self check outs in supermarkets

[Yellow Fang]

Does anyone else hate those self checkout stations they've installed at some supermarkets

They moan about your bags, complain when you try and put your stuff in them, and won't sell you alcohol. I lost my rag and threw a French stick last time I tried to use one. I'm seriously contemplating changing my supermarket.

 

[AndyCarolan]

I shop online... its one more thing off my sh1t list

 

[Bromptonaut]

Unexpected item in the bagging area!!

Still better than the queue for the attended tills though.

 

[marzjennings]

I get the warning "unknown item in bagging area" every time I put my rucksack down in the bagging area and I get a frown from the person who has to reset my now flashing red light.

But if I put the rucksack on the floor, I have to click "skip bagging" everytime I don't put something I've checked out in the official bagging area.

Yea, I'm not a fan, but often they're still quicker than queuing up at a normal checkout.

 

[postman]

Used one for the first time i Sains' bought a bar of choc £1-11p.

Put £1-51p in expecting 40p change ,well you would .no gave me 39p.

Not worth the hassle explaining to the staff .

 

[Telemark]

one less local job that will be paid for by the supermarket - more money in the pockets of some bigwigs somewhere else ...

T

 

[bobg]

Does anyone else hate those self checkout stations they've installed at some supermarkets

They moan about your bags, complain when you try and put your stuff in them, and won't sell you alcohol. I lost my rag and threw a French stick last time I tried to use one. I'm seriously contemplating changing my supermarket.

Dreadful things, I've been moaning to Mrs BG about them only today when I was almost manhandled towards one by an aggressive orange woman in Tesco's.
I can't help mulling over this "progress" and remembering a time when I would wander into our local shop, read out my list while the nice man behind the counter put all my goods in a box and give it to a lad who would deliver it on his "butchers " bike at a convenient time. If there was anything he didn't have, he'd "pop it round later". Mind you, I'm going back to when bread and cakes were brought to the door in a basket by a jolly baker and you could pick what you wanted, and the milkmans horse would eat our privet hedge while we collected his droppings for the roses........

 

[SavageHoutkop]

I avoid supermarkets generally, but when I do venture indoors I always seem to manage 'unexpected item in bagging area'. Grrr.

I didn't know you could 'skip bagging', I'll look out for that. Normally I only have one thing anyway. There should be a 'shut up, I know all your words' option at the start for experienced users!

 

[zimzum42]

Everything seems to go to shoot when i use these things and the person supervising has to spend as much time with me as they would have at a regular checkout.

Still, it's quite fun scanning the barcodes and stuff, and since I normally do my supermarket shopping at about 2am, it's not too much fuss

 

[vernon]

When my local Asda first introduced the self service checkouts I put a whole trolley load of groceries through. It attracted a lot of attention and a small crowd gathered to witness my grand folly. Completion of the transaction was rewarded by a round of applause.

Before Safeways disappeared they introduced a self checking system that allowed shoppers to scan the goods as they placed them in the trolley and the checkouts took the money that was indicated on the scanners. To discourage dishonesty self service shoppers were randomly picked for a full scan at the checkouts.

I never got to try the system but it sounds superior to the current self service tills.

 

[zimzum42]

When my local Asda first introduced the self service checkouts I put a whole trolley load of groceries through. It attracted a lot of attention and a small crowd gathered to witness my grand folly. Completion of the transaction was rewarded by a round of applause.

Before Safeways disappeared they introduced a self checking system that allowed shoppers to scan the goods as they placed them in the trolley and the checkouts took the money that was indicated on the scanners. To discourage dishonesty self service shoppers were randomly picked for a full scan at the checkouts.

I never got to try the system but it sounds superior to the current self service tills.

The Waitrose near me does that, you have to register with them, so maybe that process weeds out the dishonest, I don't know

 

[vernon]

The Waitrose near me does that, you have to register with them, so maybe that process weeds out the dishonest, I don't know

Ooohhhh....

There's a Waitrose being built just down the road from my house. I might get to realise my dream.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Does anyone else hate those self checkout stations they've installed at some supermarkets

They moan about your bags, complain when you try and put your stuff in them, and won't sell you alcohol. I lost my rag and threw a French stick last time I tried to use one. I'm seriously contemplating changing my supermarket.

You beat me to it Yellow Fang, have been mulling-over starting a similar thread.

I don't want 'Self-Service' it's a modern day Euphamism for telling us that companies can't be arsed or don't wish to pay people to help their customers.

The one I really rail against and came close to going ballistic with a staff member with the other day is Lufthansa's self-service check-ins for flights. I'm very happy to get in a queue and talk to a nice lady about where I'm going, where I want to sit on the plane and has she put my points on? But no....
At Dusseldorf (and many others) with Lufthansa you HAVE to use the blessed machines. But... they never accept my info, so you have to then go to the guardian of the check-in and tell her that the machine won't accept my detaiils, it NEVER accepts my details and may I check-in in the traditional way?
No.
You have to see her colleague at the machine who will show you how to do it So I wait for him to become available...
And guess what? He can't do it either, he tries twice, I tell him I can never make it work either (I do this every other week), he gives me a special red card and the guardian bitch grudgingly lets me through to the regular check-ins... The woman at the check-in then tells me that she's not really allowed to check me in. I tell her that she'd better find me a way to get home then ... and so she tries to report me for being abusive...

I give-up really, we're destined to a life where we just interact with machines to get stuff done. Machines with no character or soul, no ability to perform any other function than to do its job, no humour, no smile, no warmth... none of those things that make life worthwhile.

Self-service? Fcuk-em, it's no bloody service to us at all, just a service to commerce.

 

[taxing]

I put all my more expensive loose veg through as something cheaper. I think of it as my fee for becoming a temporary checkout operator.

 

[hackbike 666]

Never use them...im old skool.Up da shirkers.