If never fails when I use the self checkout service that I have had problems. Don't get me wrong I do appreciate the convenience that they present but I can't remember a time that I've completed my transaction without having to have the attendant's assistance. In the beginning it was a learning process, that's okay but I think that after two or three times I should not have any problems. Just recently I had to call for help because the machine stopped. An attendant came over and asked me why was I piling everything in one bag. What!? I thought that was the way it was intended to be used. He further explained to me that I could use one, two or all three for my purchases. I didn't see a sign saying that I could. How much time I lost... What problems have you had at the self checkout lanes?
I totally agree with you, @MrsJones! In as much as I really like them for their convenience, self check out lanes almost always jam each time I've used them. The frustrating thing is that when they do, it's not something that you can sort out yourself, you always have to call an assistant over to help! Which really defies the whole thing of saving time! I also hate that if you buy alcohol or anything that's PG, you have to wait to have someone come over, check out your ID before they give you clearance to buy the item(s)...grrr! I know it's necessary, but it does eat into your precious time!!
I usually don't have a problem with self checkout lines. I absolutely love them! On the rare occasion that I have a problem with a self check out line there is usually an employee of the store not far away to assist with any problems that arise. I often find that I am able to get out of a store much faster by using the self checkout lines.
It does depend on the store and what I am buying. I have issues when I buy heavy things and the machine says it needs to be checked. I was buying several 2L bottles of bleach, and I guess the scales notice if things are heavy in case people steal things. That's my main issue, but some stores are better than others.
I do not use the self-checkouts except when I only have a couple of items. Most times, I go to the grocery store for my weekly shopping and have a cart full of food so I cannot use these checkouts. I have had problems when my children were with me because without my knowledge my daughter would have her hands on the area with the bags. This caused the weight to read wrong and the checkout would stop working and a sales associate would have to come over to help. I prefer going through the regular lines and having the personal contact with the cashier. I believe self-checkouts are convenient, but they may end up taking jobs away from people.
I always have problems too, but if I am only getting 2-5 items it usually ends up quicker still. I would rather go to a checkout if I had a trolley full of groceries to buy.
I never used any self-checkout because it's always so busy at walmart and safeway, so I just stand in line at the express checkout and it usually goes quickly especially when I'm pressed for time. Catching the bus is time consuming already that I like to get a few things and rush home to cook dinner, so I like the express checkout a lot. Sorry to hear many have problems with the self-checkout.
I've also noticed that some are worse than others, from store to store. I find Morrisons' are the worst, followed by Sainsburys'. Well, out of the stores I've frequented. I seem to have far less problems at Marks and Spencer. The other thing that annoys me about self check out lanes is the people who want to serve themselves but just can't work out how the machines work because they slow the queue right down, and in the end you may as well have joined the longer queues with a check out assistant!
@Theo On that particular day I learned that even a single envelop of Kool-aid as light as it is can be a headache if not placed in the bag correctly. Every item in the store's inventory when scan tells the computer every detail including the weight. I had 20 envelopes of Kool-aid (5 for $1). Now I have to give the cashiers their props for their jobs. @Lushlala I have to say Lushlala that I was one of those people at one time. But I have the hang of it now but it just never fails for me to have a problem. I am so sure that I have it together and it just never fails for something to go wrong.
@MrsJones....I'm glad you've now got the hang of it. I guess some of them are a little fiddly to begin with, but it doesn't take long to figure out, and once you do it's all good. I have to agree that's one of my pert peeves; when you place something in the bag and the machine seems to have trouble working out the weight. I get a little frustrated that I have to take the item out and put it back in, sometimes more than once. I sometimes even put it next to the bag, rather than inside until I'm done LOL
I love them most of the time, but sometimes you seem to have a bad day with them and require assistance after almost every item, which can be a bit of a pain. But on the whole, I think that they are a great thing as it allows people to be in control of their own shopping at their own pace, which is great.
I love self checkout. I rarely have problems with them. Some checkout registers are better than others. The only problem I do have is with the self checkout at Target. Most of the time, it doesn't recognize my bag. 90% of the time, it tells me to wait until an attendant can verify my bag. That annoys me so much. Sometimes, I just skip the bagging and bag discount altogether.
This happens to me constantly. "Please place the item in the bag." Please place the item in the bag." The darn thing keeps talking to me, and everyone is looking at me, and I DID place the item in the bag! I'm ready to yell at the machine by the time I'm done. "Shut up, already, it IS in the bag" ha ha. My husband never has trouble with it, so he finds it quite amusing. He says technology can sense fear.
@zyni...your husband's funny LOL Little does he know that stuff isn't funny to YOU! Wait until it happens to him and then really go for the jugular, and rib him, see how he likes it hehe.
I also have an issue with regular checkout lines. Whichever one I get in is going to end up taking the longest, no matter what. It can look the shortest, but something will go wrong. It's a running joke. Because of that you'd think I'd like the self-checkout, but um... yeah. Ha ha, don't worry. He teases me constantly, but all in good fun, and I give as good as I get. I guess my biggest issue with self-checkouts is the fact that I haven't noticed any of the cost savings the stores are enjoying due to these contraptions being passed along to the customers. At least at Aldi, I get a discount for bagging my own stuff, and they still ring it up (and FAST, I might add).
I have to agree there @Zyni....sometimes it does take longer to use the self check out lanes, which defies the whole logic behind them LOL Just out of interest, are you in America? I ask this because in the UK we didn't get the option of having our stuff bagged for us. Their thing was that you had to do it yourself, and there was no incentive either. Not that I minded that at all, I'm just curious. I actually liked it because we'd just pile the stuff up into the trolley as quickly as the teller rung them up, which was always very fast LOL Then we'd stand to the side and bag them up in our loth bags, because as far as I can remember, they didn't provide plastic bags either.
One of the main problems that I have with self checkout machines is that I don't know how to use them lol. I don't go shopping very often, and when I do go I go with other people most of the time. So I don't have much experience with self checkout machines, and when I have gone to use them in the past, it has been a little embarrassing because I did not know how to get it to work lol.
I would rather wait in line for a cashier to check me out than use a self check out machine. While convenient if you are only purchasing a couple of items, they can also be a hassle. Any time I have coupons, bottle return slips, or I am purchasing alcohol I avoid the self check out. Usually using coupons, bottle return slips, or purchasing alcohol result in needing to wait for the self check out lane attendant to enter something in to the computer anyways, and sometimes they are busy or are simply not paying attention. In my area, there are people who could really use a job, so in my mind, going to the cashier instead of the self check out lane supports local jobs and hopefully future jobs at that store.
Yes, I am in the USA. I also live in the south. Small town stores may have spoiled me. They will even help you out to the car with your groceries, if you want. The big stores still give plastic bags here. They still bag your stuff at Walmart and such when they ring you up. Aldi is a bit different. It's a discount chain where you either bring your own bags or pay for theirs, and you bag your own items after you check out. I really don't mind, since I can pack them how I want them, and I have some nice bags. The money I save by shopping there is well worth it to me.
I don't usually do self checkout. The machines are different at each store and it is always confusing where I should put the money when it is time to checkout. I rather have the clerk check me out. I do have my own bags at any store I go to.
