I was checking out some groceries today, and the person next to me was clearly doing something the machine didn't like.
"Please scan the item before putting it in the bagging area".
Over and over again. I started thinking about what an entirely bogus thing "self-checkout" is. It seems to have exactly zero benefits to the consumer. No bagger, no help if you're missing a price sticker, not even ample room to put your groceries while you scan. You're left with exactly one square foot of space to do this job.
Is it making groceries cheaper? After all now they don't have to staff as many cashiers now. Nope! Groceries are higher than they've ever been! All that delicious margin gets sent straight to our benefactors at the Kroger corporation. Where would we be without them!
Not to mention the thing is calling you a thief every five seconds. The ones by me even film you and if they feel you're swiping something, it will show a slow motion video of you in the act and it tells you to correct your mistake.
So it's work that I have to do. That nobody is getting paid for. And that is taking videos of your face and your behaviors. And it's constantly announcing that you're a bread thief to everyone in the store.
And for what? To increase unemployment of course! It's one of those things I can't believe collective society has taken sitting down. It's one of the most egregious examples of pure corporate greed at the expense of the consumer experience, all the while cutting swaths of entry level jobs.
I only use self-checkout if it isn’t annoying. Albert Heijn in the Netherlands has self-checkouts which are mostly quiet. You can scan your groceries there, or get a scanning ‘pistol’ at the entrance to do it beforehand. You are checked at random by underpaid 16-year-olds, the only real downside. This is really annoying when you’ve already packed your groceries, as they have to scan them all to see if it matches what you’ve scanned yourself. And those 16-year-olds as a result have to deal with annoyance and even aggressivenes by customers.
On the other hand, self-checkouts at the Lidl here (used to) show you on film and be overly loud, every step being explained at volume level 10. If self-checkout sucks this much, I’ll just wait in line at the normal cash register. I’m pretty sure it has improved there as well in the meantime, but I now go to the cash register at Lidl anyway.
The audit seems way less common if an AH card is scanned. Maybe like once a month?
If they are paranoid people arent being honest, maybe they shouldn't have self checkouts. Personally i would just ignorem and walk out. Once i paid for it, its mine.
Interesting thought, but the ‘you’ve been selected for a check’ (or however it’s phrased) message comes up before you pay.