I went to the grocery store and had a rude, surly, incompetent cashier

My wife said I can't use the self checkout line anymore.

They are the worst.

Zeus-cat said:

My wife said I can't use the self checkout line anymore.

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Thank you Zeus-cat! You just brightened my day!!

"If you say 'unexpected item in the bagging area' one more time, I'm going to reprogram you with an axe!"

I just can't deal with self-checkout either.

What annoys me the most is that when I have, say, 4 bottles of Juice, I can't just scan one bottle 4 times... Oh, no, I have to scan each one individually and place each one in the bagging area...

Our local store just brought in those newfangled gadgets.....handheld scanners that you take around the store with you, scanning as you go, then you come up to the line and just.........well I haven't tried them yet so I don't really get it, but the idea seems to be that you just zap the data over to the register all at once and pay. hmmmmmmmm.

s6

boatgeek said:

"If you say 'unexpected item in the bagging area' one more time, I'm going to reprogram you with an axe!"

I just can't deal with self-checkout either.

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I had one of those things do that to me so many times during a single transaction that I started threatening it's mother.
I will wait in line for a real cashier over those monstrosities.

Unfortunately, the 'self check out' is the industry answer to 'you owe me $15 and hour', and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, they're multiplying.

I read a story about how carrots are now the top selling item in a lot of grocery stores. One grocery store manager said they went from selling no carrots to it being their number one selling item after they installed self checkout lines. The problem was that this particular store didn't actually stock carrots; carrots just came preinstalled with the software as one of the items that customers could buy.

People are either being lazy and just selecting carrots from the menu, getting frustrated with the automated checkout system not giving them the item they want to purchase or more likely stealing by selecting a cheap item for an expensive one. I know I have selected regular bananas when I was actually buying organic ones because I went down the wrong menu and saw no way to get back to the item I really wanted. If you want me to work at your store then train me and pay me to do so, or expect shoddy workmanship!

Banzai88 said:

Unfortunately, the 'self check out' is the industry answer to 'you owe me $15 and hour', and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, they're multiplying.

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Ya. My mother always said if I didn’t knuckle down at school, I’d be scanning groceries at 40... well, I did ok at school, I’m pretty damn qualified in the work that I do, and here I am, scanning my own damn groceries at 40...

You guys are funny!

Reminds me of a church joke: A man woke up one Sunday morning and told his wife, "I'm not going to church today."

She asked, "Why not?"

He said, "The sermons are boring, the jokes aren't funny, the hymn selection is terrible, and the whole service seems stuck in a rut."

His wife said, "But, honey, you have to go. You're the pastor!"

"They" apparently did a study on the self check out system. they are slower than a cashier. The cashier knows where the bars codes are, and are trained in how to enter multiples of items, etc.. they're fast, they do it all day long! But you, the customer, are waiting in line, and that wait is excruciating.. So, enter the self check out, where you don't have to wait, and you get to do your own scanning.. but you need to look for eh bar code, wait for instructions, and then proceed to 'place the item in the bag'. But once you get used to it, know what to look for and how to deal with it, it can be faster.. the cashiers are supposed to be there to help you, to correct any errors, check ID, etc. But they are overworked, as they now need to manage 6 lanes, up form 4.. and they do tend to get glazed over after we while..

I did design work on one brand, on their 'security system'. I also breifly worked as a designer at one prominent 'U-Scan' manufacturer. I know the systems pretty well, mechanically.. A very good friend (and fellow rocketeer) is also pretty well versed in their use & implementation because he's worked there for 17+ years! (Software & customer support, trouble shooting, and QA issues.. He has stories!!)

One of my favorite stories, is that we both were in a store getting items for a BBQ. Sure enough, a case of beer was one of the items. this requires 'cahier intervention' to validate we are not minors. Sure enough, the cashiers are gabbing to each other, not realizing your order is paused, waiting for them. A few minutes go by and my friend says something, and walks over to the cashier's station. He leans over and types in the appropriate code to validate our ages for the beer purchase (Remember, he knows this, he does it every day!!) The cashiers look over, at him, with a bit of a puzzled look, then go back to their conversation, not quite realizing what just happened. And we continue on with our order. I get a kick out of thinking "Lady, you have no idea how well I/we/he can do your job, and how well I/we/he know this system.."

Maybe no idea indeed, probably less care in there as well.

Our Kroger went from 6 cashier lanes to normal 2..sometimes 3 when busy.
self checkout up from 2 now we have 8.
This store is supported by many college kids who have no problem and prefer the self check out over live cashier.
You see mostly over 40 types using live.

My guess is great payroll savings.

Don't get me going on parking meters!!!!
We now have kiosks instead of individual meters. One covers 1/2 block. You may park near one, but must go to other if space # not for THAT machine. Each machine only covers about 12 spaces numbers.
Number painted on curb must be put into computer screen after walking 1/2 block, then you get a ticket with time bought, that must be placed on windshield,......walk back to car!

Upped rate from 25 cents/15 minutes to 2.00 hour minimum and machine does not give change, so if you only have a 10 or twenty no paper change either...it's nutz.
They want you to sign up for phone app ....you slide phone across screen...after giving them all your financial info , bank credit card etc.
Some blocks have 12 machines....tourists line up trying to figure out how to use.
They no longer take change.

Last year they installed the first generation which wasn't too bad.
Put space number in any machine, they took change and worked well.
You could buy an hour of time and move block to block paying bills/shopping with same ticket.
Not anymore....now get new ticket for every space you occupy during the day.

So it's a 2 dollar minimum. Last week cost me 8 bucks for less than an hour of going shop to shop. Last month it was only 1 dollar for same route. They jacked up parking garage even higher, so that is no longer a better option if shopping for several hours.

Zeus-cat said:

My wife said I can't use the self checkout line anymore.

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Was expecting a story about a human. Waste of time, deceptive heading, lol.

Zeus-cat said:

My wife said I can't use the self checkout line anymore.

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I generally won't use those self check lanes if I have a choice. This is a the heart of why we can't buy anything made in America any more.
Sure, it's great for the store's bottom line, but it cost's real people their jobs. We all want faster, cheaper, (maybe not)better, so we spend all our money in China.
I'd do away with the minimum wage also, and pay new employee's a dollar an hour, until they showed me that they are worth more to me than that. They might get a $14 an hour raise in the first five minutes if they EARN it.

gldknght said:

I'd do away with the minimum wage also, and pay new employee's a dollar an hour, until they showed me that they are worth more to me than that. They might get a $14 an hour raise in the first five minutes if they EARN it.

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Minimum wage law is a killer for teens who might otherwise work. Businesses can’t pay $15 per hour for a new employee who can only generate $5 per hour worth of work for first several weeks until he/she learns the system.

In past, very few workers who made minimum wage stayed there. It was generally a starter wage. Once they acquired the skills they either got raises or moved to other jobs. Businesses would pay good trained workers more because it cost more for them to have to train new people than to give experienced people a raise.

People think businesses have “no choice” but to hire people at the minimum wage. Not so. Cashierless stores, Manhattan McDonalds replaced counter person order position with a kiosk—enter your order, slip in a card, get a number and come to front when order ready. Even some site down restaurants replace silverware with disposable plasticware so they don’t have to pay someone to wash dishes.

New York is messing up Uber and Lyft requiring them to pay a minimum wage. Good grief, these drivers are entrepreneurs and volunteers. Let the market work.

BABAR said:

Minimum wage law is a killer for teens who might otherwise work. Businesses can’t pay $15 per hour for a new employee who can only generate $5 per hour worth of work for first several weeks until he/she learns the system.

In past, very few workers who made minimum wage stayed there. It was generally a starter wage. Once they acquired the skills they either got raises or moved to other jobs. Businesses would pay good trained workers more because it cost more for them to have to train new people than to give experienced people a raise.

People think businesses have “no choice” but to hire people at the minimum wage. Not so. Cashierless stores, Manhattan McDonalds replaced counter person order position with a kiosk—enter your order, slip in a card, get a number and come to front when order ready. Even some site down restaurants replace silverware with disposable plasticware so they don’t have to pay someone to wash dishes.

New York is messing up Uber and Lyft requiring them to pay a minimum wage. Good grief, these drivers are entrepreneurs and volunteers. Let the market work.

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What he said^

At $15/hr, your #1 Big Mac meal at McDonald''s would be $ 9.95 + . . .

That's why McDonald's is going to the "ordering kiosks" and, eventually, even the cooking may be automated with just a couple of people to reload them with fries, or whatever.

The other problem is that our Public "Schools" are producing "useful idiots", unable to do anything but the most menial labor, while thinking they are "entitled geniuses" . . . NOT !

Dave F.

after reading all the posts in this thread...realize most of you guys are out of touch or completely antiquated.

self checkout is a non perfect improvement ...and wave of the future.
and as with ALL waves....ride it ..or drown yo...(in antiquity)

hopefully rocketry will continue despite the short sighted.

Jamey#5295

I'm somewhat amused by responses here. I prefer the self checkout. Usually my purchases are very similar (weekly reload of fruits, veggies, milk). I know how to enter numbers, the wait time before dropping into the bagging area, etc. I can match the cashier for speed, plus I skip the line...all a bonus for me

I do concur on the minimum wage laws and the drop in teenage employment...kids can learn an aweful lot about common sense, people skills, and responsibility at these jobs, low paying means nothing when they pick up lifeskills before moving on to "real" jobs when done school...

rocketheads said:

after reading all the posts in this thread...realize most of you guys are out of touch or completely antiquated.

self checkout is a non perfect improvement ...and wave of the future.
and as with ALL waves....ride it ..or drown yo...(in antiquity)

hopefully rocketry will continue despite the short sighted.

Jamey#5295

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How is putting people out of work an improvement of ANY kind?

gldknght said:

How is putting people out of work an improvement of ANY kind?

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Agreed. To make matters worse, put them out of work just makes me have to. Now it would be one thing if there were a small discount applied at check out if you use the self thingy but to pay the same amount of money only to do the job someone at the store should be doing is crazy talk. Also, I quit like making inane chit chat with people, can't do that without getting strange looks in the self check out line.

grouch said:

Agreed. To make matters worse, put them out of work just makes me have to. Now it would be one thing if there were a small discount applied at check out if you use the self thingy but to pay the same amount of money only to do the job someone at the store should be doing is crazy talk. Also, I quit like making inane chit chat with people, can't do that without getting strange looks in the self check out line.

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Yes, laying people off, or not hiring unemployed people is definitely a snowball kind of thing.

gldknght said:

How is putting people out of work an improvement of ANY kind?

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It certainly feels bad to the person who loses the job. It must have felt that way to buggy whip manufactures when the automobile made them obsolete, or to bookkeepers who were made obsolete by the microprocessor. But so many more jobs were created by advancement in technology than are lost. That will be the same with ordering kiosks. People with great jobs designed those things. So it’s unfortunate when someone loses a job because of technology, generally it turns out well in the long haul.

rocketheads said:

after reading all the posts in this thread...realize most of you guys are out of touch or completely antiquated.

self checkout is a non perfect improvement ...and wave of the future.

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Indeed. The ex and I were in Garmisch on an Oktoberfest trip in '93 and hit a grocery in town. Self-checkout, self-bagging and a Dmark to unlink the chain for the shopping cart. This country is barely catching up...

rocketheads said:

after reading all the posts in this thread...realize most of you guys are out of touch or completely antiquated.

self checkout is a non perfect improvement ...and wave of the future.
and as with ALL waves....ride it ..or drown yo...(in antiquity)

hopefully rocketry will continue despite the short sighted.

Jamey#5295

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I think you miss the point entirely.

Jmhepworth said:

It certainly feels bad to the person who loses the job. It must have felt that way to buggy whip manufactures when the automobile made them obsolete, or to bookkeepers who were made obsolete by the microprocessor. But so many more jobs were created by advancement in technology than are lost. That will be the same with ordering kiosks. People with great jobs designed those things. So it’s unfortunate when someone loses a job because of technology, generally it turns out well in the long haul.

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That's very little comfort to the teenager, young college kid or maybe a young single mother (yes, I do know a mother who lost her cashiers job when a local walmart installed those automated lines) who loses their jobs to a computer.

Advanced technology jobs do not help kids pay their ways through college, or help them learn life skills.

PhlAsh said:

Indeed. The ex and I were in Garmisch on an Oktoberfest trip in '93 and hit a grocery in town. Self-checkout, self-bagging and a Dmark to unlink the chain for the shopping cart. This country is barely catching up...

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Catching up? No! Just because we can do something doesn't necessarily mean we should. And why do we have to do what other countries are doing?

They are going to automate the assembly line where I work here in the next week or so. This will eliminate my job. There is a pretty good chance I will be laid off. I don't get to go work for the company that designs the machines that are replacing me.

So how is this automation going to put food on my table, or help me provide shoes for my son?

Most, if not all, of Europe is leaning toward going completely socialist. Why the hell should we follow their example?

gldknght said:

That's very little comfort to the teenager, young college kid or maybe a young single mother (yes, I do know a mother who lost her cashiers job when a local walmart installed those automated lines) who loses their jobs to a computer.

Advanced technology jobs do not help kids pay their ways through college, or help them learn life skills.

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I completely agree that raising the minimum wage so high that it prices unskilled labor, like teens with their first job, is stupid. I’m happy that place like Seattle are raising the minimum wage as high as they have so the rest of the country can learn from their mistake. My point was simply not to blame technology for job losses. That’s a losing proposition.