Are self checkout lanes rare?

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Funny, but when I lived on the island of Montreal, I noticed a good number of self-checkout lanes in the newer and bigger grocery stores like IGA and Metro as well as most of the Walmarts.  Since fleeing to "moo cow country" I tend to be shopping in the same stores, more or less, but I have yet to see any self-checkout lanes.  

 

I'd have to guess the 'need' for self-checkouts is in part driven by store traffic.  The IGA or the Walmart in the nearest town is probably nowhere near as "busy" as one in the burbs of Montreal.   I also notice that the shoppers in this neck of the woods seem to be older than in the city (yes, I count myself as 'older' now, too...LOL)

 

 
 
Thought I would update:

Saturday evening I went to Walmart and noticed next to the self checkout "corral" they added a self checkout with a conveyor belt.

As I was leaving, I noticed on the other end of the manned checkouts, another "corra" of self checkouts has been added just like the other with its own overseer podium. There was only one personchecking out onthese while the others were all busy. These seem to have replaced some "short lanes" that were manned but did not have conveyors and were installed on twis, that is in the length of one regular lane they had two short lanes.

Another umusual thing I noticed were lots of metal benches lined up against the corral walls of the self checkouts facing toward the front of the store. I had not noticed these before.

There were also tables with microwave ovens on them, I wonder if these are for those that don't have power at home because of the hurricane Irma to heat meals and possibly sit on the benches to cool off and eat.
 
I was in our Walmart the other day and also noticed that the self-checkouts had returned after about a  years hiatus and, right next to the corral now too.. they used to be about halfway down the mile of never open regular checkouts  
 
yall know they are trying to get rid of cash

I say cash is king... only place to get organic in this little town grocery store wise is Wally world...
I only use the cashiers. They have added even more self checkout. AH dont price match any more either.
I usually bring my own cloth bags too.
the elite wants to control everthing we do etc so they can tax us(cattle and useless eaters thatthe elite call us)... I listen to Katherine Abrecht of "the Spychips" the co arthor...
RFID chips.... she explains .. they want to chip us all too...also RBN on internet radio...talks aout what is really going on...
its none of their business what we buy either. that why loyalty cards were started years ago. to track everything we buy. remember that Tom Cruise movie? wasnt it "the Minority Report"? also "1984 "and listen to DR Wynn Parker. on "RBN" he will tell you things to make your blood run cold...
yeah I used to use self checkouts only back when we lived in the city....but no more. More and more AI is being used , too.
thanks all
 
I use self-checkout at Walmart and Sam's Club. Have noticed there is rarely a regular lane open at Walmart early in the morning (6:00-7:30), or one is open with no cashier in sight.

Dave-- The most common problem I have with Walmart self-checkout is the "Unexpected item in the bagging area" error, which requires a worker to reset something. Thanks for the tips on how to avoid that. Didn't realize one should be behind the empty cart and push, not pull, it past the machine. In fact, didn't know the machine could even sense cart movement. Good to know.
 
I was a cashier while in high school, way before scanning registers were even thought of, back when you had to manually punch in all codes and prices.....

and I was sure as hell a lot faster than these lazy ass cashiers today!......not only can they not operate a register without looking at the keys, but they can't even make change without the help of a register....

I jump at self-check outs when available.....I can scan and bag a whole shopping cart faster than a 2 piece order through an Express Lane....
 
actually, has anyone been to a Walmart.....approach a register with lines, and they quickly open another register....

"our associates are the faster ever"

yeah, fast to disappear if you need help!

this is the biggest joke ever......

 
Our chain

had them by 2000. One cashier to watch 4 check outs was the drawback. Shoplifters loved it. Then we got cameras and that helped.
We could follow the thief from the store to their vehicle via the digital recordings, read their license plate, and the police showed up at their front door if they didn't catch them en route.

The only complaint I have using then is they can become slow, when they need recalibrating.
 
We’ve two types

We’ve had self scan checkout going right back to the mid 1990s when one of the higher end Irish supermarkets introduced hand held scanners that you just scan as you shop, load your reusable bags directly as you go. Then you just hand back the scanner and it uploads the items to the till, you pay and walk out.

Only SuperValu (nothing to do with the US chain of the same name) seems to use those.

The rest all have the talking check out systems with the scales. Those systems have been in use since at least 2003/4 and seem to be cropping up in smaller retailers like Spar now too.

They’ve become pretty ubiquitous at this stage.
 
I've heard on a radio program ('the talk during the morning drive') that one new feature to bring security to self-check scanners one-step-further, is installing face-level cameras, as opposed to solely rely on over-head surveillance (which only recently have improved resolutions w/o the blur)...

If only some of these developments could have been invented and/or implemented sooner, as it would have saved a lot of losses due to theft...

-- Dave
 
Whole Foods

Our WF took the self checkout away. Rumored to be a point of high shoplifting.

The worst stores for self checkout, Kroger. Constantly get the wait for cashier assistance nonsense. Additionally, they have two overhead monitors that are supposed to indicate the number of registers open, number of people in line, and average wait time. Worthless nonsense, IMO.

Malcolm
 
Walmart, Kroger, and Home Depot here have them.  At night the self check lanes are the ONLY lanes open at both Kroger stores in town and at Walmart! I was a cashier at Walmart when I was in college so I can get through pretty darn quick.  Kroger annoys me because it won't allow a person to remove the full bags from the stand to place in the buggy without giving that annoying "Attendant has been notified to assist you" warning.  It ticks me off!  When the ones in Walmart start talking back at me I argue with them...makes people think I'm weird or something!  Kind of like arguing with a GPS device in the car.
 
For most checkout procedures, I prefer the self operated lanes. The places that don't have them take longer to do the process. Wasting my  time waiting for another person to check out my order is not going to keep checkers' jobs around. I remember how awful it was to get out of HD when they only had humans doing the checking and far too few of them at that. Now it's a breeze.
 
The now defunct "Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets"

 

 

In 2007 a "new" type of market started popping up in CA (AZ & NV too) called "Fresh & Easy".   A European type store owned (at the time) by the UK supermarket giant, Tesco.  In Nov, 2013 Fresh & Easy was purchased by an American private equity firm.   They opened too many stores too fast and... unable to sustain, started closing stores and filed bankruptcy in 2015.  My local "Neighborhood Market" a half mile away (photo below) is still sitting empty after 2 years.  Another near by location and been reopened as a Filipino (Asian) market.  

 

I liked the concept and they had some good products (pre-packaged meats, etc) but found myself going there mostly for "convenience items" as it was much faster getting in and out than the regular market around the corner.

 

Back to the subject at hand... the two interesting things about Fresh & Easy were, #1 all the checkout lanes were 100% self checkout.  Some with the "bagging area" next to it, the rest with automated conveyors and a much larger bagging area, like in a regular market.  Their system worked well and I rarely had issues scanning anything.  I<span style="font-size: 12pt;">nteresting thing #2: yes while it was all self checkout, there were always from 1 to 4 employees near the check out lanes to assist if needed and THEY (quite often) bagged your groceries for you!</span>

  

As for other stores with self checkout, my local Home Depot has 4, one grocery store I go to has 4 or 6, but 2 other markets don't have any and my local Costco does not have self checkout. 

 

On a side note, when I was looking for photos to post, I came across this article from last year saying "Self checkout makes shoplifting easier"  See the link below.

 

Kevin

http://www.vocativ.com/350018/study-confirms-self-checkout-makes-shoplifting-easier/
revvinkevin-2017092113041904035_1.jpg

revvinkevin-2017092113041904035_2.jpg
 

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