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.

@TellingBone

It's exactly why they exist - to cut staff costs. Why do you think the majority of bank branches have closed down?

Online and telephone banking, mostly. Not ATMs!

My local Aldi doesn't have self service. Is that the same at all Aldis in England? Considering how efficient Aldi are with stuff like printing barcode in 3 places so that scanning is faster, I'm surprised that self service for people who only want a couple of things haven't been installed.

Who fixes ATMs when they go wrong? I assume it's not bank staff? Are ATMs filled by those security people who deliver/pick up cash from places like supermarkets? I imagined ATMs being fixed by computer remotely or an approved electrician depending if the problem is software or hardware.

I hate them and I've decided not to use them any more. So cash it is then Matalan. And I can't use the ones in Argos and Morrisons anyway because no matter what I do (swipe nicely, jab angrily and all points inbetween) they do not respond as apparently I have 'zombie finger'.

I think a lot of posters on this thread are exactly why I love the self check out. No way do I want to be stuck behind Ms or Mr "I love having a chat with the cashier and they love it too, and are so grateful I'm saving their job". If you look at the cashiers during this they are clearly bored, annoyed and trying to get away.

Let me tell you as an ex retail worker, there is nothing worse than a customer coming towards you with a look of wanting to tell you a long story while other customers glare.

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.

@ufucoffee

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.

I don't like it because I am autistic, have social anxiety and find engaging with strangers far too difficult. If that turns out to be my only option to talk to someone in a week I won't feel any differently. My need to interact with strangers won't increase.

@ufucoffee

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.

You're assuming that the person behind the till enjoys chit chat too and wouldn't rather whizz through the line of people waiting or get back to another job that needs doing. When the customer is a chatter holding up the line then it's the cashier who has to apologize to the customers who have been kept waiting longer even though it's not their fault. Some people will be fine but others are not so understanding

@ufucoffee

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.

A supermarket isn’t a social club

@ufucoffee

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.

A supermarket employee is there to work, not fulfil your social need.

I like them.

Love scan and shop. Kids love it. No standing putting everything on the belt while kids screams and much around. Bliss

I detest them. They take way longer as they continually mal function, they make a huge song and dance about alcohol and the poor assistant supervising them is run ragged.

If shops want me to scan my shopping they can give me a sizeable discount. I’m certainly not doing their work unpaid. Thanks for the tip about Matalan, they’ve just lost a customer.

I prefer them, I hate making small talk with people and I prefer to pack at my own pace.

@TellingBone

I don't use them simply because their sole purpose is to reduce staffing

You'll be told this isn't the case, but of course it is.

I wonder if all the people who are saying they hate the checkout person talking to them will ever be in the position where that small bit of interaction will be the only person they talk to all week.. Fine by me, I’m a bit of a loner and easily go weeks without talking to another adult, I still would rather not make small talk with a stranger. I find it awkward personally

@PumpkinKlNG

I prefer them, I hate making small talk with people and I prefer to pack at my own pace.

Conversation with the check out person isn’t obligatory but, given what a bloody boring soul destroying job it is, it’s kind to treat them like a human being. I can pack faster than they can scan in any case - except in Aldi.

@Sparklingbrook

The Waitrose self service tills are very relaxed.

Some of them are. In my local one they have replaced half of them with the ones that have scales, so you're back to not being able to put stuff straight into your bag, scan 3 of the same item together etc.

Fortunately the other half are still the old type where you can load stuff as you go etc. So I use those.

When I said that the scales meant that you were there twice as long, and was that sensible during a pandemic, they just stared at me as if I'd gone mad. In the same way they stared at me when I suggested that they should perhaps have people aged 18 and over staffing the cigarette counter because it sells age restricted items.

(oh and I assume that both of those conversations make me an entitled "Karen" to link to the other threads on that topic today)

@igelkott2021You'll be told this isn't the case, but of course it is.

Maybe, maybe not. I've found it makes it quicker as there are usually more self service tills as they take up less space. It used to be pretty normal to have to wait in a queue in our local shops. The one I now use the most have some self service tills and I never have to wait for one. I'm now in and out a lot quicker. It means I use that shop more, and the other shops less. So, it may not be just fewer staff, it may mean the shops gets more customers/sales.

@Blossomtoes Conversation with the check out person isn’t obligatory but, given what a bloody boring soul destroying job it is, it’s kind to treat them like a human being.

It works both ways. Lots of shop staff are pretty rude and ignorant, continue to talk amongst themselves, continue to check their social media, don't say please or thank you, etc. If the shop assistant acts like that, they really can't expect their customers to be full of the joys of spring!

@TellingBone

It's exactly why they exist - to cut staff costs. Why do you think the majority of bank branches have closed down?

Banks have closed down because of the rise in online banking and the decrease in use of things like cheques. ATM's have been around for at least 50 years and there were banks everywhere up until 4-5 years ago.

Bills are paid by direct debit now, not by visiting the bank each months.
People are paid direct into their bank account, not by cheque.
Cash is becoming increasingly less common as it's just a faff compared to tapping a bank card.
Sports clubs/activities (which always used to use cash) now accept money via BACS, PayPal or even card payment. There's no need for most people to carry cash anymore.

I'm a small business owner and some of my clients still pay me cash - it gets deposited straight into the bank because there's nowhere I need to use it anymore - I do everything on my card.

There has been a gradual decline in bank branches for around 50 years.

It's the "last bank standing" that have been closing in lots of towns over the past few years. Most large villages used to have a branch of some bank. Small towns had branches of several banks. Larger towns would have several branches of each major bank.

My office is in a building which used to be our local Nat West branch until they pulled out in the mid 1990's and it was converted to an office with flat above.

Cheque books and credit cards really weren't commonplace until the 70s/80s. People were paid their wages in cash and paid their bills in cash. They'd go to the bank pretty regularly to put in cash for savings or withdraw cash, or pay bills. This was before the proliferation of supermarkets, so there were huge numbers of small shops and other businesses who needed local bank branches to pay in their takings etc.

Then we had a decade or two of employers moving over to BACS for payment, credit/debit cards, etc., and people didn't need bank branches as much, hence the big banks closed down the smaller branches in each town/city and concentrated on the main branch in the town/city centre.

Then in the 00's, online banking took off, and the need for the main town branches started to dwindle, so many were closed and many towns were left without a branch of the main banks.

It's been about 50 years of a move away from cash and towards online banking, with credit/debit cards in the middle, which are now starting to dwindle in use themselves due to phone apps, paypal, online transfers etc.

I love them. In smaller branches where there is only one queue that branches off into self-service and manned I will let people go ahead of me if a manned one comes free first so I can use the self-service. I'm not a big fan of unnecessary interactions.

Well I was in Iceland The other day and the woman at the checkout was having an extremely long conversation with the person she was serving, It was making her scan very slowly and she didn’t care that the queue was getting ridiculously long, the worst part was there was no other till open so couldn’t even go anywhere else... those are times when self checkouts are a god send!

I love self service tills because I'm quick and efficient when buying my shopping. There is nothing worse than being behind a customer who is a faffer or having a slow, lifeless cashier serving you.