# How do you feel about self-checkout now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725 "2022-07-10T20:24:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/221 "2022-07-20T16:31:28Z")
Two, probably three, of the groceries I use will call a bagger if requested and one isn’t already there. I prefer to bag my own, though. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/222 "2022-07-20T16:35:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The perfect combination is customer + cashier + bagger. What a waste of a job. I hate other people bagging my items except at Trader Joe’s where they have it down to a science and are super fast. Really I don’t know how they are so much better there then at every other grocery store. Last week I bought two items from a local grocery, the cashier bags the items. Even though it was only _two_ things, she still put the lighter delicate item on the bottom and then a pound of chicken on top. 🙄 I had to then remove the items in front of her and repack them myself. Yeah that really saved time. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/223 "2022-07-20T18:51:43Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > This is likely true…if there’s no line at the live checkout. Usually there is, and there is no line at the self-checkout making it much faster than waiting for a cashier (depending on the size of your cart). This. Self checkout is nearly always faster for me. The checker is faster than me, but I have to wait for her to check out x number of others before they get to me. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Even though it was only _two_ things, she still put the lighter delicate item on the bottom and then a pound of chicken on top. This drives my sister _insane_ because she always puts items on the conveyer belt in the order or grouping she wants them bagged in. Once recently a bagger put a package of some baked goods in the same bag as some super stinky detergent. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/224 "2022-07-20T18:59:54Z")
One of my local grocery stores has baggers. Yes, that’s faster, and they do fine. I take stuff out of my cart and put it on the conveyor belt in the order I want them bagged. A different local grocery store has an app to ring up your groceries as you shop. I need to try that, as it sounds great. Except… I mostly go to that store for the produce, and produce mostly needs to be weighed, so I don’t know if it will work. The other way around would be awesome. And it would be easy for me to bag as I shop. I know what lives close to what else and home, and that’s how I’d sort them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/225 "2022-07-20T19:07:48Z")
My regional chain (Publix) has baggers, though often not one for every register. They float between lines and help keep the longer ones moving at a reasonable pace. If there’s no bagger handy, the cashier does it. It’s also totally acceptable to step into the bagger’s area and do it yourself, though I rarely see people do it. If I’m in a hurry or if the cashier looks tired or harried, I’ll often do my own bagging - otherwise I’m content to wait. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/226 "2022-07-20T19:10:25Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Except… I mostly go to that store for the produce, and produce mostly needs to be weighed, so I don’t know if it will work. At my local store that has the app, there are weigh stations in the produce area, where it will print a label for the item. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/227 "2022-07-20T20:03:36Z")
The self-checkout designers thought about that long ago. Much produce has a barcode on it (bananas, apples, bunches of parsley, etc.) and you just have to put it on the scanner scale and wait a few seconds for it to settle. If it doesn’t have a bc attached, you still have several options, such as selecting the item on a picture menu. If you buy the same kind of produce frequently, you get familiar with this procedure just like the clerks do. Of all the learning curves I have seen, this is one of the easiest. Just don’t try to put your thumb on the scales, unless your thumb has a barcode on it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/228 "2022-07-20T20:26:58Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > In fact, even as an experienced cashier, checking myself out is _still_ slower than going to a lane with a cashier myself. That’s because when I’m working as a cashier the machine I use has some features that allow me to do things faster than anything on the self-checkout. > > A large part of that is that the customer has already unloaded the cart for you and put it on a convenient belt for you to pick up from and scan. Then you just drop the items into a bag, and the customer then places the bag into the cart. With self-checkout, you are doing both. No, I think it has something to do with, when someone rolls up with 48 cans of the same dog or cat food I can scan 1 can then hit the “quantity” button and type “48”. There is _no way_ for you to scan a can 48 times over in that short amount of time. Also, I can tell you NOT to unload heavy/bulky items, just leave them in the cart, then use the wireless handscanner which is faster and less effort for BOTH of us. Also, I have a LOT more produce codes memorized than the general public - that’s not down to my machine, that’s me. So I’m going to go a lot faster with those than if you tried to look up each individual code on your own. So yes, the customer unloading does help the cashier… but that’s not the only reason the cashier rings up faster than the non-cashier. It’s also why I _can’t_ ring myself up in self-serve as fast as I can ring people up at my register. The self-serve doesn’t have a “quantity” button. Have 48 of something? You have to scan 48 times. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I hate other people bagging my items except at Trader Joe’s where they have it down to a science and are super fast. Really I don’t know how they are so much better there then at every other grocery store. Training and use of brain. There are rules to bagging that, if followed, yield better results. But no one is trained in bagging anymore it seems. > [@carrps](#): > > > [@tofor](#): > > > > This is likely true…if there’s no line at the live checkout. Usually there is, and there is no line at the self-checkout making it much faster than waiting for a cashier (depending on the size of your cart). > > This. Self checkout is nearly always faster for me. The checker is faster than me, but I have to wait for her to check out x number of others before they get to me. And that’s why I tell people if you only have one or two items go to self-checkout. There are people who MAKE A POINT about going to a line with a human being no matter what. Well, OK, fine, if you want to wait in line to get to me. Your choice. But for just one or two things the self-serve is going to be faster (absent something like a need for an ID and removal of security devices, in which case it’s a toss-up). The self-serve have essentially replaced “express lanes”. Large orders should go to the human run lanes. Small stuff to the self-serve. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/229 "2022-07-20T20:30:25Z")
When I really started using self checkout 15+ years ago, the trick was to understand how the machine worked. It worked when things were done a certain way, I learned to checkout that way, and wound up generally pleased with the result. Today they seem to be more forgiving, but I still don’t like doing a big shop through self checkout. Mrs Cheesesteak would take 2 full carts through one if you let her. RE: Aldi barcodes. Pretty much every Aldi house brand product is festooned with barcodes. Since the cashiers don’t do any bagging, they just have to bring the item in front of the scanner, in any orientation, and it will scan, then they drop it in the empty cart. They’ll scan through a cart full of groceries faster than any other store. It’s one of my favorite things about the store, they increased the efficiency of their staff, didn’t cost themselves a penny, and didn’t make their employees “do more”, they just made the job easier. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/230 "2022-07-20T21:34:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I can scan 1 can then hit the “quantity” button and type “48”. There is _no way_ for you to scan a can 48 times over in that short amount of time. Actually, with the app, you can. Scan one and hit quantity. At Home Depot, it also gives you that ability at the self check out line. I don’t know why grocery stores don’t. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Also, I can tell you NOT to unload heavy/bulky items, just leave them in the cart, then use the wireless handscanner which is faster and less effort for BOTH of us. Once again, with the app, you can do this. Also, some places do have handheld scanners at the self check out. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Also, I have a LOT more produce codes memorized than the general public - that’s not down to my machine, that’s me. So I’m going to go a lot faster with those than if you tried to look up each individual code on your own. I don’t have _all_ the codes memorized, but I _do_ have the codes of the produce that I buy regularly memorized. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/231 "2022-07-20T21:53:10Z")
Quick pop quiz: Bananas? Green onions? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/232 "2022-07-20T22:15:55Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Actually, with the app, you can. Scan one and hit quantity. At Home Depot, it also gives you that ability at the self check out line. I don’t know why grocery stores don’t. I don’t know either. I do know that the app for the store I work at does not do this. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Once again, with the app, you can do this. Also, some places do have handheld scanners at the self check out. Again, the app at my store does NOT do this at the self-checkout. You can do it for the shop and scan app. The self-checkouts do have hand scanners, but you have to ask an attendant to do it for you. Why? I don’t know why they set it up that way. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/233 "2022-07-20T22:16:41Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I can scan 1 can then hit the “quantity” button and type “48”. When I worked for Safeway they disabled our “quantity” button at some point, and told us we had to scan every single item. I guess too many checkers were abusing the quantity function apparently, and corporate had legit concerns about inventory and price accuracy. I was very upset because I was using it correctly. Another instance of a few inconpetent idiots fuckin’ it up for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/234 "2022-07-21T00:02:12Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Quick pop quiz: > > Bananas? > > Green onions? 4011 and 4068. Ask me a hard one, like dragonfruit or eggplant. 🙂 3040 and 4082 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/235 "2022-07-21T05:25:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And how does the number of jobs lost to self-checkouts compare with the number of jobs gained from assembling and fulfilling online/app grocery orders? Serious question: are those jobs, or are they gigs? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/236 "2022-07-21T05:28:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There are people who MAKE A POINT about going to a line with a human being no matter what. Well, OK, fine, if you want to wait in line to get to me. C’mon, you can’t pretend you’re not worth the wait. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/237 "2022-07-21T05:32:28Z")
At the supermarket, I only ever buy as much as I can carry home myself. I prefer self-checkout because it’s easier to monitor whether the prices of everything are ringing up properly. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/238 "2022-07-21T05:56:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Training and use of brain. > > There are rules to bagging that, if followed, yield better results. But no one is trained in bagging anymore it seems. As I said, the baggers at the store I go to would have trouble finding other jobs, but they do a fine job bagging. I prefer to do it myself, but I’m glad they have jobs. And I never wait for the cashier to bag since that just slows up the line. > [@Broomstick](#): > > The self-checkouts do have hand scanners, but you have to ask an attendant to do it for you. Why? I don’t know why they set it up that way. Our self checkouts don’t have them either. Maybe because the customers would drop them on the floor? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/239 "2022-07-21T08:01:30Z")
We have had people accidentally go home with a scanner (once in awhile we even get them back). I suspect this would be more common if the store issued hand scanners to customers. Perhaps that is why our scan-while-you-shop app uses the customer’s own phone? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/240 "2022-07-21T12:41:56Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Quick pop quiz: > > Bananas? > > Green onions? I haven’t bought bananas in decades, but green onions are 4068. > [@DCnDC](#): > > I guess too many checkers were abusing the quantity function apparently, and corporate had legit concerns about inventory and price accuracy. I was very upset because I was using it correctly. Another instance of a few inconpetent idiots fuckin’ it up for everyone. My understanding on that would be that they were not really creating a matter of shrinkage, but skewing inventory. Someone comes up with 48 cans of soup, and you scan one and type in 48, even though there were 8 varieties of soup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725.md?page=13)