Wednesday, 08 July 2009
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A Rant on the Self-Checkout: I Hope You Die!
I went grocery shopping at Pathmark the other day. When I went to check out with my 20 or so items, there were only two cashiers open (out of about 10), and both had extremely long lines. I eyed the other end of the checkout area where the "Self-Checkout" signs were flaming with repugnance. A haze of beeps and the computer's fakely nice voice echoed like the voice of Satan himself. There was no way I was going to confront the devil of the self-checkout; I'd much rather wait on line for eternity and be greeted by a mediocrely friendly cashier.
There's nothing I hate more than the annoying sound of the automated voice telling you to "Please scan your item" and "Please place your item on the belt." Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration-- there are things I hate more. But really, does anybody like the self-checkout at grocery stores?
I think it's an indication of our society-- our independence, our laziness, our lack of trust in others. The technology of the self-checkout has taken away the need for jobs; rather than hiring people to work as cashiers, corporations opt to rely on computers as employees.
Not only does the self-checkout take away job opportunites for the unemployed, it's a stupid creation that is annoying to use. It also makes it easier for customers to shoplift (I've never done this, I'm just guessing).
Do you think this phase of the self-checkout will last long or die? Will it live on and take away more jobs from people? Do you hate the self-checkout as much as I do?
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- From: julia_h
- Name: Julia
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Comments (330)
I hate the self-checkout with a passion, but unfortunately, my husband loves it. He never looked for work at a grocery store though. He never filled out an application and took it back to the store the next day only to find they were no longer interested in hiring people because the manager decided to go the way of the self-checkout instead. Maybe with everyone needing work even more these days they'll start going out of style? I hope so.
Maybe we can boycott the darn things? I've been trying to get my husband to go to the human cashiers instead but he's stubborn. :p
There are things I DON'T like about it, such as the obnoxious blabbering, but overall it really helps speed up my day shopping!
i absolutely refuse to use them. Not only as you point out; they take jobs away from people in our neighborhoods that could add that money back into the very neighborhood but the companies who would have us use them do not give you a discount for doing someone's job for them.
The company has built into the cost of the item the cost of having a person there to cashier you out. By doing the self-checkout thing I am paying for that person being there and not getting the benefit of their doing their job.
Nope, not me... i do not ask anyone to take my money nor do i ask them to do more than i am paying them for... BUT i do want my money's worth when i do part with it.
Self-checkout = common sense. If you have large quantities, wait for a person! Those machines are designed with quick and easy in mind, not a large-scale order. I work at a Home Depot and I know for a fact that self-checkouts have not taken away jobs. I worked in the store prior to the machines coming in, and most days, we were lucky to have 2 cashiers max on the front line at all times. When we were the only ones on the front, people would complain about the line, and wish for these very machines. Once the machines were installed, people would still come to the regular register (Home Depot self-checkouts are a dual self/full serve system, so that customers have the option when there are no other registers available) citing "philosophical reasons", i.e. these machines take jobs away. In reality, it is the cashiers who choose not to come to work that are reinforcing management's decision to install these machines. About a month ago, we had 5 cashiers call out on a Sunday, yet the 4 self-checkout machines came to work, and Home Depot didn't have to pay them a dime! One would think that in a recession, people would be falling over to come to work, afraid that absenteeism will put them out on the street. I guess the attitude is the exact opposite.
@dubyavu@xanga - You're talking out of your ass. At the Home Depot I work at, it is not uncommon for me to be the lone cashier on the mainline, monitoring 4 self-checkout lanes while attending to the auxiliary mainline register attached to Self-Checkout. When those self-checkouts are generating errors, usually because of human ignorance and the failure to follow directions, I have to help each customer one person at a time. So no, you are NOT paying for me being at work so you can do MY job. I am doing my job and then some, because people don't want to work, despite the fact that we are in recession. View the world from a cashier's perspective before you misrepresent the facts.