I tried that. Once. My phone has a lock-screen on it so it locks itself after about 30 seconds. I had to wake up the phone and enter my security code every damn time I had to scan an item. Done with that.
Can’t you adjust that on your phone?
You can for sure, but some people don’t feel comfortable futzing with their phone’s settings. This would be a case where it would be worth it to do so, IMHO.
My phone locks because I use Google Pay and you don’t have to login each time to use it, but you do have to have a security lock on your phone. Maybe I could update the settings but it’s 5 times easier to just pick up the store’s scanner.
Could a clerk see you move the bag to the cart and clear the alarm? I’ve had things screw up and then seemingly be corrected automatically. I believe the clerk catches errors and clears them up at her station rather than come over to where I am checking out.
For instance, there’s the Potato Discount. Get a package of some expensive produce that’s sold by weight, put it on the scale, and tell the system that it’s a bag of potatoes at 25 cents per pound.
Can’t swear this isn’t happening, but it’s never crossed my mind. I’m inclined to doubt it because I have checked out while the attendant was busy helping another customer for a spell.
One day when I’m just buying a few items … I’ll go straight from the scanner to the basket and skip the bagging area altogether. See if anything happens. I expect nothing to happen, but we’ll see.
I’ve only done the reverse: type in the product code by (faulty) memory, thus paying a premium price for bananas. I’m then too embarrased to have a store employee correct it.
That’s an interesting thought. The only grocery store I really use the self-checkout is Marianos (regional grocery chain). I get a weight discrepancy alert every once in awhile, but it clears itself after a few (10-20?) seconds or so. I assumed that this was automatic to keep things efficient, but it is possible that the employee watching over the 6 or so stations has to do a remote override and I just don’t know about it.
I believe that this is the most common theft with self-scanning.
In UK stores we usually self-weigh loose produce and put a sticker on the bag. It would be relatively easy to tell the scales that the avocados on the platten are bananas. The problem is that the printed label will clearly say Bananas and there is always the risk of the random trolley check.
It really doesn’t seem worthwhile for the small saving.
I have bought russet potatoes as red potatoes when I couldn’t find the @#$%! russets on the screen.
Actual grocery store employee who sometimes works SCO checking in.
We have a terminal called a RAP (Remote Access Point) at our desk which shows us what customers are ringing up in real time. If we can see that a customer is struggling with the bagging scale, we can override the alert by pressing a button. The scale is sensitive to changes of as little as .01 pounds. We can also use the RAP to turn off the bagging scale altogether for the current transaction, or to go into “assist mode” and fix more complicated problems, though we’ll usually go up to the checkout and do it there since we usually need to verify something close up.
The overwhelming majority of times we need to get involved, aside from checking ID for alcohol and cold medicine, is because of people who just aren’t following the instructions. People who press “I don’t want to bag this item” and then put it on the bagging scale anyway. People who skip bagging for every single item, which requires an override for every 4th item. People who skip the “this machine doesn’t take cash” alert on the card-only machines and then try to feed their cash into the receipt printer. People with EBT cards who press the “Other” button on the payment screen (which is meant for things like Coinstar slips) instead of the “Card” button. People who yank their card out of the chip reader halfway through payment and then accuse us of double-charging them because pulling out the card doesn’t cancel the bank hold. I could go on.
Occasionally we’ll get a call from the LP office where they’ve been watching someone on camera and know they’re going to try to sneak stuff out the door or ring in false prices. They’ll tell us to just ignore everything they’re doing wrong and override everything a d let them think they’re getting away with it, so they can bust them when they try to leave. Those are always fun to watch.
I can only imagine how that conversation must have gone with your client.
Haven’t read the entire thread, but I feel that they’re for people who have a few items with bar codes, and NOT for a parent who has a cartful of produce that needs to be weighed, while corraling several small children. 
In the past, I would always have to call someone over while using self-checkout, so it would take longer than if I’d gone through the line in the first place. I did use it at Target a couple years ago when I had 2 or 3 small items, and EVERY.SINGLE.LINE was 10-plus deep, and that included the express checkout, but the self-checkout was open so I used it without an issue.
At the stores where I shop, there are signs saying self-checkout is for about 15 items or less (same as at most “express lane” registers). I suppose most customers obey this, more-or-less, most of the time. The registers don’t enforce this rule.
Per the store manager, we’re not supposed to tell people with full carts that they can’t use the SCO, but we are allowed to tell them “You’re going to get done a lot faster at a regular checkstand”.
However, if I’m watching the SCO at 11:45 at night (the SCO closes at midnight) and someone walks up with a full cart, I will tell them they can’t use it, because I’m not going into overtime watching them struggle with the “I removed the item from the bagging area” button for an hour.
The limitation on these SCO stations seems to be the number of items you can pile onto the weigh station before stuff starts falling off onto the floor. If there’s a way to off-load some of that stuff in mid-sale, it’s not obvious.
At our store, the “ITEM REMOVED FROM BAGGING AREA” alert has an “I removed the item” button on the screen that will clear the alert, usually without the clerk needing to override it. I believe that’s pretty standard.
Aha! So a customer would only know this feature exists after removing an item. Thus, I would never have thought to try it because I don’t know what would happen.
I hadn’t realized the weigh-scale bagging platforms were still prevalent with self-checkout stations. I remember those rolling out circa 2001-02, and then a lot of places abandoning them by 2005 or so. Was there perhaps a second generation of self-checkout stations that still weighed bags, but worked somewhat better than the early versions?
Locally, at the places that do have self checkout, none of them weigh anything anymore.