
Planet Money: Self Checkout [audio] - sndean
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/10/19/498571623/episode-730-self-checkout
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wutbrodo
It seems like I'm the only person in this thread who's had pretty much nothing
but good experiences with self checkout machines. And this is despite the fact
that I usually do grocery trips with at least 15-20 items. I don't have a
problem with human contact with a cashier, I just prefer self checkout because
it pretty much never has lines. I've also not experienced the horribly buggy
machines that everyone else here seems to be exposed to.

~~~
forthefuture
To me it's a lot like pumping your own gas. It's weird when I go back to NJ
and have to sit in the car and wait for the one dude working on 6 pumps.

But if you talk to people from NJ who have never been outside of NJ it would
seem obvious that someone else does it. All of the comments in this thread
against self service are the exact arguments NJ people have against pumping
your own gas.

~~~
joesmo
I've never had a pump in NJ or elsewhere not work. Self-checkout machines on
the other hand, don't work often. That's the difference.

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mjrbrennan
I don't know what you're basing that on, I live in Australia and I've never
had a self checkout machine not work. They are consistently good and I use
them all the time.

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lliiffee
Note that the machines have many tolerances that can be set to trade-off theft
vs. annoyance of the customer. (E.g. the product weight when placed in the
bagging area.) The machines can we way less annoying when they are set to be
more trusting.

I also generally found them to work better in Australia than in the US, though
the technology seems to be the same. I guess it's because of these tolerances
being set differently, but that's just speculation.

~~~
SyneRyder
You could be correct, just recently the Australian supermarkets announced a
crackdown on self-checkout theft (mentioned in the podcast) which would seem
unlikely if tolerances weren't currently lenient. In the last week the Coles
supermarket I went to had rolled out entirely new software / UI on the
machines, and for the first time in ages there were long self checkout queues
and people seemed to be taking longer.

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notliketherest
I actually like using self checkout. It's great for quick purchases, but not
so much when you're buying lots of groceries. One thing I usually buy quickly
is beer - but here in California, there is a State law against using the self
checkout lane for alcohol purchases. This is ostensibly to avoid alcohol
theft, but I have a sneaky conspiracy theory it's to make these self checkouts
even less used, all to appease the unions and keep labor up.

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fosco
My theory was along the lines of alcohol being prohibited because under age
customers would buy there and get through without being ID'ed

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chuymax
If you scan alcohol in a self checkout lane, you get a message to wait for a
store assistant to validate your ID before you can continue. If the customer
doesn't ring the alcohol... that's a different story.

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anonymous_iam
I always refuse to use Self Checkout, even when a store clerk offers to
operate it for me. The process always takes longer than doing it "the old
fashioned way". Maybe it's because I'm over 50, but I prefer face-to-face
interaction with a cashier. BTW, I'm not a technophobe by any measure. I'm
probably more tech savvy than most people here.

~~~
sndean
Being pretty antisocial, I tend to go to the self checkout if it's available.
Though I've noticed that if there's a problem with something, and the store
clerk comes over to help, that leads to far more human interaction than the
old fashioned way (explaining the problem vs. "Hi")

> BTW, I'm not a technophobe by any measure. I'm probably more tech savvy than
> most people here.

At least in my circle of friends, it seems like it's less about being tech
savvy/phobic and more introverted/extroverted

~~~
draw_down
I tend to prefer less human interaction as well, but these machines offer the
worst of both worlds: frustration due to dealing with a poorly designed
machine, PLUS the joy of waiting around for a person to come rescue you.

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ghaff
I have no problem with self-checkout generally but I find it pretty bad for a
"real" grocery shopping (as opposed to picking up a few barcoded items). I'm
almost always picking up a fair bit of produce and other items that don't have
barcodes and dealing with these is very painful compared to having a cashier.

Home improvement stores can be a pain too because of awkward shapes but, of
course, it depends on what you're buying.

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galago
Shaws, a grocery store near where I live in Somerville, MA used to have self
checkouts, but got rid of them. They also ended their customer loyalty card
system. The paticular store where I shop has limited space, so the checkers
allow more customer throughput. The old self-checkouts failed pretty often for
me so I'm happy they're gone.

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lutorm
I always do self-checkout at Home Depot. It usually works perfectly, and when
the attendants have to scan something large or a by-foot cut of something,
it's usually quick.

At grocery stores, it's a different story entirely. Buying 3 things? Doesn't
matter, you'd better put your bag in the "packing area" before scanning
anything because it'll stop working when you try to pack something. Or pack it
into the bag as you scan? Nope, it'll stop working. It does however make me
appreciate the considerable number of memorized vegetable and loose-weight
codes the cashiers remember.

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Reason077
Self checkout is almost mandatory in many UK shops.

Wait in a long slow line for a regular checkout, or short-to-no line for self-
checkout? Easy choice. Very fast once you get the hang of them, and no chit-
chat!

The only time I sometimes prefer the human checkout is when buying alcohol as
you need to call over an attendant to approve your purchase, which is a little
annoying.

~~~
whoopdedo
The problem with lines could be solved instead by re-instituting the original
meaning of express lanes. It used to be under ten items, then 10-11 items. Now
the store I shop at says "about 15 items" to avoid doing any actual counting.
Today I was buying a single item and all the self-checkout machines were in
use. So I go into the express lane with two people ahead of me. Not only was
one of the customers buying more than 15 items, they BOTH paid with a personal
check!

Limit the express lane to strictly 11 items or less and only accept cards and
cash (or even cards only) and it will move quicker than the self-service
machines.

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ahallock
I use the self-checkouts because I like to see how fast I can go, like speed-
running a video game.

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wyldfire
I like the self checkout, I generally feel like I had a net time savings
against waiting in line. I appreciate how truly sensitive they are and I take
some mild precautions to avoid getting stuck in one of the machine's pitfalls.
I know some folks might scoff and call these limitations a regression but I
think it's a net win for me.

Stuff to look out for:

1\. shopping w/the kids (they love to "help" but don't know the precautions)

2\. certain items requiring special attention (items with theft deterrents,
age-controlled items, etc).

3\. quickly getting item delivered from scanner to scale. Too many items will
leave you limited in how you can make room on the scale.

Some stores have some customizations which show them as having different
priorities. At Walmart the transaction is well-optimized for speed (CC
bypasses signature for cheap transactions, CC swipe bypasses primary console
prompting/confirmation, also one or two "non-bagged items" grace). Others seem
to focus more on risk/theft controls.

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5555624
If I can scan the item and then place it in the bag, I have no problem using
self checkout machines. (The local CVS and Harris-Teeter stores, for example.)
If I scan the item and can't bag it; but, have to put it on a belt and let it
go to the bagging end? I rarely use it. Why? I want to bag my groceries
without worrying about bagging those of the person behind me. If I scan
everything, pay, and then start bagging, the majority of the time, the person
behind me starts scanning their items before I'm done bagging.

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markdown
Why hire and pay someone to work a checkout counter when you can get taxpayers
to shoulder the cost for you:

[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/nsw-police-to-
crackdow...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/nsw-police-to-crackdown-on-
shoplifting-at-self-service-checkouts/7908154)

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Overtonwindow
I refuse. The prices are usually too high to warrant scanning my own
groceries.

~~~
rhizome
I wonder if anybody has ever suggested offering discounts for using them. I
imagine an across-the-board x% off is anathema to the business gestalt.

~~~
ghaff
The problem is that then people will use self-checkout even though they know
that what they're buying is going to be time consuming, awkward, and require
significant manual intervention in the self-checkout lane. This is especially
true in home improvement stores where things like lumber really aren't
designed to work with self-checkout at all.

~~~
rhizome
Sure, but that cost would be more than compensated by a reduction in checkers.

~~~
ghaff
My point is that giving a discount for self-checkout will tend to lead to an
experience that is worse for the shopper and doesn't even necessarily result
in reduced costs for the store because they'll now need more self-checkout
helpers.

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draw_down
I hate these damn machines. Every one I've ever tried has been incredibly
shitty. They're configured to prevent stealing, but that means they constantly
stop normal shoppers just trying to check out and force everything to a halt
until an assistant coms over. But whoops, the assistant always just stepped
away for a moment, or is helping someone else, or, or...

Not to mention the basic fact that, screw you guys, it's YOUR job to do the
checkout, not customers'.

~~~
wutbrodo
> Not to mention the basic fact that, screw you guys, it's YOUR job to do the
> checkout, not customers'.

I don't understand this statement. How is this a basic fact? It seems like
you've drawn an arbitrary line for things that they're responsible based on
how it used to be and are randomly claiming that it must be universal. Why
isn't it a "basic fact" that your gas station is responsible for an attendant
pumping your gas, or your motel is responsible for a concierge to make
reservations for you? Just because these existed in the past doesn't make it a
"basic fact" that it's their fundamental responsibility.

