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The failure of self-checkout technology

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#81

Post by kioleanu »

V__ wrote: post #39
kioleanu wrote: post #17

I’ll leave a comment I’ve made last time this came into discussion: Self-Checkouts have been really problematic in Germany with stores rushing to put them to use and namely: 1) they have very bad interfaces 2) they don’t trust customers at all 3) it’s easy to report cases to the police and 4) stores have people hired to catch thieves and their incentive is that they are paid 50 to 100 euros per report (paid by the pe…

This is not my experience at all. Can you tell what retailers you are using, so I can avoid them? If I don't have to otherwise, I only go to the store with a self-checkout near me. There are some ux problems which they should improve but all in all I'm happy.

My problem was with Obi. Most stories I read on Reddit were from Rewe, especially when using those self scanning guns.

DM has indeed some pretty good self checkout tills. IKEA is pretty good also. Obi and Bauhaus are abysmal.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#82

Post by pjmlp »

seszett wrote: post #71
pjmlp wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trust like in Switzerland is a very rare thing in most countries, you will seldom see newspaper stands with money boxes where everyone is expected to take one single paper out and leave the money in the tiny box, anywhere else this would fail.

I don't know about newspapers in Switzerland, but self-checkout machines don't usually weigh items in France or Belgium either (or the Netherlands, if AH stores in Belgium are representative of those in the Netherlands) and these countries probably aren't as fetishised to be trustful as Switzerland seems to be.

In some models, you can just open the lid and take the newspaper if so inclined.

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/foto/row-of-newspaper-vend...

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#83

Post by pjmlp »

seszett wrote: post #69
pjmlp wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone living here, besides all those points, I have seen what these machines have made to employment in supermarket chains in Portugal, hence I tend not to be yet another statistic of people adopting them. Rather have my actions support the employees.

Cashiers in the age of self-checkout machines are IMO a good example of a useless job, I'd rather prefer these people do something else with their time. I would even feel guilty to make them work when they aren't actually needed. Indeed, in the current system if they don't work they don't get money, but to me it's a wealth distribution problem. I'd rather have them get the same money and do whatever they like. It wou…

Assuming there is usefull job to get instead.

I bet many would rather do a useless job than staying at home getting Hartz IV.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#84

Post by pjmlp »

somewhereoutth wrote: post #58
pjmlp wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone living here, besides all those points, I have seen what these machines have made to employment in supermarket chains in Portugal, hence I tend not to be yet another statistic of people adopting them. Rather have my actions support the employees.

However surely 'riding shotgun' (i.e. being there to help customers when things go wrong) on self checkouts is more interesting than mindlessly scanning items all day? (I don't know, I've done neither) Furthermore, if there is less work to be done in supermarkets, then people can spend more time doing more interesting/productive work or simply enjoying their leisure. The issue is not that this (or any) automation is…

Yeah like gettting unemployment support money.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#85

Post by mbork_pl »

gregoriol wrote: post #80
mbork_pl wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But cash is going to be gone too in the future-future. Like famine, poverty, cancer and CSS? ;-) Yeah, sure. Seriously though: history shows that if official money is not trusted (for some reason), another form emerges. So no, cash will be there as long as humankind exists.

It'll be marginal at some point, like people riding horses to work.

Maybe, though I doubt it. Cash has some advantages which make it very appealing in certain circumstances. Anonymity is only one of them, and probably not even the most important one – cash does not rely on network being available.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#86

Post by Solstinox »

It's nice to interact with people who are strangers. Grocery store employees, baristas, mechanics, service people etc.

As you get older, a lot of the people you interact with regularly you have a responsibility for/to. Co-workers, bosses, family, kids.

With strangers, even the grumpy interactions are fun. No responsibility.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#87

Post by seszett »

pjmlp wrote: post #83
seszett wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cashiers in the age of self-checkout machines are IMO a good example of a useless job, I'd rather prefer these people do something else with their time. I would even feel guilty to make them work when they aren't actually needed. Indeed, in the current system if they don't work they don't get money, but to me it's a wealth distribution problem. I'd rather have them get the same money and do whatever they like. It wou…

Assuming there is usefull job to get instead. I bet many would rather do a useless job than staying at home getting Hartz IV.

That's the wealth distribution problem I was talking about.

I bet many would rather do hiking, writing or going to the cinema if they were paid the same. And since their job is useless already, it wouldn't change much. It wouldn't actually be a loss for anyone compared to the situation now (modulo the price of the machines and their maintenance, which is much less than a cashier's salary). However, replacing them with machines and giving them less money is a win for the shareholders, and that's what counts most in our system.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#88

Post by ajdude »

Recently, all of the Walmarts in my area still have their self check out machines, but now there is an employee in front of each one and they treat it like a normal register.

I would bring my cart over to them, and an employee will scan each item at the self check out. As someone who would rather just use the self check out to get in and out, it's been a bit annoying.

When I asked an employee why they are staffing the self check out machines instead of the actual registers (which are still empty), she responded in saying that the self check out machines have a simpler interface than dealing with the traditional cash registers so they have begun using the self check out machines instead.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#89

Post by punyearthling »

I prefer self-checkout simply because I'm better at bagging my groceries than people are. Employees don't care if your food gets crushed by a carton of milk, or under fill the plastic bags; and that's another thing - human cashiers use plastic bags here in the US. I like having control over my bagging situation.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#90

Post by delichon »

> The biggest problem is theft. Not only is it easy to steal from self-checkout machines, it can be hard not to steal from them.

This is me. At a Walmart this weekend the machine booped instead of beeped, and I didn't get that meant it didn't scan, and dropped the item into a bag. An employee was watching and swooped right in and fixed it. But paying that much attention meant that she might as well have checked me out herself, probably a lot faster.

AI could change the economics soon, but apparently not yet.

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