So I was in CVS the other day buying a green dot money pack card? And I went to the register to do the usual activation process? Like you tell them how much you want the card filled up for? Then pay the $5 processing fee and all that at the register? So I go there, and I notice all of these people hanging out by this machine on the left side of the register. After waiting there for like 5 minutes, I finally walk over to this machine to see what all the commotion is about, and the cashier lady directs me to use the machine to do my business. It took me awhile to figure out because I am used to getting my gift cards and moneypak cards filled up at the register by a flesh and blood human being! So anyways, to make a long story short...I eventually got my moneypak card filled up and purchased using this NEW machine of theirs. But I felt sorry for the lady at the register because she's like 60+ years old, and is probably doing this job to make ends meet. Or to not be in The House all day if she's a retiree. I couldn't help but think that at some point, this machine was just gonna "replace" her. Maybe not anytime soon but, eventually.
Yeah this sort of thing has been happening for some time. Remember when car washes had attendants? Or the number of tellers at banks before bank machines /ATMs. How about Gas Station pump jockeys? Newspapers with proofreaders? Or this one, newspaper darkrooms, no darkrooms now with digital photography. Yeah and corporate profits are up and there are economic 'jobless recoveries. Who needs people you have to actually pay when you can get an electronic thing to do it. Ryder13
Sad and scary, isn't it? Machines can do almost anything now. And people want ease/ convenience. Myself, I'd rather talk to a person and interact with them. But of course, that person needs to be paid for their time, and a machine doesn't...
This one is news to me! I know Walmart, Kroger, and other similar places have self-checks, but you have an attendant there at all times and they have to do specialty things themselves, like the moneypak cards. Doing this saves the companies money in the long-run, but I really hope it's a long time before they actually replace human beings.
If the company replaces one out of every twenty check out staff members with a computerized set up and you are talking a chain like Walmart with stores across the U.S. and Canada, then that is a lot more people who are out looking for work. And the company saves how many dollars per Walmart cashier? It is a few years ago but who thought that gas pump jockeys would be done away with. When was the last time an employee pumped your gas? And well is anyone old enough to remember paid elevator operators? Probably not but that was a job too. So many jobs gone, or shipped off. Ryder13
I prefer the automated checkout machines. I don't think they will ever completely replace human beings. Those checkout machines are very touchy and need frequent human intervention.
That is certainly a scary thought. It definitely seems that machines will be taking over in the future, if not soon. Probably not in our lifetimes, but everything is being done by machines now. Just look at the robotic floor cleaner for example, enough to give me the chills.
Well, I am one that is definately old enough to remember paid elevator operators, gas station pump jockeys and even bathroom attendants! Companies nowdays will do anything and everything they can to keep the profits in their own pockets. Customer service is nothing like what it used to be, that is for sure. I guess I hope that at some point in time companies will again see the need for good customer service, I just don't see it happening soon. In the meanwhile, the machines will continue to rise!
Well at this rate guys, the only folks who will not be looking for work is the repairmen. When those machines get overloaded, or broken down, someone will have to come along and be paid to fix them. Or clean out the gunk, or whatever. That's where the techies, and repair/servicemen come in. Not to mention the companies that engineer and build these things will be hiring more often now too. Maybe the out of work cashiers can go work for the machine creators?
The Home Depot near me has 3 or 4 automated checkouts and then 4 that are manned by humans. That means that those are 4 jobs that have been taken over by machines. I have mixed feelings, because I don't always feel like talking to people, so it's kind of a relief to not have an actual cashier, but on the other hand, I don't wish for people to be unemployed. I'd rather make awkward small talk with humans than see them all replaced by machines.
Yeah it seems now a days everything is done by a machine instead of a human sometimes it can be annoying lol
I don't talk to the cashier's really. I just place my items on the counter, they ring them up, and I move on. Convo's with cashier's just hold up the line. You don't see many unless it's someone who used to work there who now shops there occasionally.
Machines will continue to play a more dominant role in society as the technology develops. The machines can take a while to get used to but they are convenient. The thought of a machines replacing human contact is rather disturbing, though.
Very true. They are getting better and better, but even so, I don't think they will -completely- replaced people. It definitely makes it a lot easier to keep a store open over night and during non-peak hours, though, because a single attendant can technically run several automated lines.
