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The failure of self-checkout technology

bbc.com

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#161

Post by coderjames »

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.

This may be regional or brand-specific. As a data point, the Winco I frequent has seven SCO stations - three accept cash, four are card-only. There is a single cashier monitoring all seven stations.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#162

Post by currymj »

snakeyjake wrote: post #146

>employees who get taken away from their other duties to help customers deal with the confusing and error prone kiosks. I have seen these customers. I do not understand. What are they doing at the self-checkout that is confusing? I have used dozens of different implementations and they are all simplicity incarnate. So I just lump them all in with the folks who don't know that cars need oil changes, take more than 45…

if you accidentally scan something twice, frequently the machine requires an employee to delete the entry for you.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#163

Post by Reason077 »

> “Stores across the country are reversing course on the machines”

Umm, what? I see no evidence of this. There are more self-checkouts than ever. Many shops in London are almost entirely self-checkouts now, with just one or two token staffed check-outs for people who want to buy vapes or whatever.

Besides, where would they even get the staff to go back to manual checkouts? It’s already super frustrating when a shop doesn’t have enough self checkout machines and you have to line up!

Many supermarkets are offering self-scan via apps now anyway, so you can skip the check out entirely (except that you still need to use the self checkout machine to do the final payment).

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#164

Post by Reason077 »

hackan wrote: post #92

I love self-checkout, honestly. Machines need to improve, but still. There's a store here where u simply DROP all items in the self-checkout basket, and it automatically computes everything! I suspect it uses NFC or similar, but it works, and its wonderful, simply drop everything in! And wait, there's more: did I say drop everything in? I meant, the bag you are using to hold everything? just put it in that basket, in…

> ”DROP all items in the self-checkout basket, and it automatically computes everything!”

Yeah, I’ve seen this in a few clothing stores (Uniqlo, H&M, Zara). UHF RFIDs embedded in the tags.

It’s more for the store’s benefit than anything (makes stock takes very easy, for example!), but the neat self checkout is a nice side-benefit.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#165

Post by advisedwang »

I wonder whether part of the motivation for stores to deploy self-checkout is to prevent unionization/as a bargaining chip with unions. Even if you deploy just a few self-checkout in stores, it serves as a constant message to the workers that the company might start firing people in favour of machines if they demand too much.

Even if self-checkout results in more theft or other issues, some companies may figure that is worthwhile to keep the workforce in line.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#166

Post by smileysteve »

snakeyjake wrote: post #146

>employees who get taken away from their other duties to help customers deal with the confusing and error prone kiosks. I have seen these customers. I do not understand. What are they doing at the self-checkout that is confusing? I have used dozens of different implementations and they are all simplicity incarnate. So I just lump them all in with the folks who don't know that cars need oil changes, take more than 45…

A few things trip me up at the grocery store

- bringing my own bag and a bag blows over triggers a theft check

- purchasing alcohol distributor or many medicines in my state requires an id check

- multiple upcs on an item requires a void

- large item like dog food and you don't get to "skip bagging" quickly enough

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#167

Post by Reason077 »

the_snooze wrote: post #149
snakeyjake wrote: post #146

>employees who get taken away from their other duties to help customers deal with the confusing and error prone kiosks. I have seen these customers. I do not understand. What are they doing at the self-checkout that is confusing? I have used dozens of different implementations and they are all simplicity incarnate. So I just lump them all in with the folks who don't know that cars need oil changes, take more than 45…

Some of those customers are indeed clueless. But the machines themselves aren't that great either. Automation and efficiency almost always come at the cost of decreased resiliency. They work great as long as you're on the happy path. To give a practical example, fresh produce have that 4-digit code to identify them (e.g., 4011 for bananas). But some fresh produce comes in containers that have barcodes on them, like g…

The modern machines have nice big pictures to help identify produce that doesn’t have a barcode on it, helpfully sorted with the most popular items first. Failing than you can search with the first few letters of the produce name. Haven’t seen one where you need to enter a numerical code for many years.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#168

Post by Reason077 »

jareklupinski wrote: post #150
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…

> 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). something that's been worrying me: how long until grocery stores stop keeping fresh fruit and vegetables because it just isn't worth it anymore? or has produce always been a loss-leader to get people buying other things in the store... maybe ju…

Produce is not a loss-leader. Pretty solid margins if you compare market prices on produce with what the supermarkets sell them for.

And if you’ve been in any UK supermarket near closing time on a busy weekend day, you’ll see that they routinely sell out of many/most items before restocking overnight. Stuff that hits its best-before date gets marked down to sell. Generally speaking, there isn’t a huge amount being wasted.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#169

Post by byyll »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #159
manmal wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

We kind of already do that, just with plastic, adhesive, and ink.

My bananas don't have plastics, adhesive or ink and regardless, adding another chip to them won't make it any better.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#170

Post by byyll »

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…

It's a loss of even more human interaction. And there are a lot more useless office jobs.
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