If you have the option, do you use the cashier or the self checkout line at the grocery store? What about other types if store like hardware stores?
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.
Of course I use cashier. I have like 40-50 items when I go grocery shopping and a lot of them have codes. They dont pay me enough to do all that work. Maybe if I have like 3 things and the lines are long I’ll go through self checkout but that’s the only time
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.
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.
I never use the self-checkout unless there’s no other option. I feel like I’m contributing to the perception of need for human workers, and if I’m at the store, I’m certainly not in a rush.
I’m in Austria where the usability of self-checkout counters is often terrible, sometimes to the point where there are employees nearby for troubleshooting. I try it sometimes in stores where it’s available, but only if I’m not in a hurry.
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.
I typically make smaller purchases more often.
Because of that, my protocol is to use self checkout until the amount/total size of items makes the tiny nooks too cramped for comfort.
I don’t typically loathe human interaction enough to take huge measures to avoid it, but I do prefer avoiding when possible.
I can also see it if I was buying a combination/type of items that I don’t wanna be judged for. I can’t think of a realistic version of that (other than the meme’d stories of a cucumber and pack of condoms or supplies you could bury a body with, etc), but just the thought that someone might judge it is enough for certain people to avoid it.
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 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.
Everyone in this thread: I avoid self checkout like the plague, I don’t want to replace employees
My mom: works for a grocery store, never uses the regular checkout if possible
There will always be employees at grocery stores and the scan while walking type of self checkout is more convenient than any other type of checkout.
There will always be employees at grocery stores
Yes, that’s true (for the near future) but it’s also true that if they replace all checkouts with self-checkouts they will need fewer employees, therefore they will fire people and reduce positions.
I’m also sure that the moment they can have a machine restocking the shelves they will try to move on to that and get rid of the people who are doing that job. We simply need to push back against the destruction of jobs.
I usually have a full cart and value someone else keeping track of what’s been scanned already
Well la dee da, Mr. Moneybags here still buys groceries. 🧐
Just barely, groceries are absurdly expensive right now. I am at a high cost of living region (NE USA), but seems bad everywhere. I started getting produce from a CSA from a local farm, turned out to be a good value so far.
This is the way. Local and fair trade as much as possible. For everything.
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.
They’ve been experimenting with self-service checkouts for decades. I remember being a young teen in the 70s, and going to a store with my grandma, who was a vocal union supporter.
We were waiting in line, and a girl kept trying to get people to come over and try their new self-serve line. She asked my grandma a few times, before my grandmother, who worked in the fur department of a major department store, said sharply “Listen, young lady, I’m trying to save your JOB! I don’t work for this store, I want an EMPLOYEE to ring me up.”
That statement has been a huge influence on my life, and how I view the world.
Cashier. I like to help people keep their jobs.
