# shop, scan and checkout **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852 "2019-07-10T18:16:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [July 10, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/41 "2019-07-10T21:18:19Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > I’ve easily filled up a cartful of food into a single Aldi’s bag. That’s personal experience not Broomstick’s “recommendations”. If you’re strong and healthy more power to you, and if a customer wants me to get everything into one bag I’ll do my best, but I have to accommodate the weak, frail, sickly, elderly, the people with bad backs and/or shoulders… If someone gives me a monster-size Aldi bag I’ll ask if I have to worry about weight or not, then go with what the customer says. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/42 "2019-07-10T21:57:31Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > No. I’m not. And nobody else should be either. They should be paying attention to their surroundings and stop getting in people’s way because they are oblivious to what’s going on around them. > Now put your f’ing phone down and look where you’re going. Who says I ain’t? Btw I stop my roll when I utilize the phone. Scuse me pardon me 1000 apologies for staying in my lane you’re free to pass thank you have a nice day ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/43 "2019-07-10T22:32:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yeah, I scan my own stuff at Sam’s and save lots of time. Maybe it allows them to charge less? But do they? I’m willing to bet that the money they would pay employees goes right to the bottom line. Do you get a discount for using self-checkout? You don’t at any grocery store that I’ve ever shopped in. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/44 "2019-07-10T22:36:57Z")
No, I am not looking at my phone when I am shopping. It stays in the car for when and if I need it, and I don’t need to rely upon it for everything. It is a tool I sometimes use, not my master that I must have. But that is the trend we are moving toward. Self check-outs are still way too stupid for me to use. Got produce? Look up the item number. Got beer? Wait until someone comes over and unlocks the terminal. Does your app do away with the age ID issue? I didn’t think so. If the only lane open is the 15 items or less line then I will happily plug it up with my 45 items while you wait. Your time is not that important, no matter who you are or what you do, it just isn’t. You can wait. Why not just order your food over the phone and have it delivered? Because then you do not get to pick it out or consider and chose, someone else does, and they are not trying to get you the best. They will give you the best deal for the store, always. I just ordered some lumber to rebuild my deck. Comes delivered for only a few dollars more. Wonderful? Except that the crappy pieces were on the bottom of the stack, knots, warped boards, previously rejected wood that has been relabeled so many times that it is full of pricing staples. Every handy app eliminates more jobs. People cry to raise the minimum wage to a livable rate. Why? There still needs to be an actual job there. You know, so you can get that livable wage. I wonder and worry a little bit about what would happen if the internet and smart phones ceased working for even a few days. Mass casualties and deaths probably. People who have downloaded the Farm app will still be ok. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/45 "2019-07-10T23:01:15Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > Good info- thanks!🙂 > > And the fee explains why the parking spaces reserved for this are always empty at my local store! They’re empty because you’re only going to be parked there for a few minutes while your order gets brought out. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > It stays in the car for when and if I need it These good for nothing kids and their cars. What, a horse and buggy isn’t good enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/46 "2019-07-10T23:02:25Z")
I think this should be our new motto on SDMB: > [@](#): > > “I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: > > 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. > 2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. > 3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.” ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/47 "2019-07-10T23:37:47Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > If I ended up with a cart like that at a local store, it would probably go straight back into the cart just like that as it scanned. Because the local stores–the ones that don’t have plastic bags–don’t have baggers either. You have to pack your own shit into your own bag as the cashier rings it up. So if I had that much stuff, I’d just toss it back in the cart just like that. Then I’d unload it all into the trunk. Not bagged; just unloaded straight into the trunk. Once I got home, I’d make multiple trips into the house (2, maybe 3), but I’d use the same Aldi bag each time. I’d load as much into the bag, carry it to the kitchen, then go back for another load. That’s probably how it’d go down. I do have more than one bag. But I probably wouldn’t even bother. I think I’d just use the one bag. Fair enough. I think only shopping at the Commissary or local to Southern Maryland stores that both bag the stuff for you in plastic bags may have skewed my opinion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/48 "2019-07-10T23:39:08Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Who says I ain’t? > > Btw I stop my roll when I utilize the phone. Scuse me pardon me 1000 apologies for staying in my lane you’re free to pass thank you have a nice day Sure, but why do you always have to stop right in front of the item I want to grab??? ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/49 "2019-07-11T09:34:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How much am I being paid to do all this? Is there at least a little discount because they got to fire the staff that would normally do all this? The far bigger question imo, is: “Exactly what is being harvested by the app you installed on your phone?” Here’s an article on [Slashdot](https://tech.slashdot.org/story/19/07/08/1557217/more-than-1000-android-apps-harvest-data-even-after-you-deny-permissions) detailing over 1000 apps that continue to harvest data from your phone, even after you remove permissions or disable them. My policy is to refuse any business that requires downloading an app. So far I’m managing OK with this, but recognize I may have to bend in the future to continue some forms of commerce. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/50 "2019-07-11T10:36:48Z")
Whoever complained about shoppers having their phones out needs to remember that for many of us, our shopping list is on the phone! I have a shared list with my boyfriend to coordinate what we need. So much better than a paper list, which I may not have with me when I realize we’re out of X or that I’d like to pick up some Y. Phone is always handy, plus the other partner has the same list. Whoever has a chance to stop at the store 1st grabs what’s needed. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/51 "2019-07-11T11:31:51Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Tell you what, go buy 12 gallons of milk (that takes up 12 plastic bags), and see if you can fit all 12 gallons of milk into one reusable bag. If so, I will concede that you are correct, and the master of grocery store bagging theory. In Bavaria, mainly what he can get is either packs of 6 boxes (1L each) or packs of bottles (1 or 1.5L each), conveniently packaged with a handle and all; the packaging on the pack can be cardboard or recicled plastic. No additional bag needed. I don’t know if the commisary does provide gallon jars but if they do it’s economic absurdity on a truly amazing level. Mind you, why the fuck would anybody use one (or even two) plastic bags to hold one jar, and only one jar, which already has its own handle, is something which has long confused me. I think some people are just so used to bagging everything that it’s automatic. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/52 "2019-07-11T11:37:46Z")
I don’t use a cell phone. So what am I supposed to do? ---
**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 11, 2019, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/53 "2019-07-11T12:28:12Z")
> [@campp](#): > > I don’t use a cell phone. So what am I supposed to do? Get in line for the cashier to handle your transaction. The line’s end is back there somewhere. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/54 "2019-07-11T12:33:08Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Sure, but why do you always have to stop right in front of the item I want to grab??? I’ll admit to loitering in the condiment aisle, so many choices! But I’m looking for chutney, fig spread and capers, can’t lay my eyes on them can you help? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/55 "2019-07-11T12:41:27Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The big problem is that jobs at the lowest level are being automated out of existence with nothing to take their place. Where do those people go? You have to realize that not everyone has the skills to move to a more technical job. > > There will be a continued supply of unskilled workers (because that’s how distribution of talent and education works) and no jobs for them like there used to be. This is nothing new; it’s been going on ever since the Industrial Age began. A hundred years ago the village idiot could get a job as a [carrot picker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDsZC-s6V9g), and fifty years ago he could still get a job as a [pancake stacker.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9oeOYMRvuQ) Not anymore. For a long time now stores have had self-checkout aisles, where you scan/bag your own items. Typically you have one employee overseeing four or more checkout stations - meaning that three cashiers have been put out of a job by that system. The scheme the OP is describing is just the next step after that, in a long progression that started before any of us was born. To suggest that we should patronize a particular business because they deliberately operate inefficiently so as to employ more people is…an unusual position to take. The economy of the future will be weird, and probably will involve paying unemployable people some sort of basic income so that they sit quietly on the sidelines. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/56 "2019-07-11T12:46:27Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In Bavaria, mainly what he can get is either packs of 6 boxes (1L each) or packs of bottles (1 or 1.5L each), conveniently packaged with a handle and all; the packaging on the pack can be cardboard or recicled plastic. No additional bag needed. I don’t know if the commisary does provide gallon jars but if they do it’s economic absurdity on a truly amazing level. > > Mind you, why the fuck would anybody use one (or even two) plastic bags to hold one jar, and only one jar, which already has its own handle, is something which has long confused me. I think some people are just so used to bagging everything that it’s automatic. Yea, the commissary does have the normal (normal for the US) gallon milk containers. I don’t drink milk, though. A normal shopping day would include four 24-packs of Coke Zero which have slits in the top for carrying. Those don’t get bagged, yet they take up a large portion of the cart. Then I get about a dozen loose 16oz Monsters and a dozen 17oz Sparking ICE lemonades. The Monsters and Lemonades normally take 4 or 5 plastic bags to hold them without tearing at the handles. Instead, they can all fit into a single Aldi reusable bag. Then I get a crap ton of different meats, bacon and steaks, all of which normally have to go 2-3 each into plastic bags. Those plastic bags may have a certain theoretical volume, but they just can’t handle much weight without busting open. All of these meats, the drinks, and whatever random stuff I had to get that day (toiletries, laundry soap, etc) can almost always fit into the reusable bag together. I just throw all of the plastic bags into the Aldi bag that’s already in the trunk. So it ends up being two trips from the car when I get home. One trip carrying the four cases of Coke Zero. The other trip carrying the Aldi bag full of everything in one hand, and maybe a large pack of paper towels or something in the other. Sometimes maybe a 5th case of Coke. I do like getting the plastic bags, though. Like most Americans, I am accustomed to using them for small waste baskets around the house or to dispose of dog waste. I use the small biodegradable doggie bags for outside, but he uses training pads inside the house (he’s tiny). So, I put the used pads in the plastic bags before throwing them out. It’s probably not the most environmentally friendly way of handling waste, but give me a break. I’m recycling and I even have a compost pile outside. I’m not doing too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/57 "2019-07-11T13:01:29Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I don’t know if the commisary does provide gallon jars but if they do it’s economic absurdity on a truly amazing level. I just learned something interesting. I was thinking about your comment, and how it certainly would be absurd to ship gallon milk over to Europe from the United States. It’s not quite that bad. Apparently, the fresh milk we get in gallon jugs come from The Netherlands. I guess they have a huge dairy industry there. And they package it in _gallons_! ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/58 "2019-07-11T13:49:04Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I am _certain_ that Meijers is willing to sell you more bags. Get another reusable bag, scan the price tag, and start loading - as long as you pay for it you’re good. > Speaking as a part-time cashier, IDGAF about your purchases, either - I’ve seen everything the store sells, no combination of those items will surprise me. > > If I notice, say, one of your strawberries or zucchinis has a bad spot I will mention it to you/bring it to your attention, but other than something like that really, no, I’m not going to comment. > BTW - don’t know your exact location, but most Meijers also have a shopping app that let’s you order from home and someone else will go to the store and do all the work for you, bringing it to your home (or other designated location) which would save you even more time. If you’re interested. > Well… I dunno, you OK with people being on food stamps? Sure, _some_ out of work folks displaced will find new jobs but not all will, and those folks will wind up on various government aid programs. If you’re OK with that, sure, don’t be concerned. Otherwise… well, I’m not saying don’t do this, but you might think about the long-term consequences of your choices. > > It’s sort of like choosing to use either reusable or disposable shopping bags. You don’t have to give a shit about all the plastic piling up, but a lot of people seem to these days. > ^ Oh, and this - we’re all replaceable, in the end. > “Good corporate citizen” is not the same as “your friend”. Meijers has cut back on the number of employees per store over the past couple decades due to automation. This has, in turn, been balanced by increasing numbers of stores in their chain, but other chains have completely gone out of business so I’m not sure about the overall number of cashiers… it could be going down. > Well, at the store I work in they took about a half dozen self-serve machines because the customers wanted more lines with people. We still have self-serve, just not as many. Some people can’t mange to use the self-serve machines, particularly those with certain types of disabilities. Of course, that’s why there is an attendant there, to help people. > > So there is a demand for service with real humans, regardless of technology. And a smart company will find a way to accommodate that. However, not all companies are smart. > Again, speaking as a cashier who does a lot of bagging… > > [ul] > [li]On average one paper bag replaces 2-3 plastic bags[/li][li]The Meijers/Whole Foods size reusable bag replaces 2-4 plastic bags[/li][li]Marianos, among others, sells “bag” that’s more of a [fold-up box](https://www.marianos.com/p/earthwise-simple-truth-reusable-box-tote-brown-green/0088806833629) that typically replaces 3-6 plastic bags[/li][li]Aldi’s has really big reusable bag that’s worth about 6 plastic bags (or more) but I usually load them with lighter stuff like bread or chips because if you use heavier stuff people start having trouble lifting them unless they’re 20-something guys or clearly body/builder or work-out types.[/li][/ul] > > Another advantage is that you can get “freezer” or thermal totes in all of the above sizes, which are insulated and keep your cold stuff cold and blazing hot summer days, or conversely, if you bought something hot at the deli, your hot stuff hot. Shipt is the shopping app you’re talking about. I think it would be a great side hustle for out of work cashiers! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/59 "2019-07-11T14:08:11Z")
Walmart attempted Scan as You Shop and failed. They’re focused using on Alphabot to help automate picking items for call in orders. Amazon is trying just walk out” technology. Turns everyone into a shoplifter. 😉 Everything you stick in your pocket or bag gets automatically charged & paid. > **[How 5 Top Grocers are Modernizing through Automation and Robotics](https://progressivegrocer.com/how-5-top-grocers-are-modernizing-through-automation-and-robotics)** > > Technology helps automate operations from food safety to online grocery delivery > [@](#): > > Scan-as-you-shop technology is one of the hot new technologies for easing the shopping experience. The problem here, though, is pushing customers to do more work by downloading an app and scanning every product as they put it into the basket — which is arguably why Walmart’s solution of this kind failed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852/60 "2019-07-11T14:14:59Z")
Personally I’m a bit disappointed that shopping is becoming automated. I enjoy browsing the store and checking out. It’s one of the few routines in my life that hasn’t been turned inside out by technology. I adapted to U Scan a decade ago. I guess I’ll adapt to the new trends too. Don’t expect me to be thrilled about it. I am excited about the option to preorder groceries and have them loaded for me at the store. That will be very helpful to our senior citizens. I’m currently doing my mom’s shopping because she can no longer get out to shop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-scan-and-checkout/836852.md?page=4)