was almost as if
she were in a quest to acquire plastic shopping bags. Each item
had its own two plastic shopping bags, and would be carefully
hefted to see if it needed a third bag.
My sister said the woman in front of her (who was half way
through scanning) had to stop because there was no room to push
her stuff down to the far end. Sis said the woman was doing her
level best to remain polite, but she kept biting her lips and
looking away to keep from saying something.
#Post#: 2877--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: Isisnin
Date: May 21, 2018, 3:02 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: pierrotlunaire0 link ---
>
> Just yesterday, my sister (who like I, prefers self checkout)
was in the unlimited items self check out. She thought she was
getting in a line with little wait. But the woman at the far
end who had already paid for her items was holding up everything
by double and triple bagging everything. It was almost as if
she were in a quest to acquire plastic shopping bags. Each item
had its own two plastic shopping bags, and would be carefully
hefted to see if it needed a third bag.
>
> My sister said the woman in front of her (who was half way
through scanning) had to stop because there was no room to push
her stuff down to the far end. Sis said the woman was doing her
level best to remain polite, but she kept biting her lips and
looking away to keep from saying something.
>
--- End Quote ---
Where I live, more and more towns and cities are passing no
plastic bags ordinances. It occurred to me that I should start
hoarding plastic bags and then when you can't get them at all
from stores, sell my hoard on Ebay and make my fortune.
#Post#: 2881--------------------------------------------------
Re: What's the general opinion on self-checkout lanes?
DIR By: cleargleam
Date: May 21, 2018, 3:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Isisnin link ---
>
> [quote author=pierrotlunaire0 link=topic=158.msg2872#msg2872
date=1526932370]
> Just yesterday, my sister (who like I, prefers self checkout)
was in the unlimited items self check out. She thought she was
getting in a line with little wait. But the woman at the far
end who had already paid for her items was holding up everything
by double and triple bagging everything. It was almost as if
she were in a quest to acquire plastic shopping bags. Each item
had its own two plastic shopping bags, and would be carefully
hefted to see if it needed a third bag.
>
> My sister said the woman in front of her (who was half way
through scanning) had to stop because there was no room to push
her stuff down to the far end. Sis said the woman was doing her
level best to remain polite, but she kept biting her lips and
looking away to keep from saying something.
>
--- End Quote ---
Where I live, more and more towns and cities are passing no
plastic bags ordinances. It occurred to me that I should start
hoarding plastic bags and then when you can't get them at all
from stores, sell my hoard on Ebay and make my fortune.
[/quote]
I can't fault the double/triple bagger *too* much. Before my
community switched to paper/heavy resuseable plastic bags (for
which they charge), the "standard" plastic bag had undergone a
change in composition (to facilitate the bag breaking down in
sunlight) and/or the plastic had been thinned so much that the
bags were frequently lacking structural integrity when pulled
off the rack. Checkers had to use two or three bags to support
even a nominal load.
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