• will_a113@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    I know this isn’t the most popular opinion, but I love self-checkout systems when they’re available and used correctly. My local supermarket closed 2 10-item-or-less lanes and put 6 self-checkouts in the same space. I probably make 2 trips/week to the store for fewer than 10 items, and being able to check myself out has been a huge time saver. There are still another 8 lanes with cashiers for larger shopping trips. If the supermarket can avoid the race to the bottom thinking of "well, we replaced 2 lanes, maybe we can also replace the other 8), it’ll be a nice compromise.

    Now contrast that with my local Home Depot, which typically has 1-2 cashiers MAX at any given time. They have turned the checkout process into a tedious pain in the ass, and I’ve more or less stopped shopping there as a result.

    • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Your store did it smart. My local grocery store has 8 self checkouts by one door and 8 more on the other end by the other door. Although there are 10 or more normal checkouts with human cashiers, Ive never seen more that two open at a time.

    • LordKitsuna@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Is there something weird about how your Home Depot did it? I absolutely love the self-checkout at the Home Depots in my state. They all have the wireless hand scanners so I just pull my cart up, beep beep beep beep beep beep beep and off I go I fucking hated before they had self checkout at Home Depots it always took for fucking ever now I’m in and out regardless of whether I need one thing or 20 things

      • will_a113@lemmy.ml
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        11 months ago

        There are two in my area and both have the same problem: there will be a single non-pro bank of 8 self-checkout lanes, and then a bunch of empty lanes, one or two of which will have cashiers. Of the 8 self check-outs , one or two are always broken, so that leaves 6. Add in a bunch of large/heavy/bulky items that are hard to scan and now the line for self check-out is pushed back into the store, blocking multiple lanes and aisles. And as soon as you have certain items in your cart (molding/lumber by the LF, loose fasteners, etc.) you need an assistant to come help you anyway. Maybe it’s just the customers in my stores, but it’s just a terrible, slow, inefficient process.

        • LordKitsuna@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Maybe it is just the customers in your area, mine is usually not backed up. I don’t have any problem with the various loose items there is always a barcode somewhere and if I don’t see one on the product I’ll take a picture of the one on the Shelf so I can just scan it right off my phone at the checkout¯\_(ツ)_/¯