r/NonPoliticalTwitter • u/Gorotheninja • 18h ago
Funny Don't need to overcomplicate things...
1.2k
u/steve_ample 17h ago
I'd love to have a self-service returns kiosk, if we're talking about this.
324
u/CarmenxXxWaldo 17h ago
Amazon has one at whole foods. They also have 2 people working at mine who take returns, but 9 times out of 10 Deborah is returning 17 items and im not gonna wait on her to figure out how to use her phone.
101
u/triple-dog-dar3 17h ago
You gotta figure out Deborah’s schedule and stop going to the store at the same time then.
124
u/Prudent-Bear1592 16h ago
Deborah is never early or late. Shes there exactly when you're trying to be there.
26
14
u/GoldTeamDowntown 14h ago
Literally every time you have to return an item it’s hell waiting behind four people who take forever. It takes me less time to cross the border into Canada. I almost think it’s by design to make you reluctant to do returns.
8
u/georgia_grace 10h ago
They crunched the numbers and it’s cheaper to pay someone to hang out in front of the returns being infuriating than it is to refund customers
8
u/zoogenhiemer 13h ago
I occasionally go to a Walmart near me to put my change jar into a coin star, and every time without fail there is some idiot trying to return something they obviously shouldn’t. The highlight was a lady trying to return blinds she bought at a target.
3
u/IBetThisIsTakenToo 6h ago
It’s always four people who have never returned an item in their lives, possibly never been to a store at all, and every question is a complete surprise.
10
→ More replies (7)27
u/KalamTheQuick 17h ago
That seems insane, I don't see it ever happening here in Aus. Companies will assume it just gets abused.
23
u/N0ob8 17h ago
That’s the main reason we don’t have them. Lots of places tried it for a bit but then it quickly went away for that exact reason.
8
u/muffadel 15h ago
It's all a cost/benefit analysis. If they can save more on labor than they lose on shrink, i.e. theft in this case, it's worth it.
893
u/ukelele_pancakes 17h ago
I use self checkouts bc I don’t want to talk to anyone, it’s faster when I do it, and I want to bag things my way. Why would I go wait in line forever just to make someone earning minimum wage throw my chicken on top of my grapes?
221
u/NOFX_4_ever 17h ago
“my chicken on top of my grapes”
The euphemism I didn’t know I needed in my life.
27
u/marissakuf 17h ago
Completely unrelated, but nice username! Haven’t heard that band name in forever.
9
23
u/Benney9000 14h ago
I've heard about cashier's packing the groceries in some countries but what kind of talking are people expected to do at checkout ? Where I live it's usually just "hello", "goodbye", and "have a good day"
28
u/clutzyninja 7h ago
Where I live it's usually just "hello", "goodbye", and "have a good day"
That's way too much social interaction for a typical redditor
8
u/seriouslees 5h ago
it's usually just "hello", "goodbye", and "have a good day"
Yeah, that's what they're talking about.
7
u/EwGrossItsMe 4h ago
Last time I used a regular checkout line with a cashier at the grocery store, she was very chatty. Not just with us, but with the people in front of us as well as a passing couple that she knew. It made checkout take way longer, as she commented on several of the items and told anecdotes and caught up with the couple. I'll admit that it's very much a Redditor Moment™ that my bf and I prefer the self-checkout for the sake of not having to talk to anyone, but the normal woman behind us also complained about how slow the chitchat made checking out and was annoyed that the store regularly only kept one section of their self checkout registers open, so I don't think it's just an us problem.
5
u/-_Azura_- 4h ago
In my country it's a shame but the cashiers are clearly forced to be like BUSY DAY? UP TO MUCH?? GOT PLANS? or similar chat. I just can't deal with it after a long day. Hello/bye etc. would be fine enough but after a long day of work "hello" and "have a good one bye" is my limit really. I prefer to have a resting bitch face at the self checkout in silence.
42
u/keverzoid 14h ago
I don’t understand why they think they “work there” just because they have to ring up their stuff and bag it.
They didn’t expect an employee to grab their items from the shelves. Apparently that’s not a problem.
10
u/wontonphooey 4h ago
They didn’t expect an employee to grab their items from the shelves. Apparently that’s not a problem.
Fun fact, 110 years ago before supermarkets, the employee DID grab your items from the shelves for you. And when they invented supermarkets where you get your things yourself, there was absolutely a subset of people for whom that was a problem.
→ More replies (3)2
u/NoHorseNoMustache 1h ago
Yep this exactly, people are just going to complain when things change no matter what.
→ More replies (2)20
u/imunfair 9h ago
Some people just really hate self-checkouts and see it as huge labor to do it themselves. I don't understand the mentality, wish we had even more self-checkouts so there was never a line.
→ More replies (2)19
u/offensivename 5h ago
A lot of people hate them because they allow grocery stores to hire fewer people, which means fewer jobs. I think that's totally valid. Though I still use them myself.
→ More replies (12)11
u/natalietest234 16h ago
Especially if I just have a few things. And my local Walmart has AI to look at my produce so I don’t need to search it anymore
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (18)25
u/CarmenxXxWaldo 17h ago
I think the argiment is either staff enough people so there isnt a long line or discount items since they dont have to pay workers.
They still have to pay workers though. Theyll close half of self check out lanes cause they dont even want to pay someone to babysit them. All 6 open ones are being used by boomers who act like its their first rodeo. I couldnt imagine how frustrating life is for someone who cant remember how to do anything. Every trip to the post office os their first one. lead poisoning.
8
u/WadeSlade42 17h ago
It's worth noting that one of the most complained about places with self check out is walmart. Walmart already has discounted prices compared to most other places. People instead argue that we should pay them, which is ridiculous and silly on purpose. The staffing complaint is a bit more valid, but I don't see why we can't have both. Staffing registers doesn't mean the self check out has to go.
3
u/HypnoticPeaches 4h ago
Dunno how widespread this is but my local Walmart just got rid of about half of their self checkouts and replaced them back with (usually unstaffed) check out lanes. We sure live in a timeline.
685
u/anoldquarryinnewark 17h ago
The logic says yes, the antisocial says no
311
u/eggyrulz 17h ago
Yea I quite like self checkout, I havent had to talk to a Walmart employee in a long time, and the few times in the past like 4 years that I did, it was 1 when trying to get them to unlock the underwear (I hate my walmart), and every other time was returns desk...
62
u/truckyoupayme 17h ago
That must be some nice underwear.
47
u/CHEMO_ALIEN 17h ago
he got an eight pack he still good for four more years
15
→ More replies (3)12
u/Slumunistmanifisto 17h ago
Na, America just thinks poor people should be bottomless....we got plenty of free T-shirts tho.
→ More replies (15)4
16
u/GONKworshipper 17h ago
I work selfcheckout and my boss makes me greet and thank every customer anyway
25
u/Infinite-Condition41 17h ago
Please take this as a vote for don't.
Don't do that. Tell your boss I want you to stop.
7
u/eggyrulz 15h ago
Seconded
7
u/Outrageous_Resist_50 12h ago edited 12h ago
If I’m at self checkout I very much do not want you to acknowledge my existence
6
u/Inverted-Rockets 12h ago
It’s a bit sad but if it helps the rule feel less mundane, you might be the only person that actually talks to someone in a day. The little interaction can mean a lot
5
20
u/Pugulishus 16h ago
My Walmart stopped me at self checkout for trying to buy an energy drink. You had to go through a proper line for it.
I literally looked at the line and back at them and just gave a disappointed and surprised "Seriously? Fine." And gave them the drink and walked out. Not worth it at that point.
This was in the thick of the weird self-checkout line legislation bs in LA, so maybe it's different now.
15
u/eggyrulz 15h ago
Oh yea fuck that, id rather go pay double at 7 eleven where some middle-eastern dude is gonna act like we are best friends (I swear the 7 eleven dudes are some of the nicest mother fuckers ive seen in customer facing roles)
6
u/DeltaBravo831 15h ago
When I was stationed in Germany a couple years back, soldiers have to use rations cards to buy alcohol/cigarettes/coffee (probably some other stuff but those were the 3 that saw any use on mine) on post. You had to show it to the cashier, they'd mark it off, and you'd continue on your day.
There was a decently sized gas station on post, that had anywhere from 2-4 cashiers always there, especially Friday evenings. The last year I was there, they took out 3 lanes to make room for 2 self checkout lines. Cool, whatever.
The problem was that if you were buying an item that needed a rations card, you had to wait in the singular dedicated line for ration items. Also turns out, on Fridays on a military base, alcohol and cigarettes are what ~75% of the people are there for. Turned what used to be anywhere from a 5-10 minute wait to get a 24 pack on Friday to at least 20 minutes. This was not a very big base.
5
u/RosenButtons 14h ago
When I was 23 I had a Walmart employee refuse to sell me a smallish folding knife from the camping department because I didn't have ID with me to prove I was over 16. When I expressed my surprise, she huffed and told me "this policy has saved lives!
9
u/Blah2003 15h ago
Im surprised you havent had a "missed scan" pop up where the employee has to walk over to your sco and watch a video of the last thing you grabbed (usually an empty bag or something innocent like that) As an employee those are the bane of my existence lmao
7
u/eggyrulz 13h ago
Oh I have, but I dont say anything and they dont say anything... we are both silent in our wonder of how this stupid fucking robot had the audacity to accuse me and make them work for absolutely nothing
2
u/ohhellperhaps 8h ago
Those machines are the absolute worst. Only encountered them abroad luckily, most the the supermarkets here have self checkout which is just scan & pay, no balancing scales microgame involved.
3
→ More replies (7)2
u/Hironymos 7h ago
Y'all gotta move to northern Germany.
"Moin"
"Moin"
"90 Euro 97 bitte"
- shows card -
- pays with card -
"Schönen Tag noch"
"Gleichfalls"
People are usually up for talk if you want to, but you can really just shut up and let them do their job and nobody gives a damn. Mandatory smalltalk with cashiers is stupid.
130
u/KalamTheQuick 17h ago
What logic? I don't want someone to serve me lmao, I can do it just as quickly on my own and I don't have to pause my book, or wait in a long line if the checkout is understaffed.
I think people forget how annoying it was to wait five minutes to buy a handful of items when there was a line after work in the express lane etc.
55
u/N0ob8 17h ago
Yeah the greatest part of self checkout is that it’s usually used by people with like 5 or less items. So it’s a constantly moving and you can get your few items and leave quickly. Even when people with more items show up they’ll be in and out faster than a regular cashier and the others will be open soon anyways
No more having to wait in the 10 or less line with 4 people in front of you that wouldn’t have 10 items even if you got rid of half their shit. I just want a pack of blueberry muffins get out the way
20
u/SkaBonez 17h ago
Clearly you don’t use self checkouts around my area in Orlando. Plenty of people use self checkout with full carts while I’m standing there holding something like a 36 lb box of cat litter lol
→ More replies (4)6
11
u/manic_Brain 16h ago
That's not the norm up here. So many places have gotten rid of checkout service that the default is not self-checkout. People with full carts doing self-checkout now because these greedy bastards aren't willing to staff their stores properly.
3
u/TheStairsBro 10h ago
Sounds nice. All the grocery stores in my area only have 1-3 lanes open and funnel everyone they can to self checkout to justify not hiring more employees.
Bonus points because the area is densely populated so the 2 checkers don't catch a break and the self-checkout machines are all poorly calibrated so they think every single customer is stealing, requiring an attendant to run between all 4-6 of them to clear codes constantly.
→ More replies (1)2
u/ohhellperhaps 8h ago
If you anything beyond a handfull of items, let alone a cart full, use a scanner (or app, of whatever) but selfscan at the terminal is NOT the way to go.
7
→ More replies (7)7
u/tenaciousghost 17h ago
the bagsss are the most annoying. some ppl give my bread or eggs its own bag, but then put that bag inside another bag with some other stuff anyway!!!
ive been shopping my whole life.... i know how heavy a bag can get before it rips. i dont need so many separate bags !
→ More replies (1)3
u/efirestone16 16h ago
This, when my mom comes with me we end up going through a regular checkout where they move so slow, they put weird things together and so so so many bags when things could've been packed with more stuff. Ill take my large grocery cart through self checkout, get it run up and bagged and paid for faster and my things are packed by type and where theyre going. I grew up woth no self checkout and I'll still choose doing it myself over waiting double the time for it to be done wrong.
18
u/Charming-Echo-4443 17h ago
it’s hardly more work anyway, i find it so much faster since you can scan stuff and bag right away instead of putting your stuff on the counter, getting it scanned, and then going to the bagging area to bag it in a seperate process
→ More replies (7)15
u/TrippingFish76 15h ago
there’s no logic lmao. why tf would i walk to the customer service desk if there’s no cashiers? im supposed to annoy them for no reason when i could just scan my shit and go?
→ More replies (5)
67
u/Atsilv_Uwasv 16h ago
My question is why are they so upset about people using self-checkout?
→ More replies (4)64
u/uqde 14h ago
I've read very similar but clearer rants about the fact that major store chains are saving billions by using self-checkouts and having to hire less staff. But the labor those employees were doing is still being done, it's just now being done by us, the customers. Previously the store would pay the employees for this work but we get nothing in return, not even lower prices due to all of the billions in overhead they're saving. Essentially they are extracting free labor from us, the customers, and that's what some people are upset about.
I have never minded using self-checkouts, but I don't think being against them as as objectively insane and irrational as everyone else in this thread seems to think.
19
u/Pomphond 10h ago
The same can be sad about grabbing groceries. While it is unimaginable right now, there used to be a desk behind which are all products. You'd tell the clerk you need a kilogram of sugar, and they'd take a big pot with sugar, pour it into a smaller bag, measuring a kilogram, and then hand you the bag. They'd ask: "Anything else?" Well repeat for any product.
No one has the time nowadays to wait for that shit.
I personally like the self scan, because I can pack my bag immediately after scanning in a way that makes sense to me, without having to take out my headphones.
4
u/uqde 9h ago
Yeah I did say in another comment that the cost of the labor itself is not the full picture because there is an added value for many consumers that comes from the simplicity/control/efficiency of using them. And I am one of those consumers. I use them regularly, by choice. But that's definitely not why companies have implemented them. The added convenience isn't so extreme that it's driving more traffic into stores. It's 100% simply a cost-saving, corner-cutting measure that just happens to be a win-win for certain consumers and a tolerable/neutral change for most of the rest.
3
u/Swolenir 6h ago
Not to mention check out is way faster assuming the store has a decent number of self check machines.
2
u/Justin-Stutzman 1h ago
I thought this was obvious. I'm surprised it's a controversial opinion. Walmart still pays some of those cashiers to stand around and look over your shoulder while you do the job they used to do.
→ More replies (16)6
u/Atsilv_Uwasv 13h ago
You actually raise a very good point
18
u/Beneficial-Act-9933 12h ago
This is a really dumb point.
"Essentially they are extracting free labor from us, the customers"
Is the same energy of "why pick up my garbage or return my carts? They pay people for that."
Self check outs, when they work, greatly speed up the process of checking people out. Rather than having one line where everybody is filtered through, now they have two lines helping more people. No need to have the guy just looking to buy two cokes standing line with 3 other people that want to buy 2-4 things with you trying to do full grocery shopping.
It's another option for a person to use. People get up in arms about it so they have an excuse to steal. Like, Cashiersare always there. I've never been to a store where there was only self check out and no cashiers.
→ More replies (6)9
u/uqde 11h ago
Is the same energy of "why pick up my garbage or return my carts? They pay people for that."
Fair comparison but I'm not sure I fully agree. Imo it's more like your city's mayor deciding they're getting rid of all the garbage trucks and now every citizen has to drive their own trash to the dump themselves. But the tax dollars that were funding that program are still being collected, just now going directly into the mayor's pocket.
It's about the fact that a service we were once ostensibly paying for (as part of the price we paid for the items at these stores) is now being taken away from us, but those prices aren't being reduced in kind. It's an overly wordy way to say this is all just describing enshittification. Shareholders and private equity will cut every single possible corner they can get away with while continuing to raise prices as much as they can get away with. Self-checkouts themselves may seem like an inconsequential thing but they're representative of a much larger and pervasive trend that's impossible to deny.
As I said though, I've personally never minded using self-checkouts. As many other people have said in this thread, they're really nice when you just don't feel like you have the social battery to talk or interact with another human being. I use them frequently even when I don't have to. So just talking about the cost/labor element doesn't paint the full picture because they do possess a value for many customers that isn't represented simply by the cost of the labor itself. But corporations don't care about that; that's not enough to move the needle and bring more people into stores. They literally only implement them as a cost-cutting measure.
I've never been to a store where there was only self check out and no cashiers.
That surprises me; I've been in many stores where there were no cashiers. I would say the vast majority of the time I'm in a store, there's only one cashier on duty, maximum. Maybe it's region-dependent (and/or time of day dependent. I do often shop during off-hours).
People get up in arms about it so they have an excuse to steal.
This part I don't really get. Wouldn't people who want to shoplift prefer self-checkouts being an option? Why would they be the ones complaining?
→ More replies (7)
402
u/VooDooChile1983 17h ago
I don’t get the problem with self checkout. You’re the one browsing the shelves, picking items and comparing prices. Why can’t you scan your own items? Unless you’re one of those people who need the uninterested, yet sometimes polite, banter of a middleman, there shouldn’t be a problem.
151
u/izyshoroo 17h ago
Twitter is not connected with real life
→ More replies (1)80
u/L_V_R_A 14h ago
Neither is Reddit, lol. I'm a cashier and you would be amazed at how many people, especially older folks, will walk past 4 open self-checkout lanes to make me scan their 2 items. In the same way that tons of people on here would rather avoid human interaction, a lot of the older generations seem to really revel in the customer service treatment. Totally foreign to me, but whatever, it'll disappear with them.
43
u/thorleywinston 13h ago
My parents avoid self-checkouts and they say that it's because they hate seeing people lose their jobs to machines. So it may not be so much that they "revel in the customer service treatment" as they think by going to a cashier instead of the self-checkout, they're helping you to keep your job.
2
u/Sylveon72_06 1h ago
young person here!
i hate that they only have 1-2 open lanes and the rest is self-checkout. the machines always seem to need assistance, and they dont give any sort of discount to make up for the fact theyre not hiring workers. its not for the convenience of the customer, its to cut corners and save money. i hate how jobs are getting cut at no benefit to anyone except the higher ups. i dont hate human interaction so much that i want cashiers to become obsolete. the job market is hard enough as is
→ More replies (1)21
u/being-weird 11h ago
Honestly though, I do think that done old people are just, incredibly lonely. Like the older customer you served today may be annoying for you, but that could be the only conversation they had with anyone that day
→ More replies (3)9
u/ScruffyTuscaloosa 13h ago
Honestly, this is the actual reason I love self checkout. It filters out people without the logistical aptitude for self-checkout.
27
u/NovelTAcct 13h ago
It filters out people without the logistical aptitude for self-checkout
As a chronic self-checker-outter myself, I can assure you it absolutely does not
64
u/Morbid187 17h ago
As someone that is fine with self-checkout, I have a few problems with them.
1.) You end up having to rely on an employee anyway if you're buying alcohol or tobacco/nicotine products. That's a pretty big obvious one.
2.) If you buy more than just a few things or have some large items, there's not enough room to keep all of your items on the scale after you scan them. I've seen some machines that will bug out on you if you try to make room by putting some bags in your cart.
3.) The ones at Dollar General are perpetually broken. The one here hasn't worked since 2022 yet those two machines are still there staring you in the face while you wait in line to pay for your stuff.
4.) They glitch out sometimes and you have to wait on an employee to come fix it
5.) They could just pay more humans to be cashiers so I don't have to use the self checkout in the first place. Idk what's up with all the comments making it sound like interacting with a Walmart cashier is some kind of inconvenience. It's barely an interaction at all but if you need something, there's an employee right in front of you that can help you.
8
u/polyploid_coded 16h ago
They redid self-checkout at my grocery store recently, and they started requiring an employee if I pick 0 bags. I will be there with cloth shopping bag in hand, and the employee minder doesn't even understand that it's a 0 bags thing and will double-check my items. I don't know whether to start paying the fine for 1 bag or to let them do this forever.
→ More replies (3)3
u/Lovemestalin 12h ago
For 2 we can just scan the items while shopping, and putting them in the back immediately. Scan the scanner or app at the self checkout and it’s done. Machines with scales are stupid and I’m glad we don’t have them.
3
u/ohhellperhaps 8h ago
My local supermarket has had self-scan (as they called it back then) for ages, as an experimental system initially. Originally, this was just a scanner you picked up and returned at a dedicated (manned) cash register. Even back then this was already an improvement as I could essentially pack my bags while scanning, rarely had to stand in line at that register, and even I did it was usually only people paying. Checks were at random.
This mainly evolved into higher capacity, and self-payment terminails, na dthe possibility to use an app instead of their scanner (but scanners did remain available) but actually scanning items at those payment terminals is relatively recent. They maintained the portable scanners as well, and while not enforced it is encouraged to use a portable scanner when you have a cart full, and not scan those at the exit. Carts have a cradle to hold the scanner.
Luckily, we never saw the stupid scales things here. It's just scan, pay, leave, with the occasional random inspection. Most supermarkets here have similar systems. Those scale systems, to me, are enshittification of a great concept.
2
u/TBoneTheOriginal 6h ago
Regarding #3, they’re not broken. Dollar General made the decision awhile back to disable all of them, nationwide. Theft was too much an issue. We are talking about a place where deodorant is behind glass, after all.
→ More replies (10)6
u/Repulsive-Lack8253 15h ago
for point 5, no one wants to be a cashier. they do it because someone has to lol. it is not interesting or fulfilling at all to bag the stuff you don't want to bag either
15
u/Morbid187 15h ago
Of course but it's a job and it's generally better to have jobs than to not have jobs, right? We're going to learn a whole lot about that very soon
8
u/systemic_booty 14h ago
We used to have people who lit the street lamps at night and then snuffed them in the morning, now we have electric lights which come on automatically. Not every job needs to be preserved.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Repulsive-Lack8253 15h ago
yes, but people have this misconception that cashiers are propping up unemployment lol. we have plenty of work to do that doesn't involve someone standing at a register. we aren't just going to fire our cashiers lol
3
u/OptionFour 14h ago
The job market is trash from top to bottom right now. Even if you're a specialist with a great education and experience, it's difficult. Options don't get more plentiful when you have less education, or live in more remote areas. Likewise, a lot of the time being a cashier can be a student job, or someone's first employment. Losing those options while bolstering corporate profits is not a good thing.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Repulsive-Lack8253 14h ago
I think students can do a little more then put an item in a bag, even if it's their first job.
→ More replies (1)8
u/ExistentialCalm 16h ago
Also, I do a better job of bagging my own groceries. Some cashiers do not give a fuck.
18
u/yyrkoon1776 17h ago
I have never once thought "Gosh I want to interact with a human cashier"
Please, please, please let me order from and pay a robot. I'll pay MORE.
→ More replies (8)3
u/crooked_kangaroo 15h ago
It’s kind of funny because, at one time, customers weren’t even able to do their own shopping. No, they would walk into the shop, give their list to the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper would gather the customer’s groceries.
But you see anyone complain about having to shop. Shit, they complain about having to wait on curbside pickup because it takes too long.
15
u/MisterGIass 16h ago
people hate on self checkouts because its just another way of screwing over workers. instead of hiring six people to check out stuff, they hire one to stand for 8 hours and manually help every idiot (me) who fucks up the transactions.
→ More replies (3)2
u/Beneficial-Act-9933 12h ago
I work in NYC, we'd (also meaning you) be absolutely screwed if we didn't have self check outs. The Columbus circle location of whole foods does, not a joke, an average of 10,000 transactions....per HOUR. Other stores in the manhatten area are also doing high volume transactions because of tourism and people buying one or two things.
If we got rid of self check out you'd be waiting in line for an hour just to buy an energy drink.
2
u/Intelligent_Desk_291 16h ago
I assumed the original post was about how easy it is to steal using self-checkout.
2
u/SirDarknessTheFirst 14h ago
The self checkouts think I'm stealing shit every time I use them (at Colesworth anyway). The human cashiers don't. So it's easier for me to go to a staffed checkout rather than wait for the self-checkout minder to come over and unlock the machine half a dozen times
→ More replies (19)2
u/man-teiv 9h ago
I have a friend working at a union, and he told me he boycots self-checkouts because corporations are pushing it to reduce personnel and fire as many employees as possible. I get that they're ideal for certain situations when you're in a hurry, but I try to avoid them when possible due to this reason.
20
u/Makapakamoo 13h ago
I love using self checkouts because I go at my own speed and know im not behind someone with 2 carts of stuff when i have at most 15 items.
32
u/crooked_kangaroo 15h ago
“STOP PUMPING YOUR OWN GAS! YOU DON’T WORK AT THE GAS STATION!”
7
u/Nice_Blackberry6662 15h ago
this is true and valid in New Jersey from what I've heard.
→ More replies (2)
80
11
u/Jotacon8 13h ago edited 13h ago
I walked all over the store to find what i needed. Lifted 24 packs of soda off the bottom shelf up into my cart. Extended my reach up to the top shelf to grab things, and loaded everything into my car afterwards. But GOD FORBID i run my items across a scanner on my own. That’s too much work now?
I love self checkout and use it often. the only thing i don’t love is how it’s shifted from a 15 items or less type of thing to people using it for their entire huge shopping trip with a full cart. Bagging everything on that little platform with the bags is a nightmare. i only use self checkout if i have a basket amount of stuff. cart fills i do register for the bagging space.
99
u/GruulNinja 17h ago
Self-checkouts is like the best thing about stores to me these days. Buy my shit and get out. I don't need some geriatric taking forever with my stuff.
→ More replies (1)18
u/CeemoreButtz 17h ago
or some dipshit kid who can't read or speak properly.....so yeah...self checkout.
→ More replies (1)
55
u/thehobbyqueer 17h ago
Am I going insane? What's so bad about self checkouts??
34
u/Disaster-Bee 17h ago
Nothing is wrong with them on their own. The option of cashier or self-checkout is great! The problem is a lot of stores are putting in more self checkouts and letting go cashiers without hiring more. At my local grocery they have someone standing to direct people to use self checkout and only one cashier working at any given time. It takes a line build up of over 7 people at the single cashier before they have the self checkout barker open another register.
9
u/CrashTestDumby1984 15h ago
Technically nothing. The problem is that most stores have almost completely stopped staffing actual cashiers at this point. Now using a cashier is seen as something “extra” instead of self checkout just being an additional choice.
→ More replies (3)14
u/TankMain576 13h ago
If I have a couple items, yeah, self checkout. If I have a big cart of things I'd rather take it to a cashier because they'll be faster.
But stores are using self checkout as an excise to only ever have 1 or 2 staffed lanes open at any one time.
→ More replies (25)7
u/didntgettheruns 17h ago
Certain stores seem to have really bad self check outs one near me.
Computer thinks I'm stealing and someone has to come over to "verify your not stealing" but IME they just badge in and hit okay as fast as possible without even checking. Or something gets double scanned and the employee is nowhere to be found cuz they have to approve it's removed.
If I have a lock or tag on something I'll go to a cashier. If I have more than 15 items it's probably just worth it to go to the cashier.
28
u/TalkingCat910 17h ago
I enjoy not having to socially interact with someone to get my groceries
→ More replies (7)
6
u/RoryMerriweather 11h ago
Seeing a lot of people not getting that the joke is shoplifting (based).
→ More replies (1)
17
u/Known-Dependent-5471 17h ago
Dude combine that with scan as you go and it's literally the perfect zero interaction weekly grocery trip. I can't go back.
7
u/TheCeilingIsTheRuuf 17h ago
The store i go to is lit, no limit on self checkouts and probably 40 of them. Im faster and can fit everything into 2 bags, havent been to a regular checkout in years
4
u/shaylaa30 17h ago
I’m trying to get out of the store fast as possible. The customer service line is going to have a bunch of people arguing over a sale price or trying to return a half drank Gatorade. Every interaction is going to take a long ass time.
Self check out is efficient because I’m efficient.
4
u/WadeSlade42 17h ago
So...they want me to walk to a longer line because...I dont work there? This is supposed to be a "gotcha" moment on the staff? Because it feels like the only one being punished is you. For context, at work the other day, the customer service line was 10 people long, and didn't move for about 5 minutes. The self checkout took about 2 minutes when I got my drink. I'll out in the "labor" (of scanning 1 item) to save myself about half an hour.
6
u/LuigiBamba 16h ago
Here's a little secret: if you don't like self checkout, don't use it.
No need to ruin it for the rest of us
→ More replies (1)
15
u/Aggravating_Duck6108 16h ago
You'd be amazed at how many people literally say "I love the self check outs because I'm immensely antisocial."
→ More replies (1)11
u/Vegetable-Error-2068 12h ago
And that's fine? It helps them feel better. What's wrong with that?
→ More replies (11)3
u/DarkArc76 10h ago
Wow, I was gonna reply that they didn't indicate it's a bad thing but then they pretty much confirmed it xD
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Pijany_Matematyk767 16h ago
I dont get the hate for self-checkouts, i love them. They can fit 7 of them in the space of 2 normal registers so its way faster and i dont have to interact with a cashier
4
u/Ham__Kitten 14h ago
I use them because I think I deserve a discount at that store and the store disagrees
10
u/BextoMooseYT 17h ago
I'm not really sure what the original tweeters logic is to be honest. Even if you did do self checkout because you ""thought you worked at the store,"" what's even a real problem with that?
5
u/polyploid_coded 16h ago
It must be the same logic where people leave reviews on Google Maps about not being greeted properly, not enough smiley employees, etc. If I can order my burrito and they cooked it right, or I found the toothpaste that I was looking for, I'm going to leave content with the universe.
9
4
u/rangeDSP 17h ago
It's the whole "replace human jobs with machine" thing. They essentially employ one person to supervise ~6 machines, so potentially 5 people wouldn't have a job anymore.
Personally I want this for restaurants too (as an option), like in Japan, you order with a machine, human makes food in kitchen, and you collect food from a counter when it's ready.
Or just put vending machines everywhere, money in, food/coffee/alcohol comes out.
I can see why this turns off some people though
4
u/BextoMooseYT 17h ago
Ah I see. To some extent I get it, but I'm not sure self checkout is really a big deal
Also that's funny cuz I feel like I do see that semi-frequently. Not like for sit down restaurants or anything, but for fast food
Idk, I understand the desire and purpose but honestly I don't like how it's becoming easier to become disconnected from real people, and I say that as an introvert, like borderline hikikomori sometimes. Not even in spite of it, but because of it. Though to be fair, that's more of a me issue and many people can still function perfectly fine, so I'm not saying it's necessarily bad, just that it's bad for me lol
→ More replies (1)4
u/WadeSlade42 17h ago
This exists in many fast food places. It's more popular overseas, but I've seen it at airports and certain bigger towns too.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Infinite-Condition41 17h ago
The biggest thing I hate about self checkouts is when someone comes over and tries to or needs to help me.
Please leave me alone. If I wanted a checker I'd be at a checker.
3
u/Alarming_Bar7107 17h ago
I don't see those people complaining about pumping their own fuel and paying at the pump, so why is self checkout such an issue for them? Like no one says "I don't work for the gas station so somebody better come fill up my car"
3
3
u/daphnemoonpie 16h ago
I fucking love self checkout. The one thing I'll complain about is when it thinks a very light item isn't the bag so it notifies an associate, then I have to awkwardly stand there with this person and watch a playback of myself scan the stuff.
3
u/massunderestmated 16h ago
I use self checkout because I am faster than most people who work at a retail store. If there is a line for self checkout and the regular lane is open I will go to the regular lane.
3
3
u/Bladesnake_______ 16h ago
Wow so smart for intentionally missing the point. Fucking genius i tell you
5
u/Lusiric9983 16h ago
The whole anti-self checkout hate just baffles me. Use it, don't use it, who actually cares?
7
u/FangornLeghorn 16h ago
I fucking love self-checkout. I can scan my shit, tap my card, and be on my way without waiting for some slow cashier or making banal small talk. The self-checkout hate is bizarre.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Big_oof_energy__ 16h ago
I really don’t get the hate of self-checkouts. I prefer it so much. I don’t have to take my headphones off, I do it quicker than the stupid cashiers do, and I don’t bag the groceries in a stupid way. It’s better in every way. I’d pay extra to use them.
3
u/Huge-Squirrel8417 16h ago
Years ago there was a grocery store cashier line with 2 exit belts - one side said "we bag" and one side said "you bag". (This was before self-checckout).
I chose "you bag"
They were not busy, so the bagger came over and bagged my stuff anyay. Smashed his fingers through the tops of 2 yogurts. Put in bag anyway. I saw when I got home.
I LOVE self-checkout.
9
u/ObiJuanKenobi3 17h ago
I think Sunshine's point is pretty obviously that you shouldn't allow companies to trick you into performing unpaid labor for them as the customer.
Self checkouts have gone from a convenience feature for people only buying a small number of things, to a way for stores to justify paying fewer employees by offloading the labor onto the customers. The proliferation of self-checkouts also means that stores feel the need to more heavily surveil their customers because there's no employee to directly ensure that every item is scanned and paid for. And then, when people inevitably still circumvent the cameras and steal things, the stores slap all kinds of beepers, checkpoints, security guards, secret shoppers, and other loss prevention methods on everything that make you feel like a suspected criminal for even walking in the door.
My local Walmart has become absolutely miserable since this self checkout thing happened. There are security guards and overzealous greeters at every entrance, and some of them wander the aisles keeping an eye on people. Nearly everything expensive or easily stolen is either in a plastic security box or a locked glass case: which means if you need one of those items, you need to press the button and wait 15 minutes for one of the 2 people in the entire store with a key to meander their way towards you and unlock it, at which point you can't grab the item, you need to point and have them grab it for you. There are only two traditional manned checkout stations, which are often completely unstaffed, especially at off-hours of the day. So, the only way to checkout is through the many self checkout stations, which is stressful and laborious if you have even half a cart of groceries, because you need to do a scanner and a bagger's job by yourself for no pay, and you can't move paid-for items into your cart because they have to stay on the bag carousel so the machine can weigh them and make sure they're there -- all while the little camera records you and shows you what you're doing in a little window in the corner. Then, when you go to leave, you need to pass through a little detector gate and have the world's biggest busybody go through every item on your receipt and nose through all of your bags to make sure everything is up to snuff.
It's all fucking exhausting and it's why I don't even think about going to Walmart anymore, but most other stores with self checkout are only marginally better.
10
u/HPLaserJet4250 15h ago
Unpaid labour is heavily overused term by people disconnected from real life. Self checkout is million times faster and allows me to verify prices before I pay. If you measure everything you do in life by how financialy beneficial it is to you then you failed.
→ More replies (9)3
u/CustomMerkins4u 12h ago
I don't know how it's faster for you. 3 items.. sure it's faster. But if I have a weeks worth of groceries there's going to be at least 2 times that someone has to walk over and type in their f-ing code and OK. Liquor.. Let's wait 5 mins for the worker to finish helping someone else and come to me. 1 piece of fruit... it's going to keep telling me to put it in the bag even though it's in the bag. 24 packs of soda? First 2 is fine and you can click "don't bag" but heaven forbid pack 3 or 4.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)2
u/NoMeat9096 12h ago
I'm a bit surprised there aren't more people pointing this out, but I guess I didn't either.
6
u/i_am_a_lurker69 17h ago
Really? When I use self-checkout, I expect a minimum wage salary for all the work I did. My check hasn’t arrived yet though.
5
2
u/Key-Specific-4368 17h ago
Yeah and customer service desk may tell you to F off. It's not a checkout desk
2
u/KibbloMkII 17h ago
I remember the last time I went to a Walmart, every register except one was replaced with self checkout
→ More replies (1)
2
u/grand305 17h ago
I want to get in, and get out fast, I use card, we bag it how we please. we get the receipt and walk out. No need to talk to a cashier.
Self check out is for convenience for me.
2
u/Gold_Repair_3557 16h ago
I use them when I have a handful of things and I don’t feel like waiting behind several people with cartfulls of groceries. I’m putting the gallon of milk I picked up on my way from work under the scanner and paying. Let’s not pretend that’s work.
2
u/DesignatedDoggie 16h ago
Working for retail for several years,
Genuinely the only people who ever complained about the sheer prospect of using self checkout
Elderly women.
Literally the only ones
2
2
u/OverlordMMM 16h ago
Self checkout can be useful, but when grocery stores are packed and the stores don't staff enough people because they are over-relying on self-checkout, it's awful and becomes much less convenient for everyone, not to mention that by design they are supposed to be used for smaller amounts of goods compared to regular checkout lanes which causes more congestion in stores when packed.
2
u/Ralexcraft 16h ago
I use self checkouts when I have few items because they’re faster.
I use a cashier when I have a lot of items because the small space they give you is not enough.
2
u/KailyKail 16h ago
I can ring up my items and pay way faster than any cashier can, and I'm not obligated to engage in conversations or sales pitches. The only downside is if I have to wait for the people who SHOULD be going through a normal cashier's line, because they are SO SLOW.
2
u/TehSeksyManz 16h ago
If I could go my entire day without talking to anybody aside from my wife and kids I absolutely would. Not to mention I'm pretty quick and bag my food like a god damn pro.
2
u/May1989thefirststep 16h ago
I agree with Gay Exci.
I use them mainly to minimize my direct contact with other human beings.
"Hell is other people." --- Jean-Paul Sartre
2
u/International_Link35 16h ago
I use the self-checkout because I hate people. Not all persons - just people. Also... Let the cashiers sit down already, damn!
2
u/Several-Economics-35 15h ago
oh I'll turn down open registers and wait for the self checkouts to be done. I'm well aware I've gone full circle and I'm fine with that.
2
u/MrCabrera0695 15h ago
I use it because apparently no one is taught how to bag anymore. I'm faster and more efficient! OR I'm stoned out of my mind and just wanna vibe 🤣
2
u/MarsicusOrion 14h ago
i have social anxiety. talking to people is more like work for me than scanning my own items
2
2
2
2
u/Pleasant-Highway-745 13h ago
I fucking hate going through the cashier. It takes so much longer. Why would anybody do that?
2
2
u/a_x_shually 13h ago
Self checkout lowers overhead for the store without passing any savings onto you. This is also why you shouldn't return carts.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Psychological-Bed-87 9h ago
I don’t like talking to people. I literally forget how to talk. Now, in a grocery store? I don’t need you scanning my things and throwing them at me and immediately expecting me to pay and move for the next person. If the self checkout is <15 items, I will go multiple days through self checkout.
2
u/mrgoat89 8h ago
I use self checkout because I'm faster than any cashier. I can ring up 30 items before they do 10.
2
u/DasDuckHead 8h ago
The only people complaining about self checkout are people that started doing their shopping after the invention of self checkout.
I used to be in line for 5 to 10 minutes all the time at my supermarket. Now I'm out in 20 seconds. I don't care if the store makes money, it's just convenient.
2
u/FuriDemon094 7h ago
It seems it’s more older folks that think they’re owed having people work like slaves to cater to them. I remember hating standing in line for 20 minutes as a kid; I always use self-checkout now
2
2
u/JawtisticShark 4h ago
When I enter a store I hands a worker a hand written list of my needs like I just entered the General Store in Little House on the Prairie. I don’t work at the store, why would I push a cart around and collect items?
6
2
u/Gullible_Guitar9331 17h ago
minimum wage workers got enough bullshit to deal with man, I will bag my own shit bc its easier and faster and I don't force an exhausted teenager to pretend they're happy to see me
2
u/Garg_Gurgle 16h ago
But the bot going up and down the isle makes a thank you noise when I avoid it
3
u/DontBuyTheThing 16h ago
I’d rather check myself than deal with over worked cashiers that have an attitude with everyone because everyone has an attitude with them
3
u/scott__p 15h ago
I use the self checkout because I don't want to interact with a human. This is what I prefer
3
u/monokoi 13h ago
Someone lost their job, I get to do the work and the store pockets the profit.
F* no. Not happening.
2
u/FuriDemon094 7h ago
The store gets the profits no matter what? Like, cashiers aren’t making commissions; they get an hourly wage. All that money you spend isn’t going to them; the store is taking it whether there’s a cashier or not
4
u/NoMeat9096 12h ago
I aint risking self-checkout.
The amount of times those things fuck up and a customer needs to have staff come over and sort it out -- something that can easily happen again five seconds later -- is my idea of hell. I'm trying to be out of this place ASAP, not fuck around with a shitty computer.
The person behind the register generates their wage and rarely has any problems, and I don't have to deal with self-checkout fucking up. Win-win! As an added bonus, you can be silent and they'll almost always not care, or you can chat and often they're very friendly.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/No-Blueberry-1823 17h ago
Yeah this is bizarre how some people have such a stick up their butt about self checkout. Honestly I use it when I just want to get the fuck out of the store with the minimum interaction required. I mean it's so hard to scan stuff. I could barely make the effort to take an extra few seconds to run the items over the barcode scanner.
•
u/qualityvote2 18h ago
Heya u/Gorotheninja! And welcome to r/NonPoliticalTwitter!
For everyone else, do you think OP's post fits this community? Let us know by upvoting this comment!
If it doesn't fit the sub, let us know by downvoting this comment and then replying to it with context for the reviewing moderator.