How do you feel about self-checkout now?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
281

I didn’t actually make a claim, so I didn’t get a claim wrong. You have taken my words out of context in a way that vaguely looks like I made a claim, but that’s all on you misunderstanding what I actually said, not on me for what I actually, you know, said.

I doubted that you had such a tolerance for simply, you know, standing and shrugging, as you watched an employee get abused in front of you. I am assuming that there is screaming and yelling, maybe even cursing going on directed at the employee for making a mistake, for it to so strongly affect you.

Was I wrong?

If you haven’t walked out the door with unpaid merchandise, then treating you as a thief would actually be illegal and set them up for lawsuits and possibly even criminal charges.

You roll the dice that when you walk into the store, you aren’t assaulted by the greeter, as well, don’t you?

You didn’t say boss them around, you said berate. Which did you mean? I mean, if the boss comes over and says, “Hey John, you missed this item, let me show you how to make sure you don’t miss it in the future.” that’s not berating. If they are screaming at them and threatening to fire them over a mistake, that’s a berating. Which was it that you have witnessed, and are you sure you weren’t just being, you know, hyperbolic?

If you were just being hyperbolic, and you simply witnessed corrective feedback from the boss, it should call for exactly the same shrug that it should call for if someone mentions to you that you forgot to scan an item in the cart. If what you witnessed was actual berating over a mistake, it would take a pretty impressive lack of empathy for your fellow human being in order to just stand there and shrug as you witness it, so I’ll assume you are just being hyperbolic in your word choice.

282

Then I’m not sure what point you were making, nor how you were contradicting what @Broomstick said.

283

The statement you made was: “No one is going to “berate” you the way you imagine a cashier is “berated” if they mis-scan an item.”

Near as I can tell, that’s you actually making a claim.

Yes. Yes, you were wrong to assume that.

Yes. Yes, you will assume that.

You say the first isn’t a berating, but the second — screaming and threatening to fire them — is; what would you say if they’re threatening to fire them, but aren’t screaming? Is there some amount of ‘loudly, but not screaming’ that you figure would let such an if-then threat qualify, without hyperbole, both as berating and as bossing around?

I suppose. And, so long as I see no upside in doing so, I don’t bother to do stuff that would increase my odds of getting assaulted by a grocery-store greeter.

284

Hey, @The_Other_Waldo_Pepper , hey man, if self checkout doesn’t work for you, I’m cool with that. Just don’t use it. No big deal.

Personally I think your scenario is far fetched and highly unlikely, but, whatever.

I believe that SCO is faster and more convenient, and I believe I made a pretty good case for it above, so I’ll use it.

I really like it, SCO.

285

Has Broomstick ever told us the name of her store? Because if not, this would be kind of creepy.

286

Not that I personally remember, but @Broomstick might easily have mentioned either the name or some identifying detail somewhere I didn’t notice.

287

If it helps, I can assure you all as a supervisor, cashier, and self-checkout attendant that we do not engage in any berating of customers, nor are our cashiers subject to beratement if they mis-ring something.

288

She said her store doesn’t “require that bullshit” when they do. IMHO, asking me to complete a survey is nearly as bad as asking me if I want to donate my change or whatever.

289

I didn’t name the store either. But she’s posted plenty of information about it. I don’t know, or have any interest in, which store in a large regional chain she works at. Give me a break.

290

I deliberately avoid identifying the store because that allows me to speak freely about it without worrying about my employer’s social media policies.

I never look at D_Anconia’s posts so I’m not entirely sure what’s he’s on about this time, but absolutely no one is FORCED to take the survey at this point. If you don’t want to answer it you don’t have to, and a lot of people never bother. No big deal.

Likewise, asking people if they have coupons or our app. Simple yes/no and if you don’t it’s no big deal.

Our script is:

Hello. How are you?
Do you have any coupons or [name of our app]?
[ring up order]
Your total is $$$$
Would you like to answer the question on the screen?
Thank you for shopping at [name of store] and have a good day

That’s it.

Well, OK, if you’re purchasing alcohol, ammunition, R-rate media, certain types of cough syrup, fireworks, or anything else with an age limitation you might get asked for ID. But that’s not because of my company, that’s because the State of Indiana has laws about that sort of thing.

291

I never said anyone was FORCED to take the survey. But one time, the attendant at the self-checkout station came over and “reminded” me to take it. :roll_eyes:

Maybe they get bonus points with the boss for doing so? I dunno.

292

It always stupid corporate policies they’re monitoring. I remember back in my cashier days I got written up for not audibly asking for a loyalty card when the customer had already put it down on their first item for me to grab and scan. I spend the rest of the day basically yelling for loyalty cards so the corporate overlords could here.

Even more reason to do self-checkout to avoid that.

293

A confusing checkout the other day using the app. I’m on the app scrolling through the available coupons and I click on one that’s $5 off $15 of a brand names items. I select my purchases fill the cart and make a few extra purchases to go over $15 of the brand name items.

I check out and notice the clipped $5 coupon is isn’t showing up on the register tape. I flag an attendant who points out look it’s only for online/app purchases. I say yes I am using my app! But no it only for online orders. It seems to me more and more they want to push customers out of the store and just deliver the goods you ordered online.

294

I wouldn’t shop at a place where i observed managers berating the employees. I’ve seen managers training employees, and telling them how to handle things. But berating employees in front of the customers and other employees seems like horrible management.

It’s not so much that I’m making a moral stand by walking out as that I’d find it incredibly uncomfortable to observe that, and i wouldn’t want to come back and risk being subjected to that again.

As a teenager i was accused of shoplifting a couple times (not guilty) and it was pretty unpleasant. But i think it would be even worse to watch employees being berated.

295

Some years ago, at an earlier (failed) version of self-checkout, I decided to go through with a full cart. In the middle of my checkout difficulties I realized the solution to putting things back in my cart would’ve been to use a second cart that was empty. Position it forward of yourself by the bagging area, move stuff from the bagging area to the second cart as necessary, leaving the cart you shopped with empty.

Today I went to Mariano’s for 3 items. I noticed there was only one attended checkout aisle, and I think it was the 15 or fewer items aisle. I went to the self-checkout. By the time I was done, a couple of people were going through with full carts, and a line was growing.

296

Here’s something curious:

Apparently there’s some debate about checkout belt dividers, you know those plastic sticks you put between your stuff and another customer’s stuff. Checkers love them, but it seems the debate is about who’s responsible for putting the divider down. Some people appear to be aggressively putting the divider down and start loading their items onto the belt before the person ahead is finished. I’m not sure what the controversy is. Clearly the people doing that are in the wrong.

Unless those articles are satire that’s going over my head.

297

I always put one down right behind my items if there’s someone behind me with a loaded cart.

298

Sometimes the person in front of me puts one down. Sometimes I observe that they are done unloading, and I put one down. Sometimes the supermarket checker reaches over and puts one down. I’ve never noticed any strife over this. It seems helpful to keep our groceries separate. It’s obviously rude to hurry the person in front of you by placing the divider before they are done unloading their groceries. I can’t recall that ever happening to me, and I’m pretty careful not to do it to the person in front of me. This just feels like a weird complaint.

299

If someone comes into line behind me, I’ll put one down. It’s easier for me to reach out than it is for them.

The ones who rudely put one down behind another person’s groceries is being very rude. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

300

Do you mean, behind another person’s groceries while they’re still unloading them onto the belt? Because if the person in front of me obviously has all their groceries already on the belt, it seems totally reasonable and cromulent for me to put down a divider before I start putting mine on there behind them.