# Self Check Out Lanes Love them or hate them? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140 "2011-07-24T02:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/102 "2011-07-26T15:47:45Z")
I love them, but have enough sense to take large orders to the cashier. My only complaints: - People ahead of me who really don’t have a clue what they’re doing. - Occasional glitch where the machine asks me to put it in the bag when it already is - If I right a check, I still have to take it to the cashier and wait for my receipt, which apparently can’t print at the u-scan if you write a check - Sometimes the bags don’t want to separate and let me open one - Sometimes you get a balky scanner or an item with a hard to read UPC ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/103 "2011-07-26T15:57:06Z")
Absolutely love them. I walk into the grocery store listening to my iPod; walk to my car without ever having removed my headphones. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/104 "2011-07-26T17:53:34Z")
I wonder if the clueless that take forever are new or they never do catch on? I am using them less and less. We only had 3 places with them. HD closed. Wal-Mart is in the far end of town and since they remodeled, no longer carry much of what I used to buy. They aren’t worth the drive. The third place is even further away and I don’t go there much unless I am buying wine. May as well use the cashier. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/105 "2011-07-26T18:00:11Z")
I love them, but do still sometimes feel “lazy” and use the checkers. But I don’t like using them when there are people in line, too many people don’t know how to use them and they take FOREVER! ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/106 "2011-07-26T18:13:25Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I do somewhat agree with this, but on the other hand I tend to use them in the middle of the night (I work shifts) when it wouldn’t be cost-effective for the shop to staff the lanes. > > What really pisses me off about them is the nonsense about bagging stuff exactly when and where they say. If I wanted to steal from the shop, I wouldn’t scan an item then not put it in the bag 😕 Can anyone explain what that’s all about? All of the U-scans at all of the stores I frequent have “Skip Bagging” options. Very handy for stuff that doesn’t fit in the bag, or if you’ve bought a bunch of stuff and need to clear the bagging area. The only thing I notice is (other than the aforementioned people who can’t/won’t get a clue about how to use them) is that the produce codes are often hard to read. I don’t carry my reading glasses with me everywhere, so I’m standing there squinting like crazy at my nectarine (or whatever)… is that a 1? or a 7? Arrrggggh 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/107 "2011-07-26T18:22:27Z")
_idly wonders how much all his stuff would cost to buy if across the board manufacturers and vendors skipped labor-saving machinery in order to employ real people and create jobs_ ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/108 "2011-07-26T18:48:32Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I would like if they existed in addition to, rather than a replacement for, cashiers. If you had the same number of cashiers but had the extra lanes available to let the traffic go there if they want, great. But in practice my regular grocery store rarely has more than 2 actual cashiers working, and from about 10pm-8am (when I do most of my grocery shopping) there are no cashiers at all and the self checkout is the only way. > . +1. In theory they replaced someones job. In reality as you say most grocery stores are understaffed at registers anyway. ---
**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 26, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/109 "2011-07-26T19:04:12Z")
By the way, I LOVE self-checkouts at the library. Those are a clear improvement on the old-fashioned way, IMO. ---
**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 26, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/110 "2011-07-26T19:12:37Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > By the way, I LOVE self-checkouts at the library. Those are a clear improvement on the old-fashioned way, IMO. Now those I love - except when both are occupied by people who are checking out 45 books for their little kids - and letting them do the scanning. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/111 "2011-07-26T19:13:43Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > By the way, I LOVE self-checkouts at the library. Those are a clear improvement on the old-fashioned way, IMO. Yeah, but you can’t take the self check out to a cemetery. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/112 "2011-07-26T20:51:58Z")
I voted other, and I will explain. I just prefer whichever is faster. At some stores they are clearly faster, and at some they are clearly slower. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/113 "2011-07-26T21:16:14Z")
If a self checkout register is open and there is a wait in the other lines I’m all over the self checkout. 99% of the time I guess. I’m in good shape, manually dexterous, usually shop a couple times a week so don’t have a cart full and hate standing in line. If a full service lane happens to be available and the clerk hasn’t skedaddled I’ll pay them a visit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/114 "2011-07-26T23:44:28Z")
I use them when I’m buying a basketful of shopping. If it’s a trolley-full, I’ll queue at a proper checkout, as I can bag the items and pack them back into the trolley as they come through. ---
**Author:** ![DirtyHippy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtyhippy/32/107_2.png) [@DirtyHippy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirtyHippy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/115 "2011-07-27T00:23:31Z")
The store I go to has portable handheld scanners. Grab one when you get in the store, pick up an item, scan it, then bag it. If an item just won’t scan because of its label, back on the shelf and grab a different one. At the end, scan a barcode at the checkout, scan your shopper’s card at the register, pay and leave. It keeps a running tally of what’s in the cart. I have had a random audit done once, a cashier comes over and will scan 6 or so random items, just to check. And I can still use a manned register if I need to, or if the self check out lane is crowded. For produce, there are some scales that you put the produce on, enter the PLU, and it spits out a sticker with a barcode to scan, all in the produce area. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/116 "2011-07-27T01:37:28Z")
A few tips for the U-Scanning customers out there: - Most fruit and vegetables, unless bagged, will not ring up on its barcode. I don’t know why they even put a barcode sticker on the fruit half the time. The easiest way to get around this would be to type in the PLU code (four numbers on the sticker) under the item lookup, search for it on the screen (typing the name is way faster than sorting through the pictures) or simply ask the cashier to help you. - If you have any large items that take too much space on the bagging area or if you have too many groceries to make it a go in just one transaction, let the cashier know. They can cancel out the weight easily and scan large items with their scanner laser. Same goes for small items that may not register on the scale, such as kool-aid packets, or multiples of an item. - Most places do not allow you to scan your own coupons, so please don’t try. It just notifies the cashier to come take it from you. Coupons are taken at the end of the order. - While some of it is pretty straightforward, there is an order to the process. At Kroger, I can’t scan any of your coupons or bottle slips until you’ve hit “Pay Now”. Likewise, if you have a Kroger Card, you need to swipe it before hitting the “Pay Now” button. If you type in your Kroger number on the pinpad, you have to swipe one item through to see if it went through. -The weights can be a little wonky at times. These things will ring even if it’s just a .04 of a pound difference, which happens pretty often. This can occur if a paper bag has been placed in the area or even if an item is swiped (such as a pre-cooked chicken) and its actual weight is different than what the computer expects to be. - I know you need that pop RIGHT NOW, but either be patient and put it in the bagging area until the transaction is finished, or hit the “skip bagging” button to let us know you don’t want to bag it. It isn’t too hard to do. - Buy-one-get-one-free items don’t come off of the total until you hit “Pay Now.” - I have to key in your birthdate for cigarettes and alcohol. We do it on the cash registers too (if you look old enough we just put in 01/01/1950 automatically) and it takes a little longer since the buttons can act finicky. Just fyi for everyone. - If a cashier isn’t helpful, gets pissy about having to help you, isn’t even paying attention to your requests or off wandering somewhere talking to other workers, complain to the manager. Um, those are all of the ones I can think of off the top of my head. A good cashier will be attentive to all of the customers and attend to them in the order they asked for help. Sometimes it sucks to get bombareded by all four lanes at once, a little patience goes a long way for both the cashier and customers. It’s not a faultless setup, but it is geared to get people in and out quicker than if they had stood in line. Some people with huge orders like to use them too so they can see everything as it adds up and make sure we aren’t overcharging or ringing things up twice or something, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/117 "2011-07-27T16:08:03Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Which would be great - except, as in my case, a store that’s open 24/7, and used to have a cashier/checkout lane on hand 24/7, decided to only run cashiers about half the day. So I have no option, which is part of the backlash against these things. If they didn’t exist, stores would keep checkout aisles open. If they didn’t exist the stores wouldn’t be open, because it wouldn’t be cost effective to keep them open with that many people. I can remember, when you were pretty much screwed if you needed to buy anything after 9pm. I had some friends that got off work at midnight and I can remember when a Walmart first started staying open 24 hours a day in town. ---
**Author:** ![Nica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nica)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/118 "2011-07-27T16:13:54Z")
I like the idea of them, but I always have difficulty with something not scanning correctly and invariably need assistance. I avoid them at all costs now. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/119 "2011-07-27T17:20:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > My local Meijer’s has several self-check lanes with a full conveyor belt (no “bagging area”) where you just put the item on the belt and it carries it to a holding area. Plastic AND paper bags are available. There’s even a divider you can put between your stuff and the next guy’s so he doesn’t have to wait for you to finish bagging, he can check his stuff while you’re bagging. > > So you can do a week’s worth at the big self-check and just a few items at the small one. Seems to work OK. This is something we always seem to forget about when we do a “Do you like self checkout?” thread. There are two kinds of self checkout. One kind is a group of 4 little awkward stalls with a pressure plate bag area. It’s hard to use and causes problems when you have a lot of groceries and/or big stuff. It’s also problematic when you have super tiny or light stuff. And if you bring your own bags. The other kind is a normal-sized checkout register with a conveyor belt and a big bagging area. This type of register is just fine for large items and full carts. It is exactly like all of the registers with people behind them except there’s a computer and the scale is more important. My grocery store has the latter type of self checkout. I shop every 2 or 3 weeks and am always buying 12-packs of pop, so my cart is jam-packed full. I have NO problems with this type of checkout. I can blow through and get my stuff all checked out really fast. I’m extra fast because someone is usually standing behind me in line and I get anxious. If I’m lucky, the attendant will come bag for me. Then I’m lightening fast! We have 4 such lanes in the store I go to. Usually 2 are occupied by people like me with full carts, and 2 are people with a few items trying to blow through. There is rarely a stupidity slowness at my particular store. I seem to recall that my store installed a “stall type” self checkout once, perhaps as a super extra express lane. I think it was there at the same time the conveyor belt types were there. The stall type was nixed pretty quick. People must not have used it. Anyway, in a poll like this I think it’s important to note the difference between the “stalls” type and the “conveyor belt” type. People who like self checkout, IMHO, like the conveyor belt type. The other type is hard to love, unless you loathe cashier interaction and have small purchases. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/120 "2011-07-27T18:12:17Z")
> [@zombiebacon](#): > > i voted i love them- the only drawback is when you have a full cart - the space at the end of the little conveyor belt is never big enough to hold more than a few groceries. > > I want to cause great bodily harm to the people that after they scan the item throw it half way down the belt so it bypasses the sensor that is waiting for it and causes the machine to go into shock… > [@Broomstick](#): > > …There’s even a divider you can put between your stuff and the next guy’s so he doesn’t have to wait for you to finish bagging, he can check his stuff while you’re bagging. I usually prefer the conveyor belt models, but they have their drawbacks. If you have someone with you like a kid who can bag as you scan they’re great. Otherwise you get a built up and as soon as you finish and go down to bag the next person starts scanning. The little divider isn’t much help as it just causes his order to get backed up. They’re also nice if the attendant is able to bag for you, but then people start \*expecting \*the attendant to bag. Which wouldn’t have been much of a problem for me when I worked one if not for the fact I was in charge of 3 (later 4) units and couldn’t possibly bag for every customer if more than one was in use. So I had to pick which customers got bagged (ie an old lady over a young man, someone with a big order over a small one, etc). And of course I had to stop bagging everytime somebody needed help or checked out at the attendant stand (required for EBT & check customers). Which often led to the same stupid variations on “Hey, if I half to scan it myself the least you could bag it instead of fooling around”. > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > …Here’s a foolproof way of self-scanning: Pick up one item from your cart/basket, scan it, put in bag. Repeat until done. You can’t scan three cans of tuna and then put them in the bag, they have to be done one at a time. It works the way it works, not the way you wish it would work. When we first got one I really hated when people tried to check out with alot of the same small items. The was no customer quantity button. Not only that but the regular ID badges the attendants got didn’t have one either. So if you had a case of 24 little bottles of baby food you really did either have to scan _every single bottle_ and put it on the belt one at the time (or go to a regular register). :smack: Finally they gave me a manager ID badges so I could access the quantity button and overide it (provided of course they were allthe same flavour). Ours did allow customers to scan their own coupons after they pressed “Finish & Pay”. After you scanned the coupon it prompted out to put it in a little slot. Except the slot scanner couldn’t tell the difference between the coupon & any random piece of paper. Very frequently when I was closing them down at the end of the night I’d empty out the coupon box and find a bunch of post-its or pieces of newspaper. A couple times I actually caught people in the act of doing it. I year or two after I stopped working there I was in buying groceries, used the self-check and noticed that that little slot was gone and anyone with coupons had to suspend their order and pay at the attendant stand. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140/121 "2011-07-27T18:41:24Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > If they didn’t exist the stores wouldn’t be open, because it wouldn’t be cost effective to keep them open with that many people. I can remember, when you were pretty much screwed if you needed to buy anything after 9pm. I had some friends that got off work at midnight and I can remember when a Walmart first started staying open 24 hours a day in town. You can’t simply assume this. These stores have been open 24/7 long before the advent of these machines. People like to portray every cost savings effort as essential as if every business was just a tiny sliver away from utter failure at all times, but sometimes they just decide treating their customers well isn’t worth a little extra cost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-check-out-lanes-love-them-or-hate-them/590140.md?page=7)