I Hate Box Store Self Checkouts!
I was reading Home Depot Tool Rental Review today and a comment from one of the readers reminded me of something I’ve wanted to blog about for quite some time. I can’t tell you how much I hate the self checkouts that the big box stores are using today.
Self checkouts are just one more reason I say go support your local hardware store. I’ve never been in a hardware store that uses one of these machines. Every time I try to use a self checkout there is either a problem with the customer in front of me or I have trouble. These things are a complete waste of time.
I also have a serious problem with replacing paying jobs with these self checkouts. I’d rather pay another 5% on my purchase then support the continued replacement of jobs with a machine. When I visit the local box store I never use the self checkout now, I refuse to support the use of these ridiculous machines.
How do you feel about the use of self checkouts? Am I going to far with my distaste for them? Leave a comment and let me know how you feel.
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I find the self checkouts at some stores take much longer than the regular ones. At the same time, if I only have 3 things I want to buy and the lines are long, self checkouts are a real plus, assuming they are working correctly and there is a cashier nearby for those “item not bagged” issues.
Just look at the photo to see why this particular system will never work – it’s sensory overload. There’s one place to scan your goods, one to put the scanned items in a bag, one place to put change in, another for notes, a third for cards, a fourth to collect your change in coins, another for bills and a final one for your receipt. Nuts.
Self-service checkouts would be efficient if
a) everyone had a handheld scanner and scanned their purchases as the went around the store.
b) Payment was simplified at the checkout. The easiest way to do this is make checkout by debit/credit card only.
c) There are lots of employees to help both around the store and at the checkout.
I avoid the self checkout at Home Depot and at my local supermarket because they are so badly designed. Ikea has a better model, but to see how it functions really well I suggest a research trip to Belgium where they have been in use for over ten years.
I HATE these things, particularly at the hardware stores and avoid them like the plague!
Even more than the grocery store, where I don’t mind using them occasionally, the hardware store is more prone to the awkward-sized, shaped item that’s impossible to scan properly.
When they work, they work pretty well. When they don’t, which seems to be about half of the time, they’re frustrating beyond all belief. And as I commented on over at One Project Closer, they’re useless if you’re buying lumber or other large items.
I prefer them at the grocery store, but I dislike them at Home Despot. Unfortunately, we live 1/4 mile from the box store and over a mile from the “local” store, so we often go to the box. And, our local box almost always ONLY has the self check out open, so we don’t even have a choice.
What makes these things fail is when you get behind a technophobe who either can’t or won’t follow the instructions. It’s like getting caught behind a Driver’s Ed student without a passing lane.
I stood behind one confused individual in HD who actually tried talking to the machine… “Hello, I don’t know what to do? Can you help?…”
Personally, I hate them too. I never thought about it quite like you put it Todd, but I avoid if I can. Sometimes, I think the stores take advantage of it, and have less “real” cashiers on staff, then you have no choice but to wait 30 minutes or use one.
Still, they suck bigtime, and I avoid the self check out if possible.
Keith
I find that self checkouts are more trouble than they are worth. Like you pointed out I sit in line waiting for one of these “machines” to open up for me to use meanwhile the person in front of me is being instructed by the machine to put their item in the bag after they have already done so. Then when its my turn I have the same problem and some, these things at this point in time are a waste of time.
I hate, despise and LOATHE these things at big box stores. There’s always the “item not bagged issue” and what I REALLY hate is when you swipe your credit card at Lowes and put it away and THEN it asks you to type in the last four digits. I know it’s some kind of security thing, but it’s SO annoying.
Hate them. They never think I put things in the bag, so I have to fight with it. Or, I can’t figure out how to run my card as credit instead of debit…
If they keep my stuff cheaper because I’m not pay for salaries of check-out clerks, I’m OK with them. I just wish people knew how to use them better.
They seem to be fairly intuitive for folks who work on computers all day, but not so much for folks who don’t.
@ Greg – It’s more than just making them easy to use. Quite a few products at that type of store just don’t work with self checkout. I’ll stick to my local lumber yard whenever possible and pay a couple percentage points higher.