It felt so wrong

[Kiwi]

Today I did something I have never done before

I used a self checkout....

I purposely dont use them because I dont want people losing their jobs to a machine even if it means standing in line for a few more minutes.

However the staff member who was running them came over and asked if I wanted to use one, I said no and she asked why and I got flustered and said I didnt know how, she offered to show me, then I said I was paying with cash (I didnt realise the damn things TOOK cash) then the guy in front of me must of thought I was in a hurry when he heard this

because then he offeres to let me go ahead as I only had one item and was paying with cash

so now I have the two of them urging me to use the stupid machine that I DONT want to use on a matter or principal, but with both of them going at me at once I got flustered and let myself be led over to a damn machine

then the staff member hovered over me like I was some sort of idiot prompting me along ever so politely.... it was so frustrating

I felt like saying to her, Im want to be served by a human being not a bleeping machine that demands I do this and that! Im trying to save you job here lady!

Anyway... I got through it, change came out in two seperate places, it took me twice as long because I didnt realise you had to put your thing in a bag (I didnt want a bag) then the lady explains theres a scale, then I have to read like 6 screens... sigh it was all so impersonal

I HATE those machines, I want to talk to a person!

[tendomentis]

I can sympathize about wanting to do the right thing ethically for the employees, but it doesn't sound like any of them were being particularly sucky (in fact, it sounds like the employee manning the self-checkouts went above and beyond).

As the self-checkouts become more common, people will be hired to supervise them, so it won't put everyone out of work. Just think, if a store has ten cashiers on ten registers who are converted to watch over 4 self checkouts each, the store could process 4 times as many customers at once.

Perfect world, I know. Probably won't happen, but stay optimisitc

[Kiwi]

yeah but instead of 10 people with paying jobs

they would have only 4-5 and that sucks in my opinion

no none of them were sucky, they were all wonderfully polite

but its still frustrating, when I want to go through an "old fashioned" register with a human on the other side instead of a blinking machine!

[ArcticChicken]

"I prefer to interact with a human being" is a perfectly acceptable answer. You don't have to let people badger you into using the sel check if you don't want to.

[otakuneko]

Six screens? WTF? Sounds like that store has a super-crappy self-check machine. The U-Scan machines at my local Kroger are much better. Only one screen, fairly straight forward: push button to start, scan, toss in the bag or at least in the general area of the bag, rinse repeat til done. Then press button to indicate you're finished, choose payment method, and pay.

It does have a built-in scale for produce, and does have a scale in the bagging area so it can usually tell when an unscanned item's tossed in there, though high wind coming in through the doors directly in front of the self-check, and high humidity tend to drive the machines nuts.

And to be honest, I hate when people pay cash at the self-check. Machines suck at taking cash. Much easier and faster to just swipe the card. Cash customers should use human cashiers, as they'll be a lot faster than the machine that keeps spitting your bills back at you. I'd actually prefer if the self-check machines didn't take cash. That'd be a win-win right there.

[Record Store Tough Guy]

A somewhat snarkier reply would be "I'm not getting paid to ring up and bag my own purchases."

Of course, there are probably less snarky ways to say the same thing.

[Kiwi]

yeah first I had to touch for english thats fine (I didnt count that one)
then SCAN ITEM... then its starts flashing because I havent bagged the item, then I have to press reset becuase I have now bagged it
then is my shopping finished for today... yes
then it asks if im using my own bag... no
then if I have a club card... yes but not here
then how am I paying... cash

then a speaker joins in and tells me where to put my cash (I will tell you where to put it you stupid machine) and finally where my change has come out in two different places

next time it wouldnt be so difficult but all of the screens had multiple buttons to choose from and it takes time to read them and figure out which one to push

Im just use to and prefer the cashier grabbing my item, swiping its barcode pushing buttons, taking my money and handing me my item.....
I dont have to think to much- does any one else find supermarkets mind numbing
and I get to speak to a human, is that really so much to ask!

[DevilBoy]

If I only have a few items, then personally I prefer the U-Scans.
However, when I am doing the big bi-weekly order I go to a cashier's lane.

Now, I do prefer to do my grocery shopping in the off-hours, and this sometimes leads to an annoyance of mine.
The store where I live can't seem to make up it's mind on whether or not to keep an actual cashier lane open, or just have the U-Scans open.

I have gone there late in the evening and filled my cart, only to find that when I am done shopping, there aren't any manned cashier lanes and the only way to checkout and pay is to use the U-Scan.
Other nights, there is the U-Scan and one manned lane.

It's a crap shoot as to which it's going to be when I get there.
There is no rhyme or reason to it.

If I know I need to do the bi-weekly trip, I have got into the habit of asking if there is a cashier lane open before I even start shopping.

If there is, then I do.
If there isn't, I don't shop... at least not for the entire order. I'll get the absolute necessities and then come back at another time for the rest. Inconvenient?, yes.
Do I work myself up into a tizzy over it and begin a verbal assault on the entire staff of the store... of course not.

[otakuneko]

yeah first I had to touch for english thats fine (I didnt count that one)
then SCAN ITEM... then its starts flashing because I havent bagged the item, then I have to press reset becuase I have now bagged it
then is my shopping finished for today... yes
then it asks if im using my own bag... no
then if I have a club card... yes but not here
then how am I paying... cash

then a speaker joins in and tells me where to put my cash (I will tell you where to put it you stupid machine) and finally where my change has come out in two different places!

Somebody went overboard on prompts! The prompt for the club card and the scan item button are completely unnecessary, the own bag thing also unnecessary (though I guess it applies a modifier to the weight detection).

I'm pretty sure Kroger's machines have the fewest prompts necessary to complete a transaction. There is maybe one that could be eliminated, but also serves as a reminder to the user to scan their coupons if they have them, so it's forgivable.

As for change in two different places, I'm assuming a bill dispenser, plus a coin dispenser, located fairly far apart?

I think we all could agree, stores need a self-check with an interface (but NOT THE @$!%# hardware!) designed by Apple. They could call it the iCheck.

...Or Google.

(why yes, I AM bitter about my ibook's fatal hardware design flaw.)