Frickety frackin' self-checkouts

[rolison]

Frickety frackin' self-checkouts I hate them on so many levels. They take jobs away from people, they are obnoxious talking machines, and they plain old DO NOT WORK. Grrrrr. I am done with them. /rant

[sheard]

The first time I used one, I cried like a baby. I try, but I just can't make it work. Nor can I make myself care. Once that annoying voice says "please wait for attendant to assist you" (which is usually within my first 15 seconds) I slink over to the regular check out.

[ramarao]

And yet, the library self-check once I finally learned to use it, made it possible to check out a book that the forum suggested that I would never have checked out with a librarian.

[aldape]

I hate that they take jobs away from people but i must admit to liking using them. They allow me to avoid people when I feel like it and once you know how to use them, are pretty easy to handle.

[weidman]

Believe me, I know how to use them. But they often malfunction. And they don't like it if you use your own bags, and they don't like the kind of groceries I buy. I buy mostly produce, which I have to look up the codes for, then weigh, then bag. If, at any point during this process, the machine decides to take a crap, which is often, I have to stand there and wait until the poor, beleaguered, assistant can override whatever the machine's problem is. I am done with it, I tell ya. I just want to buy some goods and have a pleasant interaction with a fellow human being. Is that so wrong? There's a more expensive, but also all-organic store in my orbit, and I'm just going to go there.

[corradino]

I don't think they are taking jobs away from people. I have been going to the same store for about 10 years and they still have the same number of cashiers on since they installed the self checkout. I have yet to see a store that only has self checkout, and they would need more folks I think if they did only self checkout. More to run around and price check to keep the lines to a minimum and to put stuff away after stuff gets left behind when someone does not want it. Then there are all the folks who install and maintain the machines, they are new types of jobs, right? eh soon enough the will use rfid to scan your stuff on the way out and charge your credit card or some other such technology.

[smartt]

In this area they're definitely taking jobs from cashiers. Decent jobs, with benefits, that allowed people to live and work in this expensive city. People that have been working at this store for decades are being given the choice to work out in the suburbs, and/or on night shift, or find another job. I don't know how it is in other cities, but here, the big chains are going crazy with the self checkouts. In my usual store, there are now two (2) staffed check stands, and 20 self checkouts.

[molock]

It's a pet peeve for me. Despite tons of grumbling among those forced to use them and a definite loss of jobs in this area, use of same continues in high-volume grocers and hardware stores. Personally, I avoid self-checkouts like the plague for this reason and because it takes even longer to get through the line when the system runs amok.

[hollywood]

Not an issue for me I have never used one, and probably never will. I would rather leave my purchases (not putting them away as a protest) and go to another store if all the lines with cashiers are too busy.

[hattendorf]

not an issue with me ,better than standing in line waiting