this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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Really? Do you actually go shopping? It’s a phenomenally regular occurrence.
It partially depends on the store. I have found that Walmart and Fred Meyer have some of the worst fucking software in existence and it's guaranteed I will have an issue when I go there. But I've never once had an issue with the Costco machines, WinCo machines, or Safeway machines. I am able to go through self-checkout even with an extremely large cart and get through it without any assistance.
And I fucking love it, it's faster, it's easier, and honestly when I'm shopping I'm usually tired and don't want to interact with anyone as it's the last chore I will do at the end of a long day of various tasks to do
Wegmans is the same way over here on the East Coast. I can check out with alcohol, someone just needs to come over to scan the override. They always have an attendant or two and I rarely have to wait. Most of the time, as soon as they see the alcohol, they come over before I have even scanned it.
When the machines don't babysit you and treat you like a theif, it goes astoundingly fast. I love self checkout, for a lot of the same reasons you do, and I get to pack my bags how I like. I avoid places with the insane systems with cameras, sensors, and scales trying to suss out if you are a theif. Especially as they don't let you scan the next item until the previous is on the other side and don't have handhelds.
It depends a lot on the specific store, but I don't usually have to wait in a line longer than about 3 people and it moves quick.
On one hand, I agree with the video that the system doesn't solve the problem of lines at the supermarket. It was fairly obvious that they never anticipated queuing because there's never a dedicated section for where to stand while you wait for the next available terminal, so the line often spills into the end of some aisle and blocks all the cross traffic trying to navigate to the other end of the store.
On the other, it's not like we're going to go back to not having to stand around and wait if we get cashiers back filling the old school checkout lines.
IMO, the way forward is going to be to eliminate pay stations altogether and do either RFID tags on all the items so you are just charged for what you take while walking out of the store, or you have a scanner in the cart so you can total up all your purchases as you shop, reducing friction at checkout.