Now Good Grief Walmart

[pittle]

I think my local stores must be a different model. At the self-check counters I see here, options are available for credit cards or cash only. Never saw (or maybe didn't notice) an option to pay with loose change. I have a huge coin jar at home, so I may have to try that! (I bank at a cashless credit union - everything is handled through ATMs, so no place to get rid of rolled coins. And I refuse to pay a 10% surcharge to use the CoinStar machines at Safeway. Frustrating!)

Dave

I think they all have coin slots. The self check out is my preferred method. Super fast and I can pay with ATM card or cash -dollars and coins.

My absolute favorite is Scan & Go at SAM's Club - you just login and scan your items, then click pay by your preferred method and when you walk out the person at the door scans the barcode and says have a nice day! I heard that some Walmart SuperCenters are implementing this.

 

[dioxide45]

Self checkouts can be slow or fast. I often get behind people that are so slow... One should really be required to have training and certification before they are allowed to use those. Never fails, people have to hunt for the bar code, takes forever for them to scan just a few items.

 

[am1]

Have you ever thought that maybe it is the customers that are asking for more self-checkout lanes? It is often faster since more customers can be checking out at the same time in the given space, which results in a better customer experience for many. I for one would much rather use the self-checkout lanes -- it seems that it is only the older people who complain about this new technology...

Kurt

Sure and companies are happy to provide more as it saves money. Now if every cash was occupied with a cashier and no wait time I am sure less people would ask for more checkout lanes. I remember using them 15 years ago while in college.

 

[WinniWoman]

I hadn't been in our local one for some time. Yesterday, I was. In the past they had one end with about 6 self checkout stations. That area was expanded. And now the other end has them. And many check lines that at first look traditional have been converted. So there are 24 self check stations and only about 8 cashiers helping customers the old fashioned way. I went to one of them. I know it is a losing battle to preserve jobs for people.
I wonder if eventually we will have to stock the shelves, too.

Ironically, I just experienced this yesterday as my boss sent me there to buy 17 gift cards. Well- I could not do those on self check-outs and the few other check-outs had huge lines, but a worker thankfully told me I could go to the service desk to purchase them so that is what I did.

 

[bbodb1]

I'm a germaphobe and LOVE not having a cashier touch my items. Otherwise, it seems like I always get in the line with the check-out person who's coughing away or noticeably sick. Shudder.

This is why I like having the self check option. There are some checkers that I prefer to avoid - especially those who look sick or similar to death warned over.

On the other hand, I have come to know a few checkers over the years and a checker can add great value to a visit. On more than one occasion, I've had checkers alert me to a sale i might have otherwise missed. It is nice to have both manned and self check options.

 

[DaveNV]

This is why I like having the self check option. There are some checkers that I prefer to avoid - especially those who look sick or similar to death warned over.

Or the nonstop talkers, who have to tell everybody in front of you, one at a time and in full detail, their life story, their plans for the weekend, all about the wedding they just went to, the whole story of the movie they saw a week ago, or what happened on The Bachelorette last night, the specific recipe and preparation processes they think they might like to prepare using that wonderful entree someone bought two hours ago, or all about the garage sale their Mother is holding next week, the details of the vacation they're thinking of taking in a month, and (worst of all), all about that nasty customer who treated them so rudely this morning. Or combinations of some/all of the above. I absolutely HATE that.

Dave

 

[PigsDad]

You calling me old?

Certainly not! I've never met you, but I'm sure you aren't a day over 29.

The rationale of some is that customers are now doing the work while also paying for the goods.

That may be, but there are certainly a segment of customers who would gladly trade off the extra "work" in order to get the greater speed and convenience of self-checkout kiosks. There always seems to be the manned checkout lanes for those who don't like the self-service lanes.

Kurt

 

[Brett]

I get annoyed when a grocery store does not have self check-out -- self check (IMO) is always quicker

 

[bbodb1]

The one area of improvement needed with self check areas is more room for bagging. I get there is the possibility of customer shenanigans when it comes to self checking but that is the risk stores run in return for lower labor costs. Give me sufficient space to bag 8 sacks concurrently and I might never need the checker again.

I agree with the scan and go at Sam's club as that is a welcome tool.

 

[x3 skier]

The only “complaint” I have about self checkout is the variety of machines in various stores. They all seem to have different quirks that causes me to relearn the process at Home Depot, Kroger, whoever

Cheers

 

[geist1223]

I do not like self checkouts and refuse to use them. I think the stores should employee more people to help the economy.

 

[pittle]

Another reason that I like self-check-out is I can bag my stuff how I want - with as much or little per bag. That way when I get home, I can put it away faster.

 

[bbodb1]

I do not like self checkouts and refuse to use them. I think the stores should employee more people to help the economy.

Why is helping the economy the responsibility of the store? A store exists to provide products and services at the lowest price possible while operating as efficiently as possible to deliver the highest profit possible.

 

[Passepartout]

I do not like self checkouts and refuse to use them. I think the stores should employee more people to help the economy.

Good. Self check is popular enough anyway. I hate waiting while some checker has to make small talk with the clueless shopper ahead of me in the full service line. I suppose you go to the full service island at the gas station, too?
Jim

 

[AwayWeGo]

Or the nonstop talkers, who have to tell everybody in front of you, one at a time and in full detail, their life story, their plans for the weekend, all about the wedding they just went to, the whole story of the movie they saw a week ago, or what happened on The Bachelorette last night, the specific recipe and preparation processes they think they might like to prepare using that wonderful entree someone bought two hours ago, or all about the garage sale their Mother is holding next week, the details of the vacation they're thinking of taking in a month, and (worst of all), all about that nasty customer who treated them so rudely this morning.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Steve Fatula]

Self checkouts can be slow or fast. I often get behind people that are so slow... One should really be required to have training and certification before they are allowed to use those. Never fails, people have to hunt for the bar code, takes forever for them to scan just a few items.

Maybe a state license as a certified self checkout user (CSCU)?

What I have done in the past is offer assistance. More than once it was welcomed and things ran faster. The advantage is the next time the person is in front of someone, they might be a little faster. Of course, they also might not remember a thing.

 

[isisdave]

I use CoinStars for the spare change jar, and usually get an Amazon voucher for about $15 without any fee. You just put the code on the voucher into your account on the Amazon website.

I like self-service checkout when nothing goes wrong. "Goes wrong" includes accidentally scanning twice, having alcohol, something without barcode, realizing I wanted two of something, card doesn't work, won't accept cash, etc.

In the UK, these things are hugely popular. There'll be 12 of them, with one common line, er, queue, and the millennials rip through their checkout like the store was on fire.

 

[geist1223]

Good. Self check is popular enough anyway. I hate waiting while some checker has to make small talk with the clueless shopper ahead of me in the full service line. I suppose you go to the full service island at the gas station, too?
Jim

In Oregon you can not pump your own gas - even at Costco you are required to let the attendant pump your gas. Though studies have shown Oregon gas does not cost more than other states. Out of Oregon I almost always use Costco. At out of Oregon Costco they normally only have 1 attendant for 20 pumps. So I pump my own.

 

[DaveNV]

In Oregon you can not pump your own gas - even at Costco you are required to let the attendant pump your gas. Though studies have shown Oregon gas does not cost more than other states. Out of Oregon I almost always use Costco. At out of Oregon Costco they normally only have 1 attendant for 20 pumps. So I pump my own.

If I understand you correctly, at Costco's outside of Oregon, you HAVE to pump your own gas. They won't do it for you. The one attendant is there in case there is a problem with a pump, or a safety issue. Otherwise, it's totally self-serve.

Dave

 

[geist1223]

If I understand you correctly, at Costco's outside of Oregon, you HAVE to pump your own gas. They won't do it for you. The one attendant is there in case there is a problem with a pump, or a safety issue. Otherwise, it's totally self-serve.

Dave

Outside of Oregon Costco will pump if you insist but you might be waiting for a while and everyone behind you will get pissed - Road Rage.

 

[DaveNV]

Outside of Oregon Costco will pump if you insist but you might be waiting for a while and everyone behind you will get pissed - Road Rage.

Ok. I'll have to keep an eye out for that. I don't know that I've ever seen a Costco employee pump someone's gas, except in Oregon. I've just asked my spouse (the Costco career staffer) and I was told if anyone ever did that for you, they were breaking the rules. It's a liability thing.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

In Oregon you can not pump your own gas - even at Costco you are required to let the attendant pump your gas.

Sorry. I hadn't connected that your domicile is Oregon. That helps make sense of your avoiding self-checkouts. I'm of the 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' school.

Jim

 

[bbodb1]

Fwiw: New Jersey has universal full service gas attendants.

 

[PigsDad]

Ok. I'll have to keep an eye out for that. I don't know that I've ever seen a Costco employee pump someone's gas, except in Oregon. I've just asked my spouse (the Costco career staffer) and I was told if anyone ever did that for you, they were breaking the rules. It's a liability thing.

Almost every gas station I have been at has a sign somewhere stating an attendant will pump gas for you if you need assistance. How is a person with a disability supposed to get gas in their car? I'd be very surprised if even Costco would not do that courtesy for a disabled customer.

Kurt

 

[Passepartout]

Outside of Oregon Costco will pump if you insist but you might be waiting for a while and everyone behind you will get pissed - Road Rage.

At Costco (or other has stations) around here the attendant will help out disabled members to the extent possible. That doesn't mean there may not be a delay, but help usually occurs.