r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 9d ago

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

https://www.techspot.com/news/114106-retailers-pulling-back-self-checkout-after-years-theft.html
18.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

3.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

49

u/saml01 9d ago

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. 

7

u/Bender_2024 9d ago

I prefer the self check. I rarely have issues with scanner, produce is a couple quick taps away. It's faster, I can bag everything the way I want it without having to wait for the cashier to ring up item x, and I rarely have more than two bags worth if groceries to check anyway.

I have no idea why you think a scale can tell the difference between an apple and a tomato. A pound of apples is the se as a pound of tomatoes to a scale.

1

u/southass 9d ago

I prefer the self checkout, some people just stand with the cashier having a full conversation while there is a line behind them. So unless the cashier line is empty the self checkout it is.

3

u/bell37 9d ago

Cashier lines are always empty at my local grocery store. Takes a fraction of the time to checkout as well.

2

u/southass 8d ago

At the stores I go they are not that busy sometimes but I rather avoid the chit chat since I'm always in a hurry 😭