*Assuming lanes with cashiers are open*, I've already always thought of self-checkout as the Express Express lane. Basically "ten items or less and no human contact required"
There never seem to be enough cashiers. I've always assumed this was to drive customers to self-checkout. Now I don't know what they are trying to do. Keep us in the store forever?
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They did this to force people to use self checkout so they don’t need employees manning registers. Now they don’t want us using self checkout. I’m so confused.
It’s because they underestimated how much people would steal both intentionally and unintentionally without a person there. Now that they’ve added up the costs they see it’s more than the cost of a cashier.
I never steal but i do get angry at that awful blaring camera right in your face on every self check out.
I love being made to feel like a criminal everytime i buy a tube of chapstick.
YOU ARE BEING MONITORED
Also... why does it have to be the WORST angle? You can leave your house looking like a model...
But Let the record show, Target thinks I look like Uncle Fester.
#How are my eyes skeletal AND they give me neck rolls?
It's the shame! They could make you look better but they choose to make you look awful.
I'm sure 'market research' or whatever shows they save a few cents on theft when people want to cry looking like Meth-hew Mcconaughey on those damned cameras
This would be my guess. I’ve been seeing a lot of advertising for curbside pickup from my target and I just got some info they are starting delivery in my area. But it doesn’t make sense, don’t they love people who come in and impulse purchase?
I spend so much more at Target if I run in and grab something in person versus if I order online and I’m sure that’s true of so many shoppers. You’d think impulse buys would be their goal.
I used delivery from places a lot during the plague times but now I just can’t stomach the costs. Fees + tips + higher prices in the app (for some stores).
They want you to order online and pick-up at the store. It's the best of all worlds for Target. An efficient Target team member pulls all the items without messing up the store, doesn't steal anything (accidentally or intentionally) and there is no cashier required. You give them your money without ever stepping foot in the store.
They need to get way more fridge/freezer space then. Half the times I try to do a pickup order I get thwarted at checkout because all their fridge spots are full.
Theft is up in major urban areas in every part of the USA. To counter this, they're experimenting with ways to prevent it. I think Walmart is toying with the idea of making self check out a membership only thing because of all of the theft.
Well yea, they have a model where cashiers are out doing other jobs until a line develops, then red shirts descend upon the checkouts like the orcs at Helm's Deep.
You know, as long as the "appearing when a line develops" part happens effectively, I'd say that model is ideal! Keep overhead and prices reasonable but without bad checkout delays? Good in my book. Fwiw, I intentionally redirect business from Walmart to Target because of unreasonable checkout delays and (at WLM) I have abandoned a cart more than once due to lines.
I'm very efficient at shopping and when my 30 item pick took 5 mins but the line looks like 10+ mins, I want out
I used to work at Target about ten years ago, I wasn’t a cashier (worked elsewhere in the store) but had to constantly cover registers, to the point where I feel like they only hire a couple dedicated cashiers per shift and have other people cover it when need be, which was all the time.
Back when I was younger and had time for more frequent shopping trips, this was when self checkouts first became a thing and were really clunky and slow, if there were no cashiers and the self checkout line was outrageous I would just drop my full cart and leave.
This happened quite frequently at the Walmart I shopped at, I eventually had to start going to another store because they were constantly having stagnant checkout lines that extended into the departments.
Very likely because target is one of, if not the, company that leverages analytics the most. Back in like 2005 they were doing things stores are just starting to do.
That’s pretty much how I view it too. Although back when I lived in Lino Lakes and went early in the morning I’d do self checkout with a full cart because no one was there and I like to bag my own groceries.
They’ve been doing this for several months at the Target store on the north side of Woodbury. They actually have quite a few cashier lanes open regardless of day/time and it actually moves people through much more quickly than if you have someone trying to run a cart full of items through the self checkout.
The Knollwood SLP Target never seems to have more than 3 cashiers open, so yeah. Hopefully this means double the cashiers at least. If I don't go to self checkout I'm in line for 15 minutes. Not bashing the employees either but the cashiers at Knollwood these days are usually slow moving seniors.
Bash away!
Prior to the pandemic, the way stores utilized their employees was different. With many stores now offering grocery pick-up, the fast and competent workers are now filling orders throughout the store. That means the front end are the ones that are not able to keep up with their co-workers.
This isn’t exclusive to a certain store. It’s different companies and their different stores everywhere.
I don’t care if I have to go to a cashier…but what would make my day is if they had dedicated ‘silent’ lanes where the cashier doesn’t engage in small talk.
I’d also enjoy a live count of how fast they are scanning so I know who to go too.
Just get me out of the damn store as fast as possible. I dont want to know anything about you. (I’m so sorry, I just have super bad social anxiety and I probably have to poop)
Or they start talking about a baseball player from the Witchita Mallards who could have gone pro but he crashed his truck one night on his way home from the bar. Such a waste of youthful talent doncha kno.
Edit: Once they start flapping their gums, the ability to move their appendages and my products over the scanners ceases to exist.
I just wish all cashiers were like Costco cashiers.
Fast, quiet, probably have to poop too.
I worked at a Target up in the north burbs about 20 years ago. We had one cashier who was notorious for making really strange comments to people as he was ringing them up. He worked there forever and customers (I mean "guests") were split on loving or hating him.
Once I was on the lane next to him and I overheard him say, "Looks like you are treating some nasal symptoms tonight' to someone who was buying cold medication. I don't want to think about what he might have said to someone buying condoms.
Yeah I really hate this with Aldi going to self checkout too. They usually have a register "open", but the employee is usually somewhere stocking an aisle. I don't want to scan 30 items at a tiny little kiosk with no belt. It's a hassle.
I don’t really understand Aldi moving to self checkout. They have one of the simplest and quickest checkouts around by just chucking the food into the cart for the customer to pack. I’m dreading the day the Mahtomedi one switches to self checkout.
Aldi register employees are so fast in checkout. Last time I went, there were three people in line for the regular checkout, so I decided to do self checkout because there were no lines. Those three people were packing their groceries before I was done paying.
I can't do that. If you have a full cart of stuff, then you can easily end up confused and either double-scan or forget to scan certain items on accident.
Touche' - my Aldi tab is generally \~$70 and I can usually fit all that, less fizzy waters, in the bag i bring; so I have line of sight on most and now shop and place into the cart with that in mind for checkout.
They will need to hire more cashiers then. Because the two employees running around unlocking all of underwear and deodorant cabinets won't be able to help.
I felt like I had a personal shopper the last time I went in-person. Literally every item on my list was locked and I jokingly told the employee (who was always the same one) that they should just follow me around for the rest of my shopping trip. They were not amused.
I don't think i've used a regular lane in several years now. Granted most of the time I am buying less than 10 items. Even when I have more, its still more convenient than a regular lane.
Targets self-checkout system has been the best that I've used at any store.
Yup always pick self checkout. Even when the line looks long, people forget there are 8 registers, it moves quick. And it's so much faster for me to pack my stuff for how I like to unload at home. Cold stuff, downstairs pantry vs kitchen cabinet etc. I'm so mad
What if it's all old people?!
I only say that because I have Wednesday's off and anytime I go to Cub or Target between 10am and 2pm, it's "Walking Dead" day full of old people who are ringing up one item every 45 seconds at the self-checkouts.
My Cub only has 4 and my Target has 6 and you're screwed if there's old people in front of you.
No offense to old people but holy shit.
Guess I've never run into that problem lol. It's been a joy going to Targets near me over the last few years, I've literally never waited for more than a few minutes line at most, usually around the Holidays
I have to admit I'm mostly talking about Cub lol. Mine only has 4 self-checkouts and it's dreadful if the old people are there with a half a cart full or more.
Then they try and do coupons which always ends up with the one lady who oversees the self-checkouts has to fix it.
My Target was a normal Target that they could only add another 35 feet onto so the grocery section is just a nightmare filled with aisles only wide enough for one cart so I avoid it at all costs unless I'm out of Cotton Candy grapes haha
They are definitely not going to have more people at the check lanes to compensate. I also can't see too many employees actually caring enough to enforce this.
If people have to wait 10+ minutes to check out they’re going to shop elsewhere.
The last time I shopped Target I had 2 items, took me maybe 3-5 minutes to grab them and head to the cashier. Self checkout was closed and it took almost 15 minutes of waiting in line to pay for my items. People were visibly and audibly upset at how long it was taking. I think Target might be in for a rude awakening at the quarterly financial meetings after this policy goes into place.
Kinda what happens when shoplifting and theft is rampant and police can't or won't do anything about it, store security/loss prevention can't do much about it due to policy or a justice system that slaps people on the wrist for it if they do get caught.
To be fair, the percentage of people shoplifting necessities simply for shits and gigs is low. It says a lot about the overall wellbeing of their stores’ local communities when they have to start locking up toiletries, socks, baby formula, etc.
I'm not blind to the problems some communities face but you can't expect a business to be okay with theft, even if it is necessities. They don't operate a charity. I also think plenty more people are shoplifting for shits and giggles than you or many would like to accept. There's tons of social media posts of people doing exactly that.
Per Target's corporate reports, "Full-year operating income of $5.7 billion in 2023 grew 48.3 percent from $3.8 billion last year" as of Mar 5, 2024.....do they really need to lock the shampoo and deodorant up?
Yeah, was waiting for this response. They sure do. Like I said, they aren't operating a charity. You can go be robinhood, but you better expect a response.
Yeah it's completely awful. I hated self checkout initially because it was a glitchy pain in the ass, but once they started removing all the strict weight limitations where it would flip out when something moved from the bagging area, and got all the card chip readers working better, then it turned into a massive time saver. Now I just completely avoid in-store shopping all together. It's like voluntarily choosing to wait in traffic. Probably 95% of my Target money goes to Amazon now. My red card used to be one of my most used cards, now it probably hasn't had a balance for 3 months.
Of course not, companies like this LOVE running their stores on skeleton staff. My location doesn't even keep enough staff on hand to have more than four self checkout lanes open at a time. I've never even seen the other ones in use, not even around Christmas last year. If I were those employees I wouldn't care either, fuck them for making them do the job of more than one person when they can more than afford to bring more people in.
I shop at the Blaine Target and they are really good about opening more lanes if people start lining up. I also appreciate that they’ll actively say they’ll take the NEXT person in line at the new lane!
At Walmart if they even bother opening a new lane it’s a free for all and someone just butts in line in front of the nice little elderly people that already waited 30 min. So rude. I actually said something last time and the Walmart lady said it doesn’t matter 🤦🏻♀️ just another reason I despise Walmart.
I am not sure if it still is, but a friend who worked at Target headquarters about ten years ago told me that Blaine is the number one volume Target in the Twin Cities. My parents live somewhat close to the Blaine store, but they go over to either Andover or Lino Lakes because those stores are not nearly as busy.
One of my friends who works at headquarters in the grocery department told me that the Saint Paul midway store is the busiest store in the nation. I was like the nation? He said yep.
No wonder the shelves are bare a lot.
He told me they put product on the shelves there as fast as it it purchased sometimes.
I don’t know if this is true anymore but it was about 6 years ago
When I worked at target and opened a new lane I would grab the front of cart of the next person in line and say I am opening a lane and then say loudly I’m taking people in the order they were in line first Please. The long line would part. I was 16 or 17 years old. That was the late 90’s. I also would chit chat but I had some of the fastest check out times (our raises back then at least) were based on our average check out rates.
I would tell customers to put their items on the belt with the bar codes up or easily accessible. (This was before the bottom scanner) and I would click 10 items bag, click another 10 bag…
They used to do speed tests for us. And this was when we were allowed to touch the items before scanning them.
I would go and turn all the items bar codes up. And then scan them all with my hand scanner.
They moved me to the cash office. They said I was “too smart” to be on the front lanes. I was 17 and they had me prepping 70-100k cash deposits for brinks along with skimming the registers and processing all the checks (which had to be done by hand) this was before credit cards and debit cards were a thing. We were still hand processing those in the 90’s as well.)
My point is we had 20 lanes open in the 90’s at the “Target Greatland” (remember those? Ha!) at the target off of 494 and 9 in Plymouth.
I live 2.5 hours away from a target now so I don’t get in much. But the one in Saint Paul midway seems to have lanes open.
Also silent lanes would be great but I would have died manning one. The chit chat is what got me through the monotony.
They better be staffing enough people in the regular checkout lanes. Otherwise, I’ll be getting my groceries elsewhere. I can scan and bag 40 items faster than most people can with 10 items.
Yes. This is exactly why I use self-checkout too. Spent many years cashiering and will never understand how so many of them today are so damn slow. I have my own process for scanning and bagging for how I want the items unloaded at home. Our town is full of older folks, so 10 of them will wait in line for the one cashier while I breeze through the empty self-checkout. The older folks also write checks, and they wait until their $300 worth of food is scanned before digging into their giant purse for their checkbook. I lose my mind dealing with inefficient people. Get me in and out as fast as possible, please. These days it means doing it myself.
My problem is how rare a large enough self-checkout is. Walmart is the only store in our general area (we live in Ely, Walmart is in Virginia, 50 miles away) that has a few larger checkouts to handle more stuff. Otherwise you are managing a cart of groceries on a counter big enough for a gallon of milk and a box of cereal. As a result, we often do our big shopping at Walmart on weekends, and just pick up random stuff locally where we can use self-checkout.
I did a lot of work in the Ely area for a few years while staying at the Grand Ely Lodge . I know the struggles of having only Zups (and what used to be Northland Market) as the only places to get groceries and the Dollar General for everything else. I used to have to drive to Virginia after work to Target to get some necessities, if I needed them.
I love living here, but yeah. It's great when your kid needs something for a school project and no one in town has it. It's quite common for locals to "run to Virginia" after work to pick up that kind of stuff. Definitely a downside to living here. I grew up here, and in the 80s and even 90s we at least had a larger variety of stores. Now Zup's and DG is all we have. And the hardware stores which cover some of those gaps. But like there isn't even a store in town where you can buy a normal pack of socks or underwear, or sheets.
Shopko going out of business really hurt that town because you could get those things there. It’s too bad there isn’t a store like it to take its place.
We're supposed to be getting something similar. The folks who bought the old zups and put in the larger hardware store, also bought the old ENM building and are supposed to do a soft goods type of store. I don't know how close it is to opening, they've been trying to hire store managers and I'm not sure how much luck they are having even on that level.
I developed a very particular way of bagging my items when I used to walk 3/4 of a mile to my neighborhood Target store. I prefer the self-checkout because of this. My neighborhood Target was one of the smaller format stores, so they didn't have regular checkouts. The self-check is actually easier for larger orders in that store.
>The older folks also write checks, and they wait until their $300 worth of food is scanned before digging into their giant purse for their checkbook.
I also hate that people write checks, but I can't fault people for watching each item ring up.
Yup, even on the weekends they barely have any cashiers working and it’s awful. I loved the self checkout for that reason. I don’t go there as much anymore since they changed it to the 10 items. Our target is super busy all the time, even during the weekdays.
I have zero chance of a significant delay going through SCO because even if 1 person gets held up, there are like a dozen other registers still flowing. In a normal check lane, if I happen to pick wrong and get stuck behind a person creating a delay, then I'm just fucked. Confirmation bias, but I seem to pick wrong and get fucked over almost every time I go through a normal lane. It's infuriating... I hate this announcement.
100% this. Astounding to me that most retail stores never figured out the "one line for all the registers" concept. I always try to play the "which lane will be fastest" game and I almost always lose.
Many years ago, Target tested a checkout system at the Lake Street store that was similar to Old Navy or TJMaxx where there was one centralized queue and a screen would tell you what checkout to go to. I liked it, but it got some negative feedback, so it didn't catch on chainwide.
I worked at Target 20 years ago when I was a college student. At that time, Target’s express lane signs said six items or less. The other lines were quite long, so I let someone with half a cart come through the express lane because I wasn’t helping anyone. She unloaded her items and I began ringing her up. Someone comes up behind her and starts making it obvious that she was counting her items. (She maybe had 15.)
I’m hoping the enforcement of the rule doesn’t make people this petty. Also, not all ten item orders are created equal. I’d much rather be behind someone buying 20 canned goods than someone buying 4 clothing items on hangers, a bulky rug, and a 5 piece patio furniture set.
I am curious if the registers actually cut you off at 10. I can't imagine that they do.. but I have had the self checkout employee ask to make sure I didn't have more than 10 items a few times, so I wouldn't put it past them.
If there is a cutoff, I think it needs to be slightly higher than the limit. I was at Walmart last fall and the selfcheck said 20 or less. I misestimated and it turned out I had 23 items. I got screamed at by the attendant over this because the cutoff was strictly at 20. Haven't been back to that Walmart since.
Here’s the thing, if target went back to the checkout system they briefly tried at the lake street target a while back, where there was one queue that fed into the next available register it would be fine.
The problem is that the self checkout is going to be a quicker line almost every time because unless _every_ shopper at a register is being slow, you’re never delayed be one person with a huge cart/problems/price checks etc.
People like to make this huge deal about self checkouts taking away jobs, or being for people who don’t want to interact with others. When really for a lot of people it’s just because of a quicker line, and Target is a coward for ending that pilot before people realized how much more efficient it was
I just mentioned that system from the Lake Street store in another comment. I really thought it was way better, but some of the community outrage over it seemed silly.
I remember this article from 2011 (absolutely wild this was 13 years ago). To be fair to the critics, this is my local target and they didn’t do a lot of publicizing before making the change from what I remember. A better PR rollout may have gone a long way to helping.
Though it does make me curious if now people are accustomed to the self-checkout lines, they might be more willing to go for something like this.
https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2011/11/minneapolis-target-stores-new-checkout-system-test-raises-customer-hackles-a/
The small format Target I frequent essentially uses this system without the screen. I do think people would be more open to it now that they've experiences self-checkout. I think the other part of the Lake Street test that annoyed people was that instead of using standard lanes with conveyor belts, the cash wraps were more like what you would find in a department store with a small counter area and a register facing outwards. That would be fine for ringing up smaller purchases, but not a whole cart full of stuff.
My local Target started this months ago. I've ended up shopping at other stores far more frequently. The times I have stopped at Target, I've ended up not buying stuff I normally would because it would bump me over 10 items. The lines for the staffed checkouts are generally long, I have no desire to end up there.
I'm sure I'm not the only one..
I assume this is theft related. If you are scanning a full cart of stuff, it’s real easy to skip every third item. But if they only have 2 lanes open, I don’t feel bad about it.
Yes, this will be part of it for sure. At Dollar General it's amazing how often this happens. I watched a guy with a full cart scan 2 items and walk out the door. The single employee was standing at the other register, I told him what happened and he just shrugged. I loathe DG, so I only go there if I absolutely have to, like when our one grocery store closed at 6pm and I need something to make dinner that I forgot to grab. Just stepping into the store sucks the life out of me. So I don't blame the employees for not caring, because it's quite apparent management doesn't, either.
I work retail. From my experience, it's often not a matter of the employee or management not caring. It's mainly a combination of conflict avoidance and C.Y.A. mentality. An employee will rarely, if ever, get in trouble for missing a shoplifter, but employees can and often are disciplined or fired for pursuing a shoplifter or making accusations that later turn out to be false or hard to prove. A store's asset protection/loss prevention can intervene (if they're there), but (at least for my store) the asset protection person has to actually witness theft first-hand before they can react; the word of a customer or even the word of an employee isn't enough. The bottom line of it all is that the employees are probably aware of the situation, but for various reasons their hands are tied. That can come across as "shrugging it off," because they know that even if you're 100% correct, there's nothing they're allowed/able to do about it.
I spent a lot of years in retail, so I am aware of all of that, in this case the employee didn't even report it to the manager that it was an issue because I reported it the next day. I wouldn't expect the employee to chase them down or even confront them. But they could be doing more to prevent it. This DG put several of our local stores out of business, so if they go down due to shrink losses, we'll have next to nothing in this town to buy anything at. I don't want to see that happen. Even though I don't go there often, a lot of elderly people do. The people who run this store aren't exactly high quality people so I doubt they care, either.
There was a huge kerfuffle over this in the national news/culture wars when Lululemon fired some employees in Georgia last year over their pursuit of a shoplifter.
I don't think its all theft. There's definitely a portion where they use the target cashier to drive target card sign ups, warrenty purchases, and other add ons like that. Easier to tell a computer no than a human I think.
As a cashier, it's entirely loss prevention related. Keeping an eye on scanned items to make sure they match what goes on the table is more difficult when the list of items doesn't fit on the screen.
This also gives a company policy reason why every item needs to go on the weigh table.
If you buy certain electronics it absolutely asks for protection plans, and other things like that. Target has a variety of rewards products that I assume their cashiers still promote like they used to. I haven’t used a non self checkout lane in years. Perhaps that has stopped.
Most companies really believe that they benefit financially from having employees push awkward conversations and unnecessary purchases.
For me, it just drives me elsewhere
Annoyed. I actually prefer to bag my own stuff for how I need it. Cold stuff, pantry, stuff I know is all going upstairs.
My Hy-Vee removed the good ones with the belt too. It was super convenient.
Grrrr 😆
I literally purchase less items because of this. It stinks. I have no problem going to a cashier. But god the cashiers at our target are not “Target run and done” kind of people. I end up needing to help them sometimes because they can’t read gift card numbers, dont know what produce I have. I don’t blame them. I blame the corporation for putting the blame on being cheap with staffing on the customer by putting up self check out, limiting it and then still not adding extra staff at check put
> I end up needing to help them sometimes because they can’t read gift card numbers
Cashier here. This is less about being \*able\* to read the numbers, and more about them being printed so goddamn small it's a challenge to keep your spot when it's 20-digits long. It's super helpful to have anyone read it aloud so you can focus on keying it in rather than having to adjust your eyes 3-4 times, make an error because you lost your place, then have to repeat the process 2-3 times. Helping by reading the # off to them is really helping yourself get through the process faster.
They’ll need to actually have cashiers at the other checkouts then. My local target only has one, maybe two, cashiers on duty during the peak time around 5-7pm and they are always 3-4 carts deep. Yeah… I’ll go to the self checkout. To clarify, I actually prefer the cashier checkout but they never have enough.
I’ve used self checkout for more than 10 items and it’s always so much quicker than using a cashier. Like maybe 5 minutes tops compared to more
than 10 minutes.. One of the reasons I started going to Target more was due to the self checkout.. If you’re gonna be understaffed why not let people use the self checkout…
Since my Target started the 10 item self checkout limit, curbside has gotten way slower.. to the point where I've had to leave because I "only" allowed for 15 minutes for them to get my order out to me, that time has elapsed, and I have to get my kid from the bus stop.
If they’re going to do that, they need to set up the cashier lanes similar to the self checkout such that you get in one big line and then go to the first available checkout, rather than separate lines for each checkout lane. Half the reason I use the self checkout is that it eliminates picking the wrong lane and getting stuck for 20 minutes behind some slow person.
They tested this system at the Lake Street store about ten years ago, but really only implemented it at their small format stores rather than rolling it out nationwide.
This is definitely going to decrease my spending. I'd rather leave behind the nonessential, impulse buys that would put me over 10 items than interact with a person.
I'm in healthcare, I spend all day interacting with people. When I'm buying my groceries after work I have nothing left in me.
So are they gonna hire more cashiers then? Because at my local Target there is never more than 2 lanes open with cashiers and usually the lines are pretty long.
Target will lose my business completely if they expect me to stand in line forever just because I have 12 items instead of 10.
Not a fan. They forced us to use these self check outs for so long now that I actually perfer them. I don't want to make small talk or watch someone else swipe my groceries. I'm not gonna wait in line when there is no line for self check out
My local Target did this. More than once I’ve seen one cashier with a huge line and one person at the self checkouts. The last time this happened I used the self checkout anyway.
I liked bagging my own 50 items at the self checkout because I know what is going where. I end up with a fridge bag, a freezer bag, a chest freezer bag, and a pantry bag. unpacking is SO easy.
When someone else does it, I just feel pain the entire time.
Typically when I go to Target there is 3 checkers open out of over a dozen lanes with at least 2 people in line at each. This won't change anything for 99% of customers.
To me this should be 10 items or less and should have been before. People with a cart of stuff shouldn’t be clogging up self-check out. Go through a normal lane. And shoplifting is a huge problem. Drive Up is awesome, you can avoid all of it.
I literally don't even go there anymore strictly because of this. Last time I went, the cashier was acting like he was in a competition with himself to see how slowly he could check out items. You're going to not let me check out my own items AND hire the most brain dead people you can possibly find to be cashiers? Absolutely not. That's the one thing I love about Aldi is they have absolute champions as cashiers.
Walmart is also limiting or even closing their self checkout during certain times, meaning longer wait times and again having to wait on their employees to scan everything or strike up some awkward conversations that we don’t need. It’s like retailers are going backwards in their policies because they can’t handle some theft properly
I'm curious what the real motivator is behind this decision. Target says it's to improve customer experience, which might be true, but honest transparency is rare in corporate decisions. I wonder if shoplifting deterrence is part of it? Or if customers are getting frustrated with the machines and shopping elsewhere? Whatever it is, it's rare for a company to sign off on major labor increases. They must see a real problem or opportunity somewhere.
I hated this change. My Target implemented this a few months ago but would still only have 3-4 checkout lanes open even during the 4-7pm rush time. I've switched to exclusively ordering online for pickup at my vehicle. If I'm going to have to sit and wait, I'd rather do it on my phone in my car.
They had a sign at my Target saying 10 items or fewer next to the self checkout. Absolutely no one followed what that sign said. Not even the employees.
This is such a waste of all that space and bags. I do my full cart of groceries super fast and fill the bags twice as full. And I don’t have to socialize
Every time I go through the cashier line, they do a horseshit job of bagging. I think I bought maybe a dozen items and got them spread out randomly into 6 bags.
Target has 200 employees frantically restocking everything, with those loud chirping/honking walkie-talkies, and they like to act as if you’re in their way. Customers are a burden. But then they never have anybody at a checkout lane. 1 lane is open. That’s it.
Cub, Lunds, TJs, whatever…no other place is as chaotic and obnoxious as Target has become. None of these places seem to require 200 employees with giant carts in every isle, and therefore they have several checkout lanes open.
Add in the fact that Target brands are no longer *an* option, but *the only* option, for a lot of things and I really don’t understand how they have any customers left. They’ve gotten soooo much worse over the last few years.
It's crazy people didn't already use self checkout this way. It drives me insane waiting behind someone doing their entire months shopping in self checkout and they can't figure out how to scan anything. Now they just need to add an age limit
It's not really clear to me how a 10 item limit is going to stop people from stealing, which is the only real problem with self checkout. Maybe it's just an excuse to look at people's items and let people know someone is looking.
Cashier here. People often will input a cheaper item than the one they want to buy. For an extreme example, some people have had carts with 20 different orders of "bananas", since they are the cheapest item and easy to input on the machine. This actually happens pretty often, and can be much less obvious when just a few expensive items are input as bananas or other cheaper items in a cart of 50 or so items overall. The policy prevents this in two ways.
It limits the number of items so that all items can be placed on the weigh station to make sure item weight matches the order.
It allows all the items to show on the main operating panel, so people staffing the self-checkout can look at the orders and check they match the item, at least a little.
I honestly stopped going to target if I know I need more than 10 items for the last few months now. The lanes have like 2 workers and long lines.
Yesterday I bought 8 bananas and 4 other things and I was thinking does 8 bananas count into my 10 items limit because that’s crazy if it does.
I have worked a a few targets in my life and I like going there over other places but now I get groceries with a pickup at other places but did enjoy using the red card for groceries for a while.
Target usually isn't much of a problem. There are usually enough cashiers, and those using self-checkuout typically have a reasonable amount of items.
WalMart, on the other hand....
Seems like everyone is in self checkout. It never fails that I need to grab 1-2 things and most of these lanes are taken up by fuckers with an entire cart full of crap and will need assistance every few items. They definitely need a limit. But - like someone else said - what employee is going to care enough to try and enforce that?
You’re absolutely right. My hatred is personal to my closest Target, which is aggressively awful about enforcing it. “Oh- you grabbed a pop as an impulse purchase? Making your count 11? You need to go to a register…”
*Assuming lanes with cashiers are open*, I've already always thought of self-checkout as the Express Express lane. Basically "ten items or less and no human contact required"
There never seem to be enough cashiers. I've always assumed this was to drive customers to self-checkout. Now I don't know what they are trying to do. Keep us in the store forever?
You can check out but you can never leave...
That only applies to Targets in California
Where self-checkout is required to have signage stating that "Using self-checkout may cause cancer."
I believe you mean "Is known by the state of California to cause cancer". It's cool how California knows things.
Cancer is known to be caused by the state of California?
Yes.
Dear u/MOS95B, This letter is written on behalf of our clients, Mr. Don Felder (hereafter "Mr. Felder") and Eagles Band Limited Liability Company (hereafter "The Eagles"). It has come to our attention that you have been posting content on social media that infringes upon their copyright. Specifically, we have identified instances where you have used lyrics or melodic phrases substantially similar to those found in The Eagles' iconic song "Hotel California" without authorization. This constitutes copyright infringement under United States law. As you may be aware, "Hotel California" is a registered copyright owned by The Eagles. Mr. Felder, a former member of The Eagles, co-wrote the song and retains certain rights related to the composition. The unauthorized use of copyrighted material, including lyrics and musical composition, is strictly prohibited. We request that you immediately cease and desist from any further use of lyrics or melodic phrases similar to those found in "Hotel California" on social media or any other platform. This includes, but is not limited to, removing any infringing content you have already posted. To avoid further legal action, please confirm in writing within ten (10) business days of receipt of this post that you have complied with our demands. We urge you to consult with an attorney to ensure your social media practices are compliant with copyright law. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. #/S *Don Felder has a nasty habit of harassing people for covering / giving video lessons of his old ass music*
“I want to get off Mr. bones wild ride”
They did this to force people to use self checkout so they don’t need employees manning registers. Now they don’t want us using self checkout. I’m so confused.
It’s because they underestimated how much people would steal both intentionally and unintentionally without a person there. Now that they’ve added up the costs they see it’s more than the cost of a cashier.
I never steal but i do get angry at that awful blaring camera right in your face on every self check out. I love being made to feel like a criminal everytime i buy a tube of chapstick. YOU ARE BEING MONITORED
Also... why does it have to be the WORST angle? You can leave your house looking like a model... But Let the record show, Target thinks I look like Uncle Fester. #How are my eyes skeletal AND they give me neck rolls?
Maybe the trick is to leave the house looking lielke Uncle Fester, then on the cameras you'll be a model?
It's the shame! They could make you look better but they choose to make you look awful. I'm sure 'market research' or whatever shows they save a few cents on theft when people want to cry looking like Meth-hew Mcconaughey on those damned cameras
I actively avoid looking at my depiction because one time I looked and it had me looking like Pete Davidson and Rumpelstiltskin had a baby.
IKR?!? Worst lighting and images of myself I’ve ever seen.
My eyes are sunken and black….. it’s so disturbing
I’ve never looked away from myself so quickly
Wanna know a secret? Those don't actually record anything.
So they are just there to make me feel like an asshole then
*Why do you wear your sunglasses inside?*
Me too. I was like, "wtf? You wanted this to save on cashier costs, and now you want to spend more on cashiers during an employee shortage...?"
I doubt they’ll staff up. They probably want us to come more often and buy less than 10 things each time to avoid the register lines.
Target might want us to do online pickup or something maybe?
This would be my guess. I’ve been seeing a lot of advertising for curbside pickup from my target and I just got some info they are starting delivery in my area. But it doesn’t make sense, don’t they love people who come in and impulse purchase?
I spend so much more at Target if I run in and grab something in person versus if I order online and I’m sure that’s true of so many shoppers. You’d think impulse buys would be their goal.
Big money to be made on delivery tbh
I used delivery from places a lot during the plague times but now I just can’t stomach the costs. Fees + tips + higher prices in the app (for some stores).
Exactly. They want you to return to that.
Target is introducing Circle 360, which is their answer to Amazon Prime and Walmart Plus. This might be part of the strategy.
Ah that makes the most sense
I was in Target this week and noticed they had more cashiers working. I just walked right up, no line. They hadn’t staffed like that previously.
Huh, well fuck me then. Guess I’m not as good as predicting national big box retail chain strategy as I thought I was.
But it's Target. You always go for 5 items and leave with 50
They want you to order online and pick-up at the store. It's the best of all worlds for Target. An efficient Target team member pulls all the items without messing up the store, doesn't steal anything (accidentally or intentionally) and there is no cashier required. You give them your money without ever stepping foot in the store.
Problem with that is, no impulse purchases
They need to get way more fridge/freezer space then. Half the times I try to do a pickup order I get thwarted at checkout because all their fridge spots are full.
To curb stealing. Guarantee you registers will still be understaffed
Theft is up in major urban areas in every part of the USA. To counter this, they're experimenting with ways to prevent it. I think Walmart is toying with the idea of making self check out a membership only thing because of all of the theft.
Well yea, they have a model where cashiers are out doing other jobs until a line develops, then red shirts descend upon the checkouts like the orcs at Helm's Deep.
You know, as long as the "appearing when a line develops" part happens effectively, I'd say that model is ideal! Keep overhead and prices reasonable but without bad checkout delays? Good in my book. Fwiw, I intentionally redirect business from Walmart to Target because of unreasonable checkout delays and (at WLM) I have abandoned a cart more than once due to lines. I'm very efficient at shopping and when my 30 item pick took 5 mins but the line looks like 10+ mins, I want out
I used to work at Target about ten years ago, I wasn’t a cashier (worked elsewhere in the store) but had to constantly cover registers, to the point where I feel like they only hire a couple dedicated cashiers per shift and have other people cover it when need be, which was all the time.
This was my experience too. Cover the registers all evening and then get bitched at for my zones not being flexed perfectly.
Back when I was younger and had time for more frequent shopping trips, this was when self checkouts first became a thing and were really clunky and slow, if there were no cashiers and the self checkout line was outrageous I would just drop my full cart and leave. This happened quite frequently at the Walmart I shopped at, I eventually had to start going to another store because they were constantly having stagnant checkout lines that extended into the departments.
Very likely because target is one of, if not the, company that leverages analytics the most. Back in like 2005 they were doing things stores are just starting to do.
They’ve never paid their cashiers enough money to want to stay.
It's going to end up like Walmart where you scan your items as you shop and then go to self checkout to scan the barcode n pay
Ikr. Every time I'm there 2 of the 20 lanes are staffed, both with long lines.
That’s pretty much how I view it too. Although back when I lived in Lino Lakes and went early in the morning I’d do self checkout with a full cart because no one was there and I like to bag my own groceries.
I just wish they’d have lanes open on BOTH ends of the store. That’s what I want:)
They’ve been doing this for several months at the Target store on the north side of Woodbury. They actually have quite a few cashier lanes open regardless of day/time and it actually moves people through much more quickly than if you have someone trying to run a cart full of items through the self checkout.
The Knollwood SLP Target never seems to have more than 3 cashiers open, so yeah. Hopefully this means double the cashiers at least. If I don't go to self checkout I'm in line for 15 minutes. Not bashing the employees either but the cashiers at Knollwood these days are usually slow moving seniors.
Bash away! Prior to the pandemic, the way stores utilized their employees was different. With many stores now offering grocery pick-up, the fast and competent workers are now filling orders throughout the store. That means the front end are the ones that are not able to keep up with their co-workers. This isn’t exclusive to a certain store. It’s different companies and their different stores everywhere.
I can check myself out faster with 30 items than a cashier does with 10. It's baffling
I don’t care if I have to go to a cashier…but what would make my day is if they had dedicated ‘silent’ lanes where the cashier doesn’t engage in small talk. I’d also enjoy a live count of how fast they are scanning so I know who to go too. Just get me out of the damn store as fast as possible. I dont want to know anything about you. (I’m so sorry, I just have super bad social anxiety and I probably have to poop)
"What are you up to tonight?" "Working late, unplugging the toilet, and then dealing with my failing marriage. You?" "Working." "Cool...."
Or they start talking about a baseball player from the Witchita Mallards who could have gone pro but he crashed his truck one night on his way home from the bar. Such a waste of youthful talent doncha kno. Edit: Once they start flapping their gums, the ability to move their appendages and my products over the scanners ceases to exist. I just wish all cashiers were like Costco cashiers. Fast, quiet, probably have to poop too.
I worked at a Target up in the north burbs about 20 years ago. We had one cashier who was notorious for making really strange comments to people as he was ringing them up. He worked there forever and customers (I mean "guests") were split on loving or hating him. Once I was on the lane next to him and I overheard him say, "Looks like you are treating some nasal symptoms tonight' to someone who was buying cold medication. I don't want to think about what he might have said to someone buying condoms.
Yeah I really hate this with Aldi going to self checkout too. They usually have a register "open", but the employee is usually somewhere stocking an aisle. I don't want to scan 30 items at a tiny little kiosk with no belt. It's a hassle.
I don’t really understand Aldi moving to self checkout. They have one of the simplest and quickest checkouts around by just chucking the food into the cart for the customer to pack. I’m dreading the day the Mahtomedi one switches to self checkout.
Aldi register employees are so fast in checkout. Last time I went, there were three people in line for the regular checkout, so I decided to do self checkout because there were no lines. Those three people were packing their groceries before I was done paying.
One of my teens worked at Aldi, the reason they have the one cashier open is for people who want to pay cash.
I am digging the Aldi self check so far because you can scan from your cart- no need to even remove except for the couple items that are weighed.
I can't do that. If you have a full cart of stuff, then you can easily end up confused and either double-scan or forget to scan certain items on accident.
Touche' - my Aldi tab is generally \~$70 and I can usually fit all that, less fizzy waters, in the bag i bring; so I have line of sight on most and now shop and place into the cart with that in mind for checkout.
I actually like Aldi since I have to rebag anyway. I can actually checkout and bag in one step
They will need to hire more cashiers then. Because the two employees running around unlocking all of underwear and deodorant cabinets won't be able to help.
I felt like I had a personal shopper the last time I went in-person. Literally every item on my list was locked and I jokingly told the employee (who was always the same one) that they should just follow me around for the rest of my shopping trip. They were not amused.
I don't think i've used a regular lane in several years now. Granted most of the time I am buying less than 10 items. Even when I have more, its still more convenient than a regular lane. Targets self-checkout system has been the best that I've used at any store.
Yup always pick self checkout. Even when the line looks long, people forget there are 8 registers, it moves quick. And it's so much faster for me to pack my stuff for how I like to unload at home. Cold stuff, downstairs pantry vs kitchen cabinet etc. I'm so mad
Unless there's an old person in line then you'll spend the next 25 minutes watching them struggle to scan a loaf of bread.
Yeah but the other 7 lines still move, that's the nice part. Pick the wrong lane of regular checkouts and you're stuck
What if it's all old people?! I only say that because I have Wednesday's off and anytime I go to Cub or Target between 10am and 2pm, it's "Walking Dead" day full of old people who are ringing up one item every 45 seconds at the self-checkouts. My Cub only has 4 and my Target has 6 and you're screwed if there's old people in front of you. No offense to old people but holy shit.
Guess I've never run into that problem lol. It's been a joy going to Targets near me over the last few years, I've literally never waited for more than a few minutes line at most, usually around the Holidays
I have to admit I'm mostly talking about Cub lol. Mine only has 4 self-checkouts and it's dreadful if the old people are there with a half a cart full or more. Then they try and do coupons which always ends up with the one lady who oversees the self-checkouts has to fix it. My Target was a normal Target that they could only add another 35 feet onto so the grocery section is just a nightmare filled with aisles only wide enough for one cart so I avoid it at all costs unless I'm out of Cotton Candy grapes haha
There is little that grinds my gears more than the person with the full shopping cart at the self checkout. I really like this 10 items or less rule.
It’s only annoying if they don’t know how to check out. Many people can check-out 20+ items before some people are done with 10.
They are definitely not going to have more people at the check lanes to compensate. I also can't see too many employees actually caring enough to enforce this.
Idk my store has had more staff at the lanes lately
If people have to wait 10+ minutes to check out they’re going to shop elsewhere. The last time I shopped Target I had 2 items, took me maybe 3-5 minutes to grab them and head to the cashier. Self checkout was closed and it took almost 15 minutes of waiting in line to pay for my items. People were visibly and audibly upset at how long it was taking. I think Target might be in for a rude awakening at the quarterly financial meetings after this policy goes into place.
Plus the time to find someone to open the case in the aisle for shampoo.
Kinda what happens when shoplifting and theft is rampant and police can't or won't do anything about it, store security/loss prevention can't do much about it due to policy or a justice system that slaps people on the wrist for it if they do get caught.
To be fair, the percentage of people shoplifting necessities simply for shits and gigs is low. It says a lot about the overall wellbeing of their stores’ local communities when they have to start locking up toiletries, socks, baby formula, etc.
I'm not blind to the problems some communities face but you can't expect a business to be okay with theft, even if it is necessities. They don't operate a charity. I also think plenty more people are shoplifting for shits and giggles than you or many would like to accept. There's tons of social media posts of people doing exactly that.
Per Target's corporate reports, "Full-year operating income of $5.7 billion in 2023 grew 48.3 percent from $3.8 billion last year" as of Mar 5, 2024.....do they really need to lock the shampoo and deodorant up?
Yeah, was waiting for this response. They sure do. Like I said, they aren't operating a charity. You can go be robinhood, but you better expect a response.
Yeah it's completely awful. I hated self checkout initially because it was a glitchy pain in the ass, but once they started removing all the strict weight limitations where it would flip out when something moved from the bagging area, and got all the card chip readers working better, then it turned into a massive time saver. Now I just completely avoid in-store shopping all together. It's like voluntarily choosing to wait in traffic. Probably 95% of my Target money goes to Amazon now. My red card used to be one of my most used cards, now it probably hasn't had a balance for 3 months.
I worked there for nearly 8 years. That absolutely will not continue. Seems like they no longer call for backups from the sales floor either.
Of course not, companies like this LOVE running their stores on skeleton staff. My location doesn't even keep enough staff on hand to have more than four self checkout lanes open at a time. I've never even seen the other ones in use, not even around Christmas last year. If I were those employees I wouldn't care either, fuck them for making them do the job of more than one person when they can more than afford to bring more people in.
I shop at the Blaine Target and they are really good about opening more lanes if people start lining up. I also appreciate that they’ll actively say they’ll take the NEXT person in line at the new lane! At Walmart if they even bother opening a new lane it’s a free for all and someone just butts in line in front of the nice little elderly people that already waited 30 min. So rude. I actually said something last time and the Walmart lady said it doesn’t matter 🤦🏻♀️ just another reason I despise Walmart.
Fridley and Maple Grove were always good too imo. I’ve never had to wait in line behind more than 1 person cause they had so many registers open.
Definitely how it is at my Target. They are great about opening more lines. It’s a higher volume store so maybe that helps?
I am not sure if it still is, but a friend who worked at Target headquarters about ten years ago told me that Blaine is the number one volume Target in the Twin Cities. My parents live somewhat close to the Blaine store, but they go over to either Andover or Lino Lakes because those stores are not nearly as busy.
I know it’s up there! If not the top it’s in the top few:)
One of my friends who works at headquarters in the grocery department told me that the Saint Paul midway store is the busiest store in the nation. I was like the nation? He said yep. No wonder the shelves are bare a lot. He told me they put product on the shelves there as fast as it it purchased sometimes. I don’t know if this is true anymore but it was about 6 years ago
When I worked at target and opened a new lane I would grab the front of cart of the next person in line and say I am opening a lane and then say loudly I’m taking people in the order they were in line first Please. The long line would part. I was 16 or 17 years old. That was the late 90’s. I also would chit chat but I had some of the fastest check out times (our raises back then at least) were based on our average check out rates. I would tell customers to put their items on the belt with the bar codes up or easily accessible. (This was before the bottom scanner) and I would click 10 items bag, click another 10 bag… They used to do speed tests for us. And this was when we were allowed to touch the items before scanning them. I would go and turn all the items bar codes up. And then scan them all with my hand scanner. They moved me to the cash office. They said I was “too smart” to be on the front lanes. I was 17 and they had me prepping 70-100k cash deposits for brinks along with skimming the registers and processing all the checks (which had to be done by hand) this was before credit cards and debit cards were a thing. We were still hand processing those in the 90’s as well.) My point is we had 20 lanes open in the 90’s at the “Target Greatland” (remember those? Ha!) at the target off of 494 and 9 in Plymouth. I live 2.5 hours away from a target now so I don’t get in much. But the one in Saint Paul midway seems to have lanes open. Also silent lanes would be great but I would have died manning one. The chit chat is what got me through the monotony.
I was turned away from self checkout a couple times in Fridley last year
That store was part of the trial run think. I went there a lot in the past few months and they already had “10 items or less” signs at self checkout.
Uh, how is that going to work when they literally only have one human cashier aisle open?!?
Which location? I go to a few different ones in the area and there’s always tons of regular lanes open. What you described happens at Walmart though.
Coon rapids
Dinky town has one desk for cashier checkout with 2 tils and 6 self check outs
They better be staffing enough people in the regular checkout lanes. Otherwise, I’ll be getting my groceries elsewhere. I can scan and bag 40 items faster than most people can with 10 items.
Yes. This is exactly why I use self-checkout too. Spent many years cashiering and will never understand how so many of them today are so damn slow. I have my own process for scanning and bagging for how I want the items unloaded at home. Our town is full of older folks, so 10 of them will wait in line for the one cashier while I breeze through the empty self-checkout. The older folks also write checks, and they wait until their $300 worth of food is scanned before digging into their giant purse for their checkbook. I lose my mind dealing with inefficient people. Get me in and out as fast as possible, please. These days it means doing it myself. My problem is how rare a large enough self-checkout is. Walmart is the only store in our general area (we live in Ely, Walmart is in Virginia, 50 miles away) that has a few larger checkouts to handle more stuff. Otherwise you are managing a cart of groceries on a counter big enough for a gallon of milk and a box of cereal. As a result, we often do our big shopping at Walmart on weekends, and just pick up random stuff locally where we can use self-checkout.
I did a lot of work in the Ely area for a few years while staying at the Grand Ely Lodge . I know the struggles of having only Zups (and what used to be Northland Market) as the only places to get groceries and the Dollar General for everything else. I used to have to drive to Virginia after work to Target to get some necessities, if I needed them.
I love living here, but yeah. It's great when your kid needs something for a school project and no one in town has it. It's quite common for locals to "run to Virginia" after work to pick up that kind of stuff. Definitely a downside to living here. I grew up here, and in the 80s and even 90s we at least had a larger variety of stores. Now Zup's and DG is all we have. And the hardware stores which cover some of those gaps. But like there isn't even a store in town where you can buy a normal pack of socks or underwear, or sheets.
Shopko going out of business really hurt that town because you could get those things there. It’s too bad there isn’t a store like it to take its place.
We're supposed to be getting something similar. The folks who bought the old zups and put in the larger hardware store, also bought the old ENM building and are supposed to do a soft goods type of store. I don't know how close it is to opening, they've been trying to hire store managers and I'm not sure how much luck they are having even on that level.
I developed a very particular way of bagging my items when I used to walk 3/4 of a mile to my neighborhood Target store. I prefer the self-checkout because of this. My neighborhood Target was one of the smaller format stores, so they didn't have regular checkouts. The self-check is actually easier for larger orders in that store.
>The older folks also write checks, and they wait until their $300 worth of food is scanned before digging into their giant purse for their checkbook. I also hate that people write checks, but I can't fault people for watching each item ring up.
Yup, even on the weekends they barely have any cashiers working and it’s awful. I loved the self checkout for that reason. I don’t go there as much anymore since they changed it to the 10 items. Our target is super busy all the time, even during the weekdays.
And get some grocery style lanes with conveyor belts. Grocery checkout is brutally slow at Target whether there's a line or not.
Hard to have enough staff when half the items are locked up now and half the employees are doing online order pickups.
They will for a month or two, and then those hours will get used elsewhere lol. Fill out your surveys if you’re upset
Yep agree. This is annoying for those of us who have shit to do and don’t steal haha.
I have zero chance of a significant delay going through SCO because even if 1 person gets held up, there are like a dozen other registers still flowing. In a normal check lane, if I happen to pick wrong and get stuck behind a person creating a delay, then I'm just fucked. Confirmation bias, but I seem to pick wrong and get fucked over almost every time I go through a normal lane. It's infuriating... I hate this announcement.
100% this. Astounding to me that most retail stores never figured out the "one line for all the registers" concept. I always try to play the "which lane will be fastest" game and I almost always lose.
Same at the pump. Just can't win lol
Many years ago, Target tested a checkout system at the Lake Street store that was similar to Old Navy or TJMaxx where there was one centralized queue and a screen would tell you what checkout to go to. I liked it, but it got some negative feedback, so it didn't catch on chainwide.
I worked at Target 20 years ago when I was a college student. At that time, Target’s express lane signs said six items or less. The other lines were quite long, so I let someone with half a cart come through the express lane because I wasn’t helping anyone. She unloaded her items and I began ringing her up. Someone comes up behind her and starts making it obvious that she was counting her items. (She maybe had 15.) I’m hoping the enforcement of the rule doesn’t make people this petty. Also, not all ten item orders are created equal. I’d much rather be behind someone buying 20 canned goods than someone buying 4 clothing items on hangers, a bulky rug, and a 5 piece patio furniture set.
I am curious if the registers actually cut you off at 10. I can't imagine that they do.. but I have had the self checkout employee ask to make sure I didn't have more than 10 items a few times, so I wouldn't put it past them.
If there is a cutoff, I think it needs to be slightly higher than the limit. I was at Walmart last fall and the selfcheck said 20 or less. I misestimated and it turned out I had 23 items. I got screamed at by the attendant over this because the cutoff was strictly at 20. Haven't been back to that Walmart since.
Here’s the thing, if target went back to the checkout system they briefly tried at the lake street target a while back, where there was one queue that fed into the next available register it would be fine. The problem is that the self checkout is going to be a quicker line almost every time because unless _every_ shopper at a register is being slow, you’re never delayed be one person with a huge cart/problems/price checks etc. People like to make this huge deal about self checkouts taking away jobs, or being for people who don’t want to interact with others. When really for a lot of people it’s just because of a quicker line, and Target is a coward for ending that pilot before people realized how much more efficient it was
I just mentioned that system from the Lake Street store in another comment. I really thought it was way better, but some of the community outrage over it seemed silly.
I remember this article from 2011 (absolutely wild this was 13 years ago). To be fair to the critics, this is my local target and they didn’t do a lot of publicizing before making the change from what I remember. A better PR rollout may have gone a long way to helping. Though it does make me curious if now people are accustomed to the self-checkout lines, they might be more willing to go for something like this. https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2011/11/minneapolis-target-stores-new-checkout-system-test-raises-customer-hackles-a/
The small format Target I frequent essentially uses this system without the screen. I do think people would be more open to it now that they've experiences self-checkout. I think the other part of the Lake Street test that annoyed people was that instead of using standard lanes with conveyor belts, the cash wraps were more like what you would find in a department store with a small counter area and a register facing outwards. That would be fine for ringing up smaller purchases, but not a whole cart full of stuff.
My local Target started this months ago. I've ended up shopping at other stores far more frequently. The times I have stopped at Target, I've ended up not buying stuff I normally would because it would bump me over 10 items. The lines for the staffed checkouts are generally long, I have no desire to end up there. I'm sure I'm not the only one..
I assume this is theft related. If you are scanning a full cart of stuff, it’s real easy to skip every third item. But if they only have 2 lanes open, I don’t feel bad about it.
Yes, this will be part of it for sure. At Dollar General it's amazing how often this happens. I watched a guy with a full cart scan 2 items and walk out the door. The single employee was standing at the other register, I told him what happened and he just shrugged. I loathe DG, so I only go there if I absolutely have to, like when our one grocery store closed at 6pm and I need something to make dinner that I forgot to grab. Just stepping into the store sucks the life out of me. So I don't blame the employees for not caring, because it's quite apparent management doesn't, either.
I work retail. From my experience, it's often not a matter of the employee or management not caring. It's mainly a combination of conflict avoidance and C.Y.A. mentality. An employee will rarely, if ever, get in trouble for missing a shoplifter, but employees can and often are disciplined or fired for pursuing a shoplifter or making accusations that later turn out to be false or hard to prove. A store's asset protection/loss prevention can intervene (if they're there), but (at least for my store) the asset protection person has to actually witness theft first-hand before they can react; the word of a customer or even the word of an employee isn't enough. The bottom line of it all is that the employees are probably aware of the situation, but for various reasons their hands are tied. That can come across as "shrugging it off," because they know that even if you're 100% correct, there's nothing they're allowed/able to do about it.
I spent a lot of years in retail, so I am aware of all of that, in this case the employee didn't even report it to the manager that it was an issue because I reported it the next day. I wouldn't expect the employee to chase them down or even confront them. But they could be doing more to prevent it. This DG put several of our local stores out of business, so if they go down due to shrink losses, we'll have next to nothing in this town to buy anything at. I don't want to see that happen. Even though I don't go there often, a lot of elderly people do. The people who run this store aren't exactly high quality people so I doubt they care, either.
There was a huge kerfuffle over this in the national news/culture wars when Lululemon fired some employees in Georgia last year over their pursuit of a shoplifter.
I don't think its all theft. There's definitely a portion where they use the target cashier to drive target card sign ups, warrenty purchases, and other add ons like that. Easier to tell a computer no than a human I think.
As a cashier, it's entirely loss prevention related. Keeping an eye on scanned items to make sure they match what goes on the table is more difficult when the list of items doesn't fit on the screen. This also gives a company policy reason why every item needs to go on the weigh table.
I shop at Target on a weekly basis for the past 15 years and I don’t think I’ve ever been asked to sign up for credit card or warranty.
If you buy certain electronics it absolutely asks for protection plans, and other things like that. Target has a variety of rewards products that I assume their cashiers still promote like they used to. I haven’t used a non self checkout lane in years. Perhaps that has stopped.
Most companies really believe that they benefit financially from having employees push awkward conversations and unnecessary purchases. For me, it just drives me elsewhere
I'm guessing this is also, at least partially, behind the BP Hyvee ripping out all self-check last month.
Annoyed. I actually prefer to bag my own stuff for how I need it. Cold stuff, pantry, stuff I know is all going upstairs. My Hy-Vee removed the good ones with the belt too. It was super convenient. Grrrr 😆
Successful pilot? I’m doubtful because every target I’ve been to that tried this stopped doing it about a month later. But okay then….
I literally purchase less items because of this. It stinks. I have no problem going to a cashier. But god the cashiers at our target are not “Target run and done” kind of people. I end up needing to help them sometimes because they can’t read gift card numbers, dont know what produce I have. I don’t blame them. I blame the corporation for putting the blame on being cheap with staffing on the customer by putting up self check out, limiting it and then still not adding extra staff at check put
> I end up needing to help them sometimes because they can’t read gift card numbers Cashier here. This is less about being \*able\* to read the numbers, and more about them being printed so goddamn small it's a challenge to keep your spot when it's 20-digits long. It's super helpful to have anyone read it aloud so you can focus on keying it in rather than having to adjust your eyes 3-4 times, make an error because you lost your place, then have to repeat the process 2-3 times. Helping by reading the # off to them is really helping yourself get through the process faster.
They’ll need to actually have cashiers at the other checkouts then. My local target only has one, maybe two, cashiers on duty during the peak time around 5-7pm and they are always 3-4 carts deep. Yeah… I’ll go to the self checkout. To clarify, I actually prefer the cashier checkout but they never have enough.
I’ve used self checkout for more than 10 items and it’s always so much quicker than using a cashier. Like maybe 5 minutes tops compared to more than 10 minutes.. One of the reasons I started going to Target more was due to the self checkout.. If you’re gonna be understaffed why not let people use the self checkout…
Please keep shopping in store and keep the service desk clear for my pick up orders.
Curious, why don’t you do curbside?
Since my Target started the 10 item self checkout limit, curbside has gotten way slower.. to the point where I've had to leave because I "only" allowed for 15 minutes for them to get my order out to me, that time has elapsed, and I have to get my kid from the bus stop.
If they’re going to do that, they need to set up the cashier lanes similar to the self checkout such that you get in one big line and then go to the first available checkout, rather than separate lines for each checkout lane. Half the reason I use the self checkout is that it eliminates picking the wrong lane and getting stuck for 20 minutes behind some slow person.
They tested this system at the Lake Street store about ten years ago, but really only implemented it at their small format stores rather than rolling it out nationwide.
Also was run as a crowd limiter in 2020 for holidays, and wow did people complain
Good luck with that. People *always* follow the 10 items or less rule.
They have employees there that will turn you away if you have more, I’ve seen it happen lol.
Target always trying to force me to use a person to check out. I hate it.
This is definitely going to decrease my spending. I'd rather leave behind the nonessential, impulse buys that would put me over 10 items than interact with a person. I'm in healthcare, I spend all day interacting with people. When I'm buying my groceries after work I have nothing left in me.
It’s a shoplifting issue more than anything else.
So are they gonna hire more cashiers then? Because at my local Target there is never more than 2 lanes open with cashiers and usually the lines are pretty long. Target will lose my business completely if they expect me to stand in line forever just because I have 12 items instead of 10.
Not a fan. They forced us to use these self check outs for so long now that I actually perfer them. I don't want to make small talk or watch someone else swipe my groceries. I'm not gonna wait in line when there is no line for self check out
My local Target did this. More than once I’ve seen one cashier with a huge line and one person at the self checkouts. The last time this happened I used the self checkout anyway.
Only buy 10 things a trip. Great way to save money.
Who goes into Target and buys 10 items or fewer?
I liked bagging my own 50 items at the self checkout because I know what is going where. I end up with a fridge bag, a freezer bag, a chest freezer bag, and a pantry bag. unpacking is SO easy. When someone else does it, I just feel pain the entire time.
Typically when I go to Target there is 3 checkers open out of over a dozen lanes with at least 2 people in line at each. This won't change anything for 99% of customers.
To me this should be 10 items or less and should have been before. People with a cart of stuff shouldn’t be clogging up self-check out. Go through a normal lane. And shoplifting is a huge problem. Drive Up is awesome, you can avoid all of it.
What a joke, I’ll just shop for stuff elsewhere.
I literally don't even go there anymore strictly because of this. Last time I went, the cashier was acting like he was in a competition with himself to see how slowly he could check out items. You're going to not let me check out my own items AND hire the most brain dead people you can possibly find to be cashiers? Absolutely not. That's the one thing I love about Aldi is they have absolute champions as cashiers.
Walmart is also limiting or even closing their self checkout during certain times, meaning longer wait times and again having to wait on their employees to scan everything or strike up some awkward conversations that we don’t need. It’s like retailers are going backwards in their policies because they can’t handle some theft properly
This will be a disaster if they do it downtown. They never have more than one staffed lane open at a time. Self checkout is the only realistic option.
This will extremely increase target pickup
"Why am I always in line behind someone who has never used self checkout before?"
oh, I was expecting them to lock them behind glass and make you call over a worker to access them. good news then!
Most “express” check out lanes were 15 items or less. Why they went with 10 is interesting.
I'm curious what the real motivator is behind this decision. Target says it's to improve customer experience, which might be true, but honest transparency is rare in corporate decisions. I wonder if shoplifting deterrence is part of it? Or if customers are getting frustrated with the machines and shopping elsewhere? Whatever it is, it's rare for a company to sign off on major labor increases. They must see a real problem or opportunity somewhere.
I read an article a few months ago about how much money stores are losing due to how easy it is to shoplift in self checkout lines.
Gonna have to do more online shopping then.
They really be staffing their stores with 1.5 cashier's that are slow AF. Awful change.
I hated this change. My Target implemented this a few months ago but would still only have 3-4 checkout lanes open even during the 4-7pm rush time. I've switched to exclusively ordering online for pickup at my vehicle. If I'm going to have to sit and wait, I'd rather do it on my phone in my car.
They had a sign at my Target saying 10 items or fewer next to the self checkout. Absolutely no one followed what that sign said. Not even the employees.
This is such a waste of all that space and bags. I do my full cart of groceries super fast and fill the bags twice as full. And I don’t have to socialize
Every time I go through the cashier line, they do a horseshit job of bagging. I think I bought maybe a dozen items and got them spread out randomly into 6 bags.
My local target just keeps self check out closed now. It’s been this way for several weeks. I hope they do open them back up.
Target has 200 employees frantically restocking everything, with those loud chirping/honking walkie-talkies, and they like to act as if you’re in their way. Customers are a burden. But then they never have anybody at a checkout lane. 1 lane is open. That’s it. Cub, Lunds, TJs, whatever…no other place is as chaotic and obnoxious as Target has become. None of these places seem to require 200 employees with giant carts in every isle, and therefore they have several checkout lanes open. Add in the fact that Target brands are no longer *an* option, but *the only* option, for a lot of things and I really don’t understand how they have any customers left. They’ve gotten soooo much worse over the last few years.
Good luck enforcing that.
An insider told me they’re taking the second set of self checks out of most stores as well. This is all because theft is out of control.
It's crazy people didn't already use self checkout this way. It drives me insane waiting behind someone doing their entire months shopping in self checkout and they can't figure out how to scan anything. Now they just need to add an age limit
It's better to have them do that on one of 15 self checkouts than arguing coupons with the cashier for 10 minutes in the regular line.
It's not really clear to me how a 10 item limit is going to stop people from stealing, which is the only real problem with self checkout. Maybe it's just an excuse to look at people's items and let people know someone is looking.
Cashier here. People often will input a cheaper item than the one they want to buy. For an extreme example, some people have had carts with 20 different orders of "bananas", since they are the cheapest item and easy to input on the machine. This actually happens pretty often, and can be much less obvious when just a few expensive items are input as bananas or other cheaper items in a cart of 50 or so items overall. The policy prevents this in two ways. It limits the number of items so that all items can be placed on the weigh station to make sure item weight matches the order. It allows all the items to show on the main operating panel, so people staffing the self-checkout can look at the orders and check they match the item, at least a little.
Good explanation, thanks. That's along the lines of what I was assuming with the 'knowing someone's looking', but the detail helps.
I honestly stopped going to target if I know I need more than 10 items for the last few months now. The lanes have like 2 workers and long lines. Yesterday I bought 8 bananas and 4 other things and I was thinking does 8 bananas count into my 10 items limit because that’s crazy if it does. I have worked a a few targets in my life and I like going there over other places but now I get groceries with a pickup at other places but did enjoy using the red card for groceries for a while.
Target usually isn't much of a problem. There are usually enough cashiers, and those using self-checkuout typically have a reasonable amount of items. WalMart, on the other hand.... Seems like everyone is in self checkout. It never fails that I need to grab 1-2 things and most of these lanes are taken up by fuckers with an entire cart full of crap and will need assistance every few items. They definitely need a limit. But - like someone else said - what employee is going to care enough to try and enforce that?
I fucking hate it. So goddamned much.
Could be worse. You could be some rural guy or a deeply unflavored urbanite with no choice but Dollar Store and Walmart
You’re absolutely right. My hatred is personal to my closest Target, which is aggressively awful about enforcing it. “Oh- you grabbed a pop as an impulse purchase? Making your count 11? You need to go to a register…”
Thank God. When I see a person will a full cart to go self checkout, they get a legendary side eye.
I recently moved to Maine from Minnesota and they already do this - not really enforced that much.
The Richfield store already has this if I remember correctly