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I would like to be able to choose between self checkout AND an express lane AND a regular lane. Most stores have only two of the above (e.g. my Ralphs has express and regular, but no self; Target has self and regular but no express).
Trader Joe's, which I otherwise adore, has only regular lanes. Drives me crazy when I have one or two items and would be able to get out in a flash if every single lane wasn't clogged with a person with an overflowing cart.
Come to think of it, if a store has only regular lanes, they should do the "one-line" system. Only one line for checkout, and the first person in the line goes to the next available cashier. That would keep me from feeling perpetually annoyed that I inevitably pick the slowest lane of the five to stand in.
It's nice if the cashier asks "How's it going?" or "I'm loving this weather, aren't you?" I go to one store, however, where apparently the cashiers have been trained to ask "Are you doing anything interesting/special today?" And since I am almost never doing anything more interesting or special that day than shopping, I say no, not really, and it makes me feel like a loser. That kind of question crosses the line from friendly chit-chat to "none of your business."
Also, I live in California, where we either pay for store bags or bring our own. I don't mind bringing my own bags at all, but in that case I want to pack them myself. Often, a bagging person grabs my bags and starts bagging my items before I can say a word. Sometimes I say "Thanks, I'll do it myself," but that usually gets me a hurt or annoyed look as though I just insulted the bagging person. I'd appreciate being asked "Would you like me to bag for you?", but I realize I'm probably the only person on the planet who feels this way.
My local Target has all 3 kinds--self, express, and regular lanes.
Our Ross has the one-lane system. I love it! For a while they had a direction sign, to signal what cashier was open, but it went away. Don't know what happened.
One more thing; our Walmart now has locked liquor shelves. You have to get an employee to get out the bottle, then they take it to the "vice" checkout--where the cigarettes are kept. That's the only line you can use to buy the booze. Not gonna be buying booze at Wally's anymore.
I want reasonably quick service, a cashier that isn’t rude, and fair prices.
What I do not want is to ever get behind the lady I was behind today at Walmart. She had her groceries on the belt, and two of those separator bars behind her groceries with dvd’s and something else behind the other one. She paid for her groceries, then paid for the other two items separately! The whole checkout experience took her 15 minutes because she kept reaching into her purse to retrieve a cash envelope. Really? You couldn’t pay for everything together and then separated things when you got home? Who does this?
I want reasonably quick service, a cashier that isn’t rude, and fair prices.
What I do not want is to ever get behind the lady I was behind today at Walmart. She had her groceries on the belt, and two of those separator bars behind her groceries with dvd’s and something else behind the other one. She paid for her groceries, then paid for the other two items separately! The whole checkout experience took her 15 minutes because she kept reaching into her purse to retrieve a cash envelope. Really? You couldn’t pay for everything together and then separated things when you got home? Who does this?
I want reasonably quick service, a cashier that isn’t rude, and fair prices.
What I do not want is to ever get behind the lady I was behind today at Walmart. She had her groceries on the belt, and two of those separator bars behind her groceries with dvd’s and something else behind the other one. She paid for her groceries, then paid for the other two items separately! The whole checkout experience took her 15 minutes because she kept reaching into her purse to retrieve a cash envelope. Really? You couldn’t pay for everything together and then separated things when you got home? Who does this?
It's nice if the cashier asks "How's it going?" or "I'm loving this weather, aren't you?" I go to one store, however, where apparently the cashiers have been trained to ask "Are you doing anything interesting/special today?" And since I am almost never doing anything more interesting or special that day than shopping, I say no, not really, and it makes me feel like a loser. That kind of question crosses the line from friendly chit-chat to "none of your business."
That's usually my biggest issue with cashiers, and why I often use self checkout, too often they take the conversation away from just normal small talk and make things weird.
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Also, I live in California, where we either pay for store bags or bring our own. I don't mind bringing my own bags at all, but in that case I want to pack them myself. Often, a bagging person grabs my bags and starts bagging my items before I can say a word. Sometimes I say "Thanks, I'll do it myself," but that usually gets me a hurt or annoyed look as though I just insulted the bagging person. I'd appreciate being asked "Would you like me to bag for you?", but I realize I'm probably the only person on the planet who feels this way.
This is another reason I like self checkout, the cashiers don't know how to properly bag things. I bring my own bags. Those things can hold a lot, but often times the cashier will put only a few items in a bag. The ones I use say they can hold 50lbs, so I'm not concerned about overloading them. I've had a few cashiers laugh when I tell them this, and then continue putting only a few items into each bag and putting the rest into plastic bags. I don't get why they think that's a joke, or why they think I would want plastic bags when I went through the trouble of brining my own bags. It's not that I'm making a weird request like telling them to put canned goods on top of the bread. I'm just asking that they fill my bags up more so I don't need plastic bags.
I usually don't put a lot of produce items into plastic bags. I've gone to stores where they have extra produce/meat bags up front and the cashier will start putting my produce into those plastic bags. If I wanted to bag my apples into produce bags, don't they know I would have just done it myself? It's very annoying to have to tell the cashier that no, I really don't want my items in produce bags. It's always done after they weigh the items, so they're not doing it to ring them up easier. It's as if they think I forgot to put all my produce into their own separate little bags. No, I wanted it that way!
Last edited by Sundaydrive00; 11-10-2017 at 10:16 PM..
Don't expect things to change. With Aldi coming on strong, for profit grocery stores are quaking and looking to match the checkout speed. Aldi cashiers don't have to deal with coupons, don't have to deal with bagging, and they are allowed to sit. The products are designed to scan fast. They go at twice the speed of a regular cashier, cutting payroll cost in half.
Don't they also only take cash?
As for the stuff mentioned, IIRC:
They just throw your stuff to the side and have the shoppers bag it themselves. Even before state laws (e.g. in CA), they charge for bags.
Trader Joes also charges by unit, nothing by weight, so no need to mess with scales.
I am much more impatient with other customers who take a long time finding coupons (either through their wallet or through an app) or cashiers being SO friendly that she and Mrs. Customer spend a couple of extra minutes talking about their grandchildren (although I think a friendly hello and maybe a quick remark about the weather is fine).
I purchased a container of mixed nuts. Prior to getting in line, I clipped the digital coupon, and was ready to enter in my phone number. It didn't work, despite trying a few times. The cashier couldn't figure it out either. After 4 minutes, I went to the help desk, and she mentioned that I may have to wait up to 48 hours before their site registers my signing up. THAT WAS NOT MENTIONED ANYWHERE. She just took $6 out of the register and refunded me via cash. In this case, I ain't going to feel like *I* am the issue. I followed all of their instructions. If the store can't properly implement digital coupons, then that's on them, not me. I'm not going to overpay $6 for their mistake.
Aldi takes cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, debit, EBT, Apple Pay, Android pay... Checks are pretty much the only form of payment you can't use.
I was surprised when another poster said Safeway doesn't accept Apple Pay, since even Aldi accepts it. I would expect Aldi to be the one behind in technology, not one of the bigger supermarket chains.
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