# Self checkout at grocery store **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589 "2022-01-11T14:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 8
**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:** [January 22, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/141 "2022-01-22T22:02:18Z")
One secret to the Aldi speed, aside from not asking cashiers to bag items, is that many of the boxes have bar codes on every side so the cashier doesn’t have to flip them around to get them to scan. Seconds add up. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/142 "2022-01-22T23:11:33Z")
This is actually true, in a way. Assuming more than 2 lines, any line you choose there is a 2/3 or greater chance that one of the other lines is faster. If you see a faster line and move to it, there’s no guarantee that the speed will remain, it could just have been a couple of quick customers. On the other hand there are times when it is the checkout person who is slow, a trainee maybe, it’s good to avoid those. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/143 "2022-01-23T12:09:05Z")
In a past life, I used to deliver goods to supermarket distribution warehouses, Aldi and Liddle included. They were different to the others though: At most supermarket DCs we backed onto a bay and waited while they dragged the (palletised) goods out. Mostly we had to wait while they checked what was received against what was ordered. At Aldi and Liddle we unloaded ourselves. Unlike the rest, they insisted on no mixed pallets. Others happily allowed a mixture of goods on a pallet, while theirs would only have a single product. We dragged the pallets into their warehouse and when finished a checker would zoom round on a pallet truck (two at a time), scan the goods and send us on our way. If there was any damage (yoghurt pots are prone to crushing) the whole pallet was rejected - other supermarkets would only reject the damaged tray. Many drivers did (and still do) object to unloading themselves, but it was never a problem for me. The turn-round times at Tesco and Sainsbury’s were and are notoriously slow and could take several hours, while Liddle and Aldi rarely took more than an hour. ---
**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:** [January 23, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/144 "2022-01-23T12:11:20Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Assuming more than 2 lines, any line you choose there is a 2/3 or greater chance that one of the other lines is faster. But what if, after you pick a line, the manager reveals that the cashier at one of the other two lines is a goat? ---
**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:** [January 23, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/145 "2022-01-23T12:12:57Z")
> [@chela](#): > > For a few items ok fine but not for a cart of stuff! Therein lies my secret for flying through the self checkout. I never use a cart, just the little basket. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/146 "2022-01-23T12:46:26Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > But what if, after you pick a line, the manager reveals that the cashier at one of the other two lines is a goat? I see what you did there. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/147 "2022-01-23T15:55:29Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > The Aldi in Cary, North Carolina had self-checkout the last time I went there, a little over 2 years ago. However, it would not allow cash payements. CORRECTION: It wasn’t the Aldi, it was the Lidl that had self-checkout. And “payments” has only one “e”. Whitetho regrets the errors. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/148 "2022-01-24T16:13:19Z")
I was at Walmart over the weekend. I always use the self-checkout. I bring my own bags and it’s a lot easier to pack them myself. Well, this time all of the large self-check lanes (the ones with conveyor belts) were closed. There were only 2 of the small ones open. I had a whole cart of groceries so I went to an actual cashier. I asked her what was up with the self-checkouts being closed. She said that they’ve been having a lot of things going out the door without being scanned and they don’t have enough personnel to monitor them. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/149 "2022-01-24T23:01:12Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > One secret to the Aldi speed, aside from not asking cashiers to bag items, is that many of the boxes have bar codes on every side so the cashier doesn’t have to flip them around to get them to scan. Seconds add up. That’s a good idea. Now one of the stores I go to does it in reverse. Cake squares come in a plastic container with a label what has the bar code. They put the bar code on top so during self checkout (or any) you have to flip the damn cake over. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/150 "2022-01-24T23:40:44Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > They put the bar code on top so during self checkout (or any) you have to flip the damn cake over. Some scanner stations also have handheld scanners to deal with this issue. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/151 "2022-01-26T18:44:53Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Some scanner stations also have handheld scanners to deal with this issue. This one does it. And it is only an issue because of the way they designed their labels. Another store I go to has the barcode on the bottom, so no issue. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/152 "2022-01-26T21:18:37Z")
I remember those conveyor belt self checkouts. They’ve been long gone from Meijer. Once a couple had two carts going at that checkout. they did a switcheroo with one trying to leave the store with a cart of unpaid groceries before the other finished checking out her cart. He was stopped at the door, they both ran out empty handed ---
**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:** [January 27, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/153 "2022-01-27T12:12:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > They put the bar code on top so during self checkout (or any) you have to flip the damn cake over. Could you use your phone to take a picture of the UPC then scan the picture? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/154 "2022-01-27T13:45:30Z")
Not the self checkout, but the real checkout. My local StL chain has a fresh made Sushi kiosk and I usually partake during my weekly trip. The label wraps around the package and their label printer seems to make barcodes that can’t be read by the normal scanner. The handheld scanner does read it though. Twice in the last 6 months the dumb checkout minion turned the package over to scan the code. As soon as he did so i said “I’ll not be taking that package, call the service center for a new one”. The minion seemed to think the package with the contents all strewn around the inside was perfectly acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/155 "2022-02-07T05:52:12Z")
No, really? Gee, I wonder how and why. (snark off) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/156 "2022-02-10T14:00:16Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Its not always the same choice of items but recently it seems to be getting uncannily accurate. I sometimes use a frequent shopper card but not always (or even most of the time). Its as if a camera can actually see the item. Is this a thing, now? Yes, some register systems use cameras to identify what is being scanned. It will try to ID produce. It also watches to see if the tag scanned seems like the right object. For instance a customer might hold a pack of gum under a large item to trick the register so it looks like they scanned the item but only pay for gum. Camera can say “Hmmm, that doesn’t look like a pack of gum,” and then hold the register for an associate. > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > The SCOs to not have the cameras to capture an image of your ID. And yes, we require ID if you are obviously a nonagenarian. That’s why we have a required associate verification and manual entry of the birth date. Don’t get fired - ID that WWII vet and feel guilty putting in a birthdate from 1930’s. > [@peccavi](#): > > It’s simple queueing theory. The jobs (baskets) are generally smaller than the ones in the regular lines and there are six self checkouts for the self checkout line, so the line waiting for self checkout needs to be about \>6X longer than the regular checkout lines before it starts to make sense to switch over (which sometimes happens just before major holidays, when the lines get longer and additionally some Our store converted to all self-check a year ago. Walmart took out the belts before the scanner, and instead made a longer table for the bagging area. This works better by reducing handling. You scan directly a you take it from the cart, and the longer bagging area allows you to stage the bagged items until the cart is empty. It actually works pretty good. As to your point about the line, that is an issue we are discovering. When we had seven conventional lanes, we had 7 separate lines, so the lines were shorter. With this setup, we have 1 line that feeds 12 SCOs. 12 regsters is better than 7, but customers scanning are slower than checkers on average. Still, the longer line is off-putting to customers even though it flows pretty fast. Plus we supplement by using the 2 service desk registers and the Pay Station (regular register for WIC, checks, tax exempt, and other check out issues.) But a long line is frustrating even though it’s the same number of customers and it actually flows faster. The other day we had a pre- snow stockup (panic expecting last year’s Snowmageddon). The line was the longest yet, wrapping a third again longer than our holiday lines. But people waited because they were motivated to buy right then. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589/157 "2022-02-12T03:30:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Although lately thieves have taken to setting fires in the aisles in order to distract staff and then run out of the store with merchandise !!! Whoah! Walk outs are put in a new light. > [@UltraVires](#): > > Walmart store security watches those monitors from behind the curtain. When they noticed a person buying a bunch of individual Kool Aid packets, they then looked at the camera and saw a cart full of real items. Busted. So that’s why when I buy koolaid packs it stops and prompts for an attendant! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-checkout-at-grocery-store/957589.md?page=7)