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The failure of self-checkout technology

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#191

Post by kalleboo »

justsomehnguy wrote: post #185
workfromspace wrote: post #152

Obviously this sounds like such a US problem. Self checkout in the UK and Europe (Estonia and Barcelona) IME works perfectly: - No thefts - Many people with card payments - Working self checkout machines Also, recently I have been thinking how come the US is pioneering so many tech but fail to implement any, such as: - Payments: No SWIFT/IBAN, still lots of cash usage, no e-invoices (ie for utility bills), still usin…

> Also, recently I have been thinking how come the US is pioneering so many tech but fail to implement any > Estonia >> Population • 2024 estimate 1,373,101[2] • 2021 census 1,331,824[3] You can do most of projects in Estonia in a week or two, just because their popcount is low.

China is also way ahead of the US in all the same stuff

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#192

Post by kalleboo »

healsdata wrote: post #122

Multiple stores I shop out provide me with a hand scanner that I can use to scan my groceries either as I shop or at the checkout stand. This is my preferred checkout experience. I'll be bummed if it goes away.

The biggest chain of supermarkets where I am just let you use an app on your smartphone to do the scanning. It doesn't require a login or anything, as all it does is collect the barcodes as you go along and then dump them to a payment terminal at the exit. (they also have a rack of some kind of generic android devices to loan for people who don't want to install stuff)

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#195

Post by watwut »

Gigachad wrote: post #176
janalsncm wrote: post #171

I avoid self checkout if possible. If I’m paying for the groceries, why should I also do the work of scanning and bagging everything? I’ll let someone else handle it for me. And don’t try to pass it off as a “convenience” for the customer. It was never about that. I would call it “automating” a job away but that would be too generous. No, it’s just asking the customer to do a job for free and selling it as more conve…

Honestly this feels a lot like pumping your own petrol, having someone operate the elevator for you, or going in to a physical bank. Eventually no one will care and it frees up people to do more useful jobs.

It is not freeing people to do more useful jobs. It is just making them unemployed. I like self checking, sure, but the employment result of it is not better jobs.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#196

Post by manmal »

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.

Yes, that should be reduced, not added to.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#197

Post by shellfishgene »

g-b-r wrote: post #181
currymj wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I've actually never seen one where you can delete stuff yourself

I wonder why, as the alternative are hand scanners that you carry around the store, and those even have +/- buttons to adjust product amounts. Is that not the same opportunity to cheat?

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#198

Post by shellfishgene »

mrbadguy wrote: post #79

I think the self-checkout suffers from a fairly common fact: it doesn’t actually save any labour, just now the customer does the scanning instead of an employee. Of course, the argument goes that you can have more of them as opposed to staffed tills but that doesn’t actually seem to be working out as per TFA since they’re expensive to install. One thing that I have seen actually adding value is where there’s a scanne…

Why would stores invest so much into the self checkout tech if it does not save labor/cost?

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#199

Post by wao0uuno »

rimeice wrote: post #28

I find it interesting that the experience of having a human interaction with a cashier is rarely discussed in this debate. It's such a good opportunity to impart your brand as a retailer through a human to human conversation and leave a customer with a positive impression. I'm less loyal to a machine than a person I recognise through several interactions from my local community. There must be a cost associated with t…

Not having to interact with a cashier is the exact reason why I prefer self checkout. I dread the thought of a cashier trying to have small talk with me. What disgusts me even more are fake, paid for smiles. I don’t want any of that.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#200

Post by chris-orgmenta »

watwut wrote: post #195
Gigachad wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly this feels a lot like pumping your own petrol, having someone operate the elevator for you, or going in to a physical bank. Eventually no one will care and it frees up people to do more useful jobs.

It is not freeing people to do more useful jobs. It is just making them unemployed. I like self checking, sure, but the employment result of it is not better jobs.

> It is not freeing people to do more useful jobs. It is just making them unemployed.

Only if the creation of jobs is slower than the displacement... Which I agree it is, with this tech (and our slow response in gov, universities etc.). But sometimes (sounds callous but just pondering this small part of the equation), maybe jobs need to dry up in order to compel workers to move on? And this tech will open up other opportunities.

Else we are just all herders/farmers/hunter-gatherers indefinitely.

Regardless, it's quicker for me to scan my goods than for someone else to do it (and with half the people, since I've freed someone up). Same for most other people around me, from what I see (1/4 or 1/5 seem to need help or prefer talking to the cashier). It's a net win for society in the long run - And I think that employment changes are very liquid in this industry, so I am not as concerned as if it were a coal miner for example.

(My concern is more that supermarket workers probably correlate strongly with hand-to-mouth living, and governments should ensure there are appropriate retraining/growth paths. Which they don't, at least to my satisfaction. Which loops us back to us both pretty much being in agreement, I would guess)

I don't want us to handicap ourselves (tying our bionic arm behind our backs to artificially reduce productivity, in the name of keeping jobs)

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