Automatic Checkout is a bad idea

[Frantic Freddie]

I fell in love with the USCANs when the Smith's in our small town opened (1st store in the state to have 'em),so much faster & when I want beer I want it now!

[protege]

Most of the time I try to use the self-checkout at BJ's, the machine freaks out and calls over the employee with the blinking light. I always get the same things: adult diapers (for my grandfather), tortilla chips, and V-8. Sometimes I get toilet paper or a bakery item. I always do exactly as the machine says; it almost always rejects at least one item AFTER I place it on the belt. It gets halfway down the belt (and no, the collection area is not "full"), then it decides to reject the scan.

That's *exactly* why I hate them. I'm not stupid by *any* means, folks. But, after having to start all over again (Giant Eagle, your U-scans suck!) and re-scan everything again after one item is rejected, I sometimes lose my patience. Either my bananas don't trip the scale, or one of my items refuses to scan, etc. I get tired of it. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have better things to do than re-scan everything multiple times. As such, I avoid the machines, and go to the cashiers instead. Less stress, and I'm usually out of there faster

[Jay 2K Winger]

I'm the first to admit that SCOs are not idiot-proof. (Mostly just because the idiots of the world always find new ways to be idiots.) And in many cases, the machines could stand to be programmed better.

I'll use the SCOs at the wholesale club where I work, but only if I've got items that I know are less likely to trigger the machine's touchy sensors and whatnot. Likewise, if I'm buying something that's likely to trip an age-check, I'll just go to a regular register.

At other stores, I'll do a little mental triage, checking the lines at the SCOs, observe the people using them (are they gibbering idiots? go elsewhere), and how many items are being scanned. If I don't see anything that gives me hope I'll be out of there faster, I go to a regular register.

[Kogarashi]

I hate it when people are at the self scanners and scan something and the screen says "Please place item in the bag" and they turn around and ask the USCAN clerk what they should do.....

Seriously. When I was a cashier and had to babysit the SCOs, I had so many people ask this. One lady asked for every single step. Each time, I politely and calmly explained that the screen showed what to do. By the fourth or fifth iteration of this, she got snippy and snapped that she wasn't stupid. My thought was, then why don't you listen for once and pay attention to the screen? At least the people who were clearly intimidated by the machines would listen when I would explain how things worked. This lady...I just don't get it.

[KellyHabersham]

One gripe I have about the SCO machines in my grocery store is that they can't/don't read the "Manager's Special" price tags.........so if I'm buying any such item, I have to take it up to the attendant. (and sometimes even they have trouble getting the said tags to scan properly)

[MoonCat]

The machines themselves are sometimes pretty bad. The ones I sometimes use can be very finicky; on some you have to run the item across from side to side, other machines will scan it if you just wave it vaguely at the scanner. The payment system gets stuck frequently and repeats steps; the machines tell you to "wait for an attendant" at random moments when nothing is wrong.

I like this store's brand of cat litter, but it never fails, every time I buy two 21-lb jugs, as soon as I scan one of them, the machine bleats "wait for an attendant" while I'm holding the second jug. I've learned not to pick up the second one until after this stupid message clears.

They have one machine on which the voice doesn't work. That's my favorite one!

[ThirdGenRetail]

It's been my observation that when one machine is down, the number of customers who want to use SCO tends to multiply beyond what 3 machines can handle, yet when there's 4, they're mostly ignored... And of course, I keep getting the idiots who bring the following items through SCO:

- Hot water heaters
- Doors
- Windows
- Giant bags of mulch/soil/rocks/salt
- The odd lawn mower or grill
- Lumber
- Bricks
- Cinder blocks

And then I get people who can't seem to lift a ceiling fan... That weighs NOTHING. I think I've picked up one of just about EVERY light fixture in Electrical, and some are very light(And then we get the "Big box, weighs nothing/Small box, ton of bricks" paradox... THOSE I can understand). And then it's not so much they 'can't lift it'... They want me to scan it FOR them Hi, you came to SELF check out. Let me get a red Sharpie and repeatedly underline the "SELF" part.

I have to ask, how many people ignored the 'out of order/closed' sign on the broken one and tried to use it? *Has watched WAY too many people still try to scan stuff on a downed machine*

[ThirdGenRetail]

My mom, while she worked, was an executive at a large company. She is intelligent and young for her age. She won't even buy gas with plastic at the pump. She's not stupid. For whatever reason, she doen't trust it and is intimidated. Do I kind of think it's funny or weird? Yeah. But I know she's not stupid, so whatever.

Considering that things CAN go wrong with technology... I'd say that she's doing the smart thing. Plus if I pay at the pump with my card, it shows up on my bank account as a charge of $1... And then when it finally hits fully, I have the fun of figuring out if I'll even have enough by then or if I even remember it when I buy other stuff

[Treasure]

I had to stop and pick something up at WM(hiss) the other day, and b/c it was the shortest line went through UScan while waiting, there was a lady at one of the machines who was actually waiting for the machine to tell her "place item in the bagging area" before doing so - my thought was - If you'll just do it, it won't tell you do so and take longer! aaachk!!

I appreciate the people who would rather deal with a live body than fight with the uscans,. there are days when i don't have the patience to deal with the machines either...

[poofy_puff]

That's *exactly* why I hate them. I'm not stupid by *any* means, folks. But, after having to start all over again (Giant Eagle, your U-scans suck!) and re-scan everything again after one item is rejected, I sometimes lose my patience. Either my bananas don't trip the scale, or one of my items refuses to scan, etc. I get tired of it. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have better things to do than re-scan everything multiple times. As such, I avoid the machines, and go to the cashiers instead. Less stress, and I'm usually out of there faster

THat does suck. When it happens to me, at least it only makes me re-scan the one rejected item. But, re-scanning that item never works and a person has to come over and do it manually or with the gun.

[Primer]

My (admittedly limited) experiences with U-Scan:

Wally World--runs out of receipt paper and/or change on a regular basis, requiring a manager to come fix it.

H E B--scanners just WON'T! It takes 4 to 5 swipes, minimum, to get something to register. I don't know if the glass is just too dirty, or if the lasers are out of adjustment, but they sure don't like me trying to use them.

[Andara Bledin]

there was a lady at one of the machines who was actually waiting for the machine to tell her "place item in the bagging area" before doing so - my thought was - If you'll just do it, it won't tell you do so and take longer! aaachk!!

I've encountered one machine that would get pissy with you if you put the item in the bag/on the belt before it told you to. Man, was that annoying.

^-.-^

[EvilEmpryss]

And of course, I keep getting the idiots who bring the following items through SCO:

- Hot water heaters
- Doors
- Windows
- Giant bags of mulch/soil/rocks/salt
- The odd lawn mower or grill
- Lumber
- Bricks
- Cinder blocks

Hey! I do that!

Then again, I can read a SKU/barcode number/whatever other item number option there is on the item. I also can read the screen and follow the directions so I have the things entered before the attendant can get halfway to the machine to help me.

It's not sucky unless customer brings the big items up, stands at the SCO without even trying to punch in the item number themselves, and glares at the SCO attendant until the self checkout miraculously become a regular checkout.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Those things are supposed to be idiot-proof. A monkey should be able to figure out how to operate one.

Therein lies the problem. There's never a monkey around when you need one.

[Digitalpotato]

I've seen some people get stuck but sometimes it wasn't them being stupid, the machine was busted for some reason. I dunno, maybe a Stupid Customer stuffed a potato into the front so the scanner was broken. Or maybe the barcode was scratched and wouldn't scan.