Ask Lemmy

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.

I always use a cashier, since that means a normal person gets paid. Self-checkout just makes the rich richer.

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.

Yep. I don’t go to the store to work. Fuck that.

Y’all know this is just yet more transfer of wealth right?

Edit: Allow me to go further. You have heard of trickle down economics? Supporters say if you let billionaires keep more money, they will create jobs and the money trickles back down

Checkouts where you scan your own purchases is the perfect counter example. They charge the same, AND steal your productivity.

I generally prefer self-checkout because it's faster, but I will also use cashier if that is faster. I used to absolutely hate the cashiers, because you have to talk to them. But I've gotten better at the mandatory "hello," "how are you?" "have a good day"s as I've gotten older.

I do self checkout because I want to bag my own groceries. I bike with a trailer, and I want to be able to make sure all the crushable items are in one place so I can load them on top.

I never use self checkout. I stopped buying at two retailers who installed self checkout on more than half the lanes.

Self checkout is a job killer, and worse, is making customers do the job of paid employees for free.

Self-checkout, every time, anywhere it's available. It's faster and I don't have to talk to anyone.

I use the cashier because I don't work for the store, they do (it's not the best job, but they obviously need it). Corporations would love it if we stocked the shelves and mopped the floors, too. Maybe they could turn the lights out and we could use our phones' flashlights to save on electricity, as well. They could give rewards points for snitching on people who don't scan all their items ("Help keep prices down by joining our Volunteer Loss Prevention Program!").

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.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/24/us-news/olympian-former-valparaiso-university-softball-coach-meaggan-pettipiece/

I don't have time to skim the whole thread so I'll just say it. I go to the cashier because I like the conveyor belt.

I'm surprised more people don't know about the huge discounts you can get for using the self checkout, but only at big chain stores. 🏴‍☠️

Well la dee da, Mr. Moneybags here still buys groceries. 🧐

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.

Of course i use the cashier. First, because I'm there to shop, not to work. Second, because I support the cashiers job. Third, I simply don't like the robo checkouts.

And no, I'm definitely not "anti technology", like some people wondered. I f-ing develop computer chips and have been into Linux since kernel 0.97, so i'm definitely inside of tech.

If I have to go into the store, I'm probably not in a good mood so I use the self checkout.

Still feel bad about snapping at the poor lady who had to ask for my ID for cough medicine while I was sick as a dog...

Edit: I buy my groceries once a week thru the pickup service. I don't have to get out, I don't buy extra stuff. Easy peasy.

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.

I do. I got "randomly selected" at the self-checkout for a bag check four times in a row, each time the employee taking everything out of my bag. Got sick of that.

Self checkout takes at least twice the time as going past the cashier. I have to do both our jobs but don't magically have more hands. I only use it if I have 5 items tops or there is a very long line.

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.

No. A byproduct of self checkout has been the downward pressure on the quality and professionalism of cashiers to the point I'd rather do it myself than to subject myself to a level of incompetence that borders on feeble.

Cashier is not a career path many aspire to, but like any job there's a floor. I'm willing to admit maybe it is my area or maybe only the places I frequently, or leaded gasoline poisoning my brain to the point of overblown irrational anger. BUT I long for a courteous, competent experience at any service establishment. I expect a 50/50 chance at a positive experience anywhere I go that interacts with the service sector. Maybe it has always been that way.

But, yeah. DIY as much as possible.

Just walk out the door.

Cashier virtually every time. Self-checkout when I only have few items which is almost never.

If there's a cashier who has no line, 100% cashier. After that I make a judgment call on which will take longer.

Cashier. I like to help people keep their jobs.

If there are long lines at the cashiers or I only have a few items, I'm using self-checkout.

Only if I have bought a lot of stuff. I've used self checkouts wherever possible for what feels like 15+ years

Depends on the store. For big chains, the best discounts are always at the self checkout.

Always. The times I went to a self check out there was still a cashier looking over shoulders, fuck that.
Around here most store chains have tried them, few remain.

I make errors. I look like someone who might shoplift. I rather stay safe at the cashier.

Depends. Generally I prefer self checkout but it depends on the store and what self checkout options are available. It's sometimes quicker and often easier on my social anxiety.

Some self checkouts have scales in the bagging area though that means you have to wait over a second between scanning an item and placing it in a bag and scanning the next. It doesn't sound like a lot but it adds up and becomes infuriating, I spend maybe a quarter to a third of the time in those self checkouts just waiting for it to register so I can scan the next item.

Then there's those ones with the cameras that use AI to detect whether you have tried to steal something, usually I shop at 2-3 different stores in the shopping center so I can get everything at the lowest price so I always have stuff from other stores that triggers those systems, so I need a worker to come over anyway to enter their code and say I didn't steal anything which defeats both the time saving and the social interaction saving of the self checkout.

Generally I make a judgement about if I think I can get through the self checkout without it complaining about other items in my cart, or if I have to wait for the scale to detect that I've put a can of beans in the bag before scanning the next can of beans. If I don't think I can get through the self checkout with either of those things happening, it's usually far easier to just go to the cashier. Plus the cashiers are usually far nicer than the one person they have running between all of the self-checkouts to deal with the inevitable issues everyone faces. Often it's quicker too as sometimes it can take a while for a staff member to come punch in the code to clear the warnings.

I like Aldi's system where they scan and you bag, no bullshit just there to scan your items. It annoys me though that my local Aldi rarely has someone on the checkouts anymore so I have to use their annoying self checkout (they're one of the ones that weighs your bags and won't let you scan a couple things at a time before bagging).

Only for alcohol

Whreeti live, a lot of stores hire cashiers with disabilities (there are tax benefits etc.) So I always go to the cashiers to support those programs.

Almost always unless it’s an outlier situation. Stop and shop self-checkouts have a special place in hell.