I'm really starting to HATE our SCOs...

[Dreamstalker]

I should have just asked for this whole week off...but given the problems I had with a simple availability change...

Out of four SCO registers my store has, one has been having assorted issues for over a month. A tech was allegedly in last week...his 'fix' for a bad belt scale was to zero it (now why can't WE do that?) and then use a single apple to test--a single apple's mass cannot shift between the scanner and belt. Grapes, cherries, anything bagged in more than a quantity of one causes problems when it shifts while being moved from the scanner to the belt (item gets sent back, needs the assistant card to force it through).

A second one is now developing the same quirks, (and is even doing it with some barcoded items to boot) and a third was shut down completely when I took over. Generally when an SCO is powered off I assume a very good reason, and do not power it up until I know from FEM what the issue is.

ASM blows by: "Why is #8 shut down?"
Me: "There's probably a serious problem with it."
ASM: "Start it up! If a secret shopper comes in and we don't have a ticket open for it [how would the SS know this?] we get dinged!"

So I start it up...and quickly discover why it was powered off. It's also having scale problems, but in that the belt will not detect that anything is placed on it at all. Requiring the assistant card for every. single. item. I discovered this right when going on my break ASM expects me to reboot it, so I wind up wasting half my break futzing with something that right then isn't my responsibility (the CW that was covering for me--who isn't really trained on SCO so I had to deal with it--just told me she'd be fine if I took my 15 starting from the time I actually purchased my food).

So basically--before I get FEM's blessing to shut it down completely--I'm acting as a cashier for that one lane (while being expected to watch the other 3, 2 of which were throwing a hissyfit every two seconds).

A few customers complained (not at me, but the unit in general; they seemed to realize I had no say over whether it worked correctly). I just told them that they could complain to the desk and that I had been told to open the lane despite knowing there was a problem.

[DerangedHermit]

This was literally me before my store started their remodel and replaced half of the belted self-scans with a six-pack of bag your own selfscans and two selfscans exclusively for the scanner.

Before: 2 of the 4 selfscans had a belt problem, the third had the problem with the fruits and vegetables. Anyways, most of the time, the managers/CDH's in charge would let me close the two bad apples (either right away or after a power down and testing). AFAIK from what managers in my store told me, as long as I clearly indicated it was out of order, the store wouldn't get dinged.

Now: Only one of the bad apples were kept (along with one of the good ones). I'm not sure why they weren't completely replaced, the newer belted ones have a smaller form factor. The scanner selfscans don't work, they've been closed constantly since install. They also had put in old scales for the new bagged self-scans, since one of them had a busted scale zero button that they had just replaced on the old one, and another was already well-scratched up.

The new ones are fine but are ultra-sensitive, have a bit more of a learning curve, and are not usually the norm around here.

[Dreamstalker]

My store is supposed to get a complete tech overhaul (cashier registers and SCOs) in the next few months...it can't come fast enough. I swear, the units can somehow tell they're 'on notice' and are all starting to fail in strange and unpredictable ways.

[DerangedHermit]

My store is supposed to get a complete tech overhaul (cashier registers and SCOs) in the next few months...it can't come fast enough. I swear, the units can somehow tell they're 'on notice' and are all starting to fail in strange and unpredictable ways.

Supposedly it's happening here as well register-wise...but not now, when they're remodeling my store. A few months from now, which places it anywhere from Labor Day to Christmas...it's stupid. They've had the same POS software going on since they introduced this store banner here 13 years ago.

[Dreamstalker]

I wouldn't be surprised if our POS software is way out of vendor support. I do know that they've crammed newer software onto an older OS (the system resources just aren't there; I don't know how it even works half the time).

Mine got a remodel in 2000...apparently said remodel did NOT include the things that actually needed to be replaced (registers, freezer cases, air conditioning, the entire building electrical system, ceiling tiles, etc). Basically they thought the new logo would magically fix everything else.

[mhkohne]

I wouldn't be surprised if our POS software is way out of vendor support. I do know that they've crammed newer software onto an older OS (the system resources just aren't there; I don't know how it even works half the time).

You would be amazed at how long vendor support can last if the customer waves enough money under said vendor's nose.When I worked in retail fueling, one of our products went back 20 years and should have been scrapped 10 years in.

[Dreamstalker]

There's a brand spanking new store a few blocks from where I'm petsitting this week; I ran over there earlier today to pick up some sundries and treats for the menagerie. (I've discovered the guinea pigs adore watermelon).

I love the new selfscans over there. They can be a bit sensitive (I can't move produce to the belt until prompted to, otherwise it gets cranky), but everything scans no matter how the barcode is oriented as long as it's facing the scanner, the signature pad is in a reasonable place relative to the pinpad, and they are a smaller formfactor than ours (we could probably fit one regular SCO and one 'S-it' SCO in the footprint of one of what we have now). I think the overall square footage of the store is smaller, and somehow they've managed to get more in (the meat and dairy cases have DOORS--that probably saves a bit of energy).