If you knowingly take an item from a store without paying for it, when you should have done so, you are a thief. Full stop. It is not an opinion. I’m sure every shoplifter justifies it to themselves somehow.
And what if the machine has glitched out and miscounted? How much effort am I supposed to invest in troubleshooting a machine that I’m not responsible for, was not trained on, and more importantly, am not getting paid to operate or maintain?
None of that is my responsibility. I never put in a job application to be a cashier at the store; they just decided that this is a thing I do now (for no pay).
I’m not intentionally throwing extra stuff in the cart for the purpose of personal gain. I actually use a human cashier if I have the option. But if I’m forced to perform an auto-checkout, I’m not expending any effort whatsoever in ensuring the proper functioning of their business processes. Not my job, I’m not trained for it, I’m not paid for it, so I’m not doing it.
Oh … is that how it’s done? Good to know 
I’ve finished reading through the thread.
One comment I’ll make is that self-checkout systems vary wildly. If you didn’t like the self-checkout at Store A, don’t let that put you off of trying Store B’s system. If you tried Store C’s system a year ago and didn’t like it, try it again now and see if it’s the same. Even systems that have not changed hardware can be set certain ways to make self-checkout easier or more difficult.
Many of the specific complaints in this thread address items that are far from universal in using self-checkout. I’m especially curious about the stories of those having trouble removing things from the bagging area as you go (as you need to do with large orders and small bagging areas). Almost all the self-checkouts in this area allow you to place things directly in your basket after scanning – no need to weigh anything.
One other reason to like self-checkout was the time I found $40 in the change tray. Whoever forgot it was long gone. These days, change comes out of pinchrollers like a green tongue, so someone forgetting it is much less likely.
And perhaps a bit snobbish. I don’t do that kind of menial labor; you need to provide someone to do it for me! Not because I’m not smart enough to figure it out, of course; it’s just beneath me.
My complaint is the opposite really. I have exremely poor coordination and dexterity. I don’t feel I’m above bagging my own groceries. I just know that other people can do it better and faster. This is partly why I feel self checkout is a hassle and many others don’t- they can bag their own groceries without trouble.
The thing is, it’s faster because you’re not waiting an extra 5 - 10 minutes in line in the full-serve lanes. Altho that’s the time I used to use to catch up on bat boy and other pressing new items in the tabloids.
Unless it was someone who wanted to pay it forward, it may well have been a situation like the woman I saw a while back who had a cartfull of things that had to be weighed, while trying to corral several preschool-aged children. Lady, that’s what the checkers are for (not corraling the children, but doing the rest!).
The store I go to most often has a pair of belts past the register where the cashier sends the groceries down for the customers to bag, with a gate that selects which belt the stuff is being sent to. If I am buying more than 2 dozen things, I have the cashier pass them directly to me and they go back into my cart. 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.
Man, I miss bat boy.
The self checkout has improved. I use it for small purchases.
I prefer using cashier checkout for a full basket of groceries. They scan items much faster than me and often have someone bagging.
I used to feel guilty for using self checkout. I didn’t want to encourage eliminating employees. But the service is here to stay and nothing I do will change it.
Yup, justification for shoplifting. “The machine made a mistake so I’m just gonna steal this item here!”
Our local Walmarts are using the latest NCR scanners for the self checkouts. I am extremely impressed with how well they work, especially when compared to scanners from just a couple years ago. Mainly in terms of speed.
It took me awhile to learn the attendant has to approve produce. You put in the code for bananas and the attendant is shown a photo of whats on the scales.
I screwed up one day and put in the code for red potatoes. I had bananas on the scale. A legit brain fart on my part. IIRC the taters cost more per pound. I would have been over charged.
I still enjoy using self-check out. I tend to make small purchases and just found it more convenient and faster when it was first introduced. Of course if I am purchasing non-packaged produce or alcohol, I do prefer to go through the regular line, but not having to hear someone else’s obnoxious conversation, or one sided phone conversation as I wait to go through the line is great. I never made much conversation with cashier’s other than the occasional joke and of course thank you, so I don’t miss that.
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I dunno, it depends what he actually means. I’ll certainly try to do everything right, but if I’m confused and it’s not easy to get an attendant to come by, i don’t know how hard I’d work to make sure i was paying enough.
I suppose that’s part of why i usually don’t do self-checkout. I want to pay the right amount, and i don’t want to fight with a computer to do so. But i can see having limited patience if the computer interface is ornery and i just want to pay for my groceries and go home. I might ignore a small underpayment.
Fwiw, one of the first times i used an ATM it gave me too much money. I told the bank, and they accused me of lying. “Dude, I’m trying to RETURN YOUR MONEY!” God forbid it had given me too little. I really don’t like those conversations.
He made it clear that he will expend zero effort to correct errors, no matter how trivial or obvious.
If this is a concern and seems to be a likely scenario, then neither of you should be using the machines in the first place. Just wait in the standard line and ensure that you’re not put into a position where you end up stealing from the business. I’m genuinely struggling to see the grey area here.
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.
Not sure it works like that in most supermarkets I’ve been to. I could be wrong. But the attendant (its always one in my experience) spends 90% of their time helping people who’s checkouts are demanding they remove unexpected item from the packing area. 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)