To think giant supermarket scales to spot shoplifting won't work?

[SwanOfThoseThings]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rzvrjkklko

Tesco are trialling these giant scales to check trolley contents match what has been self-scanned. Surely this is going to be nothing more than a giant pain in the arse? They're never going to be sensitive enough to weigh small items, e.g. cosmetics, bar of chocolate etc. plus you might have your own shopping bags in the trolley to complicate matters.

This is not the way to go. Supermarkets need to increase the number of staffed checkouts.

Totally. Why don't they just hire humans ..

Itd interesting I suspect enterprising thieves will know that a bottle of whiskey weighs the same as two tins of beans (or whatever). I do find those scales irritating. The Aldi ones in particular are very sensitive and don’t account for variations in weight of bagged fruit and veg. So a member of staff has to come and use key and then hit ignore a lot. I always try and go through s manned till if buying veggies.

I‘m convinced that the Aldi ones are set not to accept loose veggies because they are used to fake the weight of something more expensive.

The Tesco scales won’t work imo.

Yes, the basket scales often fail with loose veg and they are relatively small so you'd have thought, more sensitive.

Imagine "unexpected item in bagging area" but on a massive scale! It'll never work. Imagine how many full trolley re-scans will be needed, every time it beeps!

Much as I love scan-as- you-shop, if it's being consistently abused then just remove the option and have the normal manned tills/self-scan tills.

Oh god I'd never self scan more than say 10-20 items at a self scan till. Imagine the faff of asking to check every item? Last time I scanned a basket another impatient woman came to my till and was trying to scan while I was packing! I hate everything about it unless it's a few items.

So much to go wrong And there's normally only one stressed member of staff approving everything.

Ridiculous idea. They should invest the money in more staff to work on the check outs. Our local supermarket only has 2 manned tills now and even then it is all self service after 7pm.

Horrible way of alienating honest customers, whilst the thieves find ways around it.

What if you have your toddler sitting in the seat - do you have to wrestle them out of the trolley just so you can prove you're not a thief?

I never understand with the self-scan tills, and surely this is effectively the same: they weigh the item you've just scanned to make sure that you aren't putting lamb through as onions... but wouldn't a lot of thieves just put the item straight into their bag or pocket without ever scanning it in the first place?!

Yes, I'll use it for a meal deal at lunchtime and that kind of thing, but not for a full shop.

If anyone who shops or works at the Gateshead Tesco sees this thread, it would be interesting to hear how it is working in practice.

Great point about a toddler, or indeed two small children. I'm remembering shopping a with a 1 year old and 3 year old (who were very sensible as small children go) and really wouldn't have wanted to unstrap them and then get them back in the trolley whilst no doubt being in other people's way.

But then you’d need to leave the tins of beans behind somewhere wouldn’t you?

Would the weighing before checkout part pick up your own bags’ weight though? Not saying it’s a good idea, just that the own bags wouldn’t necessarily be the problem.

I don't think they will be particularly sensitive but might still be effective in a theatre of surveillance effect - like those cardboard cut out police ment they have in cheap shops - must be doing something if they bother with them.

But they weigh before checkout, so it’s just to get items you’ve not scanned. So you leave your toddler in the trolley, weigh it and then weigh it after you’ve scanned. That’s my understanding anyway.

You could just put them back on the shelf once you'd scanned them, then add the whiskey that weighed the same to the trolley without scanning it.

Seems a worryingly "AI"-less way of marching into the future.

Has anyone told them ?

They'll be taking payment in ten-shilling notes next.

I wonder if my baby in the baby seat and her changing bag in the trolley confuse things with the weight?

Sounds like it’s going to be a headache for the staff as well as the customers. As someone who works in retail I’d rather have hours for the store (so more colleagues or more hours for the ones we have already) than something like this that heavily implies we don’t trust our customers. Some people obviously can’t be trusted because they are actually on the rob. It creates animosity which then comes back on store colleagues.

The technology surrounding this future of shopping is fascinating. And appears to work well at Amazon stores

i really don’t think Tesco would be considering rolling it out if it had so many obvious flaws that someone who has no knowledge of the technology can point them out 😂 it’s probably just because you don’t know how it works in detail

AI might not quite be there yet😆

You don't need to tell me 😀

When I worked in metrology (at Avery) over 20 years ago, this was floated. It's a great weigh to sell lots of load cells.

Jesus, I spend enough time faffing about with self service already. Just get more staff ffs.

In years to come, actually having retail staff in a shop will become a major selling point.

Just pop them back on the shelf, I assume. there’s all sorts of ways of swapping out one thing for another. A police officer was charged after putting through a box of Krispy crème donuts as carrots, it was in the papers.

I don’t do this as I’m honest. I’m sure most people are also who wants to lose their job/ career over a box of donuts?

Honestly I think just man tills. Or have better cctv and more proactive security. I’ve seen people legging it out of Tesco’s and the staff just watch them go.

I wonder how much these things cost

Money that could go into simply lowering the cost of food 🙄🙄

It won't work! Things which also go in trolleys which belong to shoppers bf don't need to be scanned but will add weight

Shopping bags
Hand bags
Walking sticks
Coats

Make up especially eye liner and greeting cards too light to be registered on the self scanner anyway.

Pointless