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The failure of self-checkout technology

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#131

Post by fencepost »

steelframe wrote: post #109

I wouldn't mind these machine so much if they always accepted cash. The problem is that more often than not they don't. When I was on vacation in London about 5 years ago when Visa had an outage: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/jun/01/visa-outa... I was trying to pick up some food at the only grocery market that was within walking distance of where I was staying. The grocery store only had self-checkout m…

There's likely a way to use cash, but it probably requires an employee override and a receipt that you take to a customer service desk to continue the transaction.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#132

Post by nothercastle »

manmal wrote: post #126
matthewdgreen wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I started looking at RFID tech in 2004, the disposable tags cost maybe $.50-$1 but general consensus was the costs would follow a Moore’s law like trajectory, halving every 2-3 years until they were on even the cheapest items. And yet here we are 20 years later and I don’t see RFID checkout systems very often at all. Are the tags still really expensive? Or is it the extra cost of attaching them to packaging?

Are you suggesting to put trillions of copper, silicon, and aluminum parts on disposable items like bananas, so people have a slightly better shopping experience?

Absolutely worth it

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#133

Post by PlunderBunny »

delichon wrote: post #90

> 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 ou…

At the supermarket, I often plonk some loose fruit onto the self-checkout machine and then think "what kind of pear was that again?" and guess. Maybe that gets counted as 'theft' if I guess incorrectly and accidentally charge myself less than I should have.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#134

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

filcuk wrote: post #106
devilbunny wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure that's great, but it's a bit impractical for groceries. Even the relatively small cost of an NFC tag is going to be a real problem given how thin most groceries' margins are (and how cheap small amounts of food can be, even now). But groceries are one of the best examples of where this would be a big time-saver. I will say that I really do prefer self-check in convenience stores, where a big purchase is thre…

For larger shopping, I like to use the scanning gun. I get that it's used to track me, but the fact is I get to track the price, pack items as I go and just pay on the way out.

You kind of need it for the big & heavy stuff. I hit somewhere without one and of course half my basket was 50lb this and 32ct that.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#135

Post by nothercastle »

3x35r22m4u wrote: post #95

Back in 2006 IBM already had predicted how self- checkout should work[1]. Their TV ad made was so cool, so well done and so "I want to live in this world" that became one of my favorites even today: https://youtu.be/wzFhBGKU6HA [1] https://mashable.com/article/ibm-predicts-amazon-go

And Amazon delivered and actually made it happen but still too early

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#136

Post by PlunderBunny »

I like the self-checkout machines that let you get cash out. They're often safer to use than an ATM on the street. Plus I can stand there for 5 minutes getting $5 notes out one-at-a-time to fill my wallet with low denomination notes instead of higher denomination notes.

If you want to make a cab driver happy, pay them with a wad of low-denomination notes at the beginning of their shift. I did this once in Melbourne and the cabbie was effusive. I asked for a receipt for my work, and he wrote an amount that was about 50% higher than what I actually gave him. And now I've admitted an alternative (unintentional) form of theft.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#137

Post by fencepost »

LeafItAlone wrote: post #118
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, I routinely forget to scan whatever is on the bottom of the cart. Usually cases of water but a few times it was the box of 32 hamburgers. I never had a cashier catch it - and they're invariably surprised when I come back into pay.

A Walmart I visited recently had a camera at ankle level specially to show the bottom of your cart for the cashier to see. Another store (I forget which) had a full cart camera and prompted me to check my cart for remaining items because I had unused reusable bags in it.

My last few trips have required an employee override because I left the paper ad circular in the cart. Put it in a bag and get dinged for bagging something not scanned, don't bag it and get dinged for something in the cart.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#138

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

add-sub-mul-div wrote: post #125
eappleby wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at my CVS. They have one checkout clerk, and if there are more than 3 people standing in line, it can take 10+ minutes to checkout. With self-checkout, I'm in and out in 30 seconds. Presumably, they'd add more checkout clerks if they remove the self-checkout, but I wouldn't count on it

Right, they'd have to add more clerks to compensate. I prefer self checkout, but their implementation is horrible.

Our Dollar General closes the SCO at 8pm, the same time they send the 2nd cashier home.

So for the last 2 store hours there's 1 cashier - and they're in back performing the 12 other duties they have.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#139

Post by LeafItAlone »

fencepost wrote: post #137
LeafItAlone wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Walmart I visited recently had a camera at ankle level specially to show the bottom of your cart for the cashier to see. Another store (I forget which) had a full cart camera and prompted me to check my cart for remaining items because I had unused reusable bags in it.

My last few trips have required an employee override because I left the paper ad circular in the cart. Put it in a bag and get dinged for bagging something not scanned, don't bag it and get dinged for something in the cart.

Have you tried eating it before getting to the check out?

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#140

Post by steelframe »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #120
steelframe wrote: post #109

I wouldn't mind these machine so much if they always accepted cash. The problem is that more often than not they don't. When I was on vacation in London about 5 years ago when Visa had an outage: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/jun/01/visa-outa... I was trying to pick up some food at the only grocery market that was within walking distance of where I was staying. The grocery store only had self-checkout m…

> I wouldn't mind these machine so much if they always accepted cash. The problem is that more often than not they don't. Ooof. I haven't seen a SCO with no cash capability. I know cash-handling equip costs but if they don't want pay for that, they might need a cashier. Walmart may have a couple SCO that won't do cash temporarily - but there will be 10 more fully working.

I'm seeing mixed responses, so it may be a locality thing as to whether machines generally accept cash. For example I remember almost all machines in Japan accepting cash.

The machines at the Whole Foods near my house, for example, only accept cards, phones, or palm prints. Only half the machines at a Safeway near my house accept cash. The machines at another grocery market (Haggen's) are card- or phone-only, and they furthermore show a video feed of you on the screen with a "You're Being Watched by AI" warning to try to cut down on thefts.

The last time I tried checking out at one of those machine it flagged me as trying to steal something because the system didn't know that a container of chips I had were free with the sandwich I bought.

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