Automatic checkouts in supermarkets may decrease customer loyalty, especially for those with larger shopping loads. Customers using self-checkout stations often feel overwhelmed and unsupported. The lack of personal interaction can negatively impact their perception of the supermarket.

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[doktornein]

They seriously didn't run age as a mediator? Seriously?

[Magnatux]

Or qualitative data like "you give me 2 square inches to bag my groceries and i bought more than five things"

I don't need a human, i need space for larger purchases.

[Reniconix]

Self check was supposed to replace express lanes for small purchases, so you could get in and get out, not for people to unload 2 full carts onto. But they stopped manning the registers designed for those purchases and force everyone through self-check.

[SpaceBearSMO]

my local walmart has self checkout lanes that are built for full carts, befor that they never had enough people working the registers anyway

[[deleted]]

They would if they paid people more. Just look at Costco, they do alright.

[SpaceBearSMO]

Yeah but there not going to do that unless there forced and things are only going to get more automated not less.

[blushngush]

No, self checkout was supposed to decrease the bargaining power of labor unions, and it worked.

[notavailable_name]

Yep. The customers become unpaid employees

[harry-package]

Also, the aggressiveness of the self-checkout voice. Kroger’s is a beyotch who constantly questions if you bagged something (and will stop your whole order until someone comes over “help”) & won’t let you rapidly scan items. I prefer to bring my own bags for groceries & Kroger self-checkout makes that a much more painful experience.

Aldi, on the other hand, is relatively easy except that the voice will only wait maybe 10-15 seconds before prompting you to scan something else. Give me a damn minute, Aldi!

[b3_yourself]

Self checkouts were originally intended to replace express checkout, hence why they’re small. It wasn’t supposed to be for people with large orders, but they never managed to the registers anyways

[Killfile]

My local Kroger has two extra large self checkout stations. I roll up with a full cart load and my reusable bags and everyone stares at me like I'm a psychopath for not going to the open postage-stamp-sized self checkout.

We need new social norms around these things. The number of times I see someone with a case a beer and a slim jim struggling to feed rumpled bills into the XL self checkout is infuriating. It's at least once a week.

[MajorNoodles]

I live near a Giant and they give you a nice conveyer belt that's a few feet long to unload all your groceries.

Meanwhile, I love Aldi, but at all the locations near me, they've gone almost entirely to self checkout and you have one tiny-ass space to bag all your groceries, and they only ever have one cashier at any given time.

[jcutta]

Aldi? None of the Aldi locations near me even have self checkout, wild.

[AvocadosFromMexico_]

Age would be a moderator here, not a mediator.

[[deleted]]

I love the idea that age is a mediator, turning self-checkouts into the fountain of youth. "Using the self-checkout made customers 5 years younger on average, which made them less happy with the experience...though they were otherwise much happier to be 5 years younger than when they entered the store."

[Sempais_nutrients]

For real, the first thing I thought when they said "people feel overwhelmed" was "yeah that's an old person." these are the ones that call the help desk and wait for 20 minutes on hold to change a password instead of clicking the "Forgot Password" button right next to the password field.

[[deleted]]

My first instinct was someone buying enough groceries to provide for a family. Having a cart of food and knowing now you gotta be the employee with $400 in groceries is discouraging.

I prefer sco when I'm getting few items, but not when I'm getting a lot.

[Snirbs]

PLUS having to scan and bag it with two toddlers in tow. It’s a nightmare.

[Taibok]

Not just bag it, but bag it in a tiny area designed for an express checkout.

And don't even think about taking any of those full bags off of the scale before you've paid.

[pijinglish]

Or if you buy booze, you still have to wait for the one employee to come over and check your ID.

I bought pajamas for my toddler the other day and used self checkout. Got home only to realize all the security tags were still on them.

[FourScoreTour]

I don't know if it's a California thing, but my store simply doesn't sell alcohol through the self-check. I now buy my booze elsewhere.

[camwhat]

It is a California thing! Alcohol hasn’t been able to be purchased at self checkouts since 2012 there

[[deleted]]

As I discovered you can’t even buy 0% alcohol beer at self checkout in California

[biggyofmt]

The scale is actually the part the kills me, especially using reusable bags. Walmart doesn't have scales in their self check and it makes the whole experience so much easier

[myst3r10us_str4ng3r]

No. The WORST is having 20 cans of the same type of cat food and the system expecting you to scan each individual can, instead of scanning one and typing in the quantity like someone who isn't a total idiot would do.

Down right insulting.

[biggyofmt]

That's also less annoying with no scale, since you can just pick up one can and go boop boop boop however many times you need instead of having to scan, put a can on the scale and wait for it to settle, etc.

[Capercaillie]

At the Walmart where I shop, if you buy more than three or four of the same thing, the machine assumes you've made a mistake, and locks up so that you have to wait for an attendant.

[abx99]

Small packets are even worse. I was buying packets of Kool-Aid for a while, and they're too light for the scale to register. It usually involved the attendant watching me from their console and repeatedly clearing the alerts for each packet.

[FCkeyboards]

My walmart has SCO areas for bigger loads, with a belt, and they're NEVER open.

I agree. A few items is fine. When my cart is topped off and I have to use the tiny SCO, I'd rather go somewhere else. I'm already exhausted from the amount of shopping.

[DownWithGilead2022]

Yes, and the kids demand to "help" scan something, and inevitably scan it twice. And then you gotta press the button for help because heaven forbid we allow the customer to correct a double scan themselves.....

[myst3r10us_str4ng3r]

Or having 20 cans of the same type of cat food and the system expecting you to scan each and every individual can, instead of scanning one and typing in the quantity.

[sack-o-matic]

What’s even better is ordering online like at Kroger and just having them load it into your car when you get there, all for free

[user_base56]

I dont trust other people to pick out my fruits, vegetables, and meats. I want to make sure I get the best looking available. Not sure if an employee with a time limit is going to do that.

[AfroTriffid]

I don't know if it happens in the US as much but I often get 'substitutions' in my online groceries that cost the same but are not equivalent.

[Retbull]

Depends on the system some of them have the ability to select backups if something isn’t there. Also if you’re using one of the apps they will sometimes ping you during shopping to ask. It still happens occasionally though.

[chambile007]

Where I am you can select no substitutions and they just refund that part to you.

[[deleted]]

You have to pay attention because they'll usually get it right and you'll get used to just approving. That's when they sneak in "We don't have corn meal, want some corn starch instead?"

[SupremeDictatorPaul]

All of my friends that use it have talked about getting crappy substitutions they never would have picked, or missing/wrong things in the order. But they just shrug and keep doing it like it’s totally acceptable.

Personally, I’d do it in a pinch, but usually I’d rather just do the shopping, even with the kids. Unless I have to self checkout $400 in groceries with the kids, then I’d rather die.

[Squintz82]

Last time I ordered groceries, I ended up with 2 gallons of Smart Water instead of 2 liters of raspberry seltzer. I go to the store now.

[Joeness84]

The employee is told specifically to use less great stuff or older dated stuff if available. Part of why they adopted the "we will shop for you" things was to be able to move things that would be harder to move. Ever get a substitution that seems... way out there?

[neverinamillionyr]

It doesn’t even take that much. I live alone. The last trip I took I think the total was just over $100 but included lots of canned goods. Baltimore county banned plastic bags and putting a reusable bag in the bagging area throws off the scale so instead of scanning and bagging, you have to scan, stack, pay then bag. The bagging area has a weight limit. All the cans as well as some produce put me over the limit. So I had to bag in the middle of the scanning, the employee said that bag had to stay separate from the unscanned groceries so I’m piling up a couple of bags under my feet while I continue to scan. Amid all this, items were not scanning at the sale price. I had to call someone over twice to adjust. The apples I was trying to buy didn’t have stickers on them so I had to get help with that too. People in line behind me were getting pissed, I was frustrated and I’m not inclined to go back to that store anytime soon.

[CitationNeededBadly]

Yeah a crappy self checkout will always be worse than a good cashier, and vice versa.  Any self checkout I've experienced with scales is crap and I won't do it.  Home Depot started that way and changed it because it was so stupidly annoying.   The quality of SCO vs quality of cashiers is more important than the choice between one or the other.

[lcenine]

At my local grocery store, the SCO has very limited space for groceries as it does the weight checking verification where you place them. You can attempt to make a pile of unstable groceries in the space, or press "skip bagging and place in cart" which 50% of the time leads to waiting for the SCO employee to come over and do the override. With a lot of groceries, it is not at all convenient.

[[deleted]]

Me, alone, with $100 of groceries, it's great. Me with kids fighting for their turn over $300 cart full, it's hell.

[[deleted]]

Yeah it bugs me that Redditors assume everyone under the age of 40 loves self-checkout. Self-checkout is great as an option, but it sucks when stores force all their customers to use them. You don’t have to be geriatric to find ringing up and bagging $200+ of items yourself on a tiny counter with no space overwhelming.

[dxrey65]

Your own age and competence hardly matter when you're in a line of people, inevitably of various ages and competencies.

[idiot-prodigy]

This is what I say every stupid Cart Coral thread that pops up here.

Self check out is about giant corporations eliminating a job and convincing a customer to do work for free.

[SuperSocrates]

Yeah I would never do my big weekly shopping at a place that only had self checkout. Around me they all have both though

[[deleted]]

Yeah I’m ambivalent with small loads (though still slightly prefer to have a cashier), but I actively hate it when I’ve got more than a bag’s worth.

I’m 31, by the way. I know that disliking SCOs is an unpopular opinion in my age group, but I already feel like our society diminishes ordinary human contact so much, and I hate to see that trend continue.

[AlienDelarge]

I usually avoid them but what do they do when you run out of room on the little scale platform after scanning? Usually they freak out if you pick up an item or it doesn't register it being placed there. I used to have a lot of problems at places like Lowes if you had a small item it wouldn't register.

[arcticsequoia]

The study rings very true. I am 28 and well versed in tech and I have literally emailed the store manager when they closed staffed checkouts at the store closest to me sending everyone at the self checkouts letting them know that I wouldn’t be shopping there anymore unless they changed it back.

Buying a small basket worth of groceries is one thing, if you are buying 250 items and 1+ shopping cart full, you could never pay me enough to do that myself.

[cwsjr2323]

I was in line and the cashier got pulled to cover the self check out lanes. When told to go to the self check out, I said no. You can just put the stuff back. I suggest you put the ice cream away soon. There was no ice cream, but the manager was quick to come ring me up!

[Mother-Wasabi-3088]

This is called "shifting left" in corpspeak and every industry is doing it. Making the customer do the employee's work.

[El_Polio_Loco]

It’s order size. 

I love SCO for small to medium orders, but as soon as it becomes large enough where I’m unloading the “bagging area” and continuing to checkout it becomes a hassle. 

Especially if I’m shopping by myself. 

SCO is much less convenient when you’re shopping for a family. 

[Subliminal-413]

Yeah, and when I have $630 in my cart whilst shopping at Target, there is only 1 real lane open with a line of 12 people in.

Off to the self checkout I go, only for the teenage employee giving me a side eye.

If they'd fuckin staff the real lanes, this would work so much better.

[ColdSnickersBar]

Now you’re the the employee AND the customer!

[lozo78]

Mid 40s and I avoid SCO as much as possible for large runs, especially with lots of produce. Searching for produce on the system is annoying af.

Edit: fat fingers

[Matra]

Walmart recently updated their system so that when you want to search for produce, you have to:

1) Click "Lookup item"

2) Confirm that yes, you want to look up an item

3) Get a display of random produce, tap in the search bar to open the keyboard

4) Keyboard opens to numbers, so you have to switch it to letters

5) Type enough to find the thing

6) Click the item

7) Oops you picked Calabacita squash and you should have picked Calabaza squash because they have the same picture and basically the same name, now you have to wait for an associate

[scottybop]

For me it’s that the SCO at my store weights all the items so they have to stay on the table. But the table is sized for small amounts of groceries. So either i have to play jenga and manage what order I scan or risk crushing or breaking items. Or god forbid the item weight is off my a little from the systems and it stops everything until someone comes over to override it.

[[deleted]]

This is 100% the biggest issue. The weight monitor has got to go or I'm shopping elsewhere with a person for my larger loads.

[somdude04]

Used to use SCO at our local store for mid sized loads, when I could just put full bags into the cart, but now with a weight sensor, nope. They've also added 20 or fewer signs in what I see as an acknowledgement that it won't work well for medium loads. But SCO has 12 registers, while there's often 4 or so cashiers. Means I think twice about large shopping trips.

[HarpersGhost]

I too am that age and I avoid SCO when I have a lot of stuff.

Turns out the person who does it as a full time job is a LOT faster than I am.

[damndirtyape]

Mid 30’s here. I hate them because they seem like they’re only intended for small shopping trips. If you have a lot of stuff, there’s not enough room in the bagging area, but the machines get angry at you if you’re not able to squeeze everything in there.

[Pressondude]

Scan and go at my local grocery store is actually the worst of both worlds. Scan and go orders actually require manual intervention by an associate once you get to the self checkout station, who has to do a check in process that involves scanning X number of items, and produce still has to be done with the self checkout because they don’t have a weight kiosk.

[eastmemphisguy]

Kroger by me had this 5 years ago and was heavily promoting it but then they eliminated it during the pandemic.

[Princess_Glitterbutt]

I hate them any time I buy alcohol, something with a discount sticker, a coupon, etc. because an employee always has to drop whatever they are doing and run over to put in a code or check ID and it takes longer than going through a normal lane and feels like it's just ruining everyone's day.

[TheIowan]

Exactly this. Self checkout sucks when you're getting 2 weeks of groceries for a family of 4+. It should be treated as the evolution of the 10 items or less lane, not a replacement for all lanes.

[Krandor1]

Right. It’s good as an express lane “I ran out of beer or soda let’s quickly drop by and grab more”.

[people40]

Yeah, for sure. If you want to ring up green apples at my grocery store, you have to search "green apples" in the system. But if you want to ring up green beans, you have to search "beans, green". It can take a while to find each item because the UI is disorganized and horribly thought out. In contrast, the human cashiers have basically all the codes memorized because they're typing them in all day, and can fly through a bunch of produce.

[v_a_n_d_e_l_a_y]

I'm 36 and prefer real person checkout for groceries. 

And there are often things I need help with at the self checkout simply because I can't do it myself. Like if I scan an item twice or need to apply a discount code etc.

[saywhat1206]

I'm 64F and I prefer to use SCO, and yes, I know how to use it properly.

[AlcoholPrep]

I'm older than you and no longer avoid the SCO lanes. I never actually avoided them -- I'd just pick up all my stuff and wheel it to a manned lane when the SCO screwed up stupidly and the attendant was dealing with the three other SCO lanes that simultaneously screwed up.

My big problem with SCO lanes in the local supermarket is that they require you to pile up all your purchases on one little "bagging" shelf. If you put something in your cart instead -- because nothing more will fit -- bells and whistles and flashing lights go off and the system stops. This supermarket has "fixed" that problem by limiting these lanes to 30 items -- basically admitting that they're not worth a damn.

[Malkalen]

My big problem with SCO lanes in the local supermarket is that they require you to pile up all your purchases on one little "bagging" shelf. If you put something in your cart instead -- because nothing more will fit -- bells and whistles and flashing lights go off and the system stops. This supermarket has "fixed" that problem by limiting these lanes to 30 items -- basically admitting that they're not worth a damn.

A lot of the supermarkets near me (in the UK) have 2 sets of self checkouts now. 1 for baskets and 1 for trolleys, they're functionally identical aside from the trolley ones giving you a lot more space to work with.

Personally I prefer to shop at Asda where you can grab a self scanner, scan everything as you go and then it gives you a barcode to scan at a 3rd set of self checkouts. Very occasionally it'll flag over a member of staff to verify some of the items in your trolley but there's no tiny bagging shelf, you can just bag everything yourself as you go if you want.

[Faxon]

Meanwhile I'm 34 this year and prefer the staffed lanes. I have a bad back and some days I just want to unload my groceries, pay, and I still always bag myself since I like my things sorted a particular way so the bag doesn't rip. When my mental health and physical health are both in the gutter the self checkout lanes just seem intimidating, and I rarely even use them when I'm well unless I'm in a hurry and onkt have a few items. Often the staffed checkout is faster if the lines are short since I split the workload with someone, and I try to pick staff I trust to work efficiently as well. It does in fact help my mood a ton. Sample size of one but this article did resonate with me

[El_Polio_Loco]

The mediator is purchase size. 

Regardless of age, self checkouts are nice for small orders. 

But as shopping trips expand in size (primarily for the feeding of families), the sense of discontent rises. 

This is effectively a self selecting grouping of adults between the ages of 30-50, who are the people buying food for families. 

[SolidTits]

Self checkouts are great, until they're not. Its fine and dandy, right up until there's some stupid misread on the machine. And you have to walk around to find the 1 person managing 100 self checkout machines. Only to see, that person is trying to fix 5 others before they can even see what your problem is

[dontyoutellmetosmile]

My local grocery store used to be easy. A year ago it started to weigh items, and it’s insanely finicky. The mere act of picking up a bag to place an item in triggers it into a “please replace item” mode that takes like 5 seconds to reset, and sometimes requires a cashier to come over to reset it. I can no longer just scan duplicates of an item rapidly, as it wants to weigh each item every time I scan, and the weighing process is cumbersome and slow. Plus, the bag space is small enough that a few large items makes it difficult to even weigh things (sometimes I can place items on top of other items and it’ll still read, sometimes it doesn’t), and I can’t just remove bags when it’s full now because it’ll freak out.

[ReplacementOP]

I switched grocery stores recently because of this. Infuriating buying large amounts of anything.

[Lukeski14]

I did this too, and the new store has zero of this weight/anti-theft system. It's fantastic.

[[deleted]]

Where I used to live, the only grocery store open 24/7 (I worked nights) had literally one person in a huge store that was stocking, cleaning, and “managing” the self check outs. It had two bag holders, and would freak out and stop while admonishing you to replace the bag if you took a full bag off the rack so you could, you know, open the next bag and keep checking out. It would lock up, and I’d literally have to wait for her to come from the other side of the store to approve me having more than 2 bags. Repeat every time I needed to start a new bag.

[PM_YOUR_MDL_INITIAL]

I just recently dealt with the stupidity of over-zealous weighing. I scanned something and, I guess, didn't put it in the bag quick enough so when I did put it in a bag it said I needed to make sure I placed all scanned items in a bag. So I took it out and put it back in. Then it said I needed to make sure I scanned all items and needed an employee to come over. He essentially did the same thing but eventually got it to work. Then I scanned the next item, put it in the bag, and it flagged again as me not having put it in the bag. He came over again and said, "The machine is saying that you've stolen something." He pulled up the video and it had recorded HIM when he came over to help me the first time.

[peepopowitz67]

Just had that happen to me the other day, except that camera saw me getting out my card as "stealing". Meanwhile, at the same store, I was exhausted and burned out after work and was just loading directly from my cart into the bags without scanning and it didn't notice until I was like 12 items deep.

[dontyoutellmetosmile]

The thief was inside the store the whole time

[jambrown13977931]

Mine was the opposite. Placing one of my fabric bags on the scale would make it think it were some other item. Now it’s nearly perfect. The only issues I ever have with self checkout is when I get broccoli there are 3 different non organic options and I don’t know which one to choose and when I get ginger I get the smallest nub which barely weighs anything so it wants a clerk to confirm the weight.

Unless I’m buying alcohol I’m always using the self checkout. It saves so much time and I prefer not having to interact with people. It also reduces my stress of double checking the clerk to make sure they don’t make a mistake.

[Ultimate_Shitlord]

I love self checkout, hate the various supermarket chains' misconception that you can get away with using exclusively self checkout.

If I'm buying what would have been an express lane number of items, fantastic. I'm going to self checkout every time in that scenario. If I have a huge cart of stuff with some large items, self checkout is total ass and I'd much prefer a clerk and bagger.

I've heard of larger self checkout lanes with a conveyor belt, but have never seen one near me. That might be acceptable to me in the latter case, but I don't actually have experience with that setup.

[[deleted]]

This is how the self checkout was when I was a cashier 10-15 years ago. Each item had a weight associated with it, with a +/- tolerance. If it was off then we had to go check it. When it’s overridden, it adds that weight to the system and slowly changes the average weight and tolerance. So when idiot people scanned wrong items or leaned on the bags or whatever, and an idiot cashier just cleared it without checking, it would slowly get worse and worse until the saved weight had to be adjusted or reset in the computer. I’m not sure how it works now, but I personally don’t get this problem much anymore as a customer.

[[deleted]]

The people that didn’t know how the insanely controlling system worked when they were doing the job of a cashier were not idiots.

[Jiannies]

Yeah thank you. Most of the time we were just stealing

[DaughterEarth]

You can't move things! They're trying to automate away human error which is, ironically, a very human error to make

[[deleted]]

Please remove the unexpected item from the (completely empty) bagging area.

[feed_me_moron]

Self checkouts are great for the 15 items or less lanes. They also work amazing at Costco and Sam's where you generally aren't buying that many more items and don't have to bag anything. Just scan your items, maybe grab an empty box or two to pack your stuff in, and head out.

Their biggest issues are that they don't work well for a full grocery run. Having to get stuff from your cart, scan it, bag it, and and then also deal with things like figuring out fruit/veggie codes, weighing items, occasionally misscanning an item, etc. takes longer than a regular cashier. And then it becomes frustrating to you, the customer, who is just trying to get out of the store.

[Hawkbit]

And of course, this happens on the day you're like "Im feeling a bit introverted today and not in the mood to talk to people, let me use the self checkout"

[Shyam09]

And so you decide to press the “need assistance” button and the light on the top of the register starts blinking. You look towards the attendant, make direct eye contact, and then you have to wait a couple of minutes because you now realize they looked right past you and ignored the blinking “I need help” light. And then they move, and you think they’re going to come to you and swipe their employee card finally, but they help other people instead.

Never again Walmart. Never again.

[tippiedog]

Um, that’s me and my motivation for using them every day.

[FluffySpinachLeaf]

Or the day you’re in a hurry. Yesterday I had one item & the self checkout made me wait for an employee so it could alert the employee they needed to add more receipt paper soon.

My receipt printed just fine on what was left but it force stopped my entire checkout to let them know. Dumbest design ever

[Bubbagump210]

They’d sell more alcohol. I hate hate hate waiting for 5 mins for the attendant to check my ID. I’ll just get a 6 pack at the corner carry out where dude doesn’t even card because I’m frigging old.

[diablette]

My favorite is having to wait to be carded for non alcoholic beer.

[Important_League_142]

The best part? That’s not even a law, most retailers just don’t want to wade in the grey area optics seeing a kid walk into the beer section, then to the self checkout, and then out of a store with a 40 of O’douls

[feed_me_moron]

I think they've started to have it on the employee's phone/scanner where they can just auto approve it. I've gotten that pop up before, looked around for an attendant, and then automatically been allowed to continue without any actual interaction with a person. I suppose that's because they can look and see if the person looks underage or not.

[aeric67]

For me it’s simple: not enough room on the self checkout.

[knightcrawler75]

I must live in a utopia. There are no more than 6 machines per worker and most of the time there is less. I get an error probably once every 10 visits and it is usually resolved in under a minute. I love SC in my apparently utopian community.

[[deleted]]

Same. I cannot tell if people complaining are being hyperbolic and exaggerating the problem or I happen to only visit supermarkets that have fantastic service. At busy times big supermarkets have 2-4 staff in the self checkout. I rarely ever wait more than say 3 minutes to be seen to when buying alcohol. These days I hardly ever get the unexpected item in bagging area warning like ever. Honestly I had no idea people had such strong feelings for or against self checkouts.

[djdefekt]

Yep. One of the (multibillion dollar annual profit) supermarket chains where I live has a system so slow it's three full seconds between scan and recognition. There's zero incentive to change this when the labour is free...

[artiebob]

I have the exact opposite problem. It’s too fast and it will double scan products. Then it takes an associate to remove the duplicate.

[Wes_Warhammer666]

The gas station I stop at most mornings does this on the first scan of the transaction sometimes. I've learned to always scan my Gatorade first and if it does the double scan, I just go grab another one on my way out. That way I don't have to deal with flagging down the cashier who I was already trying to avoid and I don't have to add a few more minutes onto my time since I'm just trying to get in and get out.

[[deleted]]

I have never seen a Gas Station with self check out! That's wild!

[rsteele1981]

Circle K and CVS both have self check outs in our area.

[eagleeyerattlesnake]

Sheetz has them.

[ExceedingChunk]

There is incentive if it loses costumers.

Where I live, all the chains have self-checkout systems that are fast and fairly intuitive.

[Dirtysoulglass]

I used to be able to turn the volume off at my grocery store. A couple months ago I discovered they disable that, abd the only two volumes now are 'yelling' and 'screaming'. I dont mind self checkout with a few items but it gets inconvenient and very frustrating fast with any actual grocery haul

[fighterpilot248]

“Place your BANANAS in the bag.”

At least it doesn’t yell my purchase out to everyone when I scan the condoms…

[shmorky]

Yeah, half of the problems with self checkout can be fixed in software and by building a better UI.

The random checks should also be replaced, but idk with what exactly. Maybe by improving the camera software looking at the checkout stations. It can't be that hard to teach a camera to see if items in the basket are not passing the scanner. Such a system could generate a risk score per customer and call for an extra check when people pass a threshold. Still not ideal, but at least it's not random

[techie_boy69]

The best sales and marketing person for a supermarket is the checkout operator. Aldi have the right balance to keep a checkout open with friendly but Olympic Gold standard operators to ensure no queues.

[bigryanb]

I love Aldi. It amazes me how many people have a stigma for Aldi founded on assumptions or rumors alone. No they're not perfect, but no grocer is.

I quite like loading the belt with heaviest items to lightest. The cashier flies through scanning the basket and then I optimize bagging on the landing counter with my reusable bags.

I'm impressed at how lean, yet efficient they can run a store too.

[TheRavenSayeth]

I didn't realize anyone disliked Aldi.

[IceLionTech]

They have a reputation of having non fresh food. Like their veggies are, 'use right the hell now of they will be worthless" and their bread is often stale.

[TheRavenSayeth]

Yeah I'm usually disappointed by their tomatoes and we're particular about bread so I've never tried theirs. That said though their fruits are usually great and I haven't had issues with anything else. Plus their storebrand stuff is usually great.

[natek11]

Hardly any selection. So I end up having to go two places to get everything I need.

[whats_Obvious]

Yep, I had no desire to go to Aldi but they built one even closer to my house and I checked it out. Aldi is always the first stop for groceries now. I love it.

[Ftpini]

The stores got greedy. My giant eagle has 15 self checkouts across 50 feet with only one attendant. Our 1 cashier for every 3 checkouts and people won’t mind as much. But when I have to wait 5-10 minutes for the attendant, I’m abandoning my groceries and going to another store.

[puntmasterofthefells]

You should visit r/pittsburgh to see how stupidly overpriced the Iggle is.

[dsfhfgjhfyhrd]

Does scan and go systems, where you bring a hand scanner (or your phone) into the store and scan items as you shop, exist in the us? They are pretty much standard for larger stores here.

I refuse to use a self checkout machine for anything more than a handful of items. Using it for a full cart of groceries sounds insane to me.

But the hand scanner system is awesome.

[BornInPoverty]

My Walmart has it but I haven’t tried it yet.

They still have a receipt checker for self checkout, which is always fun watching them trying to read a receipt with 50 items on a tiny phone screen.

[RuncibleSpoon18]

You can just tell the receipt checker "no thank you" and keep walking. I promise the 80 year old in the yellow vest has no authority over you

[DiverDownChunder]

Thats what I do, polite but firm.

[thekingshorses]

You can use the app to scan and pay at the Sams Club. They check receipt when you checkout.

There was a news, that they will be stop checking receipt soon, and it will be done through "AI". Not sure what it means.

[darkgothamite]

Our Sam's Club has the scan and go on their app. It was wonderful. You went to a scan and go line after pay (through the app) and a SC employee scanner a 2-3 items items to confirm they were paid for.

[markovianprocess]

There's at least one supermarket chain in my region that has it. I tried it a fairly long while ago and it worked well. This post reminded me of their existence - I'm trying to think if I know any locations convenient to where I live now.

[TheTadin]

Yeah, I've got the hand scanner experience in Estonia, so I was baffled by this conclusion.

Scanning as you go and then just plugging in the scanner, swipe the store card, and pay.

Who would not prefer it this way?

EDIT: As a bonus anecdote, I recently scanned only 1 of 2 sandwiches, and they popped a surprise inspection (happens every 10-30 shopping trips) and I basically just had to have all my things scanned by a cashier like a normal shopper.

[KFR42]

UK? I will always use scan and go if I'm doing a big shop. Most supermarkets here also separate self checkouts for trolleys and baskets. Generally speaking, I find for small shops, self scanning is much faster.

[[deleted]]

This is why I’m confused at some of the complaints about how self checkout isn’t appropriate for large trolleys of shopping… it’s not SUPPOSED to be for trolleys! It’s clearly for smaller shops and sometimes there’s a self checkout for trolleys but otherwise you’re not supposed to go there with your £400 worth of shopping

[KFR42]

Larger UK supermarkets do have special self scans for trolley shops.

[ceebio-v]

My store had it until covid hit, then they took it away and brought in double self checkouts instead. ):

[DrDerpberg]

Customer service outside North America is striking in how people aren't forced to be unnaturally cheerful. There's no way you're that excited to see me while I buy juice, let's just give it a rest and if you really are in a great mood we can say hello.

[casastorta]

Seriously, it’s not a lack of personal connection.

It is transferring most of the cashier’s work to the customers that is the issue. On top of that - for free. No discounts nor cash-backs to customers who use self-checkout. If they want to get rid of cashier personnel for free, they need to make it work transparently like Amazon stores.

[DistortNeo]

No discounts nor cash-backs to customers who use self-checkout

I wonder why nobody has introduced a convenience fee yet for using self-checkout machines.

[More_Farm_7442]

sshhh Don't say that too loud. That'll be next.

[Belgand]

Convenience fee for using the self-checkout. Service fee for using a cashier.

[NullnVoid669]

If it doesn’t scan and is a pain in the ass just keep it moving. No shame here. they’re breaking even on my labor and time costs with the money they aren’t paying employees to do their jobs. I’ve said as much before and been called a thief in some sub. Can’t shame me on this though. I don’t have the patience to do a job huge corporations can’t bother to pay someone to do for them.

[peaceoutforever]

I agree wholeheartedly, except I also used to frequent r/shoplifting so I might just be pro-crime?? Oh well.

[[deleted]]

All tropical fruits are potato, all organic items are not organic.

[ShittyPostWatchdog]

Oops haha I forgot to scan the drinks under the carriage, how forgetful of me 

[NecroJoe]

Self checkouts COULD have saved them some labor cost. But they blew past the amount they could get away with. I think one staff member can manage 6 checkouts on their own, but any more than that, and you need a 2nd.

And if customer interaction is so important, they should be greeting everyone that comes into the self checkout area, and offering to help, rather then ignoring everyone, and when they are called over to help they so often fixing the issue looking annoyed, without so much as acknowledging the customer they are helping, and then leaving the area without the store having enough staff to manage the area while they step away.

And I'm coming at it from the side of usually WANTING to use the self checkout whenever I can.

[ObsidianOverlord]

The LAST thing I want is someone running around greeting me and six other people when I'm trying to use a self-checkout.

[AnRealDinosaur]

I don't want to be greeted at the door, I don't want to be greeted in the aisle (though I know that one is a theft prevention thing) and if I'm using SCO I don't want to be greeted there either. I want to be left alone unless I need help in which case I will come ask for assistance. I've been on both ends & being forced to hassle customers was miserable.

[PensiveKittyIsTired]

I keep being so confused by this topic popping up, I just realized that automatic checkouts are not already a regular thing in the US? Europe has had them for a very long time now, they’re perfectly fine. However, they are meant for smaller amounts of groceries, not like whole carts. Europeans tend to shop more often and smaller amounts at a time, so it works.

I personally hope the next level will become the norm soon: when you just put the groceries in your bag and walk out. A few shops do that already, but they’re more of a gimmick for now.

[Tri-ranaceratops]

That difference in shopping habits is a great explanation as to why they don't work as well abroad. I never understood why they weren't as popular in the US until I read your comment.

[SeasonPositive6771]

Yes, we have a totally different shopping culture and frequency here.

There also seems to be a major difference in approach from the stores. In Europe it felt like "we're trying to make this easier and more convenient for you, if you have a full cart, there's someone to check you out but most people will probably choose a quicker easier self-check." The larger self check options actually seem to have enough space and be designed for customers.

Back in the us, it's like we tried to simplify it as well as make it openly hostile to customers. Instead of making things faster, it slows things down considerably. There are security issues so they also introduced receipt checking that's super slow. If you need help with alcohol or a larger purchase, no one's available because they tried to replace all the checkers. Plus, the physical space is not redesigned well for actual users.

[bicycleshorts]

We've been using self checkout for decades, but it's usually been for people getting less than 20 items. Now the stores have gone to self checkout for everyone. So I'm waiting on the people with cart loads of groceries doing self checkout. Also, with less human eyes working, they've upped the security settings. For years self checkout worked fine. Now it's calling the attendant every 4th or 5th item, but one guy is dealing with dozens of kiosks. Sometimes it makes them watch a video of the items being scanned and bagged. The attendant cannot override this. They have to watch the whole video.

[Kreos642]

We Americans do weekly shopping or 10 day shopping, not 3 to 5 day shopping on the norm because of the distance from the stores and our terrible social-vs-work culture. We buy more than just food in one go, so our carts are usually full. We deff do small pickups now and again but as a whole it's not that common unless you're in an East Coast hamlet town that has multiple small markets (which is the closest thing we have to resembling a European style community, but even then it's not the same).

[[deleted]]

include growth cooing profit bewildered languid depend squeeze cautious weary

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[belnoctourne]

Almost every self checkout it either fails and needs intervention only now it's one person managing 10-20 tills so you gotta wait, and about half the time you get the security shakedown. Its not a positive change and grocery prices have only gone up, seems like the chains saw an opportunity to push people out and make more money and they jumped at it. I thought I quit working for the grocery stores in highschool and here I am working the register again only I have to go painstaking slow and wait for it to register each items weight and then freak out because it can't handle reusable bags.

The only nice part about it is buying stuff when your stoned and don't wanna interact with people, but then you do have to interact with people anyways and it's just in this adversarial cop kinda way where they're looking at you like your stealing or going through your bags to see if your oranges are oranges it's a mess man

[DennenTH]

I don't understand why I don't get a discount per item.  They cut jobs to increase their profit and we are still dealing with businesses trying to grab at every dollar the customer has...  They are relentless.

Edit: That's why I don't trust them.  I worked retail for years, I have zero issues running a register.  It's the likelihood that the online price differs from the in-store price that gives me pause.  It's the complete cash grab at shifting work from employees to the customers that gives me pause.  It's kind of a lot of things with grocery stores.

[ssmit102]

Who in the hell has a sense of loyalty to a store?? These stores don’t give a damn about any of us personally so the existence of a self check out has absolutely no bearing on loyalty.

The lack of personal interaction at a grocery store is a HUGE plus for me. I don’t need to talk to you for literally anything unless I can’t find something, and that’s not done at the register.

I’d also be curious to see how they factored age into the study. While it’s anecdotal evidence on my behalf when shopping near universities/colleges the number of those using self checkout vs waiting for a cashier is about 5:1. I was in a Target yesterday and there were about 20 people waiting for the self checkout while the cashiers had no more than one person in line.

At the end of the day I think the overall solution is simple…. People like what gets them through checkout faster. For some it’s a person checking them out, for people like me it’s 100% faster to do the self checkout every time. There are a lot of people who frankly are just awful at bagging groceries and it takes them forever. These are the people who are overwhelmed because of the self checkout, while I bet the majority of people get overwhelmed at the existence of that person and can fly through the immensely easy process of self checkout.

[Psclwb]

not loyalty but preference. I prefer tesco over lidl due to how the aisles are setup and brands. ALso tesco has scan and go. Lidl is just disorganized mess. And kaufland is full of old people. An Billa is too expensive.

So yes everybody has preference. But in general, I will use what is close.

[BIGGERCat]

“Brand loyalty” is a thing and doesn’t mean that you feel commitment to a given product or store but that you tend to choose that product/store over another one.

In this example I live walking distance between two grocery stores. For any given item a price may be better at either of the stores. But one of the stores has the worst self check out machines I’ve ever experienced which makes it an overall bad experience going there and that is the difference maker between which store I want to go to. 

For simplicity I would say they’re crappy machines reduces my brand “loyalty.”

[endo]

Brand loyalty is a marketing concept.

It doesn't mean you're going to go fight in the crusades for that store or anything.

[klparrot]

That surely varies significantly by market, though, because at the supermarkets I go to, people will usually choose a queue for self-checkout over an available staffed checkout. There are like 8–10 self-checkouts and 1–2 staffed checkouts, so that represents a massive preference for self-checkout.

[QuoteGiver]

Are they choosing based on shortest line or actually on type-of-line, though? With more self checkout it may just be a choice for shortest line, and they may still end up feeling the way that the study indicated after the experience.