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The failure of self-checkout technology

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#321

Post by [deleted] »

k4rli wrote: post #292
CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

I just scan the barcodes on my phone and place everything in bag as I go along. Before leaving the store a QR on the POS kiosk display is scanned with the store phone app and I just need to select on POS if I will pay through app (pre-added card info) or physical card/cash. As simple as it gets. No one checks the products. Occasional random checks happen but the checking frequency probably depends if past checks have…

[deleted]

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#322

Post by bombcar »

byyll wrote: post #169
xboxnolifes wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You’ve yet to experience the glory of individually shrink wrapped produce. Bananas and oranges especially egregious but the shrink wrapped watermelon was whole nuther world.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#323

Post by [deleted] »

CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

[deleted]

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#324

Post by nicolas_t »

radarsat1 wrote: post #251
CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

That's exactly how it works in the Netherlands, you just scan your items and go. There are no weight checks and you can scan items more than once and edit and remove things from the list. Apart from getting a poorly executed random check sometimes (which is far from effective for the purpose of avoiding theft imho) it actually works really well.

This is the same here in Hong Kong. There are no weight checks and self checkouts are rather efficient.

That said I barely use them mostly due to ideological reasons. I don't like to live in a society that completely does away with human contact and until society is really built around a UBI, I think cutting away unskilled jobs is not necessarily positive for society.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#325

Post by htrp »

k4rli wrote: post #292
CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

I just scan the barcodes on my phone and place everything in bag as I go along. Before leaving the store a QR on the POS kiosk display is scanned with the store phone app and I just need to select on POS if I will pay through app (pre-added card info) or physical card/cash. As simple as it gets. No one checks the products. Occasional random checks happen but the checking frequency probably depends if past checks have…

Where are you and which store is this (general terms)?

I use the mobile phone checkout for one of the stores I go to. Every time when leaving, they manually inspect every single item in my cart.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#326

Post by solardev »

HPsquared wrote: post #319
bombcar wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a security feature sold to the stores against a possible but rare attack - barcode swapping. It even occurs with human checkers but it’s quite rare (barcodes are fixed now, or the stickers destroy themselves if you try to remove them like at Goodwill). The attack apparently would have you swap a barcode but still on camera scan it which I guess theoretically makes it harder to prosecute but I kinda doubt it. It…

It can also help the customer - it stops you scanning twice (and paying twice) for a single item.

A pop-up could more easily do that without being annoying. "You already scanned Miracle Food. How many total are you buying? Just one / enter a number / I'll scan each one manually"

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#327

Post by DoingIsLearning »

oytis wrote: post #302

I find self-checkout pretty pleasant to use if implemented correctly. A positive experience was an Ikea store where you just scan everything and walk out with occasional checks by a security guard. Or even better at Decathlon where you don't even need to scan things - you put it in a special box, and the machine recognises them itself. On the opposite side of the spectrum there are machines at supermarkets that try t…

Yeah the Decathlon ones really bamboozled me.

Does anyone know how are those achieved (from a technical standpoint)?

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#329

Post by thinker5555 »

CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

> It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that.

Agreed. And in some cases the issues almost feel like they're on purpose in order to drive people away from using the self checkouts.

For example, when I use self checkout at my local grocery store, I have to hit a button to tell it I want to use my own bag, and then put the bag in the bagging area so it can presumably weigh it, and a moment later it allows me to start scanning items and placing them inside.

That's fine, but the problem that I run into _every_ week is that the first bag works fine, but after that, when I hit the button to say I'm using another bag, once I place the bag in the bagging area, it flags me for putting unscanned items in the bagging area. It "lets it go" after a moment, but when I need to move on to bag #3, it complains again, stops, and forces me to wait while a store worker comes over and has to watch overhead video of me placing my empty bag in the bagging area for both bags 2 AND 3!

I have tried so many ways of being extra careful about how I'm placing the bag, but no matter what I do, it complains about every bag after the first one. I've tried leaving previous bags in the bagging area, I've tried removing them after each bag is filled, I've tried standing or moving differently, being quicker or slower about placing my bags, and no matter what, every other bag after it starts complaining, it stops and I have to wait for the store worker to verify and let me keep going. I've even tried just putting my bag on the floor and bagging items there, but then it complains after every 10 "unbagged" items since they're not hitting the scale in the bagging area, even if I hit the "don't bag this item" button after the scan.

While the whole thing is a major inconvenience, it's STILL better than waiting in a line for an actual cashier (and sometimes an additional bagger) who will feel the need to chat me up just because I'm standing in front of them, and inevitably not pack things into the bags the way that I want.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#330

Post by HPsquared »

alpaca128 wrote: post #260
CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

> In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient How would it be more efficient than a traditional checkout? There's no way the average person can match the speed of a cashier who does that every day, and at least the supermarkets I've visited don't have enough self checkout machines to…

Traditional checkout takes two peoples' time: one scanning and the other waiting. Self-checkout only takes one person's time.

So it'd have to be twice as fast to break even in terms of "time spent".

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