If you have the option, do you use the cashier or the self checkout line at the grocery store? What about other types if store like hardware stores?
I usually have a full cart and value someone else keeping track of what’s been scanned already
I try to use cashier aisles whenever possible. In every type of store. Partly because I want to be contributing in a tiny way to someone being employed, and partly because of bad experiences in the past with self-checkout systems.
If I’m not in a rush (and no line) and no cashier is open I always ask the bored (usually elderly) person for help
Fuck it, they’re bored and I know the machines have cameras that track how much that person is needed. If no one asks them for help, they stop having a job.
This is kind of the way I look at leaving carts out; everyone has this righteous outlook on putting your cart away as it’s judge of character. Obviously you haven’t worked in retail before; I would jump to oh you need help taking this outside? Or, hey there’s some carts out there can I go get them. Because you know what, standing in a square (register) all day long is like prison.
I don’t get the logic here. You can still say “hey there’s some carts out there can I go get them” when the carts are nearly in the corral. There’s no advantage to just leaving them wherever.
I also had some bad experiences with the self checkout. I rather spend a bit more time going through the cashier line then the self checkout if I can get a better experience. I do find the self checkout at hardware stores with those scan guns to work well most of the time.
It depends. If i only have one or two things and there’s one open, I’ll use the self checkout so I can get out as fast as I can.
If I have a cart full of shit, multiple coupons, loyalty card, there’s no way I’m doing all that myself. At that point, I’m stuck for a while no matter what, so I’ll wait for someone else to do it; I’m not getting paid, they are.
Only for alcohol
I always prefer self checkout where I live because the machines are reliable and they have someone hanging out to help if there are any issues. It is faster and I get to pack stuff the way I want for unloading at home.
On travel I tend to use a cashier because of bad experiences with self checkout outside where I live.
Just walk out the door.
The original self-checkout!
My preferred is self checkout, unfortunately The self checkout at every grocery store i go to is utter SHIT for a weekly trip. They are fine if you have a few items.
For a big shopping trip, The carts are not setup for it, the checkout area is way to small and the registers arent positioned/configured correctly.
One store has a scan option as you go that is awesome. You scan as you go down the isle and put your stuff on your bags, at the end you scan a bar code on the scanner and pay. Only problem… it typically crashes halfway through the shopping. It is unusable.
Coincidently, I am at Bethany Beach in Delaware, rented a house for Ocean’s Calling, we went to Giant for stuff and AMAZINGLY the self checkout was excellent.
It was a typical chechout lane with a belt etc thar had a self checkout register… it worked perfecly.
Only if I have bought a lot of stuff. I’ve used self checkouts wherever possible for what feels like 15+ years
Well la dee da, Mr. Moneybags here still buys groceries. 🧐
Just barely, groceries are absurdly expensive right now. I am at a high cost of living region (NE USA), but seems bad everywhere. I started getting produce from a CSA from a local farm, turned out to be a good value so far.
I refuse to use self checkout even if an employee is doing it for me. I will not contribute to companies killing jobs off.
Self-checkout always unless I have loads of stuff. I don’t want to talk to someone and it’s quicker.
This was a question for me in like 2012 when they started becoming more common here. Never did it occur to me that it was my responsibility to maintain a level of inefficiency in my life to keep someone else employed in a shit job. To me, that kind of calculus is absolutely wild.
Yes. Fuck ringing up my own groceries. I am not an employee and I do not labor for the grocery store. If I am forced to ring out my own groceries and do that labor, I will be getting paid via shoplifting an item as I check out.
They’ve been experimenting with self-service checkouts for decades. I remember being a young teen in the 70s, and going to a store with my grandma, who was a vocal union supporter.
We were waiting in line, and a girl kept trying to get people to come over and try their new self-serve line. She asked my grandma a few times, before my grandmother, who worked in the fur department of a major department store, said sharply “Listen, young lady, I’m trying to save your JOB! I don’t work for this store, I want an EMPLOYEE to ring me up.”
That statement has been a huge influence on my life, and how I view the world.
I worked as a cashier at a grocery store for several years, I generally refuse to self checkout. It seems it as a shifting of responsibility from the store to the shopper to ensure that everything is calculated correctly.
They used to pay and train people to do this, now they’ve decided that their shoppers can do it and if something goes wrong then they get to decide that you were stealing.
When they were new I would use them on occasion. But now I can’t justify it even if I’m only getting like 4 things. With all their cameras , you just know you are being used as training data for something.
I always use cashiers. After I’ve been through the store doing the chore of picking out my items I don’t feel like scanning and bagging them. Baggers are a luxury IMO.
And I don’t mind talking to cashiers, they usually seem less interested in talking than me so it’s not a long conversation just “Hey how’s it going?” “Getting by!” and “Thank you” as I leave.
