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What's Normal? - Do you usually use the self-checkout at the grocery store? (1 Viewer)

Do you usually use the self-checkout at the grocery store?

  • Yes

    Votes: 163 72.1%
  • No

    Votes: 63 27.9%

  • Total voters
    226
We been doing "personal shopper" since covid started. Basically fill out my list online and the store gets everything for us.

If I go in I self checkout unless I have a full full cart.
 
I don't go to the grocery store all that often but when I do I usually gauge whether self-checkout or a traditional checkout will be faster. I prefer the traditional checkout so if it's close I'll go there. As such, voted no.
 
If there is no line at either (which is rare), I'll go self-checkout for 5 or so items or less. Many times, the self checkout line is shorter/faster and I'll take a cart full of 10-20 items there.

I just want to get out of the store faster. I'm not looking to score a deal on plantains by entering the code for bananas.
 
My own personal opinion/observation/conspiracy theory: Walmart purposely trains people to work slow in the traditional check out roll so as to encourage people to use the self check out.
 
With self checkout now, most grocery stores have gotten rid of the express lane for 20 items or less.

That's a bummer because one of my IRL shtick things used to be getting in that line and asking the person in front if I could go first since I only have a few items when they'd have even less items than me.
 
We been doing "personal shopper" since covid started. Basically fill out my list online and the store gets everything for us.

If I go in I self checkout unless I have a full full cart.
This is us to a T. I've only gone inside a grocery store maybe 6-7 times in the last year. If I have to go inside it's either because the personal shoppers couldn't find an item, or we forgot to put something on the list, etc. I'm never checking out more than what I can carry in my two hands, so always just use the self-checkout since it's quicker.

The Walmart in my town is 99% self-checkout now, with two different areas - one express lane (<15 items) style with just a baggage carousel, and one larger area with a conveyer and bigger "storage" area for large volume purchases. If you bring a buggy full of stuff, you're checking it all out yourself. They only have one checkout stand with an actual cashier - the one where the tobacco/cigarettes are, and they will not let you bring more than 10-15 items through that lane.
 
Occasionally when I don't have much. I avoid it when I have produce and have to weigh things.
 
I rarely actually go into the grocery store. I pull up at 7:30 am and they put my groceries in the trunk, and by 7:45 I'm on my way home.
 
Only if I have a handful of items. Otherwise, I think its rude to self check an entire cart of groceries.
We have some self-checkout-only groceries around here. If a patron is truly lost and cannot do self-checkout, they basically have to wait for an employee to come do the self-checkout for them. At the self-checkout station -- no cashier line to go into.

At local stores where there are both cashier lines and self-checkout, self-checking out entire carts is routine and part of the local self-checkout culture. Not even slightly rude.
 
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I do, but I've heard horror stories where they get so many people abusing the system for theft that any discrpenacy at all gets fully prosecuted. So if you make a mistake and forget to scan an item, etc.
 
Occasionally when I don't have much. I avoid it when I have produce and have to weigh things.

This part is a breeze at our local grocery self-checkouts.

I have noticed that when people discuss this topic online, there are vast differences between self-checkout experiences place to place. It seems self-checkout was adopted very late in some parts of the U.S. (maybe the Northeast, with unionized grocery labor?). People will talk about the problems they have with self-checkout, right now in 2023, and they're problems that were technologically solved with self-checkout 10-15 years ago.

For instance -- problems with the bagging scale and "please put item in the bag!" warnings -- these days, those scales are normally still used, but the software can be (and usually is) set to ignore bagging-scale input. Bagging scales were a technological dead end -- packages aren't of uniform enough weight to make reliable weighing at the bagging area practical. If your store still has a lot of issues with frequent bagging-area warnings at the self-checkout, they're doing it wrong.
 
Don't really have a choice. My local place has 11 of them installed, with 5 "regular" lanes. However, there is only ever 1 "regular" lane ever open.

The thing that irritates me is that they also shut down the self-checkout lanes for no reason. There is always a line at the self-checkout area. They will shut down/close off 3-6 of the self-checkout lanes and force people to the other side. Meanwhile, we have two "workers" standing around talking while the line backs up. One of them can open the other side and let us out of the store! C'mon people!! Move it!!!
 
For those of you that use the personal shopper... how often do you get wrong/bad/deleted/expired/damaged items? We are pretty picky with our groceries, so maybe we're an outlier, but I don't trust anyone else to do my shopping for me.
 
Almost always. Even if I’m buying alcohol if there’s an employee walking around to pretend to check my age.

It was surprising to see our Class VI add self checkout, they still need to check ID both for age and eligibility.
 
Occasionally when I don't have much. I avoid it when I have produce and have to weigh things.

This part is a breeze at our local grocery self-checkouts.

I have noticed that when people discuss this topic online, there are vast differences between self-checkout experiences place to place. It seems self-checkout was adopted very late in some parts of the U.S. (maybe the Northeast, with unionized grocery labor?). People will talk about the problems they have with self-checkout, right now in 2023, and they're problems that were technologically solved with self-checkout 10-15 years ago.

For instance -- problems with the bagging scale and "please put item in the bag!" warnings -- these days, those scales are normally still used, but the software can be (and usually is) set to ignore bagging-scale input. Bagging scales were a technological dead end -- packages aren't of uniform enough weight to make reliable weighing at the bagging area practical. If your store still has a lot of issues with frequent bagging-area warnings at the self-checkout, they're doing it wrong.
With the rise in shoplifting recently, my closest grocery store (walking distance from my house, so I got here quite a bit) turned their bagging scales back on so I have to set every item down on the scale after scanning it before scanning the next item. It's annoying. I haven't noticed other stores doing that, though. Also, I never buy a lot of items at one time, so it's still pretty easy. It was just frustrating when they first turned that feature back on because everyone was getting errors and employees had to continually go to each self check-out station to reset the system.
 
I make it a challenge. I like going to the self checkout with 10-15 items and try to race everyone and get those items checked out faster than the other 5 people using the various self checkout lanes that are already in the process of checking out.

Even stuff like produce barely slows me down, although in the last few weeks our grocery store changed the lookup system from a fuzzy search to where you need to put the first letter in. So you can no longer search on avoc, you need to search on small hass or large hass :thumbdown:
 
Judging by the scorecards a lot of folks don't "usually" use self checkout, not in my area at least.
They do it once in a while but judging by the lines and such, most seem to prefer not to work for the grocery store and pay high prices for food
But this is the FBG and they would prefer to eliminate all cashiers from their slave labor to places like Walmart

I want there to come a day where I can just walk thru and the cart sends a signal to my bank and bing I'm done but we're not there yet apparently.
Publix-Nobody wants to use them
Walmarts-when I rarely visit them the options are self scheckout which is always 15 people deep waiting because nobody knows how to actually work the registers OR you wait forever in line as every cart is filled to max capacity, there is like 1 check out woman/man whatever and you might as well stand in self check out at that point...well **** it if you're me you and just place the can of tennis balls down and that tube of Creamo in rich leatherwood scent that drives my wife crazy when I shave on Sundays and you just walk out of the store empty handed

Such is life
:coffee:
 
Truly 50/50 for me. If I have a basket of groceries then yes 100% of the time. If I have a cart load then no go to the cashier
 
No but only because the store we shop at most frequently just installed them - will use them for small number of items but will still use regular for larger trips
 
you bet your keister miester why would you not they are fast and easy unless you are the type of guy that has other people put air in your tires take that to the bank brohans
 
Judging by the scorecards a lot of folks don't "usually" use self checkout, not in my area at least.
They do it once in a while but judging by the lines and such, most seem to prefer not to work for the grocery store and pay high prices for food
But this is the FBG and they would prefer to eliminate all cashiers from their slave labor to places like Walmart

I want there to come a day where I can just walk thru and the cart sends a signal to my bank and bing I'm done but we're not there yet apparently.
Publix-Nobody wants to use them
Walmarts-when I rarely visit them the options are self scheckout which is always 15 people deep waiting because nobody knows how to actually work the registers OR you wait forever in line as every cart is filled to max capacity, there is like 1 check out woman/man whatever and you might as well stand in self check out at that point...well **** it if you're me you and just place the can of tennis balls down and that tube of Creamo in rich leatherwood scent that drives my wife crazy when I shave on Sundays and you just walk out of the store empty handed

Such is life
:coffee:
Yeah, my Wal Mart has a long self check out line, but they also have a lot of self check out registers. If there's 15 registers and 15 people in line, you're basically 2nd in line at a register.
 
I remember when pay-at-the-pump first started. I was willing to drive around an extra 10 minutes looking for the gas station that had pay at the pump just to avoid going in to pay.
 
Adamantly opposed to self checkout. One more way we're eliminating people needed for jobs. And I know that sounds dumb. But I hate the loss of customer-to-store interaction.

It's one of the very small things that connect people.

Yeah I think about this too sometimes. I got a good new joke the other day from my cashier. I was buying leeks and after they had been put in the bag the cashier said "Be careful there's a leak in that bag". I thought oh no, what a mess at first, but then I got it and we had a good laugh.
 
Also, I become violent after the 23rd time I hear "UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA"
Luckily during covid (because everyone was doing self check out) all the grocery stores in my area stopped this and so far, havent turned it back on yet.
 
Adamantly opposed to self checkout. One more way we're eliminating people needed for jobs. And I know that sounds dumb. But I hate the loss of customer-to-store interaction.

It's one of the very small things that connect people.

Yeah I think about this too sometimes. I got a good new joke the other day from my cashier. I was buying leeks and after they had been put in the bag the cashier said "Be careful there's a leak in that bag". I thought oh no, what a mess at first, but then I got it and we had a good laugh.

100%. It's the dumb little things like that. And depending on the store, you may never see the same person twice. But lots of places there will be a regular or two that you can get to know.

It's just a small nice thing.

I'm an entrepreneur and capitalist. I fully get that a checkout machine pays for itself and doesn't file worker comp claims or call in sick or ask for a raise. But groceries managed to make it work for a long time without them and I don't like eliminating jobs like this.
 
To me it's like a bartender. A new big craft beer place opened in town and you go in an buy a "card" with a set amount of money on it. Then you go to the tap and swipe the card and beers are priced by the ounce. It's terrible.

Great for the company as they cut staff and eliminate jobs and likely rake in extra profit as people don't accurately calculate the math on how much a beer should cost by the ounce. Especially after a few drinks.

Hate that place.
 
For those of you that use the personal shopper... how often do you get wrong/bad/deleted/expired/damaged items? We are pretty picky with our groceries, so maybe we're an outlier, but I don't trust anyone else to do my shopping for me.
My wife uses them all the time. The expired/wrong thing happens incredibly rarely. If there's a mistake it's usually in the amount (e.g. 1/2 gallon of milk versus one whole gallon).
 
Voted 'no'. I will self-check if I just have a few things. However, at the grocery store I usually have quite a lot of items. Also helps that the grocery closest to me always has lots of checkouts manned with someone on the register and a bagger.
 
To me it's like a bartender. A new big craft beer place opened in town and you go in an buy a "card" with a set amount of money on it. Then you go to the tap and swipe the card and beers are priced by the ounce. It's terrible.

Great for the company as they cut staff and eliminate jobs and likely rake in extra profit as people don't accurately calculate the math on how much a beer should cost by the ounce. Especially after a few drinks.

Hate that place.
If you want to try a lot of varieties, this is a great innovation.
 
The thing is even with self checkout, they still need more cashiers. Cashier lines are still way too long because there's only one or two ever open now. Safeway used to have a "three's a crowd" campaign where they promised to open a new checkstand if three or more people were waiting, that is a thing of the past.

The other staffing related issue with grocery stores that I HATE is that now all the restocking happens during business hours. It's getting impossible to shop without asking a restocker to move their giant carts that are blocking all the aisles.
 
To me it's like a bartender. A new big craft beer place opened in town and you go in an buy a "card" with a set amount of money on it. Then you go to the tap and swipe the card and beers are priced by the ounce. It's terrible.

Great for the company as they cut staff and eliminate jobs and likely rake in extra profit as people don't accurately calculate the math on how much a beer should cost by the ounce. Especially after a few drinks.

Hate that place.
I appreciate your point of view here. I see grocery stores and bars/restaurants very differently. I want my grocery store experience to be as utilitarian as possible, which is why I love self check-out. But I want some level of socialization at a bar, and my reaction to a self-serve tap would be the same as yours.
 

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