To think that people that use self service tills should

[Charlie97]

A. Not scan, put all there stuff on other side, pay and ONLY then pack

B. Have a speed test, if they can't find bar code within certain amount of seconds, then they are not deemed fit and proper to use self service tills

C. Should not be allowed to let children scan items really slowly, whilst fighting their siblings for whose turn it is

Or should I just use the real person serving aisle?

This is light hearted!

Squoosh, we have trolley self service at one add a I go to

YOU SHOULD HAVE PUT LIGHTHEARTED IN THE TITLE .. I took you seriously you twat!!

Some of the self service machines don't work properly if you bring your own bags, so that answers questions A for you.

I hate that your clothes can slightly touch the metal plate starts harping on about unexpected items in the bagging area

I let my kids scan even though they are so slow they actually drive ME mad because that is how they will learn to use the tills isn't it, and unless the person behind me is in purchasing the scalpel for the heart transplant they are rushing off to then I am sorry but waiting another few seconds is not a matter of life or death.

I hate hate hate the way people are so selfish and in such a rush these days. I actually loathe Thr self service tills because I think they are symptomatic of just those two things, but quite often when I go to my local sainsburys later at night they are the only ones open.

They actually take me longer than a manned till because the bastarding things never work properly.

Owllady I'm afraid I have so much pent up ire aimed at self scan trolleyers that even if there was a big flashing sign saying 'Trollies Welcome' I'd still be making mafia gestures behind their back.

Lego minifigures are a nightmare [nods sagely]

DD (nearly 12) is a dab hand at those scanners.

Trouble is , light things (we buy loads of parsley) doesn't register in the bagging area.

And in M&S, when there are money off specials, it doesn't show until you pay . I was and thought it wasn't working, had to call someone over. I know now.

Squoosh, they are propr type, conveyor belt 'bring your trolley here' types ones
A new kind of hell

Please wait for assistance...

I do A. Only for when I have a few items.

I also take my trolley in sometimes

And let ds scan.

However I'm pretty quick using them so you haters can all jog on

(A) is fine by me, most of the problems are caused when people start to faff about with their packing.

I find it more annoying when more than one person tries to scan the shopping, one scanning, the other packing results in "please place the item in the bagging area" followed by confused look when the next item won't scan.

Yes, I have to work with these awful machines!

I am surprised how many are stuck at the end of the cycle (3 out of 4 in boots last week). The assistant told me its rife. People scan pack, mess about with the machine a bit and then walk out without paying!!

I struggled with one in Tesco this week. I had bought 8 different bread rolls from the 'help yourself with the tongs' section. I put them in two bags as they are 4 for £1. Unfortunately the self-service till requires you to identify each roll (from a list of about 20) and enter the quantity, but because I'd bagged them in 4s I couldn't put each roll in my bag as I scanned it. Cue lots of unexpected items in bagging area and a long wait for an assistant to help. Never again!

My dp does an amusing thing where he tries to pick up the next item whilst scanning the last, it drives the machine crazy.

I hate those original self-service tills and would rather stand in a longer queue for a manned checkout.

I will only use them if I have my eldest daughter with me (she is 18 now), as she seems to just have the knack of them. I tend to get annoyed with them and start arguing back when they shout "unexpected item in the bagging area", which amuses my daughter no end. She says "Mum, its a machine. It can't hear you and hold a conversation".

One system I do like though is the recently introduced "scan and pack" at both of our local Tesco branches. It is a form of self service, but you carry a hand-held barcode scanner around with you, scan your shopping and bag it as you are going round, see a running total so that you can avoid overspending, pay at another specially designed till, and then go. I can get on with that, but not the other ones with their stupidly sensitive "bagging areas" where I can hardly move without it shrieking at me.

Sorry I'm going to start doing A now ...what a good idea!
Had stopped using them because use my own bags - 'unexpected item in bagging area' was driving me insane...
Honestly OP it will be quicker than waiting for the attendant to come over a hundred times...
And I let DC scan but only when there is no queue ...

i let my 6 year old have agood play on the tills in our little tesco express cos its mainly just us and pensioners who only go in to chat to Laura when they buy their papers.

in big tescos i refuse to use them on the basis that they are not actually faster by the time you have got them over 4 times and all they do is wave a bit of paper or put in their staff id.

morrisons though is hilarious. our local morrisons have lovely till staff (far nicer than tesco) who smile and chat a bit and help with packing on the normal tills.for some reason this goes out of the window on the self serve. one poor demented soul doing a sour faced dance around 6 fecking tills that just dont work.

I like to take time out between packing to argue with the machine, give it a kick to try and get it to work, search for the volume button to turn the annoying computerised voice down (you can do this apparently, but I've yet to find the button on the Sainsburys ones), wait for the shop assistant to come over the try to persuade the machine to work and fight with the plastic bags that you can never really manage to open without tearing

I only use self service to use up my coppers it's such a satisfying roller coaster ride of a trip I can't stop myself!