Save a job...refuse to use the "self checkout" at the grocery store...

**phoeny_moonstar** · 01-11-2009, 09:12 AM

I have two problems with self check outs
1) They never seem to work correctly and you always have to wait for an attendant (who is usually busy filing their nails) to come and scan their card or whatever to get the machine to work again.
2) I don't like the fact that companies are trying to replace human beings with malfunctioning machines.

**nancycg56** · 01-11-2009, 09:23 AM

I like self check outs and use them when I can ~ only Lowe's and BJ's have them here.

I am SICK TO DEATH of explaining how to bag groceries so I don't end up with smashed bread and broken eggs ~ in fact, many times, I bag my own groceries. I WISH my regular grocery had them I would use them in a heartbeat.. Groceries are too expensive NOT to have them bagged properly ~ and yes, I complain but it doesn't change. At least at BJs I can put things back in the cart to MY advantage.

**elphie** · 01-11-2009, 10:24 AM

I said this another thread but I think it is appropriate here as well

This entire forum is dedicated to saving money and doing it ourselves. The reasoning that we should pay higher prices (because paying more cashiers equals higher prices) to save those jobs doesn't make sense. By this reasoning we should also be eating out more, stop growing our gardens, buy more convience foods, and heck maybe even hire housekeepers; after all this would create jobs in restaurants, farms, packaging plants, and service industries. It isn't the responsiblityof the consumer to create jobs, it is the responsibility of the producer to create a good/service that I am willing to pay for.

That being said, I AM willing to go to a cashier if I have a lot of things in my cart but if I just have a few things I'm not willing to wait in long lines and I enjoy the convienence of using the self-checkout. And even those who don't like the self-checkout still enjoy the cost benefit of stores that have them. JMHO

QM · 01-11-2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

...Most of the cashiers I've encountered don't even smile or anything when you're checking out, even if you greet them with a pleasant tone and a smile...

It really irks me when cashiers do this. I took great pride in offering the best customer service possible when I was a cashier. Customers won't want to come back too quickly if you don't make them feel special.

**madhen** · 01-11-2009, 02:34 PM

At one of the stores I frequent, I use the auto-check-out because the check-out people are either really super, Stepford-wife, friendly (read, I don't want you to analyze each thing I'm buying and ask me how I intend to use it) or, if I am unlucky enough to not pay attention, I get the guy who thinks it is fun to tell you jokes the entire time he is checking you out. Not only does it slow him down, but the jokes are typically very juvenile and, after about three, it is hard to pretend you are enjoying yourself.

The way I shop, it is a business transaction. I expect pleasant and professional. Quick is a nice bonus, but I don't hold it against you if you aren't the fastest one in the game. Anything beyond that is not what I'm there for, and I don't really appreciate it. I do understand human nature, and if I'm buying ten 4-lb bags of corn, I don't mind if someone asks me what I use it for, but when they comment about each item (oh, do you have kids; oh, how do you prepare this; oh, what does this taste like; oh, do you like this brand more than that brand), I start to feel a little put upon.

**Wendy Mack** · 01-11-2009, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by Quiltin' Mama

It really irks me when cashiers do this. I took great pride in offering the best customer service possible when I was a cashier. Customers won't want to come back too quickly if you don't make them feel special.

Me too .. I have found that if you smile and try to make a customer feel special they want to come back to your store.. I try to do this and working overnights its easier than during the day when you are sooo busy. I have several people that only come when I work which makes me feel good lol .... There is one lady she complemented me and my boss to corp .. she said she only buys her gas and gets snacks for work from our location because we smile make her feel special and in general make her feel like we are friends.. which i consider her a friend .. when i see her come in no matter where i am I come out and say heyyy Patti.. hows things going? She told us that no other place she had stopped does that ... and just felt like another face in the crowd. I try to make people feel like they are important and that their business is special to me... there are a few that you can't be this nice to or they think you are like hitting on them .. sigh men .. drunk men!!! Then you have to say go home!!!! But I try hard.. and I have made it 3 and half years so far and made some good friends along the way!!!! So its worth it to me to go the extra mile!

**UUMomof3** · 01-11-2009, 04:33 PM

I buy my groceries at Target. I find that, for what we buy, the prices and store brands are as good a value. Plus:

They bag the groceries for me
No "fund raising" baggers to smash my bread or forget my bags
No self-checkout
Overall, a more pleasant shopping experience than I've EVER had at Cub. The cashiers there always seemed like they wished I'd go away. So I did.

The sum total of my experience with self-checkout is:
\Unexpected item in bagging area. Item removed from bagging area. Unexpected item in bagging area. Item removed from bagging area. Do you want to bag this item? (no) Do you want to bag this item? (no). Too many items out of bagging area.

**heartofmine** · 01-11-2009, 04:38 PM

I've never used one and don't plan on it. To many folks out of work.

**dmarie** · 08-04-2009, 08:46 AM

I use to shop at albertson's but i noticed they stop having more then two check outs and use only 1 and guide people to the self check outs. I wouldn't mind if they were giving me the difference in savings i saved them in payroll. But since they don't i stop shopping there.

**Karen1** · 08-04-2009, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by MRAHoffman

I just got back from getting groceries and 2 things got my attention:

1. I shop at the Cascade Meijers in Grand Rapids Michigan (for those of you who are familiar and for those of you who don't, it is an "upscale" Walmart, but I buy almost exclusively store brand). This is Meijers "premier" grocery store that they just remodeled a cooking demo area, 101 balsamic vinegrettes, gourmet food galore as well as outdoor items, clothes, RX, etc. I told my mom, watch the "other areas" (non grocery) are going to go away and even the grocery is going to be pared down. I couldn't believe it but Friday 6pm, ALL areas of the store were slow AND 1/4 of the store was bare...even their spring clothes only had maybe 1/2 doz. of each style. I wonder what they are going to do with all that "unused" space?

2. I was watching as people were using the self checkout and cashiers were standing around...come on people, put these cashiers to work...have THEM check out your groceries, not a machine...SAVE that job!!!! There! Take care and God bless.

I like self checkout alot. I use it only when I have "easy" fast items that scan well....not when I do my "bigger" shopping with fruits etc.

I like the convenience definitely and am glad stores have them.

**Pemberleyan** · 08-04-2009, 09:00 AM

I think our Walmarts removed them after a short time, but it is also full of unmanned checkouts and long lines. At Lowe's the self-checkouts usually work okay, but there is a cashier right there anyway. I don't use them if I have a lot of items.

**semo_mom** · 08-04-2009, 09:27 AM

Only K-Mart and Home Depot have the self checkouts here and I'm guilty of using them everytime. There is never a line at them and just seems so much quicker. Our Wal-Mart had them for about a month, they had too much trouble with people "forgetting" to scan their things and walking out the door.