How Do You Work the Self Checkouts? (power, cameras, transfer)
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They do have a few annoyances, one of which is if you remove one of the bags from the bagging area, the machine will not let you continue until you put it back, which is something that has no logical purpose. I can understand if they wanted to make sure customers don't place items in the bag without ringing them up, but if the bags fill up, you're going to have to call the clerk to clear the warning.
Having done some industry research on this - I can tell you with absolute confidence that the future entails elimination or an absolute minimal number of actual checkout cashiers (perhaps just one per store at any given time).
What you are seeing now is the training of the US consumer to learn and accept this technology. The checkout machines are much cheaper to employ than several live employees operating for a 24 hour shift, and they do not cheat the store (believe it or not but cashiers committing crime is a major concern of grocery stores).
Do not fool yourself into thinking that by using a live cashier you are going to keep them employed or that you are doing them a favor. The writing is already on the wall in the corporate boardrooms. Self-service is the wave of the future. A phased approach is taking place and it is just a matter of time before you'll see 99% of the checkouts at grocery stores as self-service and the customer service staff reduced beyond what today is considered a skeleton crew.
Having done some industry research on this - I can tell you with absolute confidence that the future entails elimination or an absolute minimal number of actual checkout cashiers (perhaps just one per store at any given time).
What you are seeing now is the training of the US consumer to learn and accept this technology. The checkout machines are much cheaper to employ than several live employees operating for a 24 hour shift, and they do not cheat the store (believe it or not but cashiers committing crime is a major concern of grocery stores).
Do not fool yourself into thinking that by using a live cashier you are going to keep them employed or that you are doing them a favor. The writing is already on the wall in the corporate boardrooms. Self-service is the wave of the future. A phased approach is taking place and it is just a matter of time before you'll see 99% of the checkouts at grocery stores as self-service and the customer service staff reduced beyond what today is considered a skeleton crew.
And maybe yet we'll be able to shop for our groceries online at home and they will be delivered not by human, but rather a robot.
They do have a few annoyances, one of which is if you remove one of the bags from the bagging area, the machine will not let you continue until you put it back, which is something that has no logical purpose. I can understand if they wanted to make sure customers don't place items in the bag without ringing them up, but if the bags fill up, you're going to have to call the clerk to clear the warning.
I agree 100 percent. I work in IT, so getting used to the self-checkouts was pretty painless, just have to locate the money return shoots, sometimes they are a little hidden. Some stores have more efficient self-checkouts compared to some that seem to lag and move like a snail. I really don't get the whole bag removal messages that can sometimes make the self-checkout experience-harrowing.
I agree 100 percent. I work in IT, so getting used to the self-checkouts was pretty painless, just have to locate the money return shoots, sometimes they are a little hidden. Some stores have more efficient self-checkouts compared to some that seem to lag and move like a snail. I really don't get the whole bag removal messages that can sometimes make the self-checkout experience-harrowing.
It's all about the scales under the bags. Grocery store executives have thought of everything including the idea that people might not scan everything they put in their bags (five finger discount)... so listen to this... They have associated each bar code with a particular weight (the exact weight of the item), and the extremely sensitive scales keep track of what you scan and the weight of what you've placed in the bagging area. If there's anything suspicious, the store camers will take pictures of you and a person may be dispatched to check out your receipt and bags. Because of all this, us honest people are inconvenienced by messages regarding putting things in the bag (even after we have because the feather wieght item didn't register on the scale underneath) and also with messages regarding not removing anything from the bagging area until after we've paid.
My tip to you is to always make it a point when placing a feather weight item in a bag... consciously lightly press the scale under the bag with a finger or the item - just for a moment. What this will do is serve to move the scale which will force it to register a change (whereas the item itself might not have).
Cashiers only get around $7 per hour here. I haven't noticed any self-checkouts around here either. How do they prevent people from stealing items by only checking out part of their stuff?
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