No, it’s way more relaxed and honestly I don’t wanna speak to someone after a whole day of yapping at the office. I just wanna pack the groceries into my bag in peace
There would not be a line at the cashier if there were more of them. There are fewer checkouts available because the space is wasted on the self-check out. The self checkout created the problem.
No, this is wrong in my experience. The store would only staff as many lanes as needed to keep the lines short enough that people wouldn’t complain. So, there was ALWAYS a line of at least three people. That was policy, not a limitation of the number of lanes.
The self-checkout machines are always open, so if you go during any time except the busiest, there is no wait. Self-checkout, in my experience, has been faster, and it’s not an illusion. I shop in the early morning, and there is never a wait for a machine, I just walk right up and start scanning. Before self-checkout, even in the early morning, when they’d only have two lanes open, there was still a wait.
Self-checkout did NOT create the problem of waiting, store policy did.
Idk how it works in Burgerland, but where i come from most checkouts aren’t occupied. They’re usually on demand, and even then they rarely use all of them.
FYI, it takes around 6-9 months (depending on how much larger inventory shrinkage is on the self checkouts) for a self checkout to pay for itself and begin saving money. Not that I am advocating for that.
This might perhaps be true in the land of XXL everything, but in the space it takes to have 3 cashiers you can easily install 2 rows of 4 self checkout machines, and in Europe space tends to be more scarce.
They are a massive space saver, and when that’s the space you have, 8 self-checkouts and a cashier have more throughput than 4 cashiers (which don’t even tend to be staffed all at once).
They need to hire the cashier I had once, she was scanning and shuttling the items down the ramp faster than I could bag them. Probably 3-4 times faster than bagging.
They had ramp splitter so once you are piled up and paid, she flips to the other ramp and slams the next person through.
I’d never seen speed like that. The second person was checked out and bagging theirs before I was done bagging my own.
The problem is the opposite. There are too many regular checkout lines and not enough self checkouts. Almost every grocery store I shop at has like 12 self checkouts (taking the place of 4 previously regular checkouts) and then like 10-15 regular checkouts, of which never more than 4 or 5 (sometimes less) have cashiers in them. How about turning 5 or more of those regular checkout lanes you never use into 20 more self checkouts?
It’s not “for jobs sake.” It is to reduce congestion and wait times for people trying to check out. It’s got the added benefit of reducing shrink by having a trained and practiced professional doing the labor quicker and with greater ease and accuracy than the customers would do themselves.
I use an app to scan items when I pick them up and immediately put them into my bag. The whole self-checkout process takes 10s to scan a QR code and pay. It is much more faster and pleasant.
Here in Estonia, major stores (I think we have 5 chains) offer mobile apps that let you scan items. You pick something up, scan it, and put it in your bag. By the time you arrive at the self‑service checkout, everything is packed and you only have to pay, which takes mere seconds.
You are not faster than a cashier.
I’m faster than queuing for a cashier.
And if it’s one where you take the scanner round the shop with you, it’s certainly faster than unpacking it all and repacking it.
Yes I am. Worked in retail for 8 years. They are slow because they are paid by the hour, not the transaction.
No, it’s way more relaxed and honestly I don’t wanna speak to someone after a whole day of yapping at the office. I just wanna pack the groceries into my bag in peace
What a strange thing to say.
Yes, but the cashier has a line of people waiting, and the self checkouts don’t.
So I get a massive head start, and I still finish first.
There would not be a line at the cashier if there were more of them. There are fewer checkouts available because the space is wasted on the self-check out. The self checkout created the problem.
No, this is wrong in my experience. The store would only staff as many lanes as needed to keep the lines short enough that people wouldn’t complain. So, there was ALWAYS a line of at least three people. That was policy, not a limitation of the number of lanes.
The self-checkout machines are always open, so if you go during any time except the busiest, there is no wait. Self-checkout, in my experience, has been faster, and it’s not an illusion. I shop in the early morning, and there is never a wait for a machine, I just walk right up and start scanning. Before self-checkout, even in the early morning, when they’d only have two lanes open, there was still a wait.
Self-checkout did NOT create the problem of waiting, store policy did.
Idk how it works in Burgerland, but where i come from most checkouts aren’t occupied. They’re usually on demand, and even then they rarely use all of them.
Let’s not pretend they open all the checkouts and it’s space keeping them limited.
Not true, there are less because it costs money to pay for more cashiers
FYI, it takes around 6-9 months (depending on how much larger inventory shrinkage is on the self checkouts) for a self checkout to pay for itself and begin saving money. Not that I am advocating for that.
This might perhaps be true in the land of XXL everything, but in the space it takes to have 3 cashiers you can easily install 2 rows of 4 self checkout machines, and in Europe space tends to be more scarce.
They are a massive space saver, and when that’s the space you have, 8 self-checkouts and a cashier have more throughput than 4 cashiers (which don’t even tend to be staffed all at once).
At my local store they seem to comfortably replace 1 cashier with four quick self checkouts, and 3-4 with 2 rows of 6-8.
People dislike them, but it gets a little silly when they insist they have lower throughput too.
They need to hire the cashier I had once, she was scanning and shuttling the items down the ramp faster than I could bag them. Probably 3-4 times faster than bagging. They had ramp splitter so once you are piled up and paid, she flips to the other ramp and slams the next person through. I’d never seen speed like that. The second person was checked out and bagging theirs before I was done bagging my own.
It was like watching grocery skeeball
The problem is the opposite. There are too many regular checkout lines and not enough self checkouts. Almost every grocery store I shop at has like 12 self checkouts (taking the place of 4 previously regular checkouts) and then like 10-15 regular checkouts, of which never more than 4 or 5 (sometimes less) have cashiers in them. How about turning 5 or more of those regular checkout lanes you never use into 20 more self checkouts?
How about hiring 5 or more additional cashiers to relieve congestion?
Why have jobs for jobs sake?
It’s not “for jobs sake.” It is to reduce congestion and wait times for people trying to check out. It’s got the added benefit of reducing shrink by having a trained and practiced professional doing the labor quicker and with greater ease and accuracy than the customers would do themselves.
If you want to use the space argument 6 self checkouts take the space of 2 cashiers
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I’m faster than the line of people buying ice and lotto tickets and cigarettes and paying with a check.
obviously my self checkout experience is faster, or i would go to a cashier. we’ve been over this.
I use an app to scan items when I pick them up and immediately put them into my bag. The whole self-checkout process takes 10s to scan a QR code and pay. It is much more faster and pleasant.
Wait… I need time to know more about this magical process.
Here in Estonia, major stores (I think we have 5 chains) offer mobile apps that let you scan items. You pick something up, scan it, and put it in your bag. By the time you arrive at the self‑service checkout, everything is packed and you only have to pay, which takes mere seconds.
That’s amazing and I am so jealous of that!
Walmart and sheetz does this.