AIBU to think that self service tills are horrible

[uglyflowers]

In my area there used to be lots of individual shops and a sense of community. Then they built a massive Tesco which put all the little shops out of business. But local jobs were promised instead. Then those staff members’ hours were cut so many were part time and had their living boosted by benefits. And now they are being replaced by machines. Near me they are trialling two completely self service supermarkets. So eventually all the poor bloody ‘key workers’ who risked their health during Covid and who pay income tax etc will be replaced with machines.
And what about shops as community hubs? Can’t be the local library for that since they closed ours down. So those people who are a bit lonely won’t even get their two minutes of chat.
Additionally I don’t WANT to scan my big shops. I like someone doing it. They get paid to do it. I don’t.
I think everyone should boycott them. They won’t use them if we refuse to.

It’s truly shit that jobs are lost due to them, but if I’m honest, I much prefer them. I am so much quicker using them, there’s never a queue, I don’t get stuck behind someone who’s chatty, doesn’t have their payment ready, isn’t an anally retentive packer, and I don’t have to talk to anyone. Winner.

I prefer going to a till , I also worry about the increase of self scan leading to unemployment in the retail sector. However, I do use them in Mataln, at ours they are really difficult if you don’t have a matalan card and it can take a while for them to agree to the sale without one, whereas on the self scan no hassle at all.

To cover my wages as a supermarket checkout operator, I always neglect to scan something costing about a pound.

@uglyflowers

Even if you enjoy a self service till, I feel that we will all pay for it in a different way - more unemployed people (often women) and fewer people paying tax and income tax. Plus a negative impact on a sense of community. Surely a few moments’ convenience isn’t worth that?

Wow so we should make things less efficient because they benefit women. Why can't women make the self service checkout? Or write the software for it? Why can't women do jobs that are needed instead of those that no longer are? The world evolves it's up to workers to retrain and fill the new skills shortage.

I like it now I can zip round scanning on my phone but I wouldn't want people tills to disappear all together. Important for social interaction and for people who hate self service.

Not my finest hour but I did make a lot of people laugh a few months ago when I shouted at the machine it started off slow everytime I scanned an item it instructed me to place the item in the bagging area even though I already had then it went off about unexpected item in the bagging area I snapped at it how is this unexpected? I LITERALLY JUST SCANNED IT DO YOU NOT READ YOUR OWN SCREEN! My son was in stitches on the floor and no one could keep a straight face at me going off like that

Fucking embarrassing 🤦

@Onairjunkie

It’s truly shit that jobs are lost due to them, but if I’m honest, I much prefer them. I am so much quicker using them, there’s never a queue, I don’t get stuck behind someone who’s chatty, doesn’t have their payment ready, isn’t an anally retentive packer, and I don’t have to talk to anyone. Winner.

Jobs get lots to machines all the time, and new ones are created. It's been happening for hundreds of years.

I suspect all those complaining about job losses are quite happy to take the advantage of cheaper clothes and food thanks to mechanised harvesting, processing, weaving etc. I don't see many people employing live-in maids to do all the cleaning, cooking, and laundry now we have microwaves, washing machines, and dishwashers.

The self-service checkout is no different, just another thing to be automated.

*lost, of course. Not lots.

Okay for a few bits. Always scan wine, birthday cards first so the light comes on. I usually have a small trolley so take it to a checkout unload and wait for a member of staff in our little Asda

Another one who likes them here. They’re more efficient for me, you just need to understand how to use them properly. If alarms are going off it’s usually due to user error. If things are too light there is a button to press that says something like unbagged or similar just hit that so it doesn’t expect the weight to be accounted for. Scan and shop is better for larger shops.

Machines have “taken” a lot of our jobs though, why get up in arms about this in particular? And for every job a machine takes it does open up other jobs somewhere along the chain, perhaps more skilled jobs, but look how skilled jobs are now compared to 20/30/40 years ago. Times change and people need to adapt.

I absolutely love them and haven't used a manned till for months if not years, until last week I was forced to when the self serve area was closed for some reason. It was horrible

I don't get the argument about why should I scan my own things. It's about the same action as loading it on to the belt. It's hardly going out and farming your own food.

As for older people getting their conversation, well a supermarket is a business, not a community service. If you are concerned about that, you could use the self service and use the time saved to start a charity focused on this issue.

Always scan age restricted items first. The light will come one and the assistant will see they'll need to come and intervene sooner.

There will be reduced jobs for people who want to sit on a till all day, but look at the huge increase in delivery drivers taken on at the moment as people have decided they quite like deliveries now. Or the enormous amount of staff now needed to pick for those deliveries. The store will deploy the staff where they are needed. Things evolve.

I did a 53 pound shop in poundland yesterday for mostly cleaning stuff to restock up on so large heavy bottles as well as v light cloths etc. Of course the only tills were self scan.

It. Took. Forever. I ran out of room on the scales bit so it kept shouting the assistant. I couldn't put my stuff in proper bags until the end as it had to keep piling up on top of the old stuff. The cloths were so light it kept calling the assistant because it thought I hadn't put them in the bag because they were on top of the stuff. At one point the assistant 'told me off' because she thought I was scanning and then hesitating about putting the item down on the scales. I wasn't! It just wasn't registering!

Never again.

As an aside however I do like the scan and shop. I like it even more when I can use the app on my phone and get round, bag my stuff and get out without (usually) queuing.

The Christmas that they were first introduced (2019) I went in on Christmas eve, got a few last minute bits and got out the shop and got home in 45 mins when the queues at tills were right down the back of the store.

The self scan app is brilliant. You don't even have to touch a scanner.

The only self service checkout I enjoy using is the Waitrose one. Soothing Joanna Lumley voice, plus there are tables beside the machines that you can put your handbag etc on without having the machine shrieking about unexpected items in the bagging area.

@Lockheart

Machines taking jobs from humans, whatever next.

I mean it's ok for the dishwasher, the washing machine, the tumble dryer, the calculator, the tractor, the combine harvester, the automated looms, the hoover, the myriad of factory machinery too numerous to count, the bin lorry, the sewing machine, the computer and so forth...

But automated checkouts?? Alert the church elders! Truly we are seeing the fall of society. I say bring back laundrymaids and the mangle, and have clerks write everything out in ledgers again, that'll create a tonne of jobs.

These all made life easier. Self service checkouts on balance do not do so for the customer. Some love them. More definitely do not.

I remember an early episode of Sherlock where Watson has a a tantrum with a self-service till. So well observed and funny :)

I like them, as it means I can get in and out of a shop quickly.

I do not like them when I want to buy an age-restricted item, although to be honest that's no better if the person on the manned till is 17,

My biggest bugbear is not being able to fill my bag as I go with some of the tills. In theory you can put your bag on the scales and fill it up' in practice it doesn't work. So you spend twice as long there as you need to which is hardly sensible during covid.

I hate them. When they increased them where I work all the checkout staff had to reapply for their jobs and quite a few weren't rehired.
Also they never seem to work properly and I think supermarkets must loose so much money through people stealing.
Presumably the shops that are totally self service still have to employ staff to help on the tills for when they don't work properly.

YANBU Op - for all the reasons you have given.

There is room for both. Human checkout for large shops and self check for smaller ones.

I love that my local Mayland has self checkout cos my god the queues before were horrendous so much that to even buy one item id not bother going.

What annoys me now is at my large tacos people with a full trolley use the self check out now, cuasing more queue time when they should be using the human checkouts so those of us with few items can get out quicker.

I don't mind them at Sainsbury's if I've just got a small shop because their machines work well.

I can't stand the Morrison's machines as there's a delay of maybe 3-4 seconds after you scan something before you can scan the next thing. Drives me insane.

If I have a trolley full, which I mostly do, I want someone else to scan because it's so much quicker.

Where I used to live in the States, not only would there be a cashier scanning your groceries, but a ( usually) teenager standing at the end to pack them for you and wait for it.... Then push your trolley out to your car for you and load the groceries into your boot. Gasoline was also 99 cents a gallon. Two things I'll never see in my lifetime again. ( This was about 20 years ago)

Jobs are lost all the time due to machines, but new ones are created in their place.

I suspect everyone on here enjoys the convenience of a car or bus/train as opposed to horse and cart

Society changes and moves on. Those jobs that have disappeared will be replaced with different jobs. 'Twas ever thus.

There is strength in what you're saying OP but self service tills are here to stay.

I like them. Waitrose ones are by far the best, they don't weigh anything any more so there's no 'unexpected item in bagging area' or it asking you to put the item in the bag when you already have. They also don't film you like our Sainsburys does. Tesco and Morrison ones are not nearly so good.

I love scan and pay, but the self scanning tills are a PITA and often filthy