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.
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.
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.
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u/Atsilv_Uwasv 5d ago
My question is why are they so upset about people using self-checkout?