what do you think about self serve checkout ?

I first came across a few of these human replacements of steel and plastic which are more than bi-lingual in their approach . I all their inanimate presence they were not something that stood out above the other assorted machinery that haunts the aisles of home depot . I visited this cinder block supported super box store with great mental Resistance , an emergency you could say and puddle jumped the multiple oil leak offerings that were common place throughout the massive parking lot and entered at my own risk .

After what seemed like hours I located the item I searched for and let me add not with the assistance of never present store attendants , found my way back to the front only by the detection of the breeze that drifted through entrance doors other than this I lost all sense of direction .

I noticed an odd thing , people in lines without the presence of a cashier , but in the rush to exit this fortress I did not investigate and proceeded to enter another long line where I waited , what did get my attention were the darting eyes always to the left and the speed the cashiers seemed to be having difficulty maintaining as they dragged , lifted , scanned , key-punched and bagged while smiling in honor of the minimum wage , then it struck me , the over head signs of self checkout and this was the competition and the focus of the in need of a paycheck cashiers .

Is this the end of the working class hero , the end of the day when you could say ,good to see you again Brenda , have a nice day ?

A lot of the tools I often buy are in the "tool corral" and not eligible for self-checkout.

Likewise, many chemicals like paint thinner have to go through a human checker.

Paint thinner, I mean.

I have no info one way or the other on donkey balls, but prefer to keep it that way.

and don't do as good a job as the human being they replaced would do. Their only advantages are that they don't require a weekly paycheck and they don't need lunch or potty breaks.

I refuse to use them.

at grocery stores where I live. I NEVER use them. Eventually it will lead to the loss of jobs, as you said. We cannot let this happen.......

I'd rather wait in line. I always feel like I'm doing my little part to help save someone's job.

be a lot worse in my neighborhood.

I've used them before and they work o.k. but I don't like this trend at all.

Where I now live we don't have them but if they introduce them, I won't use them.

Bush's booming economy and all. Working people need to stick together.

rather than wait in a long line. I told her (she was dressed like a supervisor) that I wouldn't ever use one because they take away jobs, good union jobs, I might add!

that question. No union jobs around here; but nonetheless. . .When they ask me or try to grab my cart and pull me over to the self check so they can "help me figure it out." I just laugh at them and say, "not a chance, lady. I like the FABULOUS PEOPLE that work here!" And I say it loud enough that anyone in the front half of the store hears me.

people who weren't even out of diapers when I was tearing apart my first computer.

but I never gave it a second thought, and used them all the time. Then, I was shopping with my dad, and headed for the self-checkout aisle. He said, in a tone clearly intended to make a point,"I never use those." Me: "Why not?" He was completely incredulous, and talked about loss of jobs, screwing working people, etc. I felt about 2 inches tall. I slinked over to a regular aisle, and have never used one again.

I was raised with the right values, but like every kid, I sometimes forget.

:blush:

If most kids are like that, then I guess we're doomed.

In the meantime, I use the grocery store that doesn't have them. And it's got lower prices, too.

Granted, it's one person manning all four self-checkers instead of four separate cashiers, but the jobs were already gone before they put the self-checkers in. It aids in convenience, but was the result - at least here - of jobs already lost, not the other way around.

There will always be customers who can't be trained to use the machines because they are very young, or elderly, or have vision problems, etc.

And I complain loudly about it when I'm in line.

So many people are needed to code and automate everything and correct errors (so many problems with these machines), not to mention the fact that I haven't noticed any fewer grocery personnel in the stores that have these!

It's astonishing how many jobs I've worked where automation has actually created more work, usually in the form of fixing inaccuracies and bugs.

The downside is that workers become more invisible and thus easier to abuse and underpay and outsource to people who may not have hands-on experience in a supermarket.

I use the self-checkout, but not when I have a week's worth of groceries. Does anyone do that?

I would never use it when I am buying $200 worth of stuff.

or the one guy here charged with servicing a couple of hundred machines?

Give me a break.

Seriously.

to get the job? 100? 1000?

Think bank tellers.

ATMs do NOT put people out of work. Neither does online banking.

Here is a partial list of work created by the existence of ATMs:

- Hardware engineering
- Software engineering - Not just for the machine itself; bank software (think Office Space) :-)
- Manufacturing - from plant managers down to assemblers and shippers (and hey, most are made in the USA)
- Everyone involved in the production of raw materials and components
- ATM installation
- Telecommunications work
- Network operations
- Security
- ATM servicing
* In a bank branch this is done by tellers and branch supervisors.
* Remote machines have dedicated servicers who work the machines full time (and would otherwise be tellers)
- Maintenance and repair technicians
- Accounting work to keep the machines reconciled and balanced
- Dispute resolution and handling of complaints (done by people who might otherwise be tellers)
- Producing, coding, and issuing ATM cards (done by people who might otherwise be tellers)

It's nonsense to say that ATMs put people out of work. Some kinds of work, like simple deposits and withdrawals and counting $20 bills, can be done BETTER and FASTER and CHEAPER by machines, which frees up humans to do higher-value tasks. (ATM deposits are still processed by tellers BTW.)

You're using a computer. How dare you put stenographers and postal workers out on the street!

Seriously, I used to write procedures for tellers before I became an information systems analyst. Then, a very insightful boss required every systems analyst and other back-office people to spend three days working a teller station. IT SUCKED! Being a teller is a SHITTY, LOW-PAYING JOB!

And as is the case with the self-checkout stations there are and will ALWAYS be banking tasks that cannot be done without human intervention.

I am still not convinced that self-checkout machines have (net) put anyone out of work.

read the paper and you will see that big banks are laying off thousands
and outsourcing or consolidating whole depts to India etc,
while the CEOS give themselves 10-20Million bonuses.

Sickening.

And now the banks have added little ATMs inside the bank to
push people away from the tellers.

So are many of the other jobs in a financial institution. There has never been a union for bank employees, and probably never will be.

I'm all for machines taking over grunt work.

You learn something every day. I'm sure as a systems analyst you make more than a bank teller......this is very good news.

BTW, I use self service check out when I have under 10 items. 50 % of my store's customers shop AT LEAST once a day because we don't have cars. I love getting in/out quickly with 3 items vs standing in line behind a full wagon.

Didn't Charlie's dad get a job fixing the machine that was designed to replace him on the assembly line?

I think this is one area where government should invest - retraining efforts -so that employees can better their lot once they've been laidoff or replaced, particularly for low-skilled, undereducated employees.

service, and program computers? That way they can earn at least as good a living as they lost, probably even better...

Oh wait,...

See, it's just like religion, the pay-off is alway after you've made your sacrifice, unless somebody changes their mind.

:D

contact. The more we have of this kind of thing, the worse off I think we're going to be, as a society.

Most stores don't hire enough employees to run the check out lines anyway. I hate going into a store and seeing two or three long checkout lines with 10-20 unmanned checkout lanes. So, if the issue is jobs, then one would first have to have those checkouts manned for those jobs to be eliminated.

I don't know what HomeDepot's checkout situation is like, because I don't shop there, but this is based on other experiences - Wal-Mart, HEB, etc.

As far as using them - I'll used them if they're open and I need to get out of the store quickly, but I had automation. I like dealing with people, because I want to look them in the eye to make sure they understand what I want; that's why I hate drive throughs. I want to talk to the person face-to-face.

Retail stores are very pressured to keep selling costs down, and that means few cashiers. There would be no extra cashiers working if the self service units weren't there -- just longer lines. I am pro-labor, and a union member. I also used to work as a retail manager, and we weren't allowed to keep enough cashiers... it's not profitable.

Just like some libraries using self checkout: it doesn't eliminate any Circulation jobs, it just eases the pressure for everyone.

no chance of shoplifting or pilfering, they don't go on maternity leaves, they don't hurt their backs lifting something heavy, they never start store gossip, they don't ask for medical benefits...in other words. they are the PERFECT employee, according to management..

Of course, most customers HATE them, and who knows? maybe those customers will start shopping at the OTHER place that has real live humans :)

Etc.

and probably "contract" worker would be the norm there..

So far nobody has come up with any hard evidence that self-checkout machines reduce the number (or quality) of jobs available to working class people.

checking out people and "supervising" 4 machines?...an outside service or an inhouse computer service person servicing machines??

4 former checkers + 1 still there = 5 humans working and earning a check
1 checker , checking and "helping" people with 4 machines + outside non-store-specific repair person= less human earning power..

I have worked in the grocery business. It's ALL about the "graph" and cutting hours whereever possible.. Every pay period we had a "do not call in" list for people who had worked "too much"..and a "desperate" list for people who were working the bare minimum 20 hrs.. they were kept low, so they would always come in when called..

checking out people and "supervising" 4 machines?...an outside service or an inhouse computer service person servicing machines??

Don't forget all the people involved in designing, manufacturing, programming, shipping, etc. those machines.

I have worked in the grocery business. It's ALL about the "graph" and cutting hours whereever possible.. Every pay period we had a "do not call in" list for people who had worked "too much"..and a "desperate" list for people who were working the bare minimum 20 hrs.. they were kept low, so they would always come in when called..

I worked in a small non-union grocery store for a summer when I was 15. My pay was $2.35 per hour. I'm under the impression that (at least in non-union stores) the situation you describe has always been the reality of that kind of work. Have the self-checkout machines really made it any different for low-wage workers? They've always been put under pressure as you describe by management.

I did the graph, scheduled people, and saw the memos:)

I've said all I have to say on the subject.. I'm sure someone's out there crunching the numbers on human vs robot.. I'll watch for an article.. too lazy to "research" an obvious (to me at least):hi:

I was thinking in terms of the overall economy.

Thanks!

In fact, I prefer grocery stores that emphasize good checkout service.

I don't want to work for free for the grocery stores,
I don't want to work for free so that some hoggish CEO can have a bigger bonus.

Wont do it.

I always go to the store with the best service if I can.

I support jobs, and not big fat rich CEOs who screw the employees out
of a living wage.

Why do I want to make CEOS wealthier?
They already are out of control and making them richer puts more
money in the GOP political machine.

You are asserting that it increases the number of jobs - so provide the numbers for that assertion rather than demanding this of others.

I'm just questioning what LOOKS like a knee-jerk assumption that offloading, to a machine, some of the menial tasks that people in low-wage jobs do in a retail store, hurts working people overall.

That assumption resembles things that people say just about every time a new machine is invented.

But I feel guilty using them, because of course they are eliminating two jobs - the check out person and the bagger person.

But I get so frusterated waiting in line for people to finish talking or for someone to ring up 30 items then think "oh right I guess i better get out my credit card" that I do usually use them.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

though the lines are sometimes shorter. Personally I have no desire to ring up my own purchase if I'm not getting a discount for saving the store some money.

Not if you don't take longer than a store employee. ;)

I don't need a screen to remind me to bag each purchase as I scan it or for the software to lock up when my five year old leans on the counter and adds a little weight to my purchases- these things slow me down. Checkers can fix the problem when the wrong bar code scans (as when one of those things tried to charge me for one bottle of water instead of a case,) can enter coupons easily and don't have to feed money into thier register one bill at a time.

Even without the structural disparities of course they're faster than me, they ring up purchases 40 hours a week. That's the idea behind specialization, it frequently makes more sense to pay somebody to get really good at a job than for everybody to make a hash of it sometimes. Otherwise I'd have to order some pleather and spend a few days making some rather rudimentary shoes instead of paying for a professional to make much nicer ones in minutes.

I'm used to using brand new ones that work well. The bill feeders are as fast as hand counting, I go faster than an employee if I'm really in a hurry, the scanners are tightly focused, and they don't crash. Also, the line is usually shorter, which more than makes up for time lost in the operation.

then wait for the scales to record the weight of the item, send it back to the scanner to reset and get ready for the next item.

If you have produce, make sure you know those 4-digit codes, or else you have to go through a menu.

When I worked as a checker, I could scan about 20 items per minute (1 every 3 seconds). On these machines, I'm at about 2-3 per minute, and I know all the produce codes. ok: maybe 5 per minute, but still...

Why waste an extra 10 to 15 minutes of my time standing in a line I don't need to?

Assuming it's not Christmas Eve or anything. As I said, the automated checkouts I've tried (at home depot and albertsons, stores I'm not wild about to begin with) don't save any time over a real cashier, except if I only have one or two items. The screen reminding me to bag each item after it's scanned (because otherwise I'm just going to toss it over my shoulder or something?) is a huge time waster.

Whenever I have the option to use them, I do. I like doing things for myself.

I use them if I have a few items and pay with cash. Rarely will I use them with a large order and paying by check.

I prefer to go to a cashier than use the auto check out. It is way too slow for me.

So I never see the things.

I never set foot in Home Depot, either.

I prefer quality materials.

in restaurants.

Wish my town would do this. But our effing "Democrat" mayor just can't encourage suburban sprawl fast enough. If it's green, he wants it pave over and turned into a big box.

How cool is that? We are a town of around 5000.

No gas stations, no pharmacy.

But we have 3 yacht clubs.

but I do use them when I only have a few items and don't want to stand in a line for a real-person checker.

I think many people do, there are lines at the checkouts that have checkers and open self check lanes. I don't know if this is because people are afraid to use the self check or like me they prefer human interaction.
I have tried the self check when I only have a couple of things, and had to have a sales person come and fix the checker for me.

for the reason you suggested -- they often malfuction. I also hate the way they tell me to put stuff in the bag that I've already bagged and the way they don't keep up with my speed in pushing the buttons so they often ask me to do something I've already done. I really hate them!

But, like folks above, if I only have a few items and the lines are long to get a real person I do use them. I think the stores around here understaff checkers so that more people will use the machines. I try not to go to stores that have them, but then I also try to put my errands together to save gas so sometimes I'm stuck.

the line is so long I give up. I usually end up behind someone who has never used one or has $200 worth of goods, when I have 1 pint of ice cream! My Publix supermarkets don't have them anyway.

"ownership society" on us - translation: You do all the work, we keep all the money and get to fire 14 - 18 people per store. In addition, for those of you that are just so busy that the 2 - 3 minutes you *might* save makes a difference, just wait until self-checking is your only option, the price mis-scanned, or you cannot find the produce code, or you are buying some liquor/wine/beer, and the one person that kept their job is helping the other 7 people that also need assistance. How much time do you think that is going to take?

We must start thinking about how what we allow them to do effects other people. Unless your job requires your physical presence you are eventual going to compete with someone, somewhere, that will do your job for a tiny fraction of what you need to live. (or you are a lawyer, in which case congress will save your/their position) In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "We must hang together or we will surely all hang separately".

Look at it another way , if these things catch on they can and most likely will become the host of all stores where a cashier has a job . Any grocery store and so on . How about driving your car in for repair and deal with a punch screen to enter what you feel is wrong with your car ?

I recall when ATM's came on the scene around 1981 . I never minded walking into a bank and have a real person to dealw with , it was a personal exchange and everyone did it . Maybe at first it was easier to walk up to a machine when it was simply a deposite and a cash withdrawl but it did not take long before this evolved into lines and people filling signing checks and imputting all sorts of information , it is not longer a quick choice option and it's takes longer and you stand in the sun or rain . It was easy to figure what you needed for the week in cash and went off .

If everyone is in such a rush then never complain about the human service you don't get when you need it , now that everyone has jumped on the self serve high tech world , realize you have helped this along , they don't hire people of experience , they hire cheap labor to fill in for that personal touch .

I used to know the cashiers names at the grocery store , not to stand there and chat but to say hello how are you and they could talk and work at the same time . There used to be thrifty drug stores , personal , freindly , human , now it's rite aid , cheap and rushed and useless .

I've done it at the grocery store a couple times and it's ended up with me rushing from the store with my head hung low and the customers behind me ready to rip me apart limb by limb. God forbid you need to ring up produce, b/c if you didn't write the code down in the produce department when you picked up the apples or whatever, you're so screwed. The first time I did it I was with my dad and stepmother - both very intelligent people. We caused such an uproar that my Dad refused to go to the store for me the rest of the week he was visiting - his main activity and my way to grab 15 minutes of sanity.
I look at those machines as having ruined any future visits by my parents, because if I can't get them to the store for just a little break then I'll have to go nuts! There also highly creepy and so frigging sensitive - move your hand the wrong way and it admonishes you to return the item and ring it up even if you have no item. I hate being guilt whipped by a metal box with a British accent, so I avoid them altogether. I'll wait in line all day for a cashier rather than risk the humiliation.

we have a grouping of 4 self-serve checkouts in my grocery store. They always have a checker at a station by the end of the 4 to help, get credit card signatures, etc. He/she still has a job, just not doing the actual scanning/bagging. So I do not feel bad about using them there.

or the other 95% of the checkers that will be eliminated once you've started doing their jobs for free, actually better than doing it for free, you are paying the store to work for the store?

4 people by scanning groceries in fast line, or 4 people in self-check out "help me!" line. Either way, she/he has a job and checks out same amount of people. I don't see this costing 16-20 people their jobs.

I also like to bag my own groceries, have done this for years (too much time working food coop when younger).

And I pump my own gas, check my own oil.

A bagger can handle the bagging at two stations it they're good. If you live in a big city, the store is open 24 hours a day, 4 self-check stations = 4 checkers and two baggers times 3 shifts = 18 people minus the 3 that will watch the self-check stations makes 15 jobs eliminated.

If you like bagging your own groceries, more power to you, but there is a big difference between letting uppityperson bag their own and not hiring the person who's job it was to do what your doing, for free BTW. Also, since you worked in that business, you should know how really bad most people are at bagging groceries.

Speaking of pumping your own gas, do you remember how much of a discount the corporations gave us when they started making us do their work for them?

enough hours to survive, and some may even lose benefits since they are tied to a minimum of hours worked..

That means more work in the store, and all the way up the supply chain.

only with your scenario, it's less people. all things being equal, you have less people working in the store, and different people working on different machines.
net job loss.

Increased sales means incrementally more work for everyone involved in the supply chain.

Whether or not all those little bits of work here and there add up to the number of full-time equivalents that the store has hypothetically let go, we cannot say.

moves that profit out of my community. No thanks, I'd rather stand in line for a real person, who will take that paycheck (however small it is) and spend a bigger portion locally.

Besides eliminating jobs for company profits, it's not like they are willing to share the wealth by offering me a discount for doing that job myself.

Maybe things will improve as people become more familiar with the process, but right now it seems like the self-serve people take twice as long to get out.

I hate those fucking things!!

I usually see up-tight Repuklithugican-types using them. THAT alone makes me shy away from them!

Plus, they eliminate JOBS!!! It's one more way the corporate world is trying to SCREW the poorest among us -- deny people entry-level jobs.

And it is one more way that corporate America tries to isolate all of us into our own little worlds by minimizing human contact!

I ALSO HATE ATM's and REFUSE to use them -- for many of the same reasons!!

they are trying to eliminate.

In supermarkets, in Banks, in telephone companies, and in other places in CORPORATE America, the Suits are always thinking of ways to SCREW the little person out of a job!

They either try to do away with it altogether (ATM's), or they fucking OUTSOURCE it to someplace overseas!!!

In so doing, they are trying to BREAK the BACKS of the Unions!

I HATE THOSE MANAGEMENT LACKEYS in the suits!!!!!! FUCK EM!

Only the ones in the north. I know HEB is non-union.

I use them if I think I can save time. Too many items and that time savings disappears.

supermarket chains are unionized maybe with the exception of WalMart and these are the chains that are trying to get you to check and bag your own groceries, their new slave laborers, their customers. I also had a friend who worked for a mom and pop grocery store, non-union, yet they paid their workers comparable wages and benefits to keep the union out. So unionization works for everyone including non-members, but when you start eliminating jobs then there's nothing the union can do except stand back and watch what's going on.

Some of the big chains operate both union and non-union stores. Unfortunately, I think it's a regional thing.

friends and family in high school/college.

2 years to make journeyman, then you've got a nice pay rate, decent hours (flexibility), benefits and a retirement.

I think these self serve checkouts are great. I have virtually no line when I use them and can zip right through the checkout and get home.

Best thing to hit grocery stores in some time.

...and you have to deal with a human.

:eyes:

Makes it quicker for me, so I don't really care.

Good Gaia, so it makes it quicker for YOU!!???

And YOU don't care???!!!

Many of us DO care about what happens to the poor and those trying to make a living in this crummy economy!

We think that EVERYONE is entitled to a Decent Job with Decent Wages and Benefits!

Many of us have learned how NOT to place ourselves as the most important things around!!

Many of us have learned to CARE for other people!!

Do you order your tickets for movies online?
Do you bank online?
Do you book vacations online?
Like I said, there are dozens of examples where this has happened without complaint.

My answers to your questions, in the order you asked them:

NO! (I rarely drive a gas-consuming automobile, but when I do, and when I must fill-up, I go to my favorite station that provides an attendant to pump the gas for me -- and I always tip the attendant for his service to me!)

NO! (I purchase my movie tickets from a REAL person at the theater!)

NO! (As I said earlier, I don't even use ATM's! I prefer dealing face-to-face with a bank employee -- usually a teller)

NO! (I use either a travel agent or I book over the phone with a real person who represents the airline or AMTRAK or the rental car firm)

I was actually discussing this over the weekend in New York. My gf and I were there visiting some friends. We wondered how we lived prior to the Internet. I booked my hotel room online. Bought my train tickets online. Had used an EZ Pass to get to the train station. Made reservations for dinner online. Bought theater tickets online. Used an ATM card for all of it; the money on that card was entered via direct deposit.

And there will always be some people who don't care about putting other people out of jobs and causing economic deprivation in the name of "convenience"!

How about the ex-pony express riders?

Got any?

you're advocating for doing things in the most inconvienient, labor intensive matter possible as a job-creation strategy?

But apparently, you have no problem using a machine to argue against the use of machines. Shouldn't you, like, come over to theboss's house to continue this discussion? Or at least give him/her a phone call?

and I have no regrets for using a self check out.

I'm happy for you in the fact you want to use the regular line and I support your right to use one.

Good luck to you in all future endeavors.

kind of like "i've got mine, fuck you." huh? After all, you don't work for the store so why should you care?

I'm not saying,"F#ck you" to them like you suggest. I always wish the best on others and get that same respect in return.

If you don't like self-checkouts, don't use them. Its your choice and I respect it.

to feed their family or themselves.

Because you are going to want somebody to care about whatever ends up screwing your life when it happens.

Did you miss this part of "life 101"? It is the idea that we are in this together, every man for himself is what the other guys advocate, are you sure you're in the right place?

I'm sorry I don't support your ideals on automated check outs. Are you sure your attitude of with us completely on ideology or against all together is the correct one?

Jeesh, the Democrat party I've always supported includes many different ideas, or at least it used too.

I choose not to pretend I'm concerned about automated processes. The fact you use a computer tells me you don't care about the jobs that they have eliminated......Just to let you know, they have eliminated many more jobs than an automated check-out.

SO keep on preaching to this peon who has dared to have a differing opinion than you.

has ALWAYS supported things like the little guy and more JOBS!

I wasn't aware that the Democratic Party embrace a "screw you, I've got mine" attitude.

And I am also not aware that the Democratic Party has said, "Let's Eliminate Jobs!"

Differing opinions. Like or leave it, I care as much about arguing with you as I care about a store going to automated check outs.

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Why does that sound so familiar??

Oh yeah, I know.
It's the repub motto.

It takes away jobs and why should I be free labor for the gas station and supermarket? The savings are not passed on. Sure at first you could get gas a little cheaper if you pumped your own, but as soon as all the full service gas stations were replaced by the self-service ones the prices shot right up again. I don't think the supermarkets are even bothering with that ruse. Your groceries cost the same even if you checkout and bag your own, at least it's that way at my local supermarkets.

your own gas. Full-service stations are a thing of the past.

your own gas. You have to have a service station attendant do it for you. Yet, gas in Oregon is always cheaper than in California where you have to pump your own.

It was sweeeet!! They even wash your windshield! The minute I crossed over the state line to Washington, I paid 13 cents more per gallon for the pleasure of pumping it myself!!

every month with receipts written up for each fill. Now and then one of the pumpers asks, "you want that wrote up?"

I don't like that they eliminate jobs. Plus, the greedy stores don't even offer a discount on items purchased through the self check lanes.

Speaking of stores, I don't like the finger scanners either and have no intention of using those.

Yes, I know they replace workers but so has almost EVERY technological innovation.

They're quick, they're easy, and people are still scared of them so there's almost never a line.

First of all, they freak out if you want to use paper bags, so you have to wait for a checker to reset it. Then they decide that you've put something extra in the bag, even when you haven't so you have to wait for the checker to reset it. Then it can't read the bar code, or it gets the price on a sale item wrong and....well, you get the picture. Rarely have I used one with more than 3 or four items and had it go smoothly.

I'd rather have a human helping me who makes a decent wage. As much as the damn markets are charging lately, they should be able to afford humans.

Topps Supermarkets here use machines so buggy that I'll never use them (not a big deal, because I don't shop there anyway).

Giant Eagle stores use a different machine. It's fast, reliable and easy. The only time I don't use them is when I'm buying alcohol and the "wandering cashier" who monitors the self-checkout lanes is busy (alcohol requires a cashier manually approve the sale). Giant Eagle even has baggers that roam the self-checkout lanes to bag your groceries for you occasionally. Not all machines are created equal...there are some that are a breese to use.

I also use coupons. They scan in easily and have always worked.

I guess the local Wal-Mart I go to is just better run than most.

I haven't been there since the 80s.

Shopping at Albertson's is bad enough.

All the competition has been run off. The Wal-Mart I go to is exceptionally run though. I recently went into another Wal-Mart in a different town and was surprised how crappy it was.

Imagine tossing all your purchases into a bag and just walking out the front door with no human in sight. That's the future plan in retailing. Each item you "purchase" will have an RFID chip installed which will be detected at the exit and your checking account will be automatically debited. Humans, BAH, who needs 'em! Welcome to the 21st Century. Now where'd I park my flying car?

Don't have to talk to anybody which suits me fine.

Once in a great while I will use one for a handful of items, then they usually malfunction. I do like that there always seems to be one available when I need it. The big buts; I hate that at the prices I'm paying that I'm expected to check myself out and that I know in my heart this is only the first step to cutting thousands of jobs nationwide.

1. The eliminate jobs.
2. I am having to do work for the grocery store that I am paying good money too for groceries and it isn't like they give me some kind of discount for the fact that they are cutting jobs.
3. If you happen to have an item that the damn thing doesn't register...you are screwed..
4. If you have too many items it makes it even more cumbersome because you have to scan all the stuff then you have to got to the end and then bag it all...what a nightmare.
5. Some items are too light or too heavy for the conveyors to register that is a problem.


I prefer a person.

Humans are required to build, sell, and buy the machines, to remove and count the money and keep them stocked with change, and to maintain and repair them.

At least at Home Depot there is always a human stationed to keep an eye on customers and deal with problems, for about six self-checkout stations.

Stores don't switch to the self-checkout stations just to make it faster for customers. If there are six self-checkout stations in a store and only one person monitors all six, that's still five jobs lost. Managers generally remove and count the money, so that's no net change either way in number of jobs. And there's no way that five people *for every store* are needed to build, sell and buy the machines. (BTW, buying and selling the machines are one-time-only transactions, not ongoing responsibilities that continue to create jobs.)

The motivation of a business is to maximize profit, not just to save money.

If there are six self-checkout stations in a store and only one person monitors all six, that's still five jobs lost.

Not necessarily.

If making a subset of the checkout stands self-service allows them to funnel more customers through with the same number of employees on staff, the store will see a higher profit as long as the increased sales more than offset the cost of putting in and operating the self-service machines.

BTW, buying and selling the machines are one-time-only transactions, not ongoing responsibilities that continue to create jobs.

It does indeed create jobs for people who make and sell the machines, because there are still plenty of stores that don't have the machines. And existing machines will eventually wear out or need to be upgraded.

People used to say this about computers , they will save you time and provide jobs . This it did do for a while but many people did loose jobs and all others had to retrain . What it did do is create online shopping and this eliminated a complete mass of jobs with the savings passed on to the customer and more revenue for the shipping companies .

It is always a shift and always a trade off and always more people loose out than gain when speaking of the work force in general . The older generation dies off and people forget . Problem is the population continues to increase and dropping jobs or making it easy to outsource which is what the internet and communications do , these take their toll and have an immediate impact .

In a perfect world the population should be self regulated so it is not so rapid and a balance came be kept . This will never happen .

I feel there is a stopping point and a point of no return . We have more than enough jobs lost to self serve and it's time to say enough is enough , that's what I think because the future is going to backfire if we continue to accept this . Unless people desire to all work behind a computer for minimum wage and support large combined corporations with a few high paid whip cracking bosses walking the aisles and have everyone in control do the thinking for you . It began with the scanner and it will end with the full service machanical cashier . These box stores are swinging toward the internet business more and more and soon there will be less store fronts and less real people .

I don't see one single inspirering thing about the near future , it's a land of the dead as far as I can see and I am glad i am past the mid 50's and hope I perish well before it all turns to one hell on earth for everyone who all lost their spirit and craft and human function to a machine .

Then why are there more people working now than at any time in history?

People used to say this about computers , they will save you time and provide jobs . This it did do for a while but many people did loose jobs and all others had to retrain .

The word "computer" was assigned to electronic data processing machines because they were originally built to take the place of human "computers", people (mostly women) who did nothing but arithmetical calculations on paper for hours on end. A menial, low-paying, shitty job that can be done much faster and more accurately by a machine.

Computer technology provides good, meaningful, decent-paying jobs for every person who works where I do. Only a handful like the receptionist and the people who clean the building work at low pay. There are more than 100 of us at the company, who would all be doing something very different if not for the technology. The kinds of work we do, and the products we produce, would not be possible without the technology. Nothing remotely similar even existed before the computer age.

Problem is the population continues to increase and dropping jobs or making it easy to outsource which is what the internet and communications do , these take their toll and have an immediate impact .

Outsourcing does not destroy jobs in terms of the global economy. Jobs may be lost locally, but someone else, perhaps in India, gets hired.

It's easy to look at your neighborhood grocery store and be dismayed that a couple of checkers got laid off because of self-checkout machines. But the impact of those machines on the overall economy is far more complex. It would take a highly skilled economist to figure it out.

1) My local Giant Eagle grocery store installed them and hasn't fired one employee...they even have roaming checkers and baggers to assist the self-serve lanes.

2) Again, they're not all cutting jobs...and I can scan and bag every bit as quickly as a cashier can. I like the convenience.

3) The self-serve lanes are tied into the same computer system as the manned registers. If something doesn't register, it requires a manual price check...regardless of what register you use.

4) Again, some stores have roaming baggers that service the self-serve lanes. If the manned register you're at doesn't have a bagger, the cashier has to do the bagging after they ring you up. No time savings.

5) Equipment varies. I've never had that problem.


I don't think the machines themselves are at fault...it's how they're integrated into the operation (and the quality of the equipment used). They're just a tool. Some stores have found a way to incorporate them intelligently, some haven't.

there are never any lines

I consider it a moral equivalent of crossing a picket line.

to the point of leaving a cartful of potential purchases sitting there

and leaving the store.

Somebody has to put it away.

is drawing a paycheck...

the auto checker isn't.

Thus keeping that person employed at a menial, low-paying job, and prices just a bit higher than they would be otherwise.

Waste never helps the overall economy.

So you've been to stores where your only option was to use a self-checkout? That in itself is interesting.

What's even more fascinating is that, in protest, you left a cartful of your crap sitting in the middle of the store for someone to have to restock. I'm sure the employee who got that job thinks you're a real working class hero.

Both times I was informed that there were no cashiers available and that I would have to use the self serve checkout. I declined.

I worked a union job for twenty years, Mr. McBlueState, so save your "working class hero" snark. You're hired to do a job, and it all pays the same.

In my post union career of owning a business, I've learned a cardinal rule - the customer is always right. You never tell a customer under what circumstances he or she can do business with you.

And tell the store manager why.

Wouldn't that send a stronger message than your behavior that is subject to being dismissed as petulent?

although I did tell the employee who was there why I was leaving - I don't know if that message would have made it all the way to management. I get the feeling that management often doesn't care that much about the complaints of a single customer.

One of the ways big stores get people to comply with unreasonable policies concerning their relationship with the customer is by shaming the customer into doing what the store wants. Yes, walking out does seem petulant - but, I don't feel I have to explain - the notion that the customer is always right, once a basic tenet of business, seems to be constantly trampled in this day of megastores and faceless auto checkouts where the customer doesn't get to interact with the human side of doing business in any way.

I really feel that this "human" side of doing business is one of the glues that hold societies together - and the trend toward depersonalization in our consumer culture here in the USA is a bad thing - with the auto checkouts being the worst example. We are a culture of isolation - and becoming increasingly more so.

Or booking a vacation online?
Or doing online banking?

You are probably doing dozens of activities each day that used to require human interaction and never blinked.

I do hate trying to keep track of my 4 yr old while checking out at the automated tellers. Also - when I pump gas, my child is still in the carseat. For this reason, I also hate the automated checkin at airports. Somethings are just too much of a PITA when you have young children with you.

:shrug:


I can understand how some people just don't like change, but the jobs issue is kind of like someone wanting to stop cars from being mass produced because they want to protect the horseshoeing industry.

I realize that there are some things I do that have taken jobs from people. Online booking for traveling, for example. There is one gas station where they still pump for you. I go there when I'm able. I'm trying not to contribute to others losing their jobs as best I can.

It seems every corporation is doing all it can to get its customers to do all the work, so they don't have to pay anyone a living wage, or even minimum wage.

...gives me a chance to peruse the tabloids and catch up on my celebrity news. :thumbsup:

"glitch" trying to use them, like the checkout machine thinks I haven't bagged the item or something. I end up having to wait for the attendant, and it often means I could have gotten out of the store quicker going through a regular checkout line.

Maybe it will get better as the technology approves, but for now I find them to be more of a pain then they're worth.

I work retail, and I feel like when I can have a pleasant little exchange with someone I'm checking out it improves my day and theirs. Of course, some people just want to pay for their stuff and get going, and that's fine. But I know as a person living in a town, I like to have relationships with the people working where I shop and eat -- just small relationships, but they make me feel connected.

If all we interact with is machinery when we leave the house (as it is I pay at the pump at the gas station, go to ATM's at least half the time, and self-check at the library because they're overworked and understaffed) ya might as well stay home.

I just wrote that above before I read further down. I want to make sure the people I'm talking to understand what I want. I want to see their facial expressions, I want to hear their voice.

I'm usually very friendly when shopping. These ladies now-a-days though give me a look like they are going to run me over with their carts if I get in their way!

On a side note, if you ever want someone to be your best friend at a store, ask a lady for a reccomendation on clothing detergent, they will go on for hours.

ask a lady for a recommendation on clothing detergent, they will go on for hours.

Come on! Ask this lady for a recommendation on clothing detergent! Maybe the automated checkouts are a good thing for those who are unfit for social inter-action.

p.s. - i corrected your misspelling in your quote. have a nice day insulting people.

to you icymist. My intentions weren't to be insulting!

I like talking to people in the store and the proportion of men to women is about 20 to 1. So I generalized.

P.S. thanks for the spelling correction!

I also apologize for being so sharpe to you. Welcome to the DU BuhByeChimp!!!
:toast: :bounce:

If you are going to spend the better part of your day at any job then what gets you through the day is the interaction between you and others . Many jobs have elected policies that restrict any form or kidding around and have made the workplace into a form of prison . This all begins with someone complaining and some of this is valid but most of this is over caution .

People are in a hurry and most of this is because of long hours and long time spent sitting in traffic , things have certainly changed and not for the better .

If you spend your day in a closed tight world or machines and a rush and little human interaction then what is the point other than acting as a squirrel gathering nuts to store away , you use money as the motive of life and you may as well be dead .

I love talking with the clerks and salespeople. As a SAHM, it's often my only adult interaction that day (depends on when Hubby gets home from work).

I learn so much from them, about what products are good and what's a good price. I get the best service at my fave grocery store, and I try to buy there as much as I can, which also eliminates costly trips to other stores.

After a hard work day I get very tired of every employee I meet (at a Von's store) asking me how I am doing or if I am finding everything OK. Sometimes I just don't feel like talking to anyone for a while.

The store does not have self-check BTW. If it did, I might use it.

It's the idiots that take a full shopping cart through them that I can't stand.

And, their wouldn't have one extra cashier if the self service units weren't there... just longer lines.

(fuck that!)

I used to use them a lot because they tend to be faster, until I made the connection that for every self-checkout lane, that equals one less cashier job.

I have to say though that the self-checkout lanes bug me for a different reason - the scanner is slower. More than 10 years ago I worked as a grocery cashier and I got REALLY fast at it. If I try to go that fast now on one of the self-checkout machines, the machine gives me error messages.

They are at stores I shop at and will almost always use them even if I have a huge cart full of stuff.

Though it is true there are a few flaws in them, the machines are touchy and will mess up sometimes, the technology needs to be improved.

I prefer to use the self-checkout though for main reasons of don't have to deal with a cashier who may be rude and it's less of a hassle and I like doing things for myself too.

with a human from time to time, especially if you've been sent to get tampons. And I don't need all that good advice about passing up the ice cream for a salad. At out local grocery, I found out that no checkout clerks were let go (some reductions happened through attrition) as they float between stations and and help those who have difficulty - and a fair number of our elderly need assistance. I have told some of them that they should get a raise now that they have been promoted to computer systems troubleshooters and customer service representatives. They responded that the store raised wages several $ an hour when the five self-service lines were installed.

All in all, it's eventually a tradeoff with an end sum game. Would we rather have 30 people making $7/hr or 20 making $12 and the other 10 go into another line of work? I haven't come down hard one way or another.

especially about being sent to get tampons!

I'm introverted myself. I know some people in this thread think we'll all die of loneliness if we don't have a long chat once a week with the cashier at Stop and Go, but I prefer to get my social interaction from people I know well, who actually care about me. Not some stranger who works at the grocery store.

Since there is no additional discount for scanning and bagging your own groceries, I never do it. Plus, I also follow the logic that it is ultimately intended to eliminate jobs.

One employee can run six registers, children like to operate the scanners, every single scanner speaks Spanish, and people who think the employees are slow and they can do a better job themselves have the opportunity and nothing to complain about.

From the customer's standpoint, I like it because the lines are shorter, I can make sure that my meats, wet goods, and dry goods are bagged separately and securely, and I often am faster than the store employees. If I were non-fluent in English but literate in Spanish, they would make my transaction far easier.

I don't work in a supermarket, but I doubt I would be particularly disturbed by them if I did. The technology is very, very far from new. Aside from giving instructions in English and Spanish, they do far less than any human. Some customers would rather wait in line than use an available one. A self-service scanner isn't going to pick up a broom and tidy up when business is slow. They please some people, but they're no replacement for people.

for years and I avoid them if at all possible. Something is always a problem.

And I'd rather let someone else do the work. If there's a long line, I've got time to peruse "The Globe"--& check out the latest Elvis sighting.

I'd prefer not to contribute to job-destruction.

Every technology destroys some jobs and creates new ones, generally better jobs.

By not using the scanner, you are destroying jobs for programmers, engineers, and repairmen.

How do you sleep at night?

I have a great mattress.

Think of all the poor stockingers and monks who are out of work.

http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/kevin.binfield/luddites/LudditeHistory.htm

What about the whale oil salesman?
The buggy whip manufacturers?
The elevator operators?

I can't stop crying.

:cry:

One of my great-grandfathers was an elevator operator when I met him. He was 93 at the time and lived to age 99. He never fully retired. He was a teacher during his young and middle aged years.

My other great-grandfather that I met was working as a carpenter, on the roof of a house under construction the day I first remember meeting him. He was 87 at the time.

My grandfather worked several jobs after he retired. He had a good pension but liked the track too much. Anyway, he was a doorman at the back entrance of a department stores...essentially a security guard. He also worked as a night watchman. I assume both those jobs would be done by electronic security agencies now.

Weaving looms have been around for at least 10,000 years. Stockings were often woven, not knitted, so it could be either way.

I'm just curious about your point: if you're saying we should eliminate all technology because it might put someone out of a job, that's a strawman argument. People still knit socks by hand, some even as a job, and many of our textile factories have been moved out of the country, creating a loss of jobs. People still copy books by hand and sell them for good prices.

We craftspeople are trying to make sure that our crafts aren't lost. Those poor stockingers lost their jobs, but their craft wasn't lost. We're trying to make sure that none of the crafts die out.

Someone getting paid $16.71 per hour plus benefits for it might feel differently.

If you're saying that it's fine for technology to replace people and eliminate jobs because it makes life easier, I'm not sure everyone will agree with you 100%. There are many of us who still make things by hand we can buy much cheaper that are sweatshop factory made. Many of us prefer to use human clerks because we prefer the human interaction to trying to get some machine to work. I wasn't saying that the act of running an item across a scanner is a craft, just that it's not necessarily something to eliminate because technology has given us a way to.

My best guess on self-checkout stations is that the impact on the overall economy is basically a wash, which is fine if it gives people more choices, more options; and good if it actually saves people a little time here and there.

I am utterly unconvinced by the positions stated by some here that the machines cut jobs overall.

Many of us prefer to use human clerks because we prefer the human interaction to trying to get some machine to work.

Yes, that that is why the machines' role in retail sales will always be limited. You will always have the option to go to a human checker, even if that means in some cases choosing a different place to do your shopping.

My fave grocery store doesn't have those things at all, and I do my best to only shop there. I avoid the other stores unless they're the only ones carrying what I need, and then I make sure to go to a clerk. Choice in this is a good thing.

i just wish there was a training lane- so that the morans who don't understand it wouldn't gum up the works for everyone else...it's not rocket-science, after all.

What better way to increase the raises of upper management than to eliminate thousands of your lowest-paid positions?

As soon as the first automated Systems Administrator becomes commercially viable, I'll be TOAST!

:nuke:

My overall experience with them is a quite positive one. I appreciate them very much actually and hope to see them more widespread. They can be frustrating at times, but far less often than I'd be frustrated in a regular checkout line.

How dare you put spinners and weavers and clothing makers out of business yet sleep well at night?

We're still here, making clothing for our loved ones and for ourselves, and often, even to sell.

The factories making cloth are quite old, dating back to the 1700's if you date it to the use of water power. It was quite controversial, though, and the crafts have never been lost. They've been endangered before, but they're doing fine now.

I never use the anti-human machines.

I swipe an item. "Beep." I put it in a bag. The machine tells me to put it in a bag. I take it back out, put it in the bag. It keeps repeating the message. Or, it decides I have an unexpected item and just sits there calling the manager, even though all the items I've bagged are on my tally. Personally, I wish we had people so we wouldn't have to go through this crap. Real money for real workers.

use them is a TOOL

The people who manufacture, sell, and service the machines?

Don't you CARE about PEOPLE?

T
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A
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Okay, here's your cue to call me a hypocritical Luddite for using a computer. I'm sure that you would have thought of that...eventually

That the deployment of self-checkout machines in retail stores results in a net loss of jobs.

There will always be people who manufacture, sell and service the machines grocery stores use, whether those machines are manned by customers or paid cashiers. Even if the switch to self-checkout employed more people to manufacture, sell and service the machines, the gains in such jobs are neutralized by the cashier jobs lost.

The store where I used to shop (before moving) usually had 2, sometimes 3 checkouts open. Sometimes only 1, and I probably only saw four checkouts open once or twice, ever. When they brought in the automated machines, they still usually had two checkouts open (there were still people that didn't want to use the machines, for various reasons), but they also had one person manning the four self-checkout lanes. So, most frequently, they had three people at the checkouts (instead of the 2 that used to be standard). Sometimes, of course, they only had 1 checker, as before (but plus the one person at the self-check), and on occasion they would have three lanes open (plus the one). So they had as many or more people, on average, working the front of the store after the machines as before the machines. But I imagine their sales increased, because they were able to push customers through faster--those who used the self-checkout made for shorter lines at the other checkouts, meaning everyone was through more quickly and everyone was happy.

Of course, I don't know that my experience with this store is typical, but it would be interesting to see some actual evidence about their impact on jobs. The assumption that they result in a net job loss might not be wrong, of course, but that hasn't been the case where I've seen it.

Incidentally, where I've moved now there is only one store that has the self-checkout, and it is restricted to 12 items or less. (well, walmart probably has them too, but I haven't bought anything there, so I don't know.)

The grocery stores in my area never had enough checkers in the first place, so when they added the self-checkouts I don't think anyone lost their job.

The other night I was buying more than usual, so I used a regular lane, and I was surprised that they even had a bagger there. That's a rarity these days, most of the time I have to bag my own groceries.

So, I give a thumbs up to the self-checkout.

These types of jobs dont exactly bankrupt companies. Are they really needed to be eliminated??? Isnt it about time to step back and ask what exactly our economy is supposed to do and who exactly is it there for???

Whatever happened to an economy where everyone gets to benefit??

BTW I have never used these things.

Ive never been through one that didnt screw up . I avoid them like the plague. They put people out of jobs and they dont work for shit.

:nuke:

but due to your fervent defense of them, I suspect you may be in the industry, and are aware of what we do use. Of course, this does keeps repair techs employed, so we are on the same page...kinda. Damn, irony's a bitch!

I am not now, nor have I ever been employed by, an investor in, or otherwise associated with any individual or business that is involved in or profits from the manufacture, sale, or use of self-checkout equipment.

So there.

Can anyone provide any concrete evidence to support that assumption?

There used to be a person standing where that machine now stands.

The whole idea was to save on labor costs. Your assumption that it costs them more make no sense. Why would they do this if it were costing them more?

Your saying so doesn't make it so.

What about all the people employed designing, manufacturing, programming, assembling, and servicing the machines?

The people who aren't standing where the machines are just might be in the back of the store stocking shelves.

The whole idea was to save on labor costs. Your assumption that it costs them more make no sense.

Where did I say it cost them more? The point of running a business is to maximize profit. If the machines enable the store to funnel more customers through and sell more stuff, there's the benefit - And moving more stuff means more work keeping the store stocked.

If you use such tactics then I could say the lose of those employees at the grocery also cost jobs in support industries. People who make their uniforms, bake their bread, restauranteurs who lost people who used to feed these people etc. Its not all cut and dried. The loss outweighs the advantage to the machine manufacturers IMO. Many more store clerks than there are manufacturer jobs. Check the stats. .

The loss outweighs the advantage to the machine manufacturers IMO. Many more store clerks than there are manufacturer jobs. Check the stats.

That may be true, you may be right; but I still see no hard evidence that self-checkout machines in retail stores are a causal factor in the shift.

forgot about those jobs too, Slackmaster?

I'm in favor of them.

possibly different machines, but in existing store, there are only so many checkout lanes.
so there will be less of the other machines to service, so those people will lose jobs to- unless it's the same company, in which case it's possible no new jobs are created. only jobs lost.

lanes, at least in the stores where I've seen them put in--so it isn't the same amount of checkout lanes.

Also, in the grocery store where I used to shop (the store where I'm most familiar with the self-checkout and their impact), none of the cashiers lost their jobs. Four self-checkout registers replaced two lanes, but the store never had all their lanes open anyway, so it's not like four cashiers lost their jobs as a result.

Before the machines, they usually had 2, sometimes 3, very rarely 1 or 4 lanes open. After the machines, they usually had 2, sometimes 1, very rarely 3 or 4 checkout lanes open. BUT, since they also had one person overseeing the self-checkout, they usually had 3 people working at the front of the store (sometimes 2, very rarely 4 or 5, and even more rarely only 1).

No cashiers were apparently replaced, but customers were put through much more quickly--even those that didn't use the machines (since the lines for regular cashiers were shorter). Putting customers through more quickly results in increased sales, which results in increased profits, thanks to the machines. The machines don't have to reduce labor costs to be a worthwhile investment, because by increasing volume, they provide a financial benefit.

Now, it may still be the case that that store (along with other similar stores I've seen) is an aberration, and the net result of the self-checkout machines is a loss of jobs, but I've never seen any actual evidence that demonstrates that. It would be interesting to see a study done.

They put two or three self-checkout stations in spaces formerly occupied by a single traditional checkstand.

customers through. Do you have any evidence that stores are getting more customers and selling more since they put in the self-scan checkers? Assuming they have is a fallacy as well.

My *guess* is that it's more about saving on labor costs than selling more. Changing the way you check-out doesn't seem like it would draw in very many customers. It's just a change at the end of the line, not at the beginning (like advertising that gets to people before they shop).

as well as having more machines to fix. different machines, yes, but not more machines.

And the self checkouts make it easier to push more customers through more quickly. Even for customers who don't use self checkout, the lines are shorter, since other people who would be in line are using the self checkout.

The machines don't have to take away jobs in order to be profitable for the company. Using, say, 3 cashiers and 4 self-check kiosks, they can get customers checked out more quickly and push through more customers per hour then they can using 4 cashiers and no self-check kiosks. More customers>>more sales>>more profit.

That said, I'm still willing to be convinced that they do eliminate jobs. I just haven't seen it in my experience where I've shopped.

but I'm also not convinced that they increase sales volume.

Lets get rid of mass production, that eliminates jobs too! (or so thought the scottish craftpeople who gave us the term "luddite")

:sarcasm:

Automation doesn't cause unemployment, our economic system does. Ideally, automation would allow us to work less for the same amount of money. This doesn't happen because in a capitalism economic system a worker is treated as a means to an end (to maximize the profits of investors), instead of the well being of the worker being an end unto itself. Because of this, automation causes unemployment insted of more free time.

my brother does not use them, my grandfather does not use them, my son does not use them....we come from a long line of union workers, and these things eliminate jobs...period.

The express lane checkout with a live human moves just as fast, or faster.

cereal, soy milk and other healthy foods. With the cashiers I get strange looks or comments like do you like this stuff.