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.

@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?

There are always at least 2 people working them.

They keep the 'proper' tills for people with bigger shops.

They are no different from the Scan and Shop

We all pay extra for them - they have to cover the additional pilferage somehow.

@TreeSmuggler

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 disagree entirely. I worked retail for a decade and the human interaction with customers was the only enjoyable aspect of the job. I loved being able to brighten people’s days and have my day brightened in return. Obviously it was frustrating if there was a big queue and someone was going on for ages but that was down to me as a worker to manage, set phrases to indicate it was lovely to chat but I must get on and so forth. If someone absolutely couldn’t be moved on the usually someone else would end up intervening but it was extremely rare. Most people who did it were lonely I think.

@Monday26July There are plenty of retail jobs where you'd have more time to chat if that motivates you. A high volume, high turnover shop isn't the place for long chats.

If shops want me to scan my shopping they can give me a sizeable discount. I’m certainly not doing their work unpaid.

My thoughts exactly.

@user1493423934 - I'm in a rural town beginning with A (not UK). Sounds like a very similar supermarket though, never enough checkouts open. They used to slam down a Closed sign on checkouts while there was a queue and expect those behind the sign to move to another checkout but thank goodness have stopped that. I shop there as it is just down the road, but much prefer the other supermarket in town which always has plenty of checkouts open and rarely close the express lane

@Mandalay246

If shops want me to scan my shopping they can give me a sizeable discount. I’m certainly not doing their work unpaid.

My thoughts exactly.

I'm the opposite. I'd happily pay a premium to use the self-service if it meant never queueing for it and everyone who was iffy about them stayed out of the way in the longer queues for the manned till. Say 1% of my shop or something.

The Post Office are bloody irritating because if they don't have someone free to stand next to the self-service they turn them off. So you aren't allowed to actually use the self-service as self-service. I've walked out of there before when they only bad manned desks open.

Profit margins are actually quite slim in food retail because consumers demand cheap food. Wages are always going to be the biggest overhead so staff are the first to go.

Anyone saying they want fewer self-service tills and more humans need to be prepared to pay higher prices. That's capitalism

There are still jobs available for just checkouts.
However if you stubbornly refuse to use self serve / the “ till trained staff” from other departments will have to leave their job & serve you.
This is exceptionally unfair on their department & and on the individual also - as they will get behind on working their own aisle / department.

@Precipice the business is there to make a profit, and only barely keep the customer in mind. The current business model will not revert backwards.

People rarely boycott anything for long and the businesses know that. They can, and will, so as they like to maximise profits until the day more people than not go hunt and gather their own food.

I hate them.

Unexpected item in the bagging area. Hate hate hate it.

It's not fucking unexpected I just scanned it!

Has anyone ever had to sit at a checkout for hours on end?
It is like a.form of torture as customers are addicted to complaining.
I don't think will be any great loss to get rid of them, it's a very underpaid and under appreciated job. Most of the online pickers came off the checkouts at our supermarket and much prefer it.

For a few bits and to skip a queue I like them, for a week shop - fuck no. Be there all day… definitely needs to be a choice. A shop without a human in it at all sounds depressing.

Anyone saying they want fewer self-service tills and more humans need to be prepared to pay higher prices. That's capitalism

On the contrary. Prices didn’t go down when they introduced self service tills.

I'm sorry for the people who are losing jobs but I love the scan as you go at Sainsbury's.

As someone who's worked retail and hospitality, being on the tills is THE WORST.
I would rather do any other job than the tills. Sorry but customers are just awful 😂

[quote Badbadbunny]@Monday26July There are plenty of retail jobs where you'd have more time to chat if that motivates you. A high volume, high turnover shop isn't the place for long chats.[/quote]
You’ll notice I didn’t reference wanting or enjoying long chats, except for in the context that if a customer tried to do that I would move them along. You can be friendly and polite and have a nice chat in the time it takes to do a transaction and move swiftly on.

@withlotsoflove

There are still jobs available for just checkouts. However if you stubbornly refuse to use self serve / the “ till trained staff” from other departments will have to leave their job & serve you. This is exceptionally unfair on their department & and on the individual also - as they will get behind on working their own aisle / department.

I have only ever seen 'retail assistant' on Indeed etc and detailing you could be doing anything during your shift from being on the till, helping customers, shelf stacking. I've never seen an advert for 'supermarket cashier'. The people I know that work in them all have to do everything.

Yanbu. I don’t use the self service checkouts either. Is just the shop using customers as staff and cutting local jobs. No thank you.

If I'm popping in for a paper I prefer the self service tills

And I love scan and shop

I like the scan as you go rather than the self service.

I love self-service tills, they’re second only to scan-as-you-go tills for me. I don’t object to using a standard till in a supermarket, but it is always a last resort if I do.

I prefer them as I can go at my own pace.

They’re great when using the free school meal vouchers and healthy start vouchers too. I’m not ashamed of them at all, but sometimes my confidence is low and cannot be doing with mr and mrs judgy pants watching me use them.

if you're in lidl or aldi, self service checkouts are a better option than having the stuff thrown at you by a cahier.

Love the self service checkouts in uniqlo.

So basically you are complaining about automation, not self service tolls per se. I guess luddites have been around for a long time, that nothing new. Change happens, get over it. When card arrives and horse and cart coachman went out of business, I’m sure some people felt the same then.