To think you should get some sort of incentive to use self-check out tills in shops?

[angelos02]

Seems mad to me that you are doing staff's work and you get nothing back. Even just 10% off the total of your bill would be a start.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses them to avoid talking to strangers. And now I've learnt what pushes the wrong buttons I generally sail through.

Can any of you supermarket staffers on MN tell us: are they more popular with men than with women, or vice versa, or neither?

Bit you are doing the staff's work. The more people use automated systems, the fewer people supermarkets employ!
I refuse, on principle, to use them.
Also, because once when I was doing a Christmas shop, some fucking officious person at sainsburys forced me to use the self-service till, with no conveyor belt (obv) so all my shopping was higgledy piggledy packed randomly and all my nice stuff squashed and wrecked. At Christmas! So I never use them now, ever. And I want people to have jobs.

My DH says this too.... He point bland refuses to use them!!!

He also won't wear anything with a logo because he thinks they should pay him to advertise their stuff!

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And now I've learnt what pushes the wrong buttons I generally sail through

Care to share?

My incentive is that I have loads of change to spend and it's too embarrassing to fanny around counting it out to a real human.

Self scan is good for teaching kids quick mental arithmetic and recognising money.

I read somewhere that a quite shocking percentage use self-scan to slip items out without paying...

Perhaps they see that as an incentive scheme?

I'm a scan and shop fan, and my incentive is that I can keep track of my shopping bill, pack as I go, and not queue, it's so quick and easy.

I do feel bad that if we all do this then there is less need for someone on the checkout, and that jobs might be at risk, but I like what I like I guess.

I dont need an incentive.

Another vote for them being quicker, and no-one comments when you buy a box of tampons, bottle of wine and big bar of chocolate.

Things to note: the scales are quite sensitive so if e.g. the basket nudges against them, the machine will get upset. However, they're not that sensitive and will struggle with light things like chewing gum. And on one occasion an onion. That time I actually ended up explaining to staff how their machine worked. I was tempted just to nick the fucking onion as it took a long time. But I didn't.

Hate self service tills but the scan and shop is a revelation. No human interaction required at all unless you're the unlucky customer selected for a random service check. Then you have to stand and grimace while they rifle through your carefully packed bags.

Things to note: the scales are quite sensitive so if e.g. the basket nudges against them, the machine will get upset. However, they're not that sensitive and will struggle with light things like chewing gum. And on one occasion an onion. That time I actually ended up explaining to staff how their machine worked

So they don't work properly then?

I never use the machines, they never work.

So they don't work properly then?

If you jam the handle of a basket up against them, they'll register the fact that something is being weighed, because in effect it is. You just move the basket away and they're fine. The gum/ onion dilemma is more of a problem but really if they make them sensitive enough to weigh that stuff, a lot of people will struggle a lot more with them. Like most things they work within certain parameters, not universally.

I quite like them. The onion's been the biggest problem I've had for months. The ones in the store I use are remote operated so if you're buying alcohol you just yahoo to whoever's on the till and say "can you tell it I'm over 25, thanks" and they press a button and you're off.

They never work properly.
They are easy to use to steal from.
The queues are never smaller.
My brother won't use 'robots' as he thinks they are replacing humans and it's not right to do that.

I never use them, even when they have a staff person trying to direct people to those fucking things. 'There are self service tills free here.' 'That's nice. I hate those things.'

Just 10% oh is that all.

There is an incentive. It's quicker and I don't have to chat to anyone. The queues are shorter as lots of people don't use them. People with huge amounts of shopping don't tend to use them.

There is a choice. If you don't feel it's value for money. Use a manned till.

I don't like them. They ought to be programmed so they know something light won't bloody well weigh much so stop asking me to put it in the bloody bagging area! And they should have somewhere to put your handbag where it can't be nicked but isn't swinging round off your arm the whole time.

Oh I love them. Now my local supermarket has the ones with belts I never go to a person. I'm just really socially awkward and I find strangers difficult to converse with, small talk is my biggest pet hate. I generally don't have an issue with the self serves although the ones with the belts are more difficult and require more help. I used one last week for a full shop and the poor guy had to come over to sort it about six times, for all it was worth I might as well have gone to a person... But I like scanning my own things and just generally being alone .

You can only use them if you have a few items in a basket.

If you spend less than about £10 in a supermarket, they dont make any profit on the sale at all.
They dont run in the same way you think they do. When a new supermarket opens, the big suppliers give them 3 - 6 months free credit on stock.
After that they have to buy new stock and service the debt.

The self service checkouts that can be manned by one or two staff are not making any more money than the manned tills. They are not cheap to buy, and they dont make a lot of profit.

I think the incentive is not having to chat to someone. I don't like shopping and cheerful, chatty checkout operators get on my nerves. I'm not rude to them but don't want a chat.

Believe me, they don't want to chat to you either. They only make conversation because they are told they have to. When I used to work on a checkout, customers used to get on my nerves just like the checkout operators get on your nerves. It kinda works both ways :)

There are ones for trolley loads at the big Asda. You load it all onto the conveyor then get to play at cashiers as the conveyor shoves it all towards you .

Those people who scan the items and walk out with them without paying are scumbags... I've witnessed this a few times. So are the people who pocket the left behind notes from a previous shopper.

My DH says this too.... He point bland refuses to use them!!! He also won't wear anything with a logo because he thinks they should pay him to advertise their stuff!

I do & think the same.

Tesco Scan and Shop is marvellous. I love it. Sainsburys are pitifully behind with their fast track. Asda are quite good with their self derive big checkouts. I've studied this a lot.

Self service FFS