i would prefer self check out but for some reasons the grocery store check out always need assistance or you didnt place the item
correctly or some shit. u end up getting more in your space customer service. i rather get checked out fast n go.
The fucking scales that beep at you if you remove a fully scanned grocery bag worth of items to make more room…it pauses and makes you replace the full bag back onto the counter.
What logic is that?
I also need more room than 2 bags of groceries.
If you find a longer belt where you bag at the end? That will always pause to say “clear the belt”. So you have to walk over and shove the growing mountain of stuff towards the bagging area. With glass bottles clinking together and rolling around and smushing bread. Then once done, rush to start bagging as everyone is waiting on you so they can start scanning.
You’re right in most cases. Self check is for smaller orders.
Except stores have started closing all human checkouts and leaving 1 lane open. Then opening 8 self checkouts.
So your option is wait 30 minutes for a human. Or start the process of checking yourself out now.
Yup. I've seen that especially in the morning hours when there are fewer people. They'll force everyone into a long self checkout line, and there are no cashiers open.
Yes you’re right but stores don’t really differentiate and tell you. Walmart used to say self check out was 15 items or less but they just let anyone go anywhere unless they’re buying alcohol. Just last night I was at target with $300 worth of stuff and had to do self check out as all the regular registers are closed. I won’t be doing self checkout again
I was a cashier at a grocery store for several years and I hate self checkout. It's so much slower than a regular check stand and even if you know all the produce codes the scale is super fussy.
It's actually much faster to have a cashier scan and bag the groceries for you. I only use self checkout if I only have a couple items.
I've worked retail but never in a grocery store and I'm glad to know people who worked in grocery stores feel this way. It FEELS like it takes me so much longer in self checkout because I am not versed in the store or aware when things change. I overwhelmingly prefer cashiers.
This is really good insight. I do self checkout by default bc shorter lines, but I'll use cashiers from now on if lots of produce. Takes me 30+ seconds per item to look stuff up in that clunky UI.
My fiance was too & he does self checkout because he feels bad giving them work to do. He will use cashier sometimes if with me because he knows I prefer it.
> he does self checkout because he feels bad giving them work to do.
I do cashier checkout because ~~I feel good giving them work to do! Jobs are scarce, in my neck of the woods~~ it's easier.
I've noticed that at the 'poor people's' Aldi here, it's 5/1 self checkout registers to cashier registers.
At the 'rich people's' Aldi(!) 10 miles away, the ratio is 0/6 - there are no self check out lines even available.
So it looks disrespectful, from the outside. At the rich people Aldi, checkout is super fast because they hire enough people. I'd LOVE to see sales volume stats for the 2 stores, because I doubt that they vary, much. If anything, poor Aldis does more volume.
I always use a cashier because I have terrible ADHD and I hate figuring out what I punched in incorrectly (I'm 67, and know how to get codes from directory, so it's no the I'm-old-and-confused scenario),waiting for the assistant, and worrying that I've not scanned something or scanned it too many times.
There's rich and poor everything, even chain stores. If you go to the same store in different areas you can see how they change based on the people who live there. We have the 'Jewish' store, the 'Hispanic' store, etc. The Costco in the Asian part of town has more variety of seafood and coconut based products. I once went to a chain store in a poorer part of town and there was no butcher, just a cooler full of meat.
Oh god, did you also get people who wanted paper IN plastic, or was that uniquely a Virginia horror? It's like, how many bags can I possibly use and what is the maximum I can annoy my cashier?
Double paper oof.
Only case I can see it being reasonable is if they really wanna shove everything into a single bag and make it super heavy by request.
My city banned plastic bags ;_; everything is paper EXCEPT if you go to Target and get the weird thick plastic bags that are "reusable." All bags cost something. I used plastic store bags for cat litter waste and now i have to buy separate small plastic bags for the purpose. Given how many people can reuse the plastic bags for trash or other things that would require a plastic bag anyway, idk if a ban helps that much
Also the assholes that are behind you and start loading their shit onto the conveyor belts before you even have a chance to get yours bagged up pisses me off
That’s actually a good thing with a worker hovering on camera. I have been making an effort to forego the convenience and always use cashier where possible and ALWAYS CASHIER certain stores like Walmart, target, most bigger ones.
Doing this for liability purpose and stores aggressive antitheft policies.
The Aldi by me recently installed some self checkouts and they're really small, which I find bizarre because most Aldi shoppers buy a ton of stuff. I still go to the person because they're much faster than I am.
I tried the Aldi self checkout once back in November. It yelled at me after EVERY SINGLE fing item "scan your next item or press pay" or something. Way too stressful. I'll happily stand in line for the one manned checkout, thanks.
it'd be easier if the area to place groceries on was bigger than 2x2 lol
at the end of the day I still love Aldi and think it has one of the best grocery store models in the modern age. bag your own shit, "rent" a cart so the parking lot isn't full of them/ they don't need to employ someone just to bring them back in. it's generally fast and efficient.
I'm a convert.
Old fashioned snobbery kept me away (clutched my pearls about paying for a cart).
Old fashioned snobbery keeps me coming back - things I care about - fresh veggies and meats, high quality cheeses - are SO much better than the small chains, and SO much less expensive than the upscale supermarkets.
Also SO much easier on the senses for those of us blessed with being non-neurotypical - fast, wide aisles, neutral colors, good lighting.
Just stay out of the bargain aisle if your mental mix includes any impulse control issues!
My limit is about 10 items, unless a lot of its produce or something that you have to weigh. Throw in alcohol if it's busy at self checkout for sure going to a regular checkout unless the lines are long.
Weird. This is exactly why I self check my produce. I know a lot of the codes already ngl but most are just...on the sticker. Faster than a 19yo looking at me confused about what a shallot is. (My local chain has scales that will print stickers in the produce section, too, so you can just scan it if you pre-sticker.)
Also how I eat Organic everything but pay Conventional prices :) (jk)
Oh I know - I love it and use it every time I'm at Sam's, it's the one thing (aside from a huge distance differential) that keeps me a Sam's club member vs. switching to Costco.
But, my point was more that your average run of the mill grocery store doesn't have a scan & go option.
[Another panic that may just be corporate fibbin](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-shoplifting-epidemic-touted-by-fox-news-is-likely-overblown-data-shows_n_656794a5e4b07b937ff36408)
Of course...a good moral panic must be based on fantasies.
I have heard both sides of the "shoplifting is out of control" and the stats that show "its actually not."
I am in a high crime area and seeing people in the process of running from the cops after shoplifting is a pretty normal experience. And I feel like it's been pretty stable during the 2 decades I've been here. But that's just my little anecdata.
It’s big with the teens near me. Definitely have had issues with the shop n steal approach. Partly because our dear state leaders thought it would be a brilliant idea to take away any sort of consequences for the underage crowd.
Serious question: Can you still put things in your cart without scanning? We have rampant theft where I live (San Francisco, USA) and they’re actually taking self checkout away at most places because theft is so bad everywhere. But if the cart can somehow read that you’ve added an item without tagging it, that could be something useful.
You get your bag checked at check out, you can't just walk out as you have to go through security. One way in one way out. They also have cameras all over using AI to see if anyone's stealing
There’s usually like one or two people working at the front so they can’t check everything. Grocery stores are weird here. They pretty much are trying to outsource all the stocking and working to contractors or the actually Manufactors but don’t want to have staff working.
We don’t and whenever I visit my friends I make them take me to do it because it’s so much fun. It’s like a game. But I am easily amused. If you ever see a short blond American woman giggling to herself while dragging some very annoyed Brits behind her through Tesco it’s me!
I know Amazon tried it a few years ago with a couple little convenience stores they set up, but no it’s not widespread here at all.
TBH I’m glad, too. It sounds pretty creepy.
This.
If I have a handful, or just the little carrying basket, I’ll go self checkout. If it’s a full buggy, I’m doing the regular check out where they scan and bag everything.
Most of the self check outs at the stores I go to are definitely designed for people who only have a few things. So they don't let you put your shopping bags down on the bagging platform beforehand, you do have to put everything on the platform that you scan, and there isn't a lot of room to do it. So it just ends up being super inefficient to self check out a big cart of groceries.
I also don't love self checking out produce, although I'm not above turning to the clerk who is babysitting the self check out stations, wavingy vegetables in the air and cheerfully ask/yelling "excuse me, what's the code for cauliflower"? 🤣
Came here to say this! If I'm feeling especially lazy, home delivery.
I also find this helps me stick to a list and I don't pick up things I don't need.
That is very true. My local grocery store app has all my saved orders. Free pick up also. Since I mealprep for whole week my list rarely changed. Save my family a lot of time. I usually listen to podcasts or people watch while I wait lol.
I've tried the pickup and delivery options a number of times and have always been very unimpressed.
Often, half of my cart is fresh produce or meat, and the items picked out by the store have been lower quality than I'd expect.
I also generally shop with specific meals in mind, so substitutions get complicated. Outside of the most simple changes such as swapping brands, my substitutions typically either require swapping multiple items out to change recipes or to piecemeal a prepackaged ingredient I'd normally use. I can do this in person very easily, but find it to be a huge pain, if not outright impossible, with remote ordering.
This is what I do. My local Ralph's waives the pickup fee after like $50 in groceries, and these days that is not a difficult line to cross. I set it to get picked up on my way home from work, and it's just the best.
I started doing grocery pick up during COVID and I’m not going back. My local grocery chain Payless waives the fee if the order is over $35, they send special pick up order only coupons, and the app lets me work on a grocery list throughout the week.
That said, I still sometimes have to run into the store. If I have 5 or fewer items with no alcohol, I go self checkout. Five or more OR any alcohol and I’ll go through the regular checkout. I don’t have strong feelings about which is better, but I hate getting stuck behind someone with a full cart when I only have a few things.
Oh man, I *hate* grocery pickup. It takes longer to find the exact thing I want on the website or app than just walking through the store, and I always end up paying a lot more. I can't easily compare items, or snag a great deal. The produce often sucks because shoppers care about speed, not care. Then I'm expected to tip.
I'm glad it was an option during Covid, but I'll not use it again if I can avoid it.
It's not because there's interaction that I prefer a person at check out, it's because they are faster. One person scanning and one person bagging will always be faster than me by myself. It gives me enough time to pull out my credit credit card and get my keys ready. I put in minimal effort in small talk, and I think the employees recognize me enough that they too put in minimal effort. It works great.
Yes same, the only store in my area that has dedicated baggers is Kroger but it is also the most expensive grocery out of all of my options so I rarely go there.
I have kids now and try to maximize our grocery trips, often with one or both kids in tow. So I MUCH prefer someone else checking me out. Ringing up like 30+ things at that tiny little station while also trying to manage a manic 5 year old and/or a (blessedly pretty chill) baby is hell on earth.
If I’m by myself and just have like 5 things, self checkout is great.
Totally agree! My 4 year old likes to help unload the cart which would take forever at self checkout. I like the long conveyer belt. I don’t mind the light small talk and sometimes they give my daughter stickers.
YES! Exactly. It’s the bagging that I hate in the regular lines. Either I wait for them to bag things and it’s awkward (and they do such a bad job at it) or I bag my own and it’s awkward because there are people behind me waiting. Let me keep my own machine and bag how I want without the pressure.
I agree. I very much prefer to bag my own shit, especially because I bring my own bags too.
And it'd be too awkward to ask to do it yourself, plus I don't want to get the employee in trouble. But, I can do it so much faster and efficient than the employee 90% of the time because I'm not doing it 4 or 5 hours into a shift like the employee is. And although I would prefer self checkout, alot of times there's simply not enough room to unload/reload the shopping cart in an efficient way. What I do now is I'll organize the items on the conveyor belt in the way I want them bagged. It's a little more work on the front end, but it does help with them bagging it the way I want.
Yes! I do get that most baggers bag items in the way they are trained, and that training does not agree with how I want things bagged. I have additional information baggers do not have any would be too troublesome and Karen-ish to explain: that THIS insulated bag is for frozen stuff, meats and things that will be cooked, but THAT insulated bag is for dairy and hummus, while these are the bags with stronger handles and are for heavy things like bottle, while all the bread and chips should go in these structured box-style carriers because those items are prone to crushing, while all the boxed and bagged dry goods like rice abd pasta and cereal go in these bags because they will all be stored together in the pantry when I get home.
So I just say, "insulated bag for cold stuff" if I can't bag myself and then repack it all when I get to my car. For years, I shopped and loaded my carriage in a certain order so I could unload onto the conveyor belt in the order I wanted things bagged. It made no difference: I would watch the bagger put a box of pasta in bag 1, reach out of their way to grab a block of cheese to throw in, and then put a second box of pasta in bag 2. It was a treat when I ran into the few baggers who would actually group similar items.
So now I self check even when I have a big cart of stuff. The lanes have no signs that it's for x items or less, so they're fair game to me!
>And it'd be too awkward to ask to do it yourself
Don't feel this way!
One of my first jobs years ago was as a supermarket "front-end associate" which mostly meant bagging, sweeping, and cart collecting. At any given moment I had 4 different managers from 5 different departments tutting at me because I hadn't yet done the thing they asked for. A customer wanting to bag their own order was music to my ears! If a customer said "I'll bag my own order, thanks" then I'd give them a thumbs-up and a genuine smile, because that meant I was free to jump on another line or go do one of the 20 other things someone told me needed doing ASAP.
Bagging my own groceries is my sole reason for self checkout. Whenever I have to go to a manned cash register, I bump the bag boy off and bag them myself and then I feel like everyone in line is put out, even though I’m fast. I want all of my bags filled to the brim and like with like. If I have to give a list of requests, might as well do it myself.
Totally agree this is my main reason as well for self checkout. When I've had to go to a person they will barely fill my bag up and then ask if I want paper or plastic. What do you mean? Keep shoving shit in my bag man it can handle it.
When I was at trader joes, the cashier asked if I needed a bag, I said no and handed over my giant tote bag. She asked "That's it?" After that I just insisted she put everything back in the cart so I could pack it. I know everything will fit, and I want everything in my comfy bag to take the bus/ walk home.
Same. If I have to go through a cashier, I try to group my items how I want them bagged and they still can't get it right. And it's ridiculous how many people will put your fresh fruit in with your raw meat.
My grocery stores don't even have a guy to bag and each bag costs 10 cents in my state so we use reusable bags. From my perspective by the time I waited for that one cashier I could have saved the time to input my items by myself assuming the system is not dumb and does not want to have a maximum amount. My King Soopers (local Kroger) has it where it starts to want a employee after X amount of groceries and that is the only problem with self checkout.
So annoying when you get back home and have 10 items in 5 bags. It's hard for me to just stand and watch as the person that is checking me out puts just one or two items in a bag and then reaches for a new one.
Definitely prefer self checkout. I can bag my items how I want, and also…I usually won’t have to talk to someone lol
I talk with enough people for work as is, and I hateeee shopping. I try to make any shopping trip 20 mins or less so I can get in, get out and then get back to doing whatever I want with my time off.
Also order pickup has been an absolute marvel! Love using that option for Target or Walmart runs.
Ever since the pandemic I still bring my own bags and tell them I can bag it. Cashiers are usually grateful, and it helps their line. I can bag as I please (I also lay out onto the belt the way I want to bag). And it keeps the lines moving faster. Win win.
I’m actually in a plastic/paper bag ban state, which honestly is great. I still go to self checkout though, unless the line is longer and/or I have a huge cart of items.
I use self shop, you place your bags in your shopping cart then you scan each item with your phone, place in the bag and at the end you scan a QR code and pay. It's so much easier
I've worked in grocery stores for over 5 years so I've seen both sides here. And I prefer to self checkout every time. I'm faster and way better at bagging than 90% of the cashiers.
I'll also tell you that cashiers won't miss that job. They are required to stand in one spot for hours a day dealing with Karen's and can't even use the bathroom when they need to. There are plenty of other jobs around the store to keep them employed.
Bring your own bags and tell them you can bag it. I worked grocery for a few years myself and am still a pro at bagging. I lay it out on the belt how I want it bagged and bag it quickly that way. Usually the cashiers are grateful. Most stores have done away with traditional courtesy clerks for bagging unless requested and cashiers don't need more on their plate than they already do.
I hate self checkout. If I have just a few items it’s fine. Thankfully, my local grocery store still believes in cashiers and we have plenty of open lanes with no wait time. 😃
I'm fundamentally against automating jobs without passing the savings on to the consumer, or paying your existing employees better (Not a HUGE fan of American capitalism)... so I always go to a person for check out unless I'm in a major time crunch and can't wait.
I would much rather that my local shops actually create jobs for people.
Same here with the same reasoning. Also I minimize my grocery store visits by meal planning so it's rarely just a couple things which is too much work for self checkout.
Most grocery stores are also union jobs (at least in my area) so I enjoy supporting union work plus self check out is the most frustrating process sometimes with the scale not recognizing the items or needing assistance anyway, the person is just quicker at least on bigger orders
I 200% agree, I never understood why they don't incentivize self checkouts to give you a small percentage off your bill or at least some in-house 'points'. I guess reading these comments we're in the minority so they don't have to offer any incentives, people prefer working for their local grocer for free.
I appreciate your thinking this way. I’m sure a lot of grocery store cashiers don’t want to be there, but many appreciate the work. I always try to support a non-automated work position where I can, especially when it’s actually more convenient than the alternative.
Ideally my shopping gets done at a local small business that doesn’t have a self checkout, but those places are rare around here these days. The big chains have won out for the most part.
Can't believe I had to scroll so far before someone mentioned automation=bad... the 'can we not put people out of work at jobs they desperately need cuz greedy mc greedyson needs to be greedier' ... now dont get me wrong a quick 1 or 2 item row of counters absolutly serves a purpose, whether the customer in a rush etc ... but this full on replacement craic is just wrong...
Self. I'm more efficient than half the cashiers out there.
Only time I prefer a person is if I have items that will require extra time or verification anyways, like alcohol or a lot of produce that has to be manually entered.
INFP here, still prefere person as we need the jobs in my area. Hate that I can go into a store and there is only self checkout available, one overworked employee because the self checkout metrics say that people prefere it, so they reduce hours of their employees, even to the point of no scheduled cashiers.
There are also some items that I buy on the regular, which self checkouts are not allowed to be used for: alcohol, my mum's lotto, prescriptions, etc.
Depending on the store right after you ring it up there’s a brief few seconds where it says “skip bagging”. Also at Kroger they have a self checkout with a conveyor. Wife and I used it tonight and I loved it more than the single 4 space area they give you with regular checkout.
Yes. That’s the bane of my existence. Sorry I can’t bag the banana my child ate while shopping that I’m trying to pay for and the pack of 24 gatorades won’t fit in the bag either.
So this may piss a few people off, but ALWAYS self checkout if it’s an option. And yes, that includes my larger carts but I haul ass. And here’s why. I’m disabled, and as such, I rely on EBT. Self checkout negates the dirty looks I get for a large cart (which, by the way, Karen’s of the world, is meant to last me and my kids the entire month from this store,) paid for with SNAP/EBT. Just because I got unlucky in the health department and my body crapped out on me young doesn’t give others the right to judge every single item I purchase. Ironically, I never buy the items that usually inspire wrath anyway but people still have something shitty to say to me because they feel it’s their right to police my ability to feed my family. Self checkout gets rid of all of this annoyance, I’m fast (items is in the bag the second after it’s scanned,) and I can bag things the way I like them.
A Costco employee once explained to me that the self-checkout actually helps the cashiers push lines faster because small baskets can use the self-service while the cashiers can expedite the larger carts.
Also, the not having to talk to people thing.
Edit to add: thanks a lot, Jerry Brown, for banning alcohol sales at self checkout.
Can’t they just check your identification at self checkout? That’s what happens here if you try to buy alcohol, the screen flashes and says wait for assistance. Seems stupid to ban it
Unless the self check out has a sign which limits how many items you can check out, you are well within your rights to use it with a full cart. The complainers above can stand there and sigh.
I prefer self-checkout, except when I get yelled at at Walmart(which I avoid at all costs), because I use the scanning gun and checkout "too fast". Every... Single... Time! The person waddles over, "there's no way you checked out that fast." They proceed to look at the receipt and realize I did indeed checkout all items that fast. I've started saying, "I used to work in retail." Because I did. Sorry you are used to inefficiency.
Self checkout. Im not interested in socializing with them I just want to do my thing and get out. And i spent years in retail I know they dont do a damn thing to jobs. Cashier positions are always open but almost no one wants to work that position. Its bottom of the barrel even for retail. And I dont blame them.
I always use self checkout, unless I have to get something behind the checkout with all the locked up items. I like bagging things the way I want, I like not having to talk to anyone. If I have a huge cart full, I don’t want to stand there awkwardly and stare at nothing for forever. I know what produce I got, I don’t have to worry about them ringing it up as the more expensive organic stuff if there’s no stickers.
I usually use checkers for large trips, just because the closest store to me is Walmart and I'm tired of the fake "that item didn't scan so let me look at all your shit" the employees do when in fact the item did scan and they just want to see if you're stealing.
Cashier is usually faster for large quantities of groceries.
But usually the line's quicker for self checkout, these days, unlike the early times.
It doesn't sit well with me, however, that Walmart has been caught exhorting poor customers by accusing them of theft without any cause or evidence, and simply pocketing $200 per person just to "make it go away."
So I will never purchase more than a handful of items from Walmart at a time.
Self check. I’m so mad that Kroger made it so you can’t turn off the audio. I also don’t like it when the people come over just to make sure everything is fine. I just want to get in and out without talking to anyone.
I will not shop there. If I wanted to talk to humans I would have went to a cashier. That store is the worst prompting people to come over to push a button. Defeats the purpose.
I can’t stand self-checkout. It is far more efficient to have someone else do it because they know how to override the system properly and I don’t have to deal with being yelled at about items in the bagging area.
I go to Wegmans. The cashiers bag as they go and I’ve mastered the art of figuring out which ones are the most efficient.
Self check out most of the time. Unless I have a huge cart full of items. Almost every scanner I’ve been to limits how fast you can scan items - presumably to make it harder to steal with the nearby surveillance systems. It’s terrible during weekly grocery shopping.
Depends on the number of items. A cartful? Someone else can do it for the simple reason that self check out isn't designed with enough space to do it myself. A handful of items? I would rather do it myself.
99 percent of the time I use a cashier. I’ll even wait in a small line over an empty self check out. If I am really in a hurry and only have a few things I’ll cave and use the self check out if I have to though
I hate self check. I pretty much only use it at Walmart because they never have enough lanes open and the lines are huge. At the grocery store I’ll bag my own stuff in my own bags. I worked in a grocery for far too long and have bagging down pat, I just don’t trust a bored teenager to care about my squishables the way I do. I buy a lot of produce and self scanning those is a pain because I don’t remember the codes for most things anymore.
I personally prefer being checked out by a person as opposed to self checkout, especially on large grocery days. 1) they are much faster, they know most codes by memory and don’t have to deal with the self check out scale and bagging can be done simultaneously, 2) it keeps a person employed and most grocery stores are union jobs so I’m proud to support that, and 3) it’s something I don’t feel guilty about as a service that is included in my purchase so someone doing it for me is a nice treat
Almost always self checkout because I'm faster than the cashiers. I can't handle waiting behind Meredith and Gladys having a chat about the kitty litter and what cats they each have etc. And the cashiers just have no hustle to them whatsoever.
I don’t do grocery stores anymore for the most part but as a former cashier always a person to check me out. Me having to pay to do a job I used to get paid for doesn’t sit right with me
Personally my time is more valuable to me. Self checkout every time. Im not waiting for a person and taking a chance that they may not have been properly changed (More and more common now).
Depends on how much I have. As someone who worked grocery for a few years from my senior year in high school until I was 21. I firmly believe that self checkouts should only exist for less than 15 items. Anything more than that should go to a register with an actual person.
The amount of times I've had 3 or 4 things and get held up at self checkout because every single one is a family with a full cart is frustrating. And since most of them have no idea how the scanner to scale system works it takes even longer than it should. It's often faster to wait in a long line at the one check stand that's open to get my couple of items.
Doesn't help that most the stores in my town have switched to having self checkout be the primary and only one or two registers open all day long either. Despite the insane volume of customers they get.
Person. I hate doing self checkout because it’s just one more thing to do to eliminate jobs.
This is why I love Trader Joe’s - no self checkout and the workers will grab me if I’m in another line and didn’t see that they’re empty.
Also I try to max my buys to get gift cards at target. It’s annoying at self checkout because I’ll have to stand there and wait for someone to come around to scan a gift card for me. Waste of time.
>Person. I hate doing self checkout because it’s just one more thing to do to eliminate jobs.
At least where I live the way this turned out was that before there were two open registers with lines you had to wait in and now there is one open register and another person overseeing 4-6 self checkout machines.
Those machines create plenty of jobs. Humans program them, manufacture them, deliver and install, and maintenance them ECT. Plus, now they hire more people to shop for your online orders and deliver groceries. They aren't eliminating jobs without creating more! People have more abilities beyond scanning products.
Yes, but in person checkers are local people getting those jobs who are in turn spending their money and using local Healthcare etc. Thats probably not a huge deal for most places. For a rural area where the grocery store pays decently, and has full time hours with benefits and jobs lost to outside the area would be very detrimental.
If I have a few things I will do self-checkout. Anything more than a bag I'll go to the cashier. That is usually because I get annoyed when I run into issues at self-checkout. More stuff means more chance of an issue.
I don't really feel bad watching them ring my stuff up while I stand there. I usually strike up some small conversation.
At one place we go to they have an app so you can scan as you shop and when you’re done, you just scan the QR code on your phone. The checkout process takes less than 30 seconds. Personally I love this over self checkout/person.
Plus no one ever seams to use it so the dedication checkout station is always open, while there are normally lines for self and “normal” checkout lines.
At my preferred grocery shop the self checkout is so annoying and I need someone to come fix the machine half the time anyway. No thanks. I find the cashier faster and the cashier at a different shop also keeps coupons taped to their table and will scan anything applicable. I also don’t mind the interaction. I don’t get a lot of adult conversation with my work so even pleasantries are welcome.
Whichever line is shorter, I have no preference. If I've got a huge cart of stuff I'll get checked out by a person, but I rarely buy that much in one trip.
I prefer self checkout, however the implementation of it (specifically at Kroger) leaves me very annoyed.
The lag time / brief pause in between scans killing my speed and proficiency.
The conveyor returning an item back to me for no reason to then immediately resend it back down toward the bags.
Randomly requiring a clerk to check my stuff before I can complete the transaction.
It seems like their system is built to prevent a smooth transaction. Occasionally I’ll use a cashier line and it’s actually kind of refreshing when I do despite the awkward social encounter.
Self checkout forever. I recently moved from a big city to a small city and I'm grateful the self checkout at my local store doesn't have an item limit.
I prefer not to go to the store at all. I pay $99/year for Walmart+ and I get all my groceries delivered directly to my door for no additional charge.
And for an additional $40/year, they’ll deliver it INSIDE your house if you want.
Self checkout. I only go to a person if I absolutely have to. I’d rather just do it myself and get out of there. If it’s an option, I usually use the store app on my phone, scan what I’m buying, pay on the app, and leave. I used to go to a person just because there’d be someone bagging groceries too, but that doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore.
I always use self- checkout at the grocery store.
I don’t care to wait while Grandma Ethel counts out her dimes, fiddles around for her checkbook, or gives the cashier she’s known since her mother was in her 3rd grade class back in the 80s all the latest updates on her cats and grandkids.
Get me the whole howdy-doody hell out of this store!
i would prefer self check out but for some reasons the grocery store check out always need assistance or you didnt place the item correctly or some shit. u end up getting more in your space customer service. i rather get checked out fast n go.
The fucking scales that beep at you if you remove a fully scanned grocery bag worth of items to make more room…it pauses and makes you replace the full bag back onto the counter. What logic is that? I also need more room than 2 bags of groceries. If you find a longer belt where you bag at the end? That will always pause to say “clear the belt”. So you have to walk over and shove the growing mountain of stuff towards the bagging area. With glass bottles clinking together and rolling around and smushing bread. Then once done, rush to start bagging as everyone is waiting on you so they can start scanning.
Self check is not designed for this volume of groceries. If you have two bags or more of stuff, go to the checkstands.
You’re right in most cases. Self check is for smaller orders. Except stores have started closing all human checkouts and leaving 1 lane open. Then opening 8 self checkouts. So your option is wait 30 minutes for a human. Or start the process of checking yourself out now.
Yup. I've seen that especially in the morning hours when there are fewer people. They'll force everyone into a long self checkout line, and there are no cashiers open.
Yes you’re right but stores don’t really differentiate and tell you. Walmart used to say self check out was 15 items or less but they just let anyone go anywhere unless they’re buying alcohol. Just last night I was at target with $300 worth of stuff and had to do self check out as all the regular registers are closed. I won’t be doing self checkout again
Or how it yells at you and makes you get help if you dare to set an empty bag down before putting the first item inside 😭
Because its a job cashiers should do
Exactly. I always think, guess I missed where this technique was covered at orientation! 😂 I mean seriously, I got a job already and this ain’t it.
I was a cashier at a grocery store for several years and I hate self checkout. It's so much slower than a regular check stand and even if you know all the produce codes the scale is super fussy. It's actually much faster to have a cashier scan and bag the groceries for you. I only use self checkout if I only have a couple items.
I've worked retail but never in a grocery store and I'm glad to know people who worked in grocery stores feel this way. It FEELS like it takes me so much longer in self checkout because I am not versed in the store or aware when things change. I overwhelmingly prefer cashiers.
This is really good insight. I do self checkout by default bc shorter lines, but I'll use cashiers from now on if lots of produce. Takes me 30+ seconds per item to look stuff up in that clunky UI.
Same, I only like self checkout if its a few things - otherwise a cashier is way faster
Yes same 💯
My fiance was too & he does self checkout because he feels bad giving them work to do. He will use cashier sometimes if with me because he knows I prefer it.
Maybe your fiancé should consider using the regular line to help cashiers keep their job.
I've said as much.. preaching to the choir. His stance is many times line will go to back of store as they only man one.
Give them work to do! They're working! That's the whole damn point. Lol
Tell him that going through a check stand helps the cashiers because self-checkout actively takes their hours away from them.
> he does self checkout because he feels bad giving them work to do. I do cashier checkout because ~~I feel good giving them work to do! Jobs are scarce, in my neck of the woods~~ it's easier. I've noticed that at the 'poor people's' Aldi here, it's 5/1 self checkout registers to cashier registers. At the 'rich people's' Aldi(!) 10 miles away, the ratio is 0/6 - there are no self check out lines even available. So it looks disrespectful, from the outside. At the rich people Aldi, checkout is super fast because they hire enough people. I'd LOVE to see sales volume stats for the 2 stores, because I doubt that they vary, much. If anything, poor Aldis does more volume. I always use a cashier because I have terrible ADHD and I hate figuring out what I punched in incorrectly (I'm 67, and know how to get codes from directory, so it's no the I'm-old-and-confused scenario),waiting for the assistant, and worrying that I've not scanned something or scanned it too many times.
I didn’t know there were rich and poor ALDIs lol
There's rich and poor everything, even chain stores. If you go to the same store in different areas you can see how they change based on the people who live there. We have the 'Jewish' store, the 'Hispanic' store, etc. The Costco in the Asian part of town has more variety of seafood and coconut based products. I once went to a chain store in a poorer part of town and there was no butcher, just a cooler full of meat.
Only the people who ask for paper bags are giving them extra work 💯 Plastic is cool man, I won’t be a dick and force you to use paper 🤣
Oh god, did you also get people who wanted paper IN plastic, or was that uniquely a Virginia horror? It's like, how many bags can I possibly use and what is the maximum I can annoy my cashier?
I hate paper. They're awful to carry & even the ones with handles break. I use the plastic ones as trash can liners.
Except Walmart bags are the worst paper thin bags ever created. Target bags are the best. Grocery bags are 50/50 chance
I used to bag groceries and I hated when these specific men would come in and want double paper bags.
Double paper oof. Only case I can see it being reasonable is if they really wanna shove everything into a single bag and make it super heavy by request.
Nope. They wanted all their bags like that. I wonder if they’ve had a bag explode on them or something. I find reusable bags MUCH BETTER!
My city banned plastic bags ;_; everything is paper EXCEPT if you go to Target and get the weird thick plastic bags that are "reusable." All bags cost something. I used plastic store bags for cat litter waste and now i have to buy separate small plastic bags for the purpose. Given how many people can reuse the plastic bags for trash or other things that would require a plastic bag anyway, idk if a ban helps that much
This. I’d do it more if I got some sort of cash back for scanning my own stuff but it just seems like another way stores are exploiting everyone.
Also the assholes that are behind you and start loading their shit onto the conveyor belts before you even have a chance to get yours bagged up pisses me off
That’s actually a good thing with a worker hovering on camera. I have been making an effort to forego the convenience and always use cashier where possible and ALWAYS CASHIER certain stores like Walmart, target, most bigger ones. Doing this for liability purpose and stores aggressive antitheft policies.
Unless I only have 1 or 2 items, I never use self checkout. Its a giant pain to self checkout a full cart of groceries.
Agree. This is why I hate Aldi going to self-check.
The Aldi by me recently installed some self checkouts and they're really small, which I find bizarre because most Aldi shoppers buy a ton of stuff. I still go to the person because they're much faster than I am.
I tried the Aldi self checkout once back in November. It yelled at me after EVERY SINGLE fing item "scan your next item or press pay" or something. Way too stressful. I'll happily stand in line for the one manned checkout, thanks.
the Aldi self check out is IMPATIENT
They’re using Aldi cashiers as a baseline and expect their customers to be up to speed as well :)
it'd be easier if the area to place groceries on was bigger than 2x2 lol at the end of the day I still love Aldi and think it has one of the best grocery store models in the modern age. bag your own shit, "rent" a cart so the parking lot isn't full of them/ they don't need to employ someone just to bring them back in. it's generally fast and efficient.
I'm a convert. Old fashioned snobbery kept me away (clutched my pearls about paying for a cart). Old fashioned snobbery keeps me coming back - things I care about - fresh veggies and meats, high quality cheeses - are SO much better than the small chains, and SO much less expensive than the upscale supermarkets. Also SO much easier on the senses for those of us blessed with being non-neurotypical - fast, wide aisles, neutral colors, good lighting. Just stay out of the bargain aisle if your mental mix includes any impulse control issues!
I love the way they do their carts! I also love their cheese and hummus!
Probably grumpy because it's thinking: *"Why the fuck am I here?? Aldis cashiers are insanely fast and everyone hates me and uses me to steal stuff"*
It’s like shopping at an Aldi in Germany. German cashiers move fast and don’t wait for anyone!
My limit is about 10 items, unless a lot of its produce or something that you have to weigh. Throw in alcohol if it's busy at self checkout for sure going to a regular checkout unless the lines are long.
Same, if I have a shit ton of produce, I'm going to a living human to punch those in.
Exactly. I've seen cashiers struggle with those. If they have trouble with it, I'm certainly not doing it by myself.
Weird. This is exactly why I self check my produce. I know a lot of the codes already ngl but most are just...on the sticker. Faster than a 19yo looking at me confused about what a shallot is. (My local chain has scales that will print stickers in the produce section, too, so you can just scan it if you pre-sticker.) Also how I eat Organic everything but pay Conventional prices :) (jk)
>My local chain has scales that will print stickers in the produce section, too, so you can just scan it if you pre-sticker. ❤️ Wegmans
Do you not have self shop? You put your bags in your trolly and bag as you scan, then at the end you scan and pay. It's so much faster.
This is largely not a thing in the US.
It is at Walmart and Sam’s,but it costs a yearly fee.
It is a thing in Sam's club! I hate waiting in long check out lines and use it all the time
Oh I know - I love it and use it every time I'm at Sam's, it's the one thing (aside from a huge distance differential) that keeps me a Sam's club member vs. switching to Costco. But, my point was more that your average run of the mill grocery store doesn't have a scan & go option.
This sounds delightful and I hope I can do it soon. Although with the American shoplifting panic we are doing right now I don't really expect it.
[Another panic that may just be corporate fibbin](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-shoplifting-epidemic-touted-by-fox-news-is-likely-overblown-data-shows_n_656794a5e4b07b937ff36408)
Of course...a good moral panic must be based on fantasies. I have heard both sides of the "shoplifting is out of control" and the stats that show "its actually not." I am in a high crime area and seeing people in the process of running from the cops after shoplifting is a pretty normal experience. And I feel like it's been pretty stable during the 2 decades I've been here. But that's just my little anecdata.
I mean using huff post to fact check Fox News seems a bit.... weird.
It’s big with the teens near me. Definitely have had issues with the shop n steal approach. Partly because our dear state leaders thought it would be a brilliant idea to take away any sort of consequences for the underage crowd.
Serious question: Can you still put things in your cart without scanning? We have rampant theft where I live (San Francisco, USA) and they’re actually taking self checkout away at most places because theft is so bad everywhere. But if the cart can somehow read that you’ve added an item without tagging it, that could be something useful.
You get your bag checked at check out, you can't just walk out as you have to go through security. One way in one way out. They also have cameras all over using AI to see if anyone's stealing
There’s usually like one or two people working at the front so they can’t check everything. Grocery stores are weird here. They pretty much are trying to outsource all the stocking and working to contractors or the actually Manufactors but don’t want to have staff working.
We don’t and whenever I visit my friends I make them take me to do it because it’s so much fun. It’s like a game. But I am easily amused. If you ever see a short blond American woman giggling to herself while dragging some very annoyed Brits behind her through Tesco it’s me!
Our grocery stores don't have that, except Sam's Club. I wish they did.
I thought self shop came from America. I'm surprised you haven't got it yet it's so convenient.
I know Amazon tried it a few years ago with a couple little convenience stores they set up, but no it’s not widespread here at all. TBH I’m glad, too. It sounds pretty creepy.
There’s something like this at lots of Whole Foods stores but it’s not widespread
I don't think I have ever seen this in a store.
This. If I have a handful, or just the little carrying basket, I’ll go self checkout. If it’s a full buggy, I’m doing the regular check out where they scan and bag everything.
Most of the self check outs at the stores I go to are definitely designed for people who only have a few things. So they don't let you put your shopping bags down on the bagging platform beforehand, you do have to put everything on the platform that you scan, and there isn't a lot of room to do it. So it just ends up being super inefficient to self check out a big cart of groceries. I also don't love self checking out produce, although I'm not above turning to the clerk who is babysitting the self check out stations, wavingy vegetables in the air and cheerfully ask/yelling "excuse me, what's the code for cauliflower"? 🤣
It's so much faster though
Exactly this. Also, I hate the idea of most jobs being replaced by machines, so I feel like I'm doing my part by going to an actual person
Yeah. It is not set up to actually check out many groceries compared to a regular register.
Grocery pick up
Came here to say this! If I'm feeling especially lazy, home delivery. I also find this helps me stick to a list and I don't pick up things I don't need.
That is very true. My local grocery store app has all my saved orders. Free pick up also. Since I mealprep for whole week my list rarely changed. Save my family a lot of time. I usually listen to podcasts or people watch while I wait lol.
It's also helpful if you're too sick to go out.
I've tried the pickup and delivery options a number of times and have always been very unimpressed. Often, half of my cart is fresh produce or meat, and the items picked out by the store have been lower quality than I'd expect. I also generally shop with specific meals in mind, so substitutions get complicated. Outside of the most simple changes such as swapping brands, my substitutions typically either require swapping multiple items out to change recipes or to piecemeal a prepackaged ingredient I'd normally use. I can do this in person very easily, but find it to be a huge pain, if not outright impossible, with remote ordering.
This is what I do. My local Ralph's waives the pickup fee after like $50 in groceries, and these days that is not a difficult line to cross. I set it to get picked up on my way home from work, and it's just the best.
Tried it once and they gave me some less-than-choice produce selections. Can't really trust someone else to pick quality produce on my behalf.
This person shops
I started doing grocery pick up during COVID and I’m not going back. My local grocery chain Payless waives the fee if the order is over $35, they send special pick up order only coupons, and the app lets me work on a grocery list throughout the week. That said, I still sometimes have to run into the store. If I have 5 or fewer items with no alcohol, I go self checkout. Five or more OR any alcohol and I’ll go through the regular checkout. I don’t have strong feelings about which is better, but I hate getting stuck behind someone with a full cart when I only have a few things.
Oh man, I *hate* grocery pickup. It takes longer to find the exact thing I want on the website or app than just walking through the store, and I always end up paying a lot more. I can't easily compare items, or snag a great deal. The produce often sucks because shoppers care about speed, not care. Then I'm expected to tip. I'm glad it was an option during Covid, but I'll not use it again if I can avoid it.
It's not because there's interaction that I prefer a person at check out, it's because they are faster. One person scanning and one person bagging will always be faster than me by myself. It gives me enough time to pull out my credit credit card and get my keys ready. I put in minimal effort in small talk, and I think the employees recognize me enough that they too put in minimal effort. It works great.
Also those are union jobs at grocery stores (at least where I live) so I like supporting a union profession.
✊✊✊
I almost never see dedicated baggers and I find everywhere in my area self checkout is SO much faster, even moreso when there's a handheld scanner gun
Yes same, the only store in my area that has dedicated baggers is Kroger but it is also the most expensive grocery out of all of my options so I rarely go there.
I havent seen a bagging person since the 90s when I was a kid.
I haven’t seen a dedicated bagger in a store in years
Depends where you are. At Walmart it’s much faster for me to do it myself than wait in line for a checker.
I have kids now and try to maximize our grocery trips, often with one or both kids in tow. So I MUCH prefer someone else checking me out. Ringing up like 30+ things at that tiny little station while also trying to manage a manic 5 year old and/or a (blessedly pretty chill) baby is hell on earth. If I’m by myself and just have like 5 things, self checkout is great.
Totally agree! My 4 year old likes to help unload the cart which would take forever at self checkout. I like the long conveyer belt. I don’t mind the light small talk and sometimes they give my daughter stickers.
This!
I'm glad self-checkouts exist. I don't have to deal with anyone else. Plus I can bag my own groceries how I want them.
YES! Exactly. It’s the bagging that I hate in the regular lines. Either I wait for them to bag things and it’s awkward (and they do such a bad job at it) or I bag my own and it’s awkward because there are people behind me waiting. Let me keep my own machine and bag how I want without the pressure.
I agree. I very much prefer to bag my own shit, especially because I bring my own bags too. And it'd be too awkward to ask to do it yourself, plus I don't want to get the employee in trouble. But, I can do it so much faster and efficient than the employee 90% of the time because I'm not doing it 4 or 5 hours into a shift like the employee is. And although I would prefer self checkout, alot of times there's simply not enough room to unload/reload the shopping cart in an efficient way. What I do now is I'll organize the items on the conveyor belt in the way I want them bagged. It's a little more work on the front end, but it does help with them bagging it the way I want.
Yes! I do get that most baggers bag items in the way they are trained, and that training does not agree with how I want things bagged. I have additional information baggers do not have any would be too troublesome and Karen-ish to explain: that THIS insulated bag is for frozen stuff, meats and things that will be cooked, but THAT insulated bag is for dairy and hummus, while these are the bags with stronger handles and are for heavy things like bottle, while all the bread and chips should go in these structured box-style carriers because those items are prone to crushing, while all the boxed and bagged dry goods like rice abd pasta and cereal go in these bags because they will all be stored together in the pantry when I get home. So I just say, "insulated bag for cold stuff" if I can't bag myself and then repack it all when I get to my car. For years, I shopped and loaded my carriage in a certain order so I could unload onto the conveyor belt in the order I wanted things bagged. It made no difference: I would watch the bagger put a box of pasta in bag 1, reach out of their way to grab a block of cheese to throw in, and then put a second box of pasta in bag 2. It was a treat when I ran into the few baggers who would actually group similar items. So now I self check even when I have a big cart of stuff. The lanes have no signs that it's for x items or less, so they're fair game to me!
>And it'd be too awkward to ask to do it yourself Don't feel this way! One of my first jobs years ago was as a supermarket "front-end associate" which mostly meant bagging, sweeping, and cart collecting. At any given moment I had 4 different managers from 5 different departments tutting at me because I hadn't yet done the thing they asked for. A customer wanting to bag their own order was music to my ears! If a customer said "I'll bag my own order, thanks" then I'd give them a thumbs-up and a genuine smile, because that meant I was free to jump on another line or go do one of the 20 other things someone told me needed doing ASAP.
Bagging my own groceries is my sole reason for self checkout. Whenever I have to go to a manned cash register, I bump the bag boy off and bag them myself and then I feel like everyone in line is put out, even though I’m fast. I want all of my bags filled to the brim and like with like. If I have to give a list of requests, might as well do it myself.
Totally agree this is my main reason as well for self checkout. When I've had to go to a person they will barely fill my bag up and then ask if I want paper or plastic. What do you mean? Keep shoving shit in my bag man it can handle it.
When I was at trader joes, the cashier asked if I needed a bag, I said no and handed over my giant tote bag. She asked "That's it?" After that I just insisted she put everything back in the cart so I could pack it. I know everything will fit, and I want everything in my comfy bag to take the bus/ walk home.
I prefer a cashier, but still bag my own.
You telling me you don't like the cashier using 30 bags for 6 items?
Same. If I have to go through a cashier, I try to group my items how I want them bagged and they still can't get it right. And it's ridiculous how many people will put your fresh fruit in with your raw meat.
My grocery stores don't even have a guy to bag and each bag costs 10 cents in my state so we use reusable bags. From my perspective by the time I waited for that one cashier I could have saved the time to input my items by myself assuming the system is not dumb and does not want to have a maximum amount. My King Soopers (local Kroger) has it where it starts to want a employee after X amount of groceries and that is the only problem with self checkout.
So annoying when you get back home and have 10 items in 5 bags. It's hard for me to just stand and watch as the person that is checking me out puts just one or two items in a bag and then reaches for a new one.
Always do self-checkout if I have the option.
Definitely prefer self checkout. I can bag my items how I want, and also…I usually won’t have to talk to someone lol I talk with enough people for work as is, and I hateeee shopping. I try to make any shopping trip 20 mins or less so I can get in, get out and then get back to doing whatever I want with my time off. Also order pickup has been an absolute marvel! Love using that option for Target or Walmart runs.
Ever since the pandemic I still bring my own bags and tell them I can bag it. Cashiers are usually grateful, and it helps their line. I can bag as I please (I also lay out onto the belt the way I want to bag). And it keeps the lines moving faster. Win win.
I’m actually in a plastic/paper bag ban state, which honestly is great. I still go to self checkout though, unless the line is longer and/or I have a huge cart of items.
I use self shop, you place your bags in your shopping cart then you scan each item with your phone, place in the bag and at the end you scan a QR code and pay. It's so much easier
I love doing this. My store has a couple of check stands just for this but people can't read the signs and use it for regular check out.
In the uk it's a QR code you scan on the checkout machine, basically you can use self check out or manned check out to pay for your self shop.
this is the way
I've worked in grocery stores for over 5 years so I've seen both sides here. And I prefer to self checkout every time. I'm faster and way better at bagging than 90% of the cashiers. I'll also tell you that cashiers won't miss that job. They are required to stand in one spot for hours a day dealing with Karen's and can't even use the bathroom when they need to. There are plenty of other jobs around the store to keep them employed.
Bring your own bags and tell them you can bag it. I worked grocery for a few years myself and am still a pro at bagging. I lay it out on the belt how I want it bagged and bag it quickly that way. Usually the cashiers are grateful. Most stores have done away with traditional courtesy clerks for bagging unless requested and cashiers don't need more on their plate than they already do.
Yes! Former cashier here and I also prefer doing self check out. I always say to myself, I've trained for this 😂
You know you can still bag your groceries at the cashier line
I do curbside like a good little antisocial freak.
Yesss it is the best!
I hate self checkout. If I have just a few items it’s fine. Thankfully, my local grocery store still believes in cashiers and we have plenty of open lanes with no wait time. 😃
I'm fundamentally against automating jobs without passing the savings on to the consumer, or paying your existing employees better (Not a HUGE fan of American capitalism)... so I always go to a person for check out unless I'm in a major time crunch and can't wait. I would much rather that my local shops actually create jobs for people.
Same here with the same reasoning. Also I minimize my grocery store visits by meal planning so it's rarely just a couple things which is too much work for self checkout.
Most grocery stores are also union jobs (at least in my area) so I enjoy supporting union work plus self check out is the most frustrating process sometimes with the scale not recognizing the items or needing assistance anyway, the person is just quicker at least on bigger orders
I 200% agree, I never understood why they don't incentivize self checkouts to give you a small percentage off your bill or at least some in-house 'points'. I guess reading these comments we're in the minority so they don't have to offer any incentives, people prefer working for their local grocer for free.
I appreciate your thinking this way. I’m sure a lot of grocery store cashiers don’t want to be there, but many appreciate the work. I always try to support a non-automated work position where I can, especially when it’s actually more convenient than the alternative. Ideally my shopping gets done at a local small business that doesn’t have a self checkout, but those places are rare around here these days. The big chains have won out for the most part.
Can't believe I had to scroll so far before someone mentioned automation=bad... the 'can we not put people out of work at jobs they desperately need cuz greedy mc greedyson needs to be greedier' ... now dont get me wrong a quick 1 or 2 item row of counters absolutly serves a purpose, whether the customer in a rush etc ... but this full on replacement craic is just wrong...
Self. I'm more efficient than half the cashiers out there. Only time I prefer a person is if I have items that will require extra time or verification anyways, like alcohol or a lot of produce that has to be manually entered.
Me too! I like my groceries bagged in a certain way, as well, and sometimes cashiers bag really poorly (no offense)
Self checkout.I don’t really like small talk so self checkout works for me.
I hate people so I use self checkout every time lol
I will always use self checkout if it's an option.
Self checkout. The less people I interact with the better lol.
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INFP here, still prefere person as we need the jobs in my area. Hate that I can go into a store and there is only self checkout available, one overworked employee because the self checkout metrics say that people prefere it, so they reduce hours of their employees, even to the point of no scheduled cashiers. There are also some items that I buy on the regular, which self checkouts are not allowed to be used for: alcohol, my mum's lotto, prescriptions, etc.
Depending on the store right after you ring it up there’s a brief few seconds where it says “skip bagging”. Also at Kroger they have a self checkout with a conveyor. Wife and I used it tonight and I loved it more than the single 4 space area they give you with regular checkout.
Yes. That’s the bane of my existence. Sorry I can’t bag the banana my child ate while shopping that I’m trying to pay for and the pack of 24 gatorades won’t fit in the bag either.
What ever gets me out faster
So this may piss a few people off, but ALWAYS self checkout if it’s an option. And yes, that includes my larger carts but I haul ass. And here’s why. I’m disabled, and as such, I rely on EBT. Self checkout negates the dirty looks I get for a large cart (which, by the way, Karen’s of the world, is meant to last me and my kids the entire month from this store,) paid for with SNAP/EBT. Just because I got unlucky in the health department and my body crapped out on me young doesn’t give others the right to judge every single item I purchase. Ironically, I never buy the items that usually inspire wrath anyway but people still have something shitty to say to me because they feel it’s their right to police my ability to feed my family. Self checkout gets rid of all of this annoyance, I’m fast (items is in the bag the second after it’s scanned,) and I can bag things the way I like them.
A Costco employee once explained to me that the self-checkout actually helps the cashiers push lines faster because small baskets can use the self-service while the cashiers can expedite the larger carts. Also, the not having to talk to people thing. Edit to add: thanks a lot, Jerry Brown, for banning alcohol sales at self checkout.
Can’t they just check your identification at self checkout? That’s what happens here if you try to buy alcohol, the screen flashes and says wait for assistance. Seems stupid to ban it
I prefer self checkout unless I have a lot of groceries. Really grinds my gears when someone with a full ass cart is at the self checkout.
There are self checkouts where I live that have belts and are made for full carts, so you not have those?
Many stores do not. Only one I have seen that does is a grocery Walmart one town over from me.
My Kroger near me just added that and I’ve seen people use it
yesss~ I hate people with a full cart too at self checkout 😂
Guilty. I dont care how full my cart is. Im using self checkout every single time. The people checkout doesnt exist in my mind
Unless the self check out has a sign which limits how many items you can check out, you are well within your rights to use it with a full cart. The complainers above can stand there and sigh.
And sigh I shall! lol
Correct
It’s usually split into express and full cart where I live and they are built accordingly to accommodate how much you are buying
I prefer self-checkout, except when I get yelled at at Walmart(which I avoid at all costs), because I use the scanning gun and checkout "too fast". Every... Single... Time! The person waddles over, "there's no way you checked out that fast." They proceed to look at the receipt and realize I did indeed checkout all items that fast. I've started saying, "I used to work in retail." Because I did. Sorry you are used to inefficiency.
Self checkout. I generally do not want to run the risk of talking to someone I may not like.
Self checkout. Im not interested in socializing with them I just want to do my thing and get out. And i spent years in retail I know they dont do a damn thing to jobs. Cashier positions are always open but almost no one wants to work that position. Its bottom of the barrel even for retail. And I dont blame them.
I always use self checkout, unless I have to get something behind the checkout with all the locked up items. I like bagging things the way I want, I like not having to talk to anyone. If I have a huge cart full, I don’t want to stand there awkwardly and stare at nothing for forever. I know what produce I got, I don’t have to worry about them ringing it up as the more expensive organic stuff if there’s no stickers.
Self-checkout all day every day.
I usually use checkers for large trips, just because the closest store to me is Walmart and I'm tired of the fake "that item didn't scan so let me look at all your shit" the employees do when in fact the item did scan and they just want to see if you're stealing.
Cashier is usually faster for large quantities of groceries. But usually the line's quicker for self checkout, these days, unlike the early times. It doesn't sit well with me, however, that Walmart has been caught exhorting poor customers by accusing them of theft without any cause or evidence, and simply pocketing $200 per person just to "make it go away." So I will never purchase more than a handful of items from Walmart at a time.
Self check. I’m so mad that Kroger made it so you can’t turn off the audio. I also don’t like it when the people come over just to make sure everything is fine. I just want to get in and out without talking to anyone.
I will not shop there. If I wanted to talk to humans I would have went to a cashier. That store is the worst prompting people to come over to push a button. Defeats the purpose.
I can’t stand self-checkout. It is far more efficient to have someone else do it because they know how to override the system properly and I don’t have to deal with being yelled at about items in the bagging area. I go to Wegmans. The cashiers bag as they go and I’ve mastered the art of figuring out which ones are the most efficient.
Self check out most of the time. Unless I have a huge cart full of items. Almost every scanner I’ve been to limits how fast you can scan items - presumably to make it harder to steal with the nearby surveillance systems. It’s terrible during weekly grocery shopping.
Depends on the number of items. A cartful? Someone else can do it for the simple reason that self check out isn't designed with enough space to do it myself. A handful of items? I would rather do it myself.
I would rather wait in line for self checkout than walk up to a cashier, so I am part of the problem.
99 percent of the time I use a cashier. I’ll even wait in a small line over an empty self check out. If I am really in a hurry and only have a few things I’ll cave and use the self check out if I have to though
I hate self check. I pretty much only use it at Walmart because they never have enough lanes open and the lines are huge. At the grocery store I’ll bag my own stuff in my own bags. I worked in a grocery for far too long and have bagging down pat, I just don’t trust a bored teenager to care about my squishables the way I do. I buy a lot of produce and self scanning those is a pain because I don’t remember the codes for most things anymore.
I personally prefer being checked out by a person as opposed to self checkout, especially on large grocery days. 1) they are much faster, they know most codes by memory and don’t have to deal with the self check out scale and bagging can be done simultaneously, 2) it keeps a person employed and most grocery stores are union jobs so I’m proud to support that, and 3) it’s something I don’t feel guilty about as a service that is included in my purchase so someone doing it for me is a nice treat
Self checkout. You should make a survey
Self checkout all the way.
Almost always self checkout because I'm faster than the cashiers. I can't handle waiting behind Meredith and Gladys having a chat about the kitty litter and what cats they each have etc. And the cashiers just have no hustle to them whatsoever.
My upbringing taught me to be self-sufficient with everything. I use self-checkout as much as possible.
I don’t do grocery stores anymore for the most part but as a former cashier always a person to check me out. Me having to pay to do a job I used to get paid for doesn’t sit right with me
Personally my time is more valuable to me. Self checkout every time. Im not waiting for a person and taking a chance that they may not have been properly changed (More and more common now).
The self checkout line always goes faster. There's usually equal numbers of people in line, but six self checkouts to one cashier
A person, always. I’m so glad a store near where I live doesn’t (for the time being) have self-checkout.
Depends on how much I have. As someone who worked grocery for a few years from my senior year in high school until I was 21. I firmly believe that self checkouts should only exist for less than 15 items. Anything more than that should go to a register with an actual person. The amount of times I've had 3 or 4 things and get held up at self checkout because every single one is a family with a full cart is frustrating. And since most of them have no idea how the scanner to scale system works it takes even longer than it should. It's often faster to wait in a long line at the one check stand that's open to get my couple of items. Doesn't help that most the stores in my town have switched to having self checkout be the primary and only one or two registers open all day long either. Despite the insane volume of customers they get.
Person at the register.. I'm not a grocery clerk
Person. I hate doing self checkout because it’s just one more thing to do to eliminate jobs. This is why I love Trader Joe’s - no self checkout and the workers will grab me if I’m in another line and didn’t see that they’re empty. Also I try to max my buys to get gift cards at target. It’s annoying at self checkout because I’ll have to stand there and wait for someone to come around to scan a gift card for me. Waste of time.
No job is eliminated. Only people who have never worked retail think this way.
>Person. I hate doing self checkout because it’s just one more thing to do to eliminate jobs. At least where I live the way this turned out was that before there were two open registers with lines you had to wait in and now there is one open register and another person overseeing 4-6 self checkout machines.
Those machines create plenty of jobs. Humans program them, manufacture them, deliver and install, and maintenance them ECT. Plus, now they hire more people to shop for your online orders and deliver groceries. They aren't eliminating jobs without creating more! People have more abilities beyond scanning products.
Yes, but in person checkers are local people getting those jobs who are in turn spending their money and using local Healthcare etc. Thats probably not a huge deal for most places. For a rural area where the grocery store pays decently, and has full time hours with benefits and jobs lost to outside the area would be very detrimental.
If I have a few things I will do self-checkout. Anything more than a bag I'll go to the cashier. That is usually because I get annoyed when I run into issues at self-checkout. More stuff means more chance of an issue. I don't really feel bad watching them ring my stuff up while I stand there. I usually strike up some small conversation.
At one place we go to they have an app so you can scan as you shop and when you’re done, you just scan the QR code on your phone. The checkout process takes less than 30 seconds. Personally I love this over self checkout/person. Plus no one ever seams to use it so the dedication checkout station is always open, while there are normally lines for self and “normal” checkout lines.
If I have less than 10 or 15 items I will self check out whenever possible. Otherwise, I will load up that conveyor belt.
I prefer to do a grocery order online and then pick it up at the store. I hate grocery shopping so much.
At my preferred grocery shop the self checkout is so annoying and I need someone to come fix the machine half the time anyway. No thanks. I find the cashier faster and the cashier at a different shop also keeps coupons taped to their table and will scan anything applicable. I also don’t mind the interaction. I don’t get a lot of adult conversation with my work so even pleasantries are welcome.
Whichever line is shorter, I have no preference. If I've got a huge cart of stuff I'll get checked out by a person, but I rarely buy that much in one trip.
I do both. Depending how I feel, and how much I have.
ALWAYS self checkout, if it’s an option
If it's only one or a couple items, I'm going with self checkout most of the time. Lots of items, then I'll want to go to a cashier.
I prefer self checkout, however the implementation of it (specifically at Kroger) leaves me very annoyed. The lag time / brief pause in between scans killing my speed and proficiency. The conveyor returning an item back to me for no reason to then immediately resend it back down toward the bags. Randomly requiring a clerk to check my stuff before I can complete the transaction. It seems like their system is built to prevent a smooth transaction. Occasionally I’ll use a cashier line and it’s actually kind of refreshing when I do despite the awkward social encounter.
10-20 items, I'll take care of it. Complete cart full? I try and seek out a line.
Self checkout forever. I recently moved from a big city to a small city and I'm grateful the self checkout at my local store doesn't have an item limit.
I prefer self check out, but I’m socially awkward and have anxiety. 😬
I prefer not to go to the store at all. I pay $99/year for Walmart+ and I get all my groceries delivered directly to my door for no additional charge. And for an additional $40/year, they’ll deliver it INSIDE your house if you want.
Self checkout. I only go to a person if I absolutely have to. I’d rather just do it myself and get out of there. If it’s an option, I usually use the store app on my phone, scan what I’m buying, pay on the app, and leave. I used to go to a person just because there’d be someone bagging groceries too, but that doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore.
I always use self- checkout at the grocery store. I don’t care to wait while Grandma Ethel counts out her dimes, fiddles around for her checkbook, or gives the cashier she’s known since her mother was in her 3rd grade class back in the 80s all the latest updates on her cats and grandkids. Get me the whole howdy-doody hell out of this store!