How many of you believe self checkouts are a mistake?

Mr Frontenac · Guru

How many of you believe self checkouts are a mistake?

Date: Aug 21, 2019

I personally dont like self checkout at all.

Sorry but I am not the one making the money to scan my items employees are. Unless I get an employee discount anywhere I shop to scan and bag my own groceries. I shouldnt have to. There shouldnt even be the option.

Mr Frontenac · Guru

Funny thing about that employee discount. Since Kroger doesn't schedule enough baggers, I see a lot of customers on cashier checkout lanes having to bag their own stuff.

How interesting would it be if Kroger actually gave a like 2% or 3% discount to customers who ended up having to bag their own groceries, whether on a cashier lane or self checkout. But yeah, realistically, that's never going to happen.

Date: Aug 22, 2019

I think they've went overboard with them. I get having more self checkout for people just getting a few items. However, there are still a lot of older people who don't want to use or can't use self checkout. My grandma who was a diehard Kroger shopper has quit shopping there. She goes to a smaller local chain that still uses cashiers and bags her groceries.

I like to do one main shopping trip a month and smaller ones throughout for just essentials I run out of. Self checkout was not made for large shopping trips. I go elsewhere for my large shopping trip. While they might save some money in paying wages to cashiers they are losing money on customers that go elsewhere.

Date: Aug 22, 2019

I prefer them to cashiers. The less people bothering me the better.

i386 · Guru

I personally like self checkout. I don't buy much $50.00 at the most I just can bag pay and go. With self checkout I can use 2 bags for my 2 liter and milk if I want because the bags always break. But the problem at my store is there is usually one down or if they are all working they are card only or no cash back. I only get cash back about once a week when I get paid I but 25 cent gum get cash back.

Mr Frontenac · Guru

Anonymous wrote:
I think they've went overboard with them. I get having more self checkout for people just getting a few items. However, there are still a lot of older people who don't want to use or can't use self checkout.

Yes, the older generation would naturally prefer cashiers. That human social element to the checkout experience that a machine cannot replicate.

But, the seed of technology has already been planted. I'll bet there are plenty of millennials who embrace this faceless self checkout technology. I mean, why not? It goes great with their smartphone-centered lives where social media is all the human interaction they need.

i386 · Guru

Mr Frontenac wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I think they've went overboard with them. I get having more self checkout for people just getting a few items. However, there are still a lot of older people who don't want to use or can't use self checkout.
Yes, the older generation would naturally prefer cashiers. That human social element to the checkout experience that a machine cannot replicate.
But, the seed of technology has already been planted. I'll bet there are plenty of millennials who embrace this faceless self checkout technology. I mean, why not? It goes great with their smartphone-centered lives where social media is all the human interaction they need.

And my store still has little old women who writes out checks takes them 10 minutes and if they don't write out a check they count change one penny at a time.

Date: Aug 22, 2019

I think they are-at our store it is ripe for theft. Publix in this area (Local 1996 Atlanta GA) doesn't have the self check outs either

Date: Aug 22, 2019

I love it cause it saved my job.

Regular cashiering is a nightmare that ruined my mental health and almost my physical health. I was winded all the time and had trouble catching my breath. Was expected to do things beyond my physical capacity and was a target for every scammer, extreme couponer and horrible person. I broke down and begged my managers to do anything else and they trained me on self checkout and put me at the bistro one and I love it. I have personal space, can get water when I need it, go to the bathroom when I need to and no more panic attacks. Its much quieter and less stressful. My work problems literally went away. Except for the spiteful old people that think my job isnt a real job because Im not sweating buckets and having a heart attack slaving on the register out of my mind practically dying because they think thats what a real job is its pretty good and I actually enjoy it most of the time.

EUID_Unknown · Guru

In reality, while SCO has theft, the cost savings in labor still makes SCO profitable for the store. After 8-16 months the SCO basically pays for it self, and futures savings goes to the bottom line.

Date: Aug 23, 2019

I wonder how theft compares to labor savings.

My store is ghetto and theft is super high.

I think SCO would work best as a rigorously enforced super-express lane. As in 15-20 items only, no carts, handbaskets only. Maybe even no produce. Or maybe the item lookup button should freeze the machine and call the attendant? Anything else has to go through a line.

At my store, it gets ****ing stupid. Idiots taking entire carts (or two) through small machines. Cart exchanges with items teleporting between carts, and all kinds of shenanigans. SCO can make sense, but it needs to be limited.

I think one of our biggest problems is that SCO is basically right in front of the exit door. It makes it too easy to just breeze straight through. If it were a quarter store away from the exit, it would help a lot.

mega-kitteh · Guru

I'm neutral on scos I've seen and heard the sco freeze up and say "help is on the way." Well the customer decided that they didnt need help and opted to leave on out the door. They left their cash on the machine with the machine beeping away. Not sure if that counted as theft or not but fem wasnt happy.

Date: Aug 23, 2019

Mr Frontenac wrote:
And that Kroger and other retailers should get rid of them and use more cashiers?
One of the biggest arguments for this idea, of course, is theft prevention.

No they are great

Date: Aug 24, 2019

Maybe you guys should read this...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/stealing-from-self-checkout/550940/

Date: Aug 24, 2019

Mr Frontenac wrote:
And that Kroger and other retailers should get rid of them and use more cashiers?
One of the biggest arguments for this idea, of course, is theft prevention.

No thanks. Id rather check myself out than have to deal with ungrateful peons such as yourself. Self checkout stands arent going anywhere there here to stay and will only improve with time. Youll be replace soon by these machines but you can always deliver papers or pick up trash along the highway

Date: Aug 24, 2019

Self-checkout is a mistake due to a variety of pitfalls that I'll list below:

1). Automation in retail will always be a regression. Unfortunately, retail lacks smart enough people to operate these machines. To make things worse, society lacks equally stupid people to use them. Just think about it. You're going to a grocery store to buy the products that they sell. They don't have enough staff so, they brought in an SCO station or two. Now, instead of having a good customer service interaction(50-50; depends on the cashier), you're forced to use a machine that's geared to prevent theft and does so in a way that stops it from being productive.

2). Lack of staff. Due to district scheduling rules, it's not possible to over-staff every week. Only days that are holidays or historically busy. In addition to these rules, you have to schedule based on Que-Vision. Que-Vision is nice and has saved the asses of FE managers everywhere, it's also not accurate. When you schedule your employees based on an inaccurate number or model, you're essentially playing a game of guessing to see if your cards match up with the ones society throws at you.

3). Profit. Most companies, if not all, are geared on profit. That's how they make money and how they pay you. Simple enough? However, when they use tactics to push donations(shoutout FE), often times the company doesn't donate the full amount it says. Not only are you paying money for your groceries but, every time you come, you're asked if you want to donate. When you push these types of tactics to customers that are already mad when using SCO, you get yelled at. For a common person, it doesn't make you feel good.