walmart is trying to take over the local grocery business here, so we've got big mega walmarts and small local grocery walmarts in the region. one of the megas and three or four i can't remember of the groceries in my town specifically. the mega has it figured out. like twelve self scans that can be monitored by one or two persons, all of them have hand scanners, and a few lanes with cashiers manned for the folk who are desperate for human interaction or just don't use self checkouts for reasons. the grocery, they have like three self checkouts that are not quite so good and a bunch of cashiers. maybe they are still afraid of the banana trick idunno.

okay, nobody cares but sometimes we enjoy the show. like one time we were at HEB and there was this shopping cart these two sorority girls were sharing and they had to scan everything in the right order. like the first two or three minutes we were annoyed but after twenty we were cheering for them every time they got it right

Only time I had cashiers wanting a chat is if there is no queue otherwise its "Hello" and "Have a nice day"

"no thank you" is not disrespectful

I steal on purpose. Fuck self checkout, just more corporate greed.

Have a handful for the incels and weirdos who are too scared to face down an intimidating cashier, but leave us normal folks out of it.

Bagging groceries is a lot of kids' first job, but now I have to do it and they dont get a chance for a low-pressure first job.

I will never understand those who are afraid to face down a cashier. Is it REALLY that bad?

So many people complain about how modern society is isolating, but then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves.

You can get a 5 Finger discount if you're good at it.

Edit: Oh no! Don't rip off the huge megacorp! Think of the C-suite execs and shareholders!

You have cashiers that wish to chat?!

The cashiers at the store across the street (that has no self check out) will talk your freakin' ear off. There could be 1 person ahead of you with a single item and it takes 'em 15 minutes to get checked out.

In Europe it's becoming popular to have scanners at the store entrance that you can take and scan your products as you go. Sometimes you can also do it with a phone app instead. Then, at the self-checkout, you just scan one code instead and pay right away. I love this system because it's quicker and you get to avoid the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly.

Twenty???

Speaking as someone who worked cash as a teenager/young adult, no we don't want to fucking talk to you. I was there because I liked money and that was a reliable way to make minimum wage. That's it. I didn't have a passion for scanning items and asking for payment. I had tuition to pay and debt racking up. I wasn't there to chat with you, or improve the customer experience. I was there to get paid and I can tell you that most if not all of the other cashier's were in the same boat.

I've recently experienced that magic box at a sports equipment store! I was amazed by how it just works.

The self checkout prints a receipt with a bar code on it and you have to scan it to leave the store.

Yes, as you shoild, but it's hard to not.

I feel like i should steal less at actual cashiers because labor reasobs.

the anxiety of packing your bags too slowly

Haha, spotted the German. This isn't really a thing elsewhere, not to that extent.

yeah. they took for-fucking-ever but like after five minutes it became entertaining and the whole line got in on it. you ever seen someone pick up a can to scan it, look at it, then put it back in their cart? but still buy the whole cart?

then go running to do stuff where they further isolate themselves

Mmm yeah, cos it's such quality time interacting with the cashier. Like, you're not totally wrong about the problem, isolation does make us even less able to handle interaction, but making people bag groceries for a living is not the way to solve that problem. Anyway, it's not fair to force your desire to have a conversation on someone who is trapped working somewhere.

I know some stores mix self scanning and self checkout, usually they're in the same exit area, or even at the same terminal

I think they do more checks in the beginning, or if you missed to scan something as the system probably sees you as more or a "risc". I can understand your frustration though

if they didn't have self checkout, they'd need more checkout people

They would certainly need more checkout people, but speaking from grocery cashier experience they wouldn’t necessarily have them. I remember my manager’s indifference as I was the only one to show up on Thanksgiving and there were literally 30 people in my line.