[…] Me: “I don’t work here”
This gives me big “ok boomer” vibes. Instead of this, imo, snarky response, could you not simply politely say that you prefer a human cashier?
Remember the human.
I know I’m in the minority but I prefer self checkout so I don’t have to talk to people. Same reason I quit customer service work. I do not want to hear about your day I want to pay for my shit and leave.
In Europe it’s becoming popular to have scanners at the store entrance that you can take and scan your products as you go. Sometimes you can also do it with a phone app instead. Then, at the self-checkout, you just scan one code instead and pay right away. I love this system because it’s quicker and you get to avoid the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly.
I would kill for this. Maybe not kil, it’s not a big deal. But I used to walk into my local grocer and just drop shit in the reusable bags I always bring. Then people were stealing, obviously, so they said you gotta use the baskets or a cart. So I use a cart, and it’s not a big deal, it doesn’t matter, but if I could scan, drop in my bag, and walk on, it would save a couple minutes. But as I said, it’s not a big deal, nothing matters.
the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly
Haha, spotted the German. This isn’t really a thing elsewhere, not to that extent.
Speak for yourself
I mean the level of pressure is lower elsewhere than in Germany, of course it’s still easy to feel anxious anywhere
You say it’s not a thing anywhere else, but you also say it’s easy to feel that way anywhere. Those two statements aren’t congruent
Yes the first one came out wrong. The “this” which I claim is not as much of a thing outside Germany is the insane pressure to pack your bag extremely quickly, not the feeling of anxiety.
I know I’m in the minority
Dude look around the comment section. 90% talk about prefering self checkout
Lemmy doesn’t exactly reflect the general population.
All of the top comments are from people who prefer tellers over self checkout.
I’m with him, though, every few months the anti-self-checkout crowd is all up in arms
I somehow don’t remember the anti-ATM machine crowd angry about putting tellers out of work or the anti-microwave crowd putting restaurant workers out of work, or the anti-car crowd upset about putting trolley drivers out of work
Automated teller machine machine
Maybe you should speculate less and actually read some history?
I will never understand those who are afraid to face down a cashier. Is it REALLY that bad?
So many people complain about how modern society is isolating, but then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves.
Am I afraid to face down a cashier? No.
Is it REALLY that bad? No.
Can I make awkward small talk with a stranger? Yes.
Do I want to make awkward small talk with a stranger? No.
Am I relieved that I’m not forced to interact with a stranger and can continue to have to my own inner thoughts and not have to spend time rehearsing in my head what to say if they ask me how I am because I feel weirdly compelled to answer it honestly instead of simply saying “fine” like most do? Absolutely.
A grocery store I used to frequent, I always picked this one lady’s cashier line if she was around 'cause she was nice to talk to. She liked Mortal Kombat and making her own pickles.
Hearing about small talk an the checkout never ceases to be bizzare to me. In all the countries I’ve been to, the cashiers only say the sum to pay and then goodbye.
Are cashiers in the United States of America really required to initiate meaningless conversations? I’ve also heard of the occupation of a door greater, which sounds even crazier.
Are cashiers in the United States of America really required to initiate meaningless conversations? I’ve also heard of the occupation of a door greater, which sounds even crazier.
The corporate ideal has their weird idea that everyone desperately wants to have conversations with employees. I think it comes from positive feedback often taking the form of, “Your employee was so warm and helpful and we had a delightful chat about X.” and never, “Your employee was polite and didn’t bother me with needless conversation.” One of the trainings my employer has even includes a scenario, which is presented as ideal service, where the employee ends up chatting with a complete stranger about his dead wife including sharing pictures from his wallet.
That said, while I’m sure corporate cares none of my in store managers cared when I was a cashier. Indeed, I had regulars who would seek me out because I specifically didn’t attempt to inject small talk into the interaction. I’d still get pulled into it by customers who initiated such but otherwise it was mostly, “Morning. Coupons? That’ll be $X.XX. Have a good one.”
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then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves
Mmm yeah, cos it’s such quality time interacting with the cashier. Like, you’re not totally wrong about the problem, isolation does make us even less able to handle interaction, but making people bag groceries for a living is not the way to solve that problem. Anyway, it’s not fair to force your desire to have a conversation on someone who is trapped working somewhere.
I used to work service, and having people to talk to generally made the day much better. I definitely had favorite customers, and what do you know, it was typically people who were social.
I currently work in retail, please just tell me what you want, pay for it, and GTFO. I have significantly more important tasks to do than chit chat.
Geez, I hope they’re not putting you front of counter.
Either amusingly or sadly, honestly, I still haven’t decided which, I am my store’s top earner and am considered a solid keyholder to the point I am regularly sent to go help out other stores of their messes.
Well, that doesn’t necessarily require a keen bedside manner.
You say sadly. Do you… like your job? I know it can’t always be helped, but I do hope you find a way to move into something better, if there is such a thing. My service job was almost a decade of my life, and I was sooo glad to leave when I was finally given an exit.
I’ve never even considered it. If I have too many items, I go cashier. We shoot the poop or we don’t, I bag my groceries and go home. If I have few items, I qualify for the self-checkout, I do my shit, say “Thank you” to the person who monitors the lanes, and then I go home. I give none of it a second thought because it’s such a meaningless part of my day.
It’s not that bad, it’s just more bad than self check.
Personally I hate waiting in line, I can feel the life leaving my body. I self check for speed.
Apparently line impatience is an ADHD thing, but regardless of where it comes from I appreciate being able to do it myself instead of waiting.
I have add. Proper diagnosis from a doctor and everything.
I’ve had to learn how to curb impatience. It is not a permanent affliction, it is a bad habit. Patience is a virtue that can be nurtured.
Wow, an ADD person telling an ADHD person to grow some patience, almost like they are very different things or something because I can tell you personally that the H in ADHD does not play well with patience.
Why don’t you “just” be more patient tho?
/bitter, downtrodden sarcasm
Yes cultivating patience is a great skill, but I have no interest in spending more time in line than I have to.
sometimes I do, but if I’m having a really good day I like to see if I can spread it to the customer service staff.
fun fact: you can get a discount at a self-checkout! grocery stores hate this one trick!
“Don’t you hate it when you walk into a grocer and they expect you to pick out the items yourself? I don’t work here, I just want to say “1 pound of ham and 2 loafs of bread” at the clerk, pay and pick them up. I’ve been to this new Piggley Wiggly, can’t find anything, spent like an hour to find beans. Imagine if I was paid for that time, I would have made 15¢!”
OP in 1925, probably.
Silly take. The problem isn’t having to move my own items around across a scanner. The problem is me doing more, the store doing less, and the prices just keep going up anyways. You’d rather just silently get less?
Oh, and also the ridiculous cameras they stick right in your face pre-accusing me of stealing in the checkout. And having to juggle a whole cart of groceries while the machine asks me to move the item off and on the bagging area.
Maybe if they had implemented the system better I wouldn’t mind using it?
That is literally what I am talking about, though. “you doing more, the store doing less, prices increase anyway” is exactly the same thing as happened 100 years ago.
Stores where customers didn’t have access to the back also don’t need security cameras, so even that point is 1:1 the same (although that’s way later than 1925 then).
We have lost most of the stores where a clerk will collect your items for you, they once were the only option. At this rate, we will lose most of the stores where a clerk will scan the items for you as well. Simply because 1 clerk and 20 cameras is cheaper than 15 clerks.
I’m not saying that you have to like or hate both developments equally, I just wanted to point out that we have had and lost this exact battle before.
We have lost most of the stores where a clerk will collect your items for you
Actually, pretty much the opposite, they are making a comeback in the form of curbside ordering. Walking through a grocery store or walmart nowadays there’s a large number of staff picking items from the shelf.
It’s been crazy to see people going nuts about having to scan their own items at the same time the bigger pain in the ass of picking the items is now being offered at no additional charge.
Try ordering ahead with curbside pickup if you haven’t yet and it’s an option for you.
If not … Idk … You’ll be alright. I actually prefer self checkout and to bag my own stuff so do keep in mind people have the literal opposite feelings on this topic too.
Not to say anyone’s right or wrong, but I do agree with the post you replied to, I bet so many people were mad they couldn’t just make a list and hand it to the clerk. I wonder how many tried at first to give the cashiers or other employees a list to get for them and then were surprised when they said they had to go get it themselves.
Now we’ve gone full circle with the curbside pick up stuff! I really like it, but sometimes they do bag stuff nonsensically but no big deal.
Curbside seems great until some kid making poverty wages is picking out your produce and grabs whatever. Cant find red onions? Eh, red potatoes are close enough. Wanted bananas that would last a week? Heres a bunch that are almost to black for even banana bread.
It is a godsend for those with mobility issues though. A friend uses it because of that and its been a big help for her. (Though she does like to complain about the produce choices)The big brained solution is to use curbside for stuff like canned items, chips, liquids, etc. and then go in to get the fresh produce/meats/whatever else needs to be picked through personally.
100%. Veggies and any fresh produce is a gamble. When I order cilantro, there is literally a 10 fold difference in size from order to order sometimes. The employees do not care or not know how to pick out a decent onion and you’d better forget about getting a reasonable avocado ever haha
In my supermarket you can go through stuff they picked for you and reject anything you don’t like.
Curbside pickup is an inconvenient option. Screens are a terrible interface for picking groceries. Maybe in the future a VR option will be as, or more, convenient
I prefer the fastest and most convenient option. Picking out products in person is faster, and having a cashier scan the items is faster
Seems most people like self-checkout because they have anti-social tendencies. That’s perfectly valid, but I don’t have that issue. I actually enjoy small talk with strangers
I don’t trust them with produce, but pretty much everything else it’s highly convenient for me. I’m certainly happy for the apps to tell me which aisle a food is in, but then I have to hunt anyway. It’s certainly not faster for me to walk around versus just picking up the ready to go ordered stuff.
Of course I’ll be alright. I order ahead all the time and get my groceries delivered, but that requires pre planning. Sometimes I just want to go to the grocery store and walk around and have 30 seconds of social interaction in the process because the cashiers enjoyed talking to someone pleasant for 30 seconds too. Self checkout is less convenient than ordering delivery groceries, so if a store wants to make me use self checkout, I guess I’ll just use their competitor and skip the issue entirely?
Its not about getting mad for the sake of hating change or having to do more work. Why don’t they offer me even just a one dollar discount for using a self checking? A fifty cents discount? Because it’s all about the CEO firing their employees and pocketing the extra cash, to no benefit on my behalf or anyone elses. I guess aside from people who don’t care to even question or think it through.
Most stores in my city (in The Netherlands) just have a little terminal you can carry around the store with you. I scan my items with the terminal, it shows me the total price, discounts, points acquired (if I scan my customer card) and then i have the terminal scan the QR code on the self checkout and I just pay. Everything is already in my bag and they rarely check. It’s great!
To be fair, the indignity and fact the machine never works because its all calibrated so YOU CAN’T STEAL ANYTHING so every time i bag an item an employee has to run over and enter an override code makes it :ery difficult to not steal.
Not that i dobt on purpose, but i probably steal more on accident and frustration.
I steal on purpose. Fuck self checkout, just more corporate greed.
Have a handful for the incels and weirdos who are too scared to face down an intimidating cashier, but leave us normal folks out of it.
Bagging groceries is a lot of kids’ first job, but now I have to do it and they dont get a chance for a low-pressure first job.
Yes, as you shoild, but it’s hard to not.
I feel like i should steal less at actual cashiers because labor reasobs.
OK Boomer.
What?
THEY SAID “OK BOOMER”
Turn up your hearing aid!
Haha, could you speak a little louder? I guess because I don’t like the grocery store firing employees so that the CEO and shareholders can pocket the difference, I am but an old spent husk which should be shunned for speaking their mind. I should have just kept my mouth shut because, as a boomer being born between 1946 and 1964, I am old enough to where my feelings are irrelevant and I should be shamed simply for my age! Oh, and I can’t hear duh
That sounds way better! Then they wouldn’t keep rearranging the aisles so you shop for longer.
This is actually pretty funny with the number of stores that offer the option to have stuff gathered by staff and ready for curbside pickup.
That change was driven by the drastic expansion is quantity and variety of goods. A person couldn’t reasonably verbally dictate what they’d like to buy in a modern grocery store. It’s far more convenient to choose them yourself
The driving factor for self-checkout was solely profit, not customer convenience. I, personally, find it far more convenient to have a cashier do the checkout, because they’re far faster and the responsibility of doing it correctly is on them, not me. I don’t want police showing up at my house because the AI at my grocery store incorrectly decided I stole
Look at all the people in this thread complaining about how slow other customers are in self-checkout. It’s clearly a widespread issue
if i’ve learned anything from this thread it’s that y’all have awful self-checkouts.
I never understand the press they get. As someone that doesn’t want to have a chat with a stranger about everything I buy, self-checkouts are amazing. I don’t consider it extra work. OP should look at the history of supermarkets. We didn’t use to pick items off the shelves either.
Same with pumping gas. Self serve is the norm in so many places.
I pass the time ignoring the dangerous substance I’m handling untrained by thinking about how we stopped employing a specialists so that someone’s quarterly profits could go up a bit more.
You don’t need a tucking specialist to pump gas lmao
tucking specialist
Is this a type of drag queen? I agree you probably wouldn’t need one to pump gas.
Tucking the nozzle into my carussy
I don’t hate self checkouts, I hate the people who use self-checkouts. The mom with a cart filled with food to feed 4 people for a week, holding a baby in one hand and trying to scan and bag with the other. The guy apparently shopping for his whole apartment complex, scanning 4 items, paying for them, then scanning 6 different items, slowly working his way through an overloaded cart. The Gen-Z narrating each item into their phone for some reason, also struggling to bag items single-handed.
One of them isn’t bad, but two of them will strangle the entire kiosk farm, and make it seem like everyone is a self-absorbed idiot. Never go grocery shopping on a weekend morning.
Exactly. Get in line behind me, I’ll show you how it’s done! I don’t get visibly annoyed that other people exist and also need food. I’ll be watching and immediately start scanning my items when a self-checkout opens up. I know to scan the produce barcodes, or how to quickly look up the code. I keep my cart close by, but out of everyone’s way. If I have to get an age-verification or other cashier intervention, I let them know as soon as they’re available. I put my reusable bag in the bagging area, and efficiently load it as I go. I don’t stand in anyone’s way… I may even leave you cashback from my debit card sticking out of the machine, because I’m a forgetful dumbass!
I thought that was a basic design principal since it’s so widespread.
here they don’t talk, don’t weigh, don’t time out, and can be cleared remotely when you buy age-restricted stuff and don’t look like a twink. my only gripe is that some of them won’t allow you to delete duplicate scans without help.
Thats great for you, and your area.
yeh
The duplicate scan is the only hassle I ever get.
That sucks for you and your area
It does.
They were awful at first, especially the ones with scales that insisted items weigh a certain amount and be placed a certain way. I’m not aware of any around here that do all that crap, and this is a relatively poor little town.
I get that you are technically doing someone’s job for free, but you can always collect your “pay” by giving yourself a “discount.” Personally, I prefer to scan my avacados as potatoes so I can have my avocado toast every day and be able to save up for a house. I’m almost there, it’s only gonna take 30 more years for a down payment! 😁😀🙂😐☹️😢😭
If im too exhausted to steal competently, ill just wait in front of a checkout line.
It’s also kind of a labor issue.
Tell me the OP is from the US without telling me they’re from the US.
Genx here
Ok boomer
Some of us prefer non-human interaction
I suppose you might also leave trash at your seat in a movie theater or restaurant. After all, cleaning up is someone else’s job and you don’t even work there. Plus, you can pat yourself on the back for contributing to that person’s job security with your added burden like some of the people here.
The self checkout person always thinks I’m cute and gives me good deals
I honestly don’t hate the self checkout, I hate it when they do it poorly.
Oversensitive scales, improperly weighted products, stuff without barcodes, tiny little bagging areas that can only hold two bags. No belt for unloading groceries. Please remove the item from the bagging area, help is on the way. (Help is never on the way)
The grocery store where I used to live had a bunch of regular lanes, You threw your crap on the belt, Scan it over the sensors and send it down to the collection area where you could bag it. It was honestly pleasant.
I went to Target in the evening once, had an entire cart full of groceries. I push it up front there’s no cashier’s open only the self checkout. I look at the person manning the self-check out and say
Why aren’t there are there any registers open?
Sorry just the self checkout.
This is going to be like 8 bags.
Yeah, sorry.
I shrug leave the cart there and start walking out the door.
No, wait: The cashier goes and opens the closest register to the self checkouts
I shrug leave the cart there and start walking out the door.
No, wait: *The cashier goes and opens the closest register to the self checkouts
Honestly this would piss me off more. Oh so you just lied to me and expect me to forget about it that quickly. If that’s how they treat customers I wouldn’t ever return. There’s too many options for me to put up with that bs.
I know not everyone has options, but exercise them if you do.
I kind of get it. It’s one cashier monitoring four checkout stations. Staffing isn’t her fault. And if someone comes up to the checkout stations while she is checking me out and has a problem she’s now doing another person’s job worth of work. She’s got to run double duty, and that sucks for her.
What I presented her with was a no win situation. If somebody doesn’t check me out they’re going to have to put away an entire cart full of groceries and probably waste a fair amount of perishables.
I was by no means happy with them at that point but my time is not worthless either and I had just spent the better part of an hour picking out a grocery order.
That’s genius
I wish it were intended. I was just tired, mad, and disappointed and was not looking forward to going to the grocery store doing it all over again to make a point.
I’m shocked the cashier cared enough to stop you!
The cashier would have had to put all those items back. They chose the option that involved less work for them. Double duty on register and self-checkout is less work than self-checkout and restocking a large cart
I put the blame on Target management and corporate
This thread has made me feel so incredibly millennial.
Reminds me of this Bill Burr clip.
"You know what I hate about these corporate chains? You go in there you’re paying for a business, they make you like do half the job now. I don’t get it. Like I walk in there,
- Hey, lemme get a turkey sandwich. Lettuce, tomato, on rye, with mayonnaise.
The guy behind the counter’s like,
- All right, turkey sandwich, lettuce, tomato, on rye.
- And mayonnaise.
- Oh, the mayonnaise is, uuh, right over there.
- Really? Why don’t you, UUH, fucking GO OVER THERE and, UUH, put it on my sandwich?"
(Yeah I just wrote that out. Why? Fuck you I don’t have to explain myself to you.)
Self checkout is the greatest thing ever and I will never understand why so many people seem to prefer waiting in line for a few minutes instead of just using the self checkout.
No human interaction, usually faster because I don’t have to wait. What’s not to love? Sure occassionally you might get selected for a random check and have to wait a bit, but that still beats the line.
They used to be awful here 10-15 years ago, with a scale for your scanned items that would complain over nothing all the time, but now everywhere I’ve been has done away with that in favor of random controls and the receipt for opening the gate. I think my highlight so far was the clothing store where you didn’t even have to scan, you just put your items in a box and it told you what you have to pay.
From what I’ve seen it’s a lot of incompetence ( Doing it wrong causing constant approvals) or pure laziness (I’m not gunna do your job for you!)
Very rarely nowadays it’ll be from just shit machines. I’ve seen the box ones you are talking about, no scanning, just throw it all in. It’s a great solution.
I prefer the human checkout and it’s not for any of those reasons.
For one thing I have a family of 5 and scanning that many groceries at a self checkout is super painful.
Next the grocery store made its money off of the backs of their workers then when it wasn’t convenient anymore they fired a bunch of them and replaced them with machines. Now you have 2 humans in the front of the store doing the job of 10. Their only motivation for adding them was money and not convenience based on how it’s been implemented. I still have to wait in a huge line that wouldn’t be there if they had cashiers and machines together.
I love the idea of them it’s just not being implemented in the right way to make it super helpful for the customer.
Completely agree with you, I never buy huge amounts when I shop (single guy), big orders are better with human cashier.
There are also zero places around me where there is only self checkout. Having zero cashiers is terrible. There’s always going to be large orders, elderly or disabled people that might not easily use self checkout.
The people that complain probably have had far worse experiences with self checkout. I’ve been to a few stores where it was absolute hell between the machines working terribly and unhelpful staff, but on the opposite side all of the grocery stores near me solved the self checkout issues years ago and it is the best thing ever where it works well.
receipt for opening the gate
What is that?
The self checkout prints a receipt with a bar code on it and you have to scan it to leave the store.
Is there something physically preventing you? That sounds like a thing the fire department would shit all over.
It’s a normal gate like those you have at entrances to stores.
I am sure they open automatically when the fire alarm rings. You can of course just go out through the normal cashier’s line.
If this country obsesses over one thing excessively, then it’s fire safety, so I have no concerns about that here.
So Idk where you guys live and how your self checkouts look but here is my German perspective.
- If I need a new gas cylinder I have to exchange it at the cashier’s
- If I buy alcohol or cigarettes I also have to get my ID checked. The self checkout will then be put on pause until some worker shows up and realizes I am well in my 30s. I can also not buy things like razorblades at self checkout.
- Often the stuff will be weighted to ensure I put it in the bag and not more or less. When I buy something light, think a small back of herbs of like 15 grams, the scale doesn’t realize it and again a problem occurs and a worker has to come
- If I make a mistake like scanning twice I cannot cancel and again a worker has to come
- It usually is a much more crammed space. I don’t even need a whole trolley for it to become uncomfortable. More than 5-10 items just don’t work because I have no space. Putting everything out of the trolley on the conveyor belt, getting it scanned, and then putting it back in the trolley is much easier.
- If there are any items with a sale (30% off because BB date is approaching) I cannot scan this and again a worker needs to come.
- I am not as fast. Not only because it is not a conveyor belt and I am not sitting at a scanner deck, but also I am just slower than a cashier who knows the code for fairtrade bananas and the avocados from spain but not from peru by heart. It’s my first time scanning this can of beans, where is the bar code? While it is 9 am and the cashier has already scanned this can of beans 25 times today. (8. In some supermarkets my kid gets a free fruit which it not necessary but I find super cute. This is only a thing at the cashier’s)
All I have to say is “hello”, “card please”, and “good day”. And I can also just wave these things. So yeah, I am absolutely standing in line if it is possible. It is so much faster and more convenient and going to self checkout to then get an error code and wait for help to arrive for 10 minutes is absolutely not worth it. (Looking at you, cursed Rewe in Munich). Then I also have to explain what’s the problem much more embarrassingly than any “hi thanks yeah with card please have a great day you to bye” conversation could ever be.
Edit: I just thought of an important 9.
- I feel so much more anxious and pressured in the self checkout. How fast I am done with scanning, paying, and packing things up depends entirely on me. And I feel the stares of the people in line at self checkout stabbing my back. Telling me to hurry. I try to be fast but the more I try the more I fuck up. So for all the folks who don’t like cashiers because of social interaction, don’t you feel the angst of the line?
Also germany, but yea makes sense, I don’t have gas canisters, rarely buy alcohol, the self checkouts around here stopped with the weighing, and I rarely buy more than 5 things at once+am decently fast at scanning, so it maybe costs me 15 seconds.
Also I did scan an item twice today and the lidl self checkout actually allowed me to delete it, at first I also thought I’d have to get an employee.
I’ve recently experienced that magic box at a sports equipment store! I was amazed by how it just works.
I have witnessed far to many people with full carts que into the self check out, and than they get frustrated when every other thing they scan throws a flag.
Bitch, SCO is for 10 items or less!
