Self Checkout.........

I only use self checkout at the commissary when I don't have any cash to give the baggers. I fucking hate having baggers. I'd rather bag and take out my own groceries than have a 70 year old little Asian lady. I mean, I kind of feel like a shit bag having a senior carry my groceries.

Otherwise, I avoid self-checkout. I'm horrible at it, and I generally have two small children with me, who will fucking destroy everything within eyesight by the time I finished scanning my stuff.

 

careful, law enforcement checks out this site

 

My mom was a manager in a grocery store and she said the same thing. But her boss would say. These kids are making $8. An hour. That is the help you get for $8. An hour.

Now as for all this bagging thing. I am confused. You scan the item then put it in a bag. What is the problem with the bag. Is it that you don't want to pay for the 1cents extra for one of those produce bags? Then just scan it first then put it in the bag.

 

Having never used them, I'm curious about whether or not it is possible to check out a box of saltine crackers that you've secretly emptied and refilled with cans of tuna fish or expensive cuts of meat. Or, take a gallon jug of distilled water into the bathroom and empty it into the sink, and then take it to the liquor aisle and fill it with their most expensive vodka, and then go through the self checkout. Who needs coupons?

 

why did you need ice for work?

 

Storch you would have better luck just pretending you swiped it and put it in the bag.

 

the vodka, probably. the saltines, maybe, but it would be harder.

the machine knows the weight of each item and if you put something in the bagging area that weighs more or less than the machine expects, it won't let you continue. usually it's a pretty effective system, although i used to have all kinds of trouble buying koolaid packets on self checkout since they weigh nothing and the machine expects you to bag something.

i buy ice for work fairly often. we do lots of athletic type events that require coolers with cold water.

although in this particular situation, it was for a company picnic sort of event. which you could argue is more of a party than work, except i had better things to do that day but was required to go to this instead because of my position, and hang out with the coworkers that i don't care to hang out with.

 

Ohhh I don't think the ones I went to had the weight thing. Because more than one I didn't even put my items in a bag and had no problems.

 

This happens to me. I sometimes think that one time there will be a little leprechaun sitting in the baggage area smoking a joint.

 

That conjures up a new idea. Requiring particular groups of people to be in particular lines as opposed to basing it on number of items.

Single Guy line for those with a few items. Cashiers will anticipate having to do age checks because of the girlie magazines.

Senior Citizens line. The cashier would anticipate and handle return requests by seniors who found out that an item they bought last week is on sale this week and they want to save 20 cents.

Moms and Their Annoying Screaming Little Kids line. This would get them out of the way of all the other shoppers.

Dreadlocks line. This will make it easy for the store to unfairly single out all people with dreads for unwarranted intense security searches and interrogation.

 

I prefer the self-checkout as I am usually done before the computer has finished tallying everything and spits out a receipt.
I'm the one standing there holding my bags talking to the machine; "C'mon, give me my damn receipt!"

 

It's not just that, big picture wise the concept behind it is idiotic.

As more jobs go thanks to technology more countries will think about legislating for universal welfare as some countries already are, or legisllating for companies to spend a certain percentage on Labour/ no of employees.

I believe the former more likely to happen.

Hike up corporate or goods tax to pay for welfare. Those chains will put in the robots to save pennies, and up paying the same in extra tax, basically for those former employees to sit at home

 

Someone still stands at the self scan where I usually go, to help old people and check Ids when people buy alcohol, collect baskets, yell at kids for touching the scale, etc tc.

So I don't really think it has taken anyone's job, at least for now

But once the older generaction, the last one to never really use computers, dies off I can see grocery stores installing more self checkouts and hiring less people

 

they do that here too...there is one there that watches everyone like a hawk

probably trying to catch them putting in false produce codes

 

One that I went to the girl was barely looking in the area of the scanners

 

The one here they do have someone monitoring it as well. Probably for reasons of theft but also they do occasionally need to input items as they will not scan. For example any reduced meat or produce has to be manually done.

 

Personally I’d rather have them looking at me rather than acting like some third rate spy pretending they’re not.



Hotwater

 

So hotwater. Would you be upset if you thought nobody was watching you because then you are thinking they are a first rate spy?

 

yeah, there's someone watching here too. it never occurred to me that it had to do with theft; if you really wanted to steal something i don't see why you would fake a checkout when it's just as easy to just walk out the door with it.

every person who is ever on self checkout in front of me is incapable of figuring out how the machine works, so they always need some sort of human assistance. plus, you need someone to check IDs for alcohol, and someone has to come put in a code when the scale disagrees with whatever you've put on it. so i always assumed that those reasons were why someone was paid to stand there.

 

There are right ways of handling surveillance and then there are wrong ways, a little training wouldn’t hurt


Hotwater