# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/141 "2022-07-12T00:14:33Z")
I’m surprised at all the people who are reporting “no waiting” in the self-checkout lines. Typically where I use them, there are 3 or 4 people waiting for _each_ machine. One of which is often out of order. The good news is the average order is only a few items, and I sure won’t get in line behind somebody whose order is huge, who looks incompetent / out of it, or whose order is obviously lacking barcodes on many items. ISTM that I can often use the human powered express line or a conventional cashier line quicker than I can wait for a self-service to open up. I’m not suggesting this is typical for everyone everywhere, but it happens a lot for me here. I don’t often have trouble with the latest machines. But it appears many of my fellow shoppers do. Sucks to be in line behind those shoppers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/142 "2022-07-12T00:18:10Z")
The two main supermarkets I use do not have them. I still like interacting with a human, and they are much faster than me when it comes to large purchases. If I’m buying just a handful of things (like under ten), I’m fine with self-checkout. Anything larger than that, and I try to find an acceptable line. Unfortunately, in stores with self-checkout, this will often mean there’s only two cashiers or so open. And, still, about a quarter of the time, I have some problem with the machine waiting for me to put an item in the bag, when I already have, or telling me to “take out an unexpected item” when I just put the damned thing I scanned in the bagging area. Or I’ve bought something that requires an ID, because apparently half the store is full of stuff used to make meth, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/143 "2022-07-12T00:21:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Typically where I use them, there are 3 or 4 people waiting for _each_ machine. That’s a major failure on the part of the store. At the very least, there should be a single line that feeds 4 or so self-checkout machines, so that no one person is stuck behind one person who gets stuck. But really, there’s no excuse for not having enough machines to virtually eliminate the wait. I wouldn’t want to use the machines at your store either. ---
**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 12, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/144 "2022-07-12T00:28:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I’m sure it varies by location, but the few times I’ve had issues with the machine the solution has been to lift my hand and glance at the attendant, who scurries over and fixes it. Easy peasy. Well, I’ve used self checkout at three places. Once at Home Depot, where getting the attention of an attendant was a major hassle. Once at my regular supermarket, where an attendant noticed i was slightly confused and fixed my problem before i even tried to fix it myself, and once at the unattended 24/7 farmer’s market. So I’d say it varies a great deal by location. I’ve both underpaid and overpaid at the farmer’s market, and only realized it when i got home. (And I’ve twice left my card there by mistake.) I’ve overpaid them more in total than I’ve underpaid them, if you care. But the real issue is that I’m only willing to spend a certain amount of effort making certain I’ve done everything right. ---
**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 12, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/145 "2022-07-12T00:31:59Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > That’s a major failure on the part of the store. At the very least, there should be a single line that feeds 4 or so self-checkout machines, so that no one person is stuck behind one person who gets stuck. But really, there’s no excuse for not having enough machines to virtually eliminate the wait. I wouldn’t want to use the machines at your store either. Right. That’s the big advantage of them - you never get stuck behind a slow poke who also writes a check. > [@eschereal](#): > > Sometimes I do not even bother with bagging but just roll the cart out to my car (which is usually parked very close to a cart corral) and unload right into the car. The store has better prices than most, and I suspect self-bagging is one of the reasons for that. That’s what I do at Costco now. For the supermarket, when there is a bagger it is a person who really needs that kind of job. And the baggers are all super nice people. I’d prefer to bag myself but I’m happy that they have a job so I’m fine with them doing it when available. In any case I wrote a paper that referenced the bin packing problem when I was in grad school, so I’m an expert. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/146 "2022-07-12T00:33:36Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > They are not staring at their attendant screen to check the produce is correctly identified (I’d believe it does come up on thier screen, but they don’t have approve each one) I’ve seen the attendant just push the button to approve without looking. Their job can get pretty hectic. There may be ways to just auto approve. Most produce is relatively inexpensive. ---
**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 12, 2022, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/147 "2022-07-12T00:35:19Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I suspect the self checkouts can monitor you and your purchases. There’s that mirror thingie on the POS register I think is recording the transaction. Not only is the transaction recorded at my store, but the system also utilizes “artificial intelligence” to look for potential problems. That part of the system isn’t great at the moment, but it is improving. > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > If I’m buying large quantities of the same item, say packets of ramen, I’ll hold one in my left hand and scan it over and over, while the right hand moves the other packets into the (one) bag on the scale. Now I wonder if I security has been watching me very carefully when I did this. Likely they have. And if you’re doing it honestly and correctly that’s fine. If not, you’re mug is on camera stealing. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > The odds of stores paying someone to continually keep an eagle eye on the self-checkouts strike me as low, on the order of aircraft actually monitoring your highway speed. And yet… not only are the attendants keeping an eye out, our LP staff are randomly looking at various places in the store including, yes, the self-serve stations. The system incorporates facial recognition AI that will alert the humans if a possible match to a known thief shows up, as well as alerting for suspicious behavior. That doesn’t necessarily mean the perpetrator will be escorted out in handcuffs right then. Apparently the store has had some success with going through legal channels that result in the police visiting the person at home, court dates, and copious video evidence in court. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > The only problems I have is that sometimes it’s freaking impossible to peel open a single plastic bag to put your groceries in. Moisten your fingers. DO NOT do this by _licking_ your fingers as that is disgusting and unsanitary. Either wipe your fingers against something frozen like a boxed dinner or use a dab of hand sanitizer. Doesn’t always make it _easy_ but it does make it easi_er_. > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I have encountered this on the newest self checkouts (3.0?) at a Meijer. I passed my hand over the scanner to grab something and it stopped because it thought I moved something over the scanner without scanning it. Yeah, at Meijer you really want to avoid back-and-forth motion or front-to-back motion over the scanners, it confuses the machine. I find a left-to-right or right-to-left motion across the scanner to be most successful with those. For darn sure you don’t want to “flutter” in front of the thing. It will have a fit. > [@chela](#): > > Have you tried the shop and scan app from Meijer? Shop, scan the upc on items using your smart phone and checkout when done. It automatically adds your Mperks coupons and suggests available coupons if you haven’t clipped them. Yeah, that’s great unless you’re there early enough for the daily maintenance on the self-serve - you can NOT use the shop-n-scan app on the register lanes with a human being, your items will have to be re-scanned by the cashier. Which is really shitty on the part of the company if you ask me, which no one did. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Yes, there’s usually a line at the traditional checkouts, but the self-checkout doesn’t have room for a lot of items in the bagging area, so I see them having to fool around with bagging some things, putting those back in the cart (and dealing with the register scolding them for removing items), etc. I have to believe that, even if there’s a line in the other checkout, it’d still be faster for them than spending 10 minutes doing self-checkout. At the place of my employment the units no longer scold you for putting things back into your cart. No more “item removed from bagging area” or “unexpected item in bagging area”. They turned off the scales, much to everyone’s relief. > [@SmartAleq](#): > > why the fuck do they insist on putting the receipt in my hand rather than tossing it into a bag? Because that’s what our corporate overlords want us to do, and failure to comply can cause us problems. UNLESS the customer says “put the receipt in the bag”, THEN we can do that without unfortunate (to us) consequences. Remember, we’re on tape the whole work day. Failure to follow the rules WILL be caught sooner or later. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If they want accurate inventory control, they can pay someone to do it. Actually… we’ve recently been given an inventory robot that now does some of the inventory work… ---
**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 12, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/148 "2022-07-12T00:48:43Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What’s the supply and demand like for cashier jobs these days? We can’t hire 'em fast enough to replace those who either find out that yes, you do have to show up on time and actually do some work or who are caught stealing from the till. Plenty of demand, supply is a bit iffy. > [@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? Part of the issue is not just the job in and of itself, but the physical effort required. Walking all over a store and picking items is surprisingly physical. Standing at a register a bit less so, and being the self-serve attendant less so. We have people who simply can not physically do an 8 hour shift at “fulfilling an on-line order” who can do a full shift at a register. Although MOST of the “on-line/app” shopping is not done by our store employee but by gig workers - sort of Uber for groceries. Which is another bundle of issues. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Does the store where you shop have an online ordering service? Because from what I can tell those services are booming and new jobs were created by the existence of this service, so I can’t imagine stores are hiring fewer people. Again - those people may not be employed by the _store_ - most of the on-line/app orders shopped at my store are via shopping app services. Is that better or worse? Depends on whether or not you need anything like health insurance - those third-party apps where you’re supposedly an “independent contractor” offer zero benefits. > [@griffin1977](#): > > (I’d believe it does come up on thier screen, but they don’t have approve each one) At my store we don’t get a picture of it on our screen at the self-checkout, just a line item in words. Sometimes the words used are… interestingly chosen. Sometimes ambiguous. It’s all a bit annoying, which is why when things are extremely busy they’ll increase the number of self-serve attendants. Sometimes. A _good_ cashier who runs a register 40 hours a week is going to be faster than an amateur, even a fast amateur. It’s a matter of practice. Unfortunately, not all cashiers are good at the job. ---
**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 12, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/149 "2022-07-12T01:06:59Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ve both underpaid and overpaid at the farmer’s market, and only realized it when i got home. There’s a wide difference between making a genuine mistake (you, above) and having a stated philosophical stance that justifies theft (not you). But if you’re at the computer, it’s giving you issues, and you say “fuck it, I’m not putting up with this” instead of paying what you owe? That’s always stealing. It’s black and white. It’s kind of like sitting at a long red light at a lonely intersection in the middle of the night. You get frustrated, run it, and the lurking cop tickets you. Sucks, yeah, but you still earned the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/150 "2022-07-12T12:25:46Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Yup, justification for shoplifting. “The machine made a mistake so I’m just gonna steal this item here!” Yup, another confidently incorrect opinion. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/151 "2022-07-12T14:06:31Z")
I was at the local store with the new checkouts and as I was about to enter the code for tomatoes I looked up and saw that tomatoes were already chosen on the display screen. Happened to be the correct tomatoes on the vine too. Not Romas or beefsteaks. That was handy! ---
**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 12, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/152 "2022-07-12T15:05:20Z")
Interesting. I wonder how that happened. Some possibilities occur to me: (1) There was a barcode on the tomatoes that you didn’t see, but the scanner did; (2) A video camera recognized the product through AI, (3) You accidentally bumped a selection screen, and the correct item popped up coincidentally, or ? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/153 "2022-07-12T15:14:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m happy to use the modern ones provided 100% of my order has bar codes. That is my feeling about self-checkouts as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/154 "2022-07-12T15:34:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Likely they have. > > And if you’re doing it honestly and correctly that’s fine. If not, you’re mug is on camera stealing. For the record: I am ringing up the exact number of “same” items that I’m buying. No stealing intended or carried out. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/155 "2022-07-12T15:42:24Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Some possibilities occur to me: (1) There was a barcode on the tomatoes that you didn’t see, but the scanner did; (2) A video camera recognized the product through AI, (3) You accidentally bumped a selection screen, and the correct item popped up coincidentally, or ? The first explanation raised my spirits - Because I thought someone saying: _“ARGH, YOUVE gotten a tomato that was sent out by mistake from a GMO lab. Where they’re working on having the barcodes grow as an invisible thing on the peel. And eating these vegetables will alter your DNA so you’ll have a bar code on your forehead…”_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/156 "2022-07-12T16:04:27Z")
For 15+ years now conventional live cashiers have been fumbling around with my fruits and veggies trying to find the one example with the PLU sticker still stuck. So for years I’ve joked “Some day they’ll grow them with the barcodes right on the skin”. I’ve gotten a lot of different reactions to that, but none have been eye-rolls. Now here in 2022 it seems we’re teaching machines to recognize tomatoes by sight faster than we’re teaching tomatoes to grow barcodes on their skins. So much for my futurology skills! 😉 ---
**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 12, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/157 "2022-07-12T16:40:19Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > For the record: I am ringing up the exact number of “same” items that I’m buying. No stealing intended or carried out. Then you’re golden and no need to worry, indeed, the video now backs you up in case there is a question. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/158 "2022-07-12T16:41:06Z")
I may have missed this in the thread (I haven’t read every single post and came into it late), but when I was at the airport a few months ago, they had this visual scanner (at least I think it was visual–I don’t remember seeing any weird tagging or instructions to put the UPC code a certain way) I had never seen before. You just place your items separated from each other on a defined area, and it just figures out what everything is and how much you owe. That was pretty neat. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/159 "2022-07-12T16:43:12Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > For the record: I am ringing up the exact number of “same” items that I’m buying. No stealing intended or carried out. I do exactly the same thing with multiple items of the same kind. I want to do it with, say, yogurt, which are all priced the same, but I buy multiple flavors and I don’t want to mess up the inventory system. (I’m making an assumption that these are used for inventory, too.) So those I’ll scan individually, or I’ll group the vanillas together, the cherries together, the strawberries together, etc., and scan those as smaller groups, even though the entire group may be 65 cents each, regardless of flavor. ---
**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 12, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725/160 "2022-07-12T16:49:46Z")
Thank you! You are correct the bar codes are used for inventory, which is mostly (but not completely) automated these days. By doing it as you do - the proper manner - you keep that system up to date an accurate. Therefore it won’t think you bought 48 cherry-and-vanilla yogurt and re-order based on that, it will know it was 4 cherry-and-vanilla and 2 blueberry and 42 lemon and will know to re-order the _lemon_ flavor so there will be enough on the shelf next time you come instead of _nothing but_ cherry. Obviously, an over-simplified illustration of the situation but it gets the idea across. We human cashiers know to ring things up by flavors (although of course some are just flat-out lazy and don’t care) but the customers frequently don’t. Yet they’ll complain if next time their favorite flavor isn’t on the shelf but something else is overflowing the aisles. (We do have people who try to make corrections so as to avoid such results but the entire system is far from perfect) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-self-checkout-now/967725.md?page=9)