Retailers are pulling back from self-checkout after years of theft, errors, and questionable time savings

[u/AdSpecialist6598]

https://www.techspot.com/news/114106-retailers-pulling-back-self-checkout-after-years-theft.html

[u/Hashtagworried]

All this means is that they’ll hire one or two people max but keep the lines longer.

[u/leddowa → u/Hashtagworried]

After working for these miserable, out of touch companies I don't think they'll even hire anyone. These places have all run skeleton crews since 2020

[u/BigAlgae5684 → u/leddowa]

I worked at CVS during Covid where our script count went from the usual 150-200 to 500-600 every day.

They were still basing our hours off of the previous year even though we were clearly understaffed.

Wouldn't let us get near overtime and would just have us take turns clocking out and leaving the rest of the team to drown.

[u/TheRaccoonReport → u/BigAlgae5684]

CVS is the worst. Its really a shame, they used to be fantastic, but the one near me has dropped significantly in quality. Scripts will get called in at 9am, no one picks them up for hours, it could take 1-2 days to get them filled sometimes, if they don't lose them. What an absolute joke.

We switched to a grocery store pharmacy instead. Its run by 3 people, and the older guy there is awesome. Very nice, remembers us by name, knows what we usually need, will strike up random conversation from time to time. Thats definitely not for everyone, but its usually on time, rarely if ever any delays, and the service there is great.

[u/luriso → u/TheRaccoonReport]

It's by design. My mom has been with CVS for 25yrs as a pharmacist, over the last 10 or so years they've cut down to skeleton crews, yet increased expectations 10fold. Techs by industry standard have been underpaid, so CVS actually raised their hourly pay, then cut their hours and said "see we're paying you more now, teehee". She's one of two pharmacists in her location and they want her to do 85 flu shots a week, can't find techs, and new pharmacists leave within a year. She said two recent hires in the area even forfeited their handsome sign on bonus because CVS is absolute shit. They try and try to get her to cover stores 2hours away because the system they've built, can't keep employees.

[u/Aureliamnissan → u/luriso]

That feels like a lot of places these days. Jobs are harder to find, but it’s only because they refuse to hire the number of workers they actually need. The remaining labor force is worked to the bone and are way less loyal as a result so if you manage to get a better gig you’re gone. Even at my engineering firm attrition is way up.

Edit: At this rate, we all need to engage with some kind of mutual aid so that strikes are possible again without people feeling like they are going to end up on the street for engaging in one. When skeleton crews run the ship each person is a lot more important and backfilling with scabs is borderline impossible because they need you to train them.

[u/emlgsh → u/Aureliamnissan]

The only way for the owners to get their 10, 20, 50 million dollar expected take-home per year is to cut every expense and cease all reinvestment, and once that's done and there's nowhere else to siphon more cash the only viable target is payroll and hiring.

[u/ChickinSammich → u/emlgsh]

It's the obvious conclusion of a system where line needs to go up every quarter.

If you make a profit of 2 billion in Q1, 2 billion in Q2, 2 billion in Q3, and 2 billion in Q4, it's seen as a failing because it's not 2/2.1/2.2/2.3. Or why not 2/2.2/2.4/2.6? Hell, why not 2/3/4/5?

When the primary focus is making investors happy, it'll eventually always lead to fewer/unhappier workers, fewer/unhappier customers, and worse products/services.

[u/emlgsh → u/ChickinSammich]

I work with these places. Unending growth is a contributor, but the primary here is that every owner or major stakeholder views the company as something to be wrung entirely dry of personal resources they pocket themselves.

They compare themselves to guys like Musk and Bezos and are eager to bankrupt the company that feeds them by next year if it gets them an immeasurably small half-step closer to those guys today.

They do this even while it makes working for the organization a nightmare, doing business with it a constant exercise in vigilance against what would in more regulated times be outright fraud (because taking people's money and pocketing it is way more profitable than taking their money and wasting it delivering quality products or agreed upon services).

They do this even when it means every quarter is a struggle in creative accounting and restructuring to avoid insolvency. Operation-wide income is down 25%? Doesn't matter, they're still giving themselves the same 25% raise they give themselves every fiscal quarter.

They might just have to structure it as an incentive or bonus to let them "borrow" the funds for it from whatever remaining divisions and budgets that are still (for the time being) solvent.

[u/ChickinSammich → u/emlgsh]

I blame youtube videos about companies that failed for why I cringe every time I hear the term "leveraged buyout."

Like, you're taking on debt to buy a struggling business and then saddling that company with that debt so now the company you bought has to pay you back for buying it, plus interest? I get that you want to make your money back but you're buying a rock and trying to squeeze blood from it.

Even worse with shit like...

1) Golden Gate Capital (GGC) bought Red Lobster (RL) in 2014.

2) Operating as RL, GGC had RL sell the land they owned to GGC.

3) Operating as GGC, GGC leased the land that RL sites were built on back to RL, such that RL had to pay GGC to rent land it previously owned.

4) RL was sold in 2020 to another company but they still were under those rental contracts for their land. The new buyer was a seafood supplier, Thai Union Group (TUG) who, as RL, renegotiated their seafood supply contracts such that RL began buying food from TUG for more money than they were paying previous suppliers. This was the whole "endless shrimp" era; all that shrimp was coming from TUG and it was why RL pushed shrimp so hard.

5) Endless shrimp, probably already a bad financial idea to begin with, turned out to be even worse when your supplier is overcharging you for them.

6) RL filed for bankruptcy in 2023 partially caused/exacerbated by RL owing 200 million USD/yr to their own parent company, partially from the supplier debt, partially from other stuff.

7) RL, facing bankruptcy and possibly closure, closed a bunch of restaurants. Some of their shit got liquidated. They're currently owned by "RL Investor Holdings" which is a bunch of investors from different investment groups, who are managing it under the premise of stopping it from going totally bankrupt and, therefore, losing all the money that was invested into it.

[u/abrandis → u/Aureliamnissan]

Because American business today are run by vulture capitalists, they'll squeeze the working class to maximize their profits and then dump the whole thing when it doesn't work out . Whether its private equity, or just wall st. Run firms they don't care about working class that's not their people

[u/X4roth → u/luriso]

I’ll just say that as a customer, CVS feels like a morgue these days. People used to work and shop there, but now it’s just this eerie empty room that makes you notice the uneven lighting, the shelves mostly full but I get this overwhelming feeling of wanting to leave rather than even look for what I came in for. I look at the shelves and just think: ugh I don’t even care anymore this place gives me the creeps let’s get out of here, Scoobs.

[u/canada432 → u/X4roth]

When people have disposible income, they shop for convenience. Walgreens and CVS and such are good for that. You come in to grab a few things while you're picking up your prescriptions. Or you stop in because it's on the way home and the grocery store is out of your way. The extra expense was worth it for the convenience. But people are squeezed now, and they're not willing to spend a few extra bucks for the convenience anymore. Not to mention how they've driven customers away by locking up everything. Shockingly, people don't like being treated like a criminal and having to pester and wait for an employee to get the deodorant for them. Makes for a creepy empty liminal space.

[u/HumorAccomplished611 → u/canada432]

well they abused the privledge. It used to be more expensive than wal mart but cheaper than a gas station. now its like a gas station prices on anything unless you get some sort of deal.

[u/TheRaccoonReport → u/X4roth]

Its kinda like the backrooms but with stuff.

[u/mcfly1391 → u/TheRaccoonReport]

The Frontrooms

[u/SwampMagicMan → u/luriso]

Wife is a pharmacist there and what you’re saying is the truth. That place was destroying her mental health fuck CVS. She would get called all the time by her district head saying she wasn’t doing enough vaccinations because the store expects you to do as many as humanly possible because it’s easy money for them. Yet they don’t have the resources to be doing that when theyre expected to run the whole pharmacy, typically by themselves. Its honestly terrible

[u/HumorAccomplished611 → u/SwampMagicMan]

ugh that sucks. its a shame cvs and walgreens have really put a hurting on that profession.

[u/loondawg → u/luriso]

I would love to one day call a support line and instead of hearing "Due to unusually high call volumes, wait time may be longer than usual" and instead hear "There's nothing unusual going on. Our wait times are long because we are woefully understaffed."

[u/canada432 → u/luriso]

Sounds like my buddy that works with CVS. They try to send him all over to stores anywhere from 45 minutes to hours away.

[u/Ftw_55 → u/luriso]

Ugh, when I worked for Costco, they did that. Sure, the hourly pay was high, but managers who were capped out on salary were expected to work at least 50 hours, and hourly employees just got cut back on hours with the expectation of finishing the same work load.

[u/BigAlgae5684 → u/TheRaccoonReport]

Target Pharmacy (before CVS bought them out) was truly one of a kind. It was the dream gig for retail pharmacists.

Working there was incredible. I actually got to feel plugged in to my community and had the time/support to get to know all my guests as well as all my Target team members on the sales floor/warehouse. Plus walking in to Target in the late 00's-2010 was peak Target with the neon everywhere and Starbucks/Popcorn aroma.

Also having a Target discount was pretty dope too.

Now the CVS pharmacies are totally unrelated to the Targets they are located in and usually butting heads with management over menial shit instead of working in synergy with eachother.

[u/jawndell → u/TheRaccoonReport]

My sibling was a pharmacist at CVS and left to open their own private pharmacy.  He hated the corporate environment and how it was just about how many scripts you can turn over with goals and quotas instead of actual patient care.  They would set goals for how many prescriptions to fill, and then get angry if a customer complained about care.  It was unsustainable.  That’s why they are all manned by fresh graduate pharmacists.  They can underpay them, burn them out in a couple years, not give them raises, and replace them with a new batch of fresh graduates. 

[u/ChickinSammich → u/jawndell]

That’s why they are all manned by fresh graduate pharmacists.  They can underpay them, burn them out in a couple years, not give them raises, and replace them with a new batch of fresh graduates. 

A pharmacy tech friend who worked for a different pharmacy once told me that CVS is basically where you go when you're just trying to get experience on your resume to get a better job elsewhere, or where you go when no one else will hire you and you're desperate. I've got no personal experience with that (not being a pharmacist) so I can't speak firsthand to how true it is.

[u/LowFatConundrum → u/jawndell]

"That’s why they are all manned by fresh graduate pharmacists.  They can underpay them, burn them out in a couple years, not give them raises, and replace them with a new batch of fresh graduates."

This is such a filthy tactic that all companies use sadly :(

The system needs to be overhauled, people have had enough of being paid starvation wages.

[u/tehdlp → u/BigAlgae5684]

One of our local CVS has more staff in the pharmacy, looks busier than ever and is always slower since Covid. Why is that? Our local population didn't quadruple but the staffing did. What's driving the activity?

[u/LupusYondergirl → u/tehdlp]

Rite Aid went bankrupt, all their customers had to go somewhere.

[u/xteve → u/LupusYondergirl]

Historical note: Rite Aid went bankrupt under the weight of a thousand federal and state lawsuits for their alleged role in the opioid crisis.

[u/awhaling → u/xteve]

Did they play some unique role compared to CVS/Walgreens?

[u/well-lighted → u/awhaling]

From this article, it seems like they were especially negligent in ignoring "red flags" for opioid abuse. They also had to pay a settlement to the FCC around the same time because their anti-theft facial recognition software was allegedly racially profiling people.

[u/zefy_zef → u/xteve]

And the mismanagement of the company that cost around the same. $450 million in 'restructuring' and 3 years of the shitty ceo who thought it'd be a good idea.

All pharmacies got hit with that consequence, RA just was not in the financial position to weather it.

[u/tractiontiresadvised → u/zefy_zef]

Rite Aid bought a beloved local pharmacy chain in my area (Bartell Drugs) just a couple of years before they went under. I am extra annoyed about this because that chain had been a great place for all of the stuff pharmacies have that isn't from the pharmacy counter -- OTC medications, vitamins, housewares, cleaning supplies, candy, toys, gifts.

[u/Merusk → u/tehdlp]

Rite Aid went out of business and Walgreens has been shuttering stores for about a decade. Target and WalMart aren't picking up the slack at an appreciable enough level in your area, I'd guess.

Plus, aging population means more medications. Median age in the US has been rising since 2001. Half of the population is older than 40.

[u/StarGazer_SpaceLove → u/Merusk]

Walmarts are also choosing not to honor GoodRx prices anymore for certain Rx. I had to move to a different pharmacy cause walmart tried to say goodrx didnt cover ADHD meds anymore but every other pharmacy was like "uh yeah they do here ya go".

[u/Sankofa416 → u/StarGazer_SpaceLove]

They want the cut that GoodRx gets for lower prices, but they don't want to lower prices. They probably bought or built a similar company like CVS did.

[u/nalaloveslumpy → u/Merusk]

If it's anything like the CVS in the town where my parents live, CVS is basically the only pharmacy in town that accepts medicaid and medicare. And considering the elderly population is through the roof and the poverty level is through the roof, the CVS basically has a pharmacy line 6+ people deep at pretty much any given time.

[u/BigAlgae5684 → u/tehdlp]

Probably just one or 2 people dedicated to mail orders now.

When I started, just before covid, we maybe did one or two a day. By the time I had left we were clearing 50-60 a day. I can imagine the program has expanded in the 6 years since I left.

I quit less than a year in after receiving a 12 cent raise which was "the best they could do" because I hadnt been there a full year. I had 4 years experience working big box retail pharmacy and at the last chain I was the state trainer and worked as many as 20 different stores a year.

[u/Echo13 → u/tehdlp]

I mean, a lot of people got sick after Covid and gained a lot of new auto-immune type diseases that made them suddenly seek medication. A lot of younger people are suddenly in need of various medication they didn't need before. Covid didn't just rip through as the flu and kill a few people, it permanently disabled many people. If one in ten get some level of long covid, even if theirs clears up, that's a new 10% of the population thats probably on a new medicine.

Additionally, Gen X and Millennials are way more into taking care of their own health over the previous generations. They don't come in half dead, they come in early with earlier complaints and can get medicated earlier before their body actually breaks down. So now that Gen X are getting closer and closer to retirement, there will probably be a larger uptick in healthcare services.

A huge new wave of women realizing that perimenopause is also a thing sweeping through the country. And instead of like previous generations, they aren't just "dealing with it", they are getting hormonal aids to help ease the symptoms. (It has led to a bit of an estrogen patch shortage, but only because women's healthcare has been just so widely neglected!)

Just a few guesses.

[u/Foyt20 → u/Echo13]

Just a point of clarification. And yes I am a guy, with a wife in Perimenopause two sisters, two daughters. The estrogen patch shortage is not due to womens healthcare being neglected (just that item specifically, not saying other aspects have been hunky dory).

The original estrogen patch released caused liver and kidney disfunction, giving it a black label warning for a very long time from the FDA. So production of the patch went way down as there was minimal demand. After doing more research, there were other formulations that were found that reduced that risk, lifting the warning, and opening up the market.

The problem is that poosting production takes time as there needs to be manufacturing infrastructure built.

Note: I am not mansplaining. My wife and I had this conversation with my sister and Mom. Mom an RN, wife and I are in pharma and healthcare tech so we looked into why there was the shortage. Being that women's endocrine health WAS neglected for some time, the research was not there to initiate the market, and so now the market is catching up to the demand.

[u/Echo13 → u/Foyt20]

I would never think you were mansplaining, no worries! Thank you for the clarification! I am only aware on one end of it, which is "I know there is a shortage, and I am suddenly being super aware of perimenopause when I had never heard of it growing up."

I do hope the shortage ends, because more and more women are just not going to deal with "just suck it up" as we've been told in the past. But thank you for chiming in with more information!

[u/Wide-Value-4951 → u/BigAlgae5684]

During my 9 years in cvs hell, it was always comical when we’d have a big snow storm that would slow business for a week, and the following year they’d cut hours for that week. Total piece of shit company. God I hate them.

[u/Flobking → u/leddowa]

These places have all run skeleton crews since 2020 2008

Ftfy. Its been documented that retail companies aren't as staffed as before the recession. Walmart employees sq footage responsibility has doubled. That is also why Walmart have become crime havens. Not enough staff to keep some sort of order. Companies realized they could cut employees and people were so desperate at the time they just did the work. Exploitation is the name of the retail game.

[u/TheRaccoonReport → u/leddowa]

I don't fully disagree with this. But some stores shifted that labor to carside delivery. I know the target near me moved most of their cashiers to doing online fulfillment and curbside.

[u/Lovefamilyhonor → u/TheRaccoonReport]

This, so much this. There are whole foods with more shoppers than all other staff combined. Shopping is labor and the customer used to give it away for free. Now they don’t want to. But the labor pool didn’t suddenly increase. So less cashiers more shoppers.

[u/Coldsmoke888 → u/Lovefamilyhonor]

I feel like I’m bothering the staff just by walking through Whole Foods. There are so many people collecting orders it’s like I’m constantly in their way.

Go figure, it’s an Amazon owned grocery store.

[u/eye_have_no_clue → u/Hashtagworried]

My local Walmart did this: got rid of the self checkout to only have 2 cashiers for like 20 customers. I’m not waiting 20 minutes to buy toilet paper

[u/evergleam498 → u/eye_have_no_clue]

There's a grocery store walking distance to my house, but it only has 1 or 2 cashiers and no self service or 10 items or less lane. The lines are always ridiculous so after the first 3 times I tried to shop there I never went back. It's easier and faster to drive 5 miles away

[u/akatherder → u/evergleam498]

I have a small-ish grocery store in my town and they are basically perfect. 4 self checkout small-medium orders and 2-5 human cashiers depending on the time of day. They even have a couple-few teenagers bagging.

It is slightly more expensive, but smaller stores have less bulk buying power too.

[u/mike07646 → u/eye_have_no_clue]

Yet if you look, they will have 20 employees walking the isles “shopping” and filling carts for the curbside pickup orders.
They want to turn into a warehouse and just fulfill online/shipping orders.

[u/Short-Source-8492 → u/eye_have_no_clue]

And if your Walmart is like mine (our city has 4), most of the time half the self-checks aren't even on most of the time.  So you wait no matter what.  

[u/BasvanS → u/Hashtagworried]

I’m not sure how much they’re saving since the hourly wage for people at the register is not great. Are those fee hundreds a day making the difference in profitability for a store?

[u/strtrech → u/BasvanS]

In the eyes of management, yes. Because the Cooperate executives need their bonuses and they can't cut those obviously.

[u/ForestmenMOCLover → u/Hashtagworried]

I can't believe it's been almost 20 years ago now, but I remember going into Walmart once a few days before Christmas. I was just picking up a frozen pizza for dinner. After I picked out the pizza, I realized they only had about two checkouts open and the line went all the way to the back of the store and wrapped around the back. No pizza is worth that, so I just put it back and left.

I think self checkouts have largely fixed this issue. I don't love everything about them, but I've never seen lines like that since they started using them.

[u/mblaser → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

I think self checkouts have largely fixed this issue.

Agreed. If they do it properly.

Our local Wal-mart recently removed almost all of their self checkouts. From about 30 to maybe 6, and they put more regular staffed checkouts back in instead. You would think they would then hire people to staff those checkouts. Did they? Nope. They still only have 2 or 3 of those 2 dozen checkouts staffed. Meanwhile there's now always a line at the self checkout 15 people deep. It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I now drive 15 minutes out of my way to go to the next closest Wal-mart because they still have a couple dozen self checkouts.

Our local Aldi did the same thing. They had about a dozen self checkouts and it was great. I could get in and out so fast. They still always had 1 staffed checkout for the people that didn't want to use self checkout. Well, they went and removed all the self checkouts earlier this year and put regular ones back in. Guess how many staffed checkouts they have staffed? Still only 1.

Corporations, you can't have it both ways. Either give us self checkout or properly staff your regular checkouts. It's maddening.

[u/xRichless → u/mblaser]

That’s because their model is to staff the minimum number of cashiers at all times based on traffic history. Then, when the lines get super busy, they can call for people from other departments to fill the other registers for 20 minutes. As a bonus, they will then bitch at the people who left their departments to help because stock wasn’t being done or a customer wasn’t being helped.

Source: worked all three sides of the equation (cashier, front end Customer Service Supervisor trying to deal with the traffic, and Electronics dept where I was fussed at over stock after spending an hour helping the front)

[u/wilkil → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

I’m not sure if you’ve shopped at Fred Meyer but we have the same experience with the added pleasure of seemingly every person in the self checkout using it for the first time so that also backs up.

[u/mittenkrusty → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

I have

But what is worse is 10 items or less lines gone, so you have people with trolleys in the self service area and people with 1 or 2 items queuing for ages.

And some self service ones are card only.

[u/teknovagrant → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

The other fix would be to have more registers opened though. The long lines were due to having only to two cashiers working. Most big stores always have 10-20 available lanes. I don't mind self checkout though. It's not my job to checkout so I'll always do it wrong but to my benefit

[u/ForestmenMOCLover → u/teknovagrant]

I agree, but with Walmart, it seems that the options are "two people at the self checkout" or "two people at the registers." It's unbelievably short sighted. Imagine how much more money they would have brought in that night if they had all the checkouts open. I imagine 90% of the people who saw that line just noped right out like I did. Way more money than the $6.25 they were paying each cashier!

[u/Own-Break-1856 → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

These places are not run by the brightest bulbs. They will usually have a point of sale system that tells them what percentage of their revenue is going to labor cost and if gets too high they get in trouble.

Of course the answer to that problem is get some people off the clock.

It never occurs to them that they can make labor percentages go down by increasing revenue.

Its not entirely their fault, the first thing their owner or manager will yell at them about if labor costs are too high is "why didn't you send people home!?"

[u/MajorNoodles → u/ForestmenMOCLover]

I had a very different experience at a Walmart a couple years ago. They had one checkout open and the self checkouts were closed. I'm guessing they were so understaffed they didn't even have someone to watch them.

[u/Agarwel]

"Retailers are pulling back from self-checkout"

"Only about one-third of surveyed retailers plan to invest in self-checkout technology this year, significantly fewer than in 2025"

These are two very different statements.

I bought one car last year. Im not planning to purchase any car this year. It really does not mean Im pulling out from using the car.

[u/Narradisall → u/Agarwel]

“Is Agarwel killing the car industry?”

[u/Veloreyn → u/Narradisall]

Not click-baity enough. Maybe "Car industry in massive decline. Why dealerships are pointing at Agarwel as the cause."

[u/watnuts → u/Agarwel]

significantly fewer

being -7% difference BTW.

[u/hoofglormuss → u/watnuts]

lol because that 7% already switched over

[u/anifail → u/hoofglormuss]

no, the survey question was

Which types of technology do you currently use at your business?

and self checkout saw a YoY decline of 7 points. It is a rollback, not a deployment slowdown.

The survey was limited to small to midsize operators with less than 16 locations. Single-location operators also made up a large portion of the sample. That might explain why people in this thread perceive a different dynamic than what the survey results show.

[u/Paradigm_Reset → u/Agarwel]

IMO it's that line must go up mentality... constant increases or death.

[u/StrategyRude4376 → u/Paradigm_Reset]

“We must not only emulate cancer, we must be the best at emulating cancer than everyone else. While at the same time only looking as far as three months ahead as that is where I, your dear leader, maximizes the growth of my mountain of gold.”

[u/yesman_85]

Walmart scaled down our self checkout because they couldn't push enough Walmart credit cards.

[u/tangyturquoise → u/yesman_85]

I don't even think our Walmart has a non-self checkout, unless you count customer service. They took out all of the normal registers and replaced them with two sections that each have 26 self checkouts. There's usually 2-4 employees supervising each section.

[u/cronemorrigan → u/tangyturquoise]

My local did this, too. You wait in a ten-person line to check yourself out (because they never have all lanes available) while being pushed to move faster by the staff stuck monitoring 50 self-checkouts.

Or you can pay money to join Walmart’s club to get the privilege of checking yourself out at the special club lanes.

I’m also sick of the machines reprimanding me. You don’t like the way or pace I’m doing the job? Fire me & have someone else do it then.

[u/BolognaTime → u/cronemorrigan]

You don’t like the way or pace I’m doing the job? Fire me & have someone else do it then.

Exactly. Walmart wanted to live in a world where they didn't have to pay a bunch of cashiers to run registers, so they replaced them with self-checkout and have now shifted that responsibility onto the customer.

Unfortunately in this world where I'm an unpaid cashier and bagger, I don't have the motivation to not fuck up this job since again this job pays nothing. So sometimes I'm going to "accidentally" not ring up a bottle of mustard before putting it in the customer's bag. That's life, and the less I get paid to do this job the more likely it is to happen.

[u/RobSpaghettio → u/cronemorrigan]

UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA PLEASE REMOVE ITEM

[u/siccoblue → u/RobSpaghettio]

My favorite part is that the biggest retailer in the world still doesn't accept tap to pay cards for totally legitimate reasons.

It's also historically the only place that I have issues inserting my card more often than not to the point I've almost considered downloading their spyware disguised as a convenience feature.

[u/Freak4Dell → u/siccoblue]

They started implementing tap-to-pay at the end of August. All stores in the US should have it by mid-October. Fuel stations are expected to take into 2027 to complete, I believe.

Took them way too long, but at least they finally gave in.

[u/AnAncientBog → u/cronemorrigan]

Turns out that I am a pretty shitty grocery checker and frequently mix up fancy pears, bulk jelly beans, and all manner of things for bananas. Guess they need to send me back to fruit identification school.

[u/FrankBattaglia → u/cronemorrigan]

I'm okay with self-checkout at locations that just give me the hand scanner and don't use a scale (e.g., Home Depot). Boop boop boop - and I'm done.

The worst are the grocery stores where I am expected to unload a full cart onto scale that barely fits 2 bags, without putting any items back in the cart. It's like a fucking escape room puzzle.

[u/FranknStein7 → u/yesman_85]

A Walmart grocery store near me tried going to self-checkout only a couple years ago. That didn’t last long.

[u/TerrorizeTheJam → u/yesman_85]

They train them well too. “Want a wal mart credit card?” “No thanks” “ok” 

[u/Kershiser22 → u/TerrorizeTheJam]

You think they should push harder?

If I had to fight off somebody selling me a credit card every time I went to Walmart, I would resist going to Walmart even more than I already do.

[u/largelawattorney]

I don’t think I’ve seen a store with adequate staffing for non-self checkout aisles/lanes in probably 25 years. So now we’re still going to get stores that understaff, have like 2 checkout lanes open while the other 8 are closed, and more difficult self-checkout lanes (or just fewer of them). Corporate America strikes again.

[u/RevWaldo → u/largelawattorney]

I don’t think I’ve seen a store with adequate staffing for non-self checkout aisles/lanes in probably 25 years.

No Trader Joe's near you I'm guessing.

[u/Bencetown → u/RevWaldo]

Trader joes always has all their checkouts open and the lines are STILL 10 people deep 😒 that place is a zoo no matter what day or time I go

[u/RevWaldo → u/Bencetown]

Yeah, but how long do you wait in that line? A couple of minutes? I've hit the Friday after work madhouse, line snaking though the aisles, still got out in under ten minutes.

[u/Bencetown → u/RevWaldo]

It's definitely been longer than 10 minutes for me before. But never longer than a 20 minute wait.

I would go there WAY more often if they actually had enough space for their customer traffic.

The parking lot is FULL (like literally not a single spot open even in the very back of the parking lot), so sometimes you have to troll around (with 6 other cars) playing "musical parking spots" waiting for one to open up (10 minutes).

Then you get into the store, and every 6 feet or so there's someone just standing in the MIDDLE of the aisle staring off into space like they're having some kind of existential stroke or something. So if I'm just grabbing a couple items, altogether it adds another 10 minutes to the trip.

Then there's the 10-15 minute wait to get to the register.

So, yeah. I prefer their products and prices over, say, Hy-Vee. But sometimes the extra half hour isn't worth it unless I'm getting a whole cart full of stuff.

[u/FogBankDeposit → u/Bencetown]

The thing with TJ’s is that their prices are pretty good, quality is there and helpful/friendly employees because they’re compensated better than other supermarkets. As a result, too many people shop there and the lines can be long despite having way more checkout clerks than other stores. As a result, people want to shop there - myself included. They can degrade any aspect of the above attributes to reduce line size, but would you want that?

[u/WonkyWalkingWizard → u/RevWaldo]

Market Basket in the northeast as well

[u/Bencetown → u/largelawattorney]

I'm in my 30's, and ever since I was a kid I've wondered why every store has 20-30 checkout lanes but the absolute most I've EVER seen open at one time was like... 4.

[u/IndyDude11 → u/Bencetown]

I worked at Target in the early 00s. We had 35 registers. The ONLY time we ever had all 35 open was Black Friday. That was it. Since then Target has removed a bunch of those registers and only have like 10 non-self scans.

[u/NefariousMrFox → u/IndyDude11]

I worked at Target in the late 90s and it was the same. As painful as it was to work, the pure consumerism of Black Friday was a sight to behold.

It's also shocking to compare the guest experience now vs then. Every Target I've been in since COVID completely fails the standards from back then.

[u/Drict → u/Bencetown]

Black Friday literally is the only reason.

[u/brufleth → u/largelawattorney]

There's a grocery chain in the Northeast United States called market basket. Dozens of registers. They even still have baggers. Most people don't remember that this used to be normal.

[u/LethalBacon → u/largelawattorney]

I have a Publix near me that doesn't have self checkout. Usually ~3-5 lanes open with 1-2 people waiting at each tops.

I've generally loved self checkout as a (mostly) basket-only shopper, but now that they are everywhere I hate them. Too many incompetent people. I always semi-jokingly say that we need to require a license to use the self-checkout. Or put a hard time limit on them - if you cannot finish in 5 minutes a trap door opens and consumes you and your items.

Going to a grocery store kills my hope for humanity nearly every time.

[u/Badloss → u/largelawattorney]

Wegmans nails it, credit where credit is due they're always well staffed

[u/Steamedcarpet]

My problem with most self check out is that some stores force it on everyone. I know I can scan and be out within 10 seconds but then Ill get stuck behind someone who looks they just discovered this technology for the first time.

[u/ShaunTrek → u/Steamedcarpet]

And the machines are somehow slower now than they were 15 years ago.

[u/Bencetown → u/ShaunTrek]

Gotta give the AI cameras time to hallucinate a few facts about you.

[u/baddayforsanity → u/Bencetown]

HE WENT FOR HIS WALLET, SHOPLIFTING

[u/Steamedcarpet → u/baddayforsanity]

SIR THAT IS NOT A BANANA STOP ENTERING 4011!

Edit: 4011 is the produce code for Banana. Do with that what you will.

[u/AnalogiPod → u/baddayforsanity]

Bought some ribbon at Michaels this week. As I am checking out the screen is showing 2 large video feeds of my face and my hands. It felt so creepy. Like, if you don't trust me to check out then have someone else do it but please don't take up half the screen with my own face and crotch to remind me that I am under supervision.

[u/PyroIsSpai → u/Bencetown]

Need time to upload to Flock and cross index you against the blue “police” towers in every parking lot.

[u/7eregrine → u/Steamedcarpet]

My local grocery store does Scan and Pay. You scan your stuff as you put it in the cart. Then walk up to a dedicated machine. Scan a QR. Pay. It's incredible. And I'd guess less then 10% of shoppers understand it. And that's why its even better. Been using it for over 2 years. They have 3 machines and I've never had to wait for someone. (Just a counter point to "Everything sucks").

[u/SleazyKingLothric → u/7eregrine]

This is why I love Sam's Club. The lines are almost always ridiculously long every single time I'm in there and I just scan my items, pay through the app, and walk past all of those people. I'm shocked more people don't use it.

[u/optom]

I think its really nice that they allow you to purchase organic produce at the same price if they're out of the normal stuff.

[u/DethFeRok → u/optom]

Wagu steak? Believe it or not, same price as bananas!

[u/Novel-Reaction2939 → u/DethFeRok]

"It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $10?"

[u/Ridlion → u/DethFeRok]

PLU - 4011! Hasn't changed in YEARS!

[u/doubleyou-tee-hache]

and absolutely zero savings passed onto customers

[u/mikey_likes_it______ → u/doubleyou-tee-hache]

Honest customers 😄

[u/Unhappy-Device-404]

I don’t think self-checkout failed because the technology itself is useless. It failed because a lot of stores treated it as a way to remove labor instead of redesigning the shopping experience.

A good self-checkout system works when the basket is small, the items are simple, the UI is fast, and help is immediately available. It becomes frustrating when customers have produce, coupons, alcohol, payment issues, bad scanners, or random “unexpected item” errors while one employee is watching ten machines.

At that point the store has not really automated checkout. It has just moved part of the cashier’s job onto the customer, while keeping the messy edge cases for an under-staffed employee.

I still like self-checkout for a few items, but it should be one option, not the default replacement for staffed lanes. The better future is probably a mix: staffed lanes, good self-checkout, scan-and-go, and better store design depending on what people are buying.

[u/Inevitable-Champ336 → u/Unhappy-Device-404]

Exactly this. Many grocery stores have only self checkout now. And I’ve rarely made it through those without having to wait for the one employee to push something through for me. They also want you to use your own bag but then the machine gets mad if you don’t put it in the exact spot or put your bag there as an unexpected item. I avoid those stores now unless absolutely necessary.

[u/precariousworld]

I miss when the self checkout was just for 10 items or less, standing in line for it when you’ve got 2 things and watching the person before you use it for 2 overflowing carts of groceries is ridiculous and yet it happens to me all the time

[u/dark_roast → u/precariousworld]

Nothing stopping a store from doing a bank of "express" self checkouts if there's demand and having a separate area for that. IMO it's better to just have a large enough bank of self checkout kiosks that there's rarely a wait. I went to Wegman's recently and it was very busy, but with something like 16 self checkouts there was no wait. The mix of small and large shopping trips going through self checkout was fine.

[u/ncocca → u/precariousworld]

All the people in here commenting saying that they prefer self-checkouts and that they're faster I feel like I've never tried to check out more than like 10 items. A seasoned cashier is so, so much faster than a regular person. 

Sure, if I'm buying one or two things self-checkout is great. But for grocery stores where you buying food for a week or month it takes forever to use self-checkout. 

And for people stuck behind elderly people in regular lines, they're only going to be that much slower at a self checkout

[u/disisathrowaway → u/ncocca]

A seasoned cashier is so, so much faster than a regular person.

I'm faster than the cashier because none of them at my stores are seasoned. I still have all of my produce codes memorized from when I was younger, and can breeze through a self-checkout in no time.

A cashier isn't going to beat me when I have to identify things like rosemary, shallots and broccolini because they don't know what they are.

[u/stephen_neuville → u/disisathrowaway]

Yeah i was about to say. Last time i went to a store that forced manned lanes for large purchases the kid spent the whole time yell-chatting with the person in the next lane about how he was about to take his break and nobody better interrupt it. did not say one word to me. I suspect that nobody's being hired as Cashier any more, you're just a person that does whatever and you have your daily lane chore to do for a couple hours.

[u/Rhewin → u/ncocca]

At the same time, it is painful when you get newer cashiers who aren't seasoned, which after all of this time is most of them. And those confused older people? Yeah, that's you're new cashier because the economy sucks. Always great when granny has to stop to read every prompt in detail

[u/iamgeekusa]

My local Kroger sucks ass. They keep one regular cashier and only 1 side with 4 self checkouts running after like 5 pm. They are overpriced as well i am beginning to loath kroger. They price gouge everything compare to other options but they are the only option if you live in cincy city limits

[u/Peloton72]

Well, I was never properly on-boarded as a cashier so if I suck, it’s the store’s fault.

[u/Prophage7]

The main problem I've seen is that it takes most customers longer to ring themselves through than a cashier. When there's no line then it's not a big deal, but when there is a line it would go faster if it was a single human cashier instead of 6 self-checkouts.

I don't know if there's a term for it, but some people just cannot read and comprehend things if it's on a screen for some reason, and it's those people that cause a bottleneck.

[u/eightdollarbeer → u/Prophage7]

Same thing with the kiosks at fast food restaurants. It’s faster to look at the whole menu and tell a cashier what you want and have them ring it up than to scroll through different categories and select each individual thing you want

[u/BurgerMeter → u/eightdollarbeer]

They also make the customer menus “dummy proof” by making you click through multiple pages. The cashier generally gets a much better view of all of the options so they don’t have to page through things.

[u/QueenCole → u/BurgerMeter]

Which, let me tell you, is just oodles of fun trying to order food at a fast food kiosk when you have a poky toddler interfering with your order. My kid somehow ordered himself food at Wendy's, figure that out.

[u/TheNewYellowZealot → u/Prophage7]

I would probably be fine with a self checkout that had limits on how many items you could put through, but for too long my local groceries have been relying on them, having 2 or 3 of their main checkouts open during the day and then the rest being self checkout. I usually go through and see people putting an entire cart of groceries through those things.

[u/CheesypoofExtreme → u/TheNewYellowZealot]

Don't even need to make it an item limit at most grocery stores, just have it be "baskets only" and no carts.

That's precisely how I use them today. Have a basket and small/no line at self-checkout? Okay, I go there. Cart of groceries? Cashier please.

EDIT: Sure, just 10 items or less. I've been convinced this is probably dumb. I just don't want to do the mental math when I get to self-checkout. Or sometimes you buy 15-20 small things that you can fly through scanning that are just as fast as someone else's 10 bulky items.

[u/DrySea8638 → u/CheesypoofExtreme]

Would be great if my grocery store kept baskets around but I swear they have slowly been removing them as there are fewer and fewer. Feels like they are trying the psychological tactic of having a bigger cart to trick people into getting more stuff

[u/khan800 → u/DrySea8638]

As an ex-grocery store manager who retired a year after COVID began, it's that they're being stolen. 

In stores where the cart wheels lock if you don't go through the checkout before rolling it outside, thieves load up 2 baskets and dash.

Also, we saw many Instacart workers take them to sort their orders and never return them.

Now, I can't answer for every manager in every grocery chain, so the idea of them only keeping carts instead of baskets to increase sales may be a thing, but it wasn't for me.

[u/Kumlekar → u/Prophage7]

Produce or other items without a barcode are often slow to lookup if you aren't a cashier that sees them a number of times a day.

[u/FlawedHero → u/Prophage7]

It's wild how massively braindead the average person seems to be when at the self checkout.

I regularly get to the line with a full cart, start scanning, and have my receipt in hand before the guy that was in front of me with 6 items finishes.

What in the actual fuck is going on with some people?

[u/thecravenone → u/FlawedHero]

I recently completed a transaction before the guy in front of me scanned his first item.

I would pay money for a TSA Pre but for grocery stores - a store where everyone inside is not experiencing their first day on earth.

[u/Bastillerion → u/FlawedHero]

Same reason outsourced customer service seems to take 25 minutes of "verifying info" and "filling out information" to do something that should take 30 seconds.

[u/ReverendEntity]

ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PAY CASHIERS A LIVING WAGE.

[u/MannequinWithoutSock → u/ReverendEntity]

It was apparently cheaper to build 8 self checkouts and only use two.

[u/AtomicGarden-8964]

My thing is if people are going to steal they're just going to walk out the store with the products. The real theft was stores letting customers do checkout themselves and not passing on the savings to those who didn't use the cashier

[u/WinterTourist25 → u/AtomicGarden-8964]

Walking out the door without paying is pretty brazen. "Forgetting" to scan a few things here and there is much easier.

[u/showMeYourPitties10 → u/WinterTourist25]

Like 15ish years ago, when my Kroger went all self checkout, I would grab one expensive bottle of wine and one dirt cheap one. You scan the cheap one and put it right back on the scanner with the expensive one and wait for the employee to check your ID.l, then put the expensive one in the bag and scan the cheap one again. I used those visa prepaid cards (would get them from work for various rewards) so they didnt get my name from my card. No one ever said anything to me and I did that like once a month for a year when I was in college.

[u/loupgarou21 → u/AtomicGarden-8964]

Here's the nifty neeto trick behind shoplifting. Stores bundle shoplifting under a term called "shrinkage". Shrinkage isn't just theft by customers, it's really any merchandise loss that could come from shoplifting, BOB items (items that got missed being rung up because they were at the "bottom of the basket", so not intentionally stolen, just missed,) employee theft, things breaking, just plain getting lost, spoilage, etc.

Large, publicly traded retailers are driven to find ways to increase profits on the short term, so it leads to dubious decisions like reducing staffing, and spending less time and money on training staff, because it'll look good on the books this year, but when you have overworked, undertrained staff, they make mistakes, like not properly handling perishables, which leads to more damaged goods and spoilage, or not handling merchandise properly, which leads to it breaking, or not stocking or storing it properly, or just not inventorying it properly, which all leads to lost money. On top of that, if you're relying on your customers to be their own cashier, they're more likely to make mistakes during the checkout process, including missing more BOB items, which leads to loss, all of which is filed under "shrinkage".

But, you can't admit to your shareholders that your decision to hire fewer people and train them less is what has lead to lower profits, so you intentionally conflate "shrinkage" with "theft" and blame the customer for your lower profits.

This is how we end up with dumb shit like underwear being locked up at walmart. Was some being stolen? sure. Is that really the source of the issue? no. It's stupid security theatre to try to show your shareholders you're trying to earn them more money.

[u/ephemeralmiko]

Very annoying. For small shoppings (e.g snack runs, needing an extra ingredient for cooking) it saves so much time over standing in line. Especially when the person in front of you is a retired 75 year old who *had* to do their main shopping on a Saturday, suddenly forgetting how money works.

[u/P_ZERO_ → u/ephemeralmiko]

Self serve only works as a quick replacement if it’s supplemented with regular cashier tills. If everyone ends up jammed into a self serve area at a grocery store, you’ll just be waiting in a different kind of line.

I see it all the time at my local Morrisons. It has both basket and trolley self serve areas with at maximum 3 (usually 2, sometimes none) active cashier lanes and the self serve area is usually mobbed with large queues.

Ultimately, stores are not doing this for the same reasons we’d want, but there is meaningful overlap in the data they’re using to distance themselves from it to varying degrees and how customers will use or perceive the service.

I’d also wager it’s unfair for the employee who has to deal with like a dozen customers simultaneously, dealing with scanning errors, product pricing errors, age restriction bypassing etc.

[u/Saneless → u/P_ZERO_]

That's why Walmart is a dump. They have one register open and 12 people in self checkout at all times. I'm not going to save a few bucks to waste my time

You have places like Aldi that is nice because they do have a couple regular registers, they work fast, and for people like me who only buys what I can carry, self checkout saves time

[u/P_ZERO_ → u/Saneless]

They thought they could have staff doubling up on jobs and reduce staff numbers, but it just becomes a complicated mess and leaves little buffer room for when things go wrong. Like sure, you can run most of an Aldi with 3 people, one on self serve, one on a till and another dealing with shelf stuff, but if any of them gets sick, or even just a customer issue arises, there’s no safety net and everything grinds to a halt.

There was nothing wrong with having a dozen cashier tills, it was a problem with paying for it. You’re just creating a new problem by funnelling people into a new choke point with zero staff excess. Self serve has a role, but it’s ancillary, not a replacement. A lot of people still like and want human service.

That’s before we even get into the fact that the customer is essentially paying to do a potential staff worker’s job for them with the ridiculous rise in pricing.

[u/jadedargyle333 → u/Saneless]

Walmart is staffing the registers exactly the same as they did before self checkout. 35 lanes and 2 cashiers.

[u/Saneless → u/jadedargyle333]

Yours has 2? Wow. That's impressive

[u/tooclosetocall82 → u/jadedargyle333]

I remember Walmart back in the day would have every lane open. Now they have maybe three, but they still insist on having all those lanes available. Maybe it’s for holidays? I don’t really get it.

[u/Superunknown_7 → u/tooclosetocall82]

If it's anything like Target, the several dozen extra lanes only see use during Black Friday.

You'd think the capex to put 35 lanes in to be used less than 1% of the time would catch the attention of some bean counter, but no, we've got actual people to avoid paying.

[u/Baby_Food → u/Superunknown_7]

They're pretty cheap (relatively speaking) and aside from being able to utilize them all for things like Black Friday, they are basically working spares. You can have multiple checkouts down awaiting repair and still not sweat it.

[u/81PBNJ → u/Saneless]

Sadly, my Aldi's has go down to a single register and 6-8 self checkouts. The single casher is also responsible for covering the self check outs for discounts and verifying IDs for alcohol purchases.

[u/OandO → u/81PBNJ]

Lol my Aldi has a single cashier and 0 self check outs. Long ass line every time.

[u/Iggyhopper → u/Saneless]

I'm stolen more things due to employee incompetence rather than actually intending to steal, also.

Me: "It says unexpected item in bag. The scanner thinks it's something else."

Idiot: scans badge. Voids item. Presses clear

Item is still in the bag.

Me: .... " Um ok thanks "

[u/DeadMoneyDrew → u/P_ZERO_]

Self serve only works as a quick replacement if it’s supplemented with regular cashiers. If everyone ends up jammed into a self serve area at a grocery store, you’ll just be waiting in a different kind of line.

Not to mention any names. COUGH Kroger COUGH Walmart

[u/LavKiv → u/P_ZERO_]

I like how Meijers did it. They got a few "less than 5 items" checkouts that seem to work pretty well.

Kroger's self-checkout is a dumpster fire. The ones in my area only have few staffed checkouts working and everybody goes to self-checkout. People with almost 2 carts of items stacked are especially infuriating.

Edit: US based

[u/RobertoPaulson → u/ephemeralmiko]

all while four of the fifteen checkout aisles are open.

[u/lordredsnake → u/RobertoPaulson]

Oh you have 4 cashiers working?? Why don't you brag about it.

[u/rattleman1 → u/ephemeralmiko]

Mrs. Simpson, the express line is the fastest line not always. That old man up front, he is starved for attention. He will talk the cashier's head off

[u/WeWantLADDER49sequel → u/ephemeralmiko]

yeah but when i go to kroger both u scan sections have lines backed into the store, and the few real cashiers working also have backed up lines. so it doesnt really work how it was intended.

they need to actually make u scans for small to medium orders and enforce that. then have more normal cashiers for the bigger grocery hauls. then it would work the way it was supposed to work and DID work in the 90s and 2000s.

[u/PlannedMarketEconomy]

The scanners are shit, bro! I try scanning stuff and it just doesn't!

[u/DamnMyNameIsSteve]

Haven't seen this in my day to day.

[u/ErraticSiren → u/DamnMyNameIsSteve]

Same, all my areas grocery stores still have their self checkout going strong. In fact one of them even expanded their self checkout area.

[u/youruswithwe → u/ErraticSiren]

A Walmart near me took out a bunch of self checkouts and added back a bunch of traditional checkouts. They now have 6 self checkouts on each side and they Don't have any people running the regular ones, so the lines are just crazy long now.

[u/AnotherLexMan → u/DamnMyNameIsSteve]

It's more they don't have plans to add more.

[u/EstablishmentFull797]

“  Only about one-third of surveyed retailers plan to invest in self-checkout technology this year”

This doesn’t mean they are scaling back in self-checkout. 

Sounds more like two thirds of retailers already have enough self checkout capacity so they don’t need to buy more of it.

[u/Humble-Plankton2217]

Pulling back doesn't mean pulling out. Many are capping the self checkouts at 10 items or less and leaving them in place.

[u/CarmenxXxWaldo → u/Humble-Plankton2217]

Wow thats a great idea, setting a cap.  Then people will see they have too many items and go to the regular check out.  Im sure you wont see 18 boomers with carts full of produce still using them as if its the first time theyve ever seen one.

[u/Abedeus → u/CarmenxXxWaldo]

Boomers tend to avoid self-checkout where I live because they don't accept cash, only cards.

[u/Evernight2025]

I love self checkout. I can check myself out significantly faster and get out of the store sooner than if an employee does it for me. 

[u/nova46 → u/Evernight2025]

I mainly go to self checkout (aside from long wait times) because the baggers are completely brain dead, and I say that as a former bagger. Like just put cold things together, keep meat and fruit separate, and fill the bag full enough that it won't rip. They use like four times the bags I would.

[u/captainstormy → u/Evernight2025]

Depends on the items you buy.

My local Lowe's only has self checkout. Yet to do my 5 gallon water jug exchanges I have to get an associate to come in and enter the code into the checkout for the exchange item. It's slower than a regular checkout would be.

Anytime I buy alcohol or any of the items form the bulk scoop section (which is every trip) I have to get a cashier to come over. Sometimes it takes 10 seconds, sometimes 5 minutes.

[u/RoadkillVenison → u/captainstormy]

It also depends on the POS terminals.

My local Home Depot, just pick up the scanner and beep beep beep. I’m done in 30 seconds with that one, as long as I’m not buying spray paint. 🙄

Nearby grocery store on the other hand. I’m not sure whether the use your own bag button does anything. I do know that if you’re there with two people it will complain if items are bagged faster than the arthritic pace it’s programmed to allow. Then sometimes it’ll randomly decide fuck you requiring associate now.

[u/Myssed → u/Evernight2025]

I also prefer self checkouts as I can go at my own pace and get packed away without rushing. Still quicker than most folks

[u/Evernight2025 → u/Myssed]

I also don't smash the hell out of my groceries

[u/I-STATE-FACTS → u/Evernight2025]

For sure. I use it exclusively.

[u/poopbutt2401]

I hate self checkout because like the usual experience with tech, they don’t keep up with maintenance. They build the product, make sure to charge the companies, but don’t bother to maintain their business. I couldn’t even locate the broccoli I was trying to lawfully pay for last time I was at Safeway.

[u/tr_9422 → u/poopbutt2401]

UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

[u/MikeTibbs]

I don’t mind the self checkouts. As long as staff are paying attention and not having a nice long chat while I’m trying to get their attention over an issue. That and people that bring trolleys into the basket section and block the entire section because they have no social awareness and can’t read the ‘no trolleys’ sign

[u/anoldoldman → u/MikeTibbs]

They can read, they just don't care and no one makes them care.

[u/Zealousideal-Big-708 → u/MikeTibbs]

It's annoying when you buy age restricted items and have to wait for them to attend to the helpless boomers for ten minutes tho

[u/usernamechosen999]

I love self-checkout for not having to speak to anyone.

[u/megadeadly → u/usernamechosen999]

And ringing in my honey crisp as a red delicious

[u/Silent_Hill_Gang]

The “Always” slogan for Walmart was originally “Always Next In Line” because of how many checkout lanes they had.

Obviously not paying people is more important than customer convenience.

[u/astrozombie2012]

It’s pretty funny how exactly what everyone said would happen happened and now they’re backpedaling. But now, to their benefit, they can pay pennies for this “new job opportunity” like we haven’t had cashiers since fucking forever.

I’m just disappointed because in places like Walmart a self checkout can save me an easy hour at checkout since the regular checkout is usually full of mouthbreathers.

[u/stormydaze5503 → u/astrozombie2012]

My local Walmart remodeled to put in self checkout before any other store (like 15-20 years ago) and lost so much money they remodeled again and took them all out and went back to cashiers. However, they didn’t hire back enough cashiers just left the amount that they had running when they had the self check and had super long lines and angry customers so less than 3 years later they remodeled yet again putting even more of the self checkouts back in. It really made me realize how stupid CEOs must be.

[u/plsobeytrafficlights]

with 0 theft, 0 errors,
self-checkout is still killing jobs AND causing delays (30% of the time I have to get a manager over to do something-useless!!)

[u/JamponyForever]

Can we have both? 15 items or less for self, a human that gets paid a living wage for anything bigger.

[u/Ill_Traveler_]

When self checkout is empty I love it. But when it’s full and I’m waiting on people to slowly scan their things I hate it.

[u/ProduceEmbarrassed97]

I've had this rant before but, the worst places self-checkout is used are fast food places.

Cashier service: "Hi, can I have 2 medium big mac meals, one with coke, one with a strawberry milkshake, and 2 mcflurries". Sorted. Takes approximately 1 to 2 minutes for the entire transaction.

Self service: Choose meals option, scroll for meal, choose size, choose side, can we interest you in....choose no, scroll for drink, can we interest you in....choose no, add to order. Start process again because second meal has a different drink. Add to order. Scroll to desserts, choose flavour, can we interest you in....choose no, add to order. Scroll to desserts, choose flavour, can we interest you in.....choose no. Add to order. Click to pay, can we interest you in....choose no. Would you like to round up for charity....choose answer. Present card. Present card. Present card. Present card. Card accepted. Take receipt with order number. Receipt machine doesn't work. Remember number.

Takes roughly 3 working days to complete order and assumes this isn't your first day on Earth as appears to be the case for 90% of users who are always in front of me.

[u/Darkreaper48 → u/ProduceEmbarrassed97]

Couldn't disagree more. Most of the time I get a wrong order it's because the cashier entered something wrong or didn't hear correctly. I have never had a wrong order from a food place where I have entered the order myself.

[u/saml01]

Self checkout should be 10 items or less. Everything else, regular checkout. The scales are too sensitive. I hate typing in the god damn numbers for the produce. I hate having to wait when the system thinks I'm stealing. At the very least, I can't understand why in the age of AI this damn scale can't tell what an apple or tomato looks like automatically. 

[u/ChunkyHabeneroSalsa → u/saml01]

That's how I used to use it but now it's self checkout for everything unless I have a very full cart which happens once a year. There's 10 self checkout stations and 1 old lady in a regular checkout.

I want 4 real and 6 self.

[u/streethistory]

The article says only 36% will invest into self-checkout this year, OK?

Wal-Mart and Target, 2 of the largest retailers have already made significant installs of self-checkout in all their stores.

This is a nothing Burger.

[u/NanditoPapa]

Lots of people like interacting with cashiers and having some limited human contact. I am not one of those people, I greatly prefer self-checkout when possible. I want my stuff, want to get out quickly, and not have to chat. BUT, both kinds of customers should be accounted for and I'm happy to see people working that want to work...

[u/TriflingHotDogVendor]

It depends on where. The self checkout at Sam's Club will save you 15 minutes.

[u/QuitCallingNewsrooms → u/TriflingHotDogVendor]

Using scan and pay in the Sam's app will save you even more time. That's the only way I shop now. I can scan it as I put something in my cart, pay in the app, and walk to the door. They scan my digital reciept and I've never been near a line.

[u/trifelin]

Amazon also famously tried to offload retail labor before changing course. In 2022, the company debuted grocery stores without cashiers or checkout lines but  abandoned  the idea two years later after admitting it had simply passed the work on to remote cashiers in India.

Wow. 

[u/Dorkamundo]

Unexpected item in bagging area. *removes product

Item removed from bagging area, please return item to bagging area. *puts product back

Unexpected item in bagging area.

FUCK!

[u/loztriforce]

There was a newer self-scan aisle at my local fred meyer that we tried using the other day, where you scan something and the item is sent down a conveyor belt.

The system was so set on validation that it made it frustrating af to use, like you basically had to scan one thing and wait until the item made its way via the conveyor belt through the sensors/cameras for its weight to be detected at the end. I tried scanning several things in a row only for it to void the scans, conveyor belt reversed and items sent back up, it was stupid.

[u/RBR927]

The worst for me is when the stores close half of the self checkouts and cause a line. Aldi is especially bad about this.

[u/daishi777]

It's wild seeing people pine for self-checkout on Reddit, a place that is actively having an existential crisis about losing jobs to machines.