You should need a licence to use self checkouts

[Oysterbabe]

Hear me out.

Supermarket very busy this morning. Queued with my basket for the self checkout, as usual. I prefer them and enjoy the lack of social interaction required. 3 of them were out of order so only 2 working. There was a couple using one and I think it was their first day on the planet. They were just staring, puzzled at the screen. Occasionally scanning something. Eventually complete their transaction then realise they need to buy bags. 5 people completed their transactions on the other checkout while they were doing theirs.

Blowing my own trumpet, but I'm a self service ninja. I think you should have a certain competency level, like with driving, before being allowed to use one. You should be given a basket of items, including some loose fruit and veg and bakery items, and a set time to complete the transaction in order to earn a licence.

This is why I now use the self handheld scanner around the store. By the time I get to the checkout my shopping is all packed and scanned and just have to pay.

chickenpeppers

I was left ‘staring blankly’ at your post. Do people really think like you?

If I self scanned you, I know what would come up on the self scan screen.

And I’d have no problem understanding that description.

We all can use self service checkouts successfully including DD who’s got additional needs but there are so many things which can go wrong with them without your input completely.

• frozen/ chilled products extremely difficult to scan
• label not being flat so difficult to scan
• scales are not working properly
• seasonal/ on sale products are difficult to find
• scanned products are not fitting into the shelf so the checkout refuses to recognise them
• some individual items weight more then average so the checkout refuses to recognise them (very popular problem with cauliflowers and squashes)
• your handbag leans for a second and checkout is baffled
• And don’t even start me on vouchers and discounted products with yellow labels which don’t cover the original label completely.

Our local shop has 3 checkouts, one of them is frozen every other minutes. You can recognise locals easily - they are always choosing one of the other two. So I wouldn’t blame this pair, who knows ….

Well aren’t you just marvellous. Give yourself a pat on the back.

A test to enable you to use self checkout and a license. WTF.

And the person who used to man them. Well. I’ve got no words for you!

I refuse to use self scanners anymore, out of principle to make supermarkets employ staff. Absolutely detest them and I know how to use them.
About 5 people waiting because they are buying an age related product, something doesn't scan, or they don't register the weight of something. Complete faff

My husband avoids self service checkouts if he can. He knows he wouldn’t qualify for a licence.

And I’m afraid OP you don’t sound any better than chicken - the only difference is that you posted your thoughts more carefully. First day on the planet though?

Not everyone marches along at the same pace as technology.

Pretty much a scam when you think about it: the supermarket gets you to do all the work and you pay them...

I think there is a place for self-scan but equally I think I always think it is more about cost-cutting than anything to do with it being more convenient for the customer.

I also would prefer that the jobs were still there for people to work at the tills and provide actual customer service.

Most of the time half of these machine are out or order or there is an issue with scanning and you need to call someone to deal with the problems.

As they have cut down staff it usually means having to wait while you try to catch the eye of the one staff member in charge of the whole thing.

Hardly an improvement I would say.

It does not surprise me that some people struggle with the process.

This is like when you get stuck behind someone who has never been to Subway before

What do you mean they’re for mugs, because it’s harder to miss scanning items? Why is that a issue? @Quittingthyme

Lol! Well I'm not a fan of self service checkouts, I often have to get a member if staffs attention, unexpected item in bagging area, something light like a birthday card not registering on the scales so get message ease place item in bagging area when it already is!! Or, buying nurofen or wine and needing authorisation and desperately trying to get a member of staffs attention to action it, they always seem to wander off the second the light on my checkout goes red! They can be a complete pita!!
Only really useful if you are buying a few items, none of which are age restricted, or too light to register on the scales.
Put more staff on tills!!

Pretty much a scam when you think about it: the supermarket gets you to do all the work and you pay them...

When my Waitrose first introduced them they'd have a member staff walking along the queues at their manned checkouts trying to persuade customers to use the self scan. She stopped asking me when I pointed out that she didn't do her job for free, so why was she expecting me to, and did I get a discount for this? glad to day they soon stopped that so I assume some pushback from customers.

Nowadays I pretty often zip through the manned checkout when there's a huge queue at the self scan ones. And the person who was so repulsively ageist - that's going to be you one day being old, if you're lucky.

Agree how rude bet there's somethings she's not good at that they are.

Shouldn't even have self serve checkouts tills should be manned by staff.

Oh gosh I apologise in advance if you're ever stood behind me in Subway. I can never decide what fillings I want and then deciding what sauce I want on after is a complete nightmare. At least choosing the bread and salad is fairly straight forward

My only gripe with people and self checkout is read the bloody sign. In my tesco there are trolley self checkout and basket checkout. Yet people with trolleys think they can use the basket one. Like wtf there is not enough room for your trolley, you take longer to checkout as you have too much stuff and hold everyone else up because the basket one has less tills than the trolley one. There is a reason why there are two types!!

I mean ffs its not rocket science which one you should use!

I like self service machines purely as a catalyst to theraputically rant at an inept, inaminate object. There are no staffed tills after 9pm and while they can be convenient for up to 5 items, they just aren't up to the job for a trolley load.
I may have shouted "It's a bag! In a bagging area!!!" last time. There is nothing unexpected about a bag in a bagging area. Nor a rogue child. Not being able to detect light items after half the trolley's gone in the bagging area is another problem. Then age restricted items...
And one member of staff run ragged dealing with 50% of the tills whinging at any given moment.

The tills can't even cope with the job let alone people who may not be used to technology or very dextrous being forced to use then through lack of staffing.

I miss friendly human interaction with the shop staff and the tills tend to be appropriate for (often older) staff with mobility/ injuries.

Self service tills are purely for the profit margin of the shop and nothing to do with customer service.

I prefer the sainsburys app on my phone. I scan as I shop and the just scan at the till to pay. So much easier

I just use the self scanner as I go round, easiest of all.

Sainsburys selfscan is great. Why fill your trolley to take it all out at the till, then repack it?

There are never any tills open in my local sainsburys. So everyone has to use the self service checkouts.

I don’t even notice what anyone else is doing with them.

Scan and go is the best (where you take the handset round then pay at the scan and go bit). I genuinely don’t understand why people wouldn’t use that. It’s so much faster. Also I get my five year old to do the scanning which keeps her happy

I’m one of those staring at the various bits on these scanners and trying to jam banknotes through the exit slit for notes, making a mound of my shopping and then transferring it into the bag etc. I hate them. They only benefit the store and not their valued customers.

If I'm having to do the job of a staff member (Checkout person) then I should be getting the same staff discount.

wow did the chicken poster literally just admit to deliberately thieving from elderly people? double scan? What an astonishing bit of lack of empathy there. Indeed quite sociopathic to deliberately prey on the vulnerability of others.

what if chicken's victim was on a really strict budget? what if that totally fucked up their budget? regardless that is quite the most amazing bit of nastiness I have ever seen on MN and I have been around for quite some time.