Speak for yourself

Meh. I’m usually happy to just scan my own shit and bounce. Even a $500 Costco trip. I usually shop with earbuds in, so it’s just me and some tunes anyway. I just switch off my brain, follow my list, and go.

Also, trust myself better.

I have some soft bread, I at least know I won't put something heavy on it.

I have some items that are fragile, I can keep track of them packing and keep them separate.

I won't end up single-bagging a bunch of stuff that could be bagged together (e.g. if they scanned some window cleaner, they bag it separate, not knowing that some dishwasher detergent is coming that it could be packed with).

Got some product with a markdown barcode? I can be sure the discounted barcode gets scanned not the full price one.

To the extent possible, I can also just skip bagging most of the time. If I have some very small things sure I might use a bag, but mostly I just scan and put in cart.

Completely agree with you, I never buy huge amounts when I shop (single guy), big orders are better with human cashier.

There are also zero places around me where there is only self checkout. Having zero cashiers is terrible. There’s always going to be large orders, elderly or disabled people that might not easily use self checkout.

I haven't seen a self-checkout in any store that weighs the bags in quite a few years in my area.

But absolutely they got machine vision looking. Once I got flagged for potential theft because I put the box to the far side of the scanning area before scanning. It flagged me as trying to steal it after I had scanned it with the scanner gun, and I got to see the video 'evidence' of my theft, including grabbing the scanner gun and starting to move toward the box.

We have lost most of the stores where a clerk will collect your items for you

Actually, pretty much the opposite, they are making a comeback in the form of curbside ordering. Walking through a grocery store or walmart nowadays there's a large number of staff picking items from the shelf.

It's been crazy to see people going nuts about having to scan their own items at the same time the bigger pain in the ass of picking the items is now being offered at no additional charge.

I don't trust them with produce, but pretty much everything else it's highly convenient for me. I'm certainly happy for the apps to tell me which aisle a food is in, but then I have to hunt anyway. It's certainly not faster for me to walk around versus just picking up the ready to go ordered stuff.

You should change place then??

Wait, is this a thing? What's wrong with you people?

It's not that bad, it's just more bad than self check.

Personally I hate waiting in line, I can feel the life leaving my body. I self check for speed.

Apparently line impatience is an ADHD thing, but regardless of where it comes from I appreciate being able to do it myself instead of waiting.

I am definitely not an outgoing or social person, but a big "Thank You" to all those pro-self-checkout folks ITT for making me feel like a social butterfly. I'm gonna brag and annouce I can say, "Hi." and "Thanks" to a cashier like a goddamn boss.

That is if the cashier isn't even more socially awkward/angry at their boss than I am and refuses to talk at all.

Woot! I'm gonna run for office!

Reporter: "Sturger, how are your policies going to improve life for the average voter?"
Me: "Get these goddamn cameras and microphones out of my fucking face. Thanks."

Camera pans as I push my shopping cart out the door like a pro.

Stores near me first put in self checkouts around a decade ago and still have the original, problematic machines. It's the newer stores or ones recently renovated that have upgraded, but that is rare.

In every store I've been in, I'm the guy who has to take everything out of my cart and put it on the little conveyor belt thing. Self checkout is a second or two on top of that (which is usually made up by not having to wait in line) with no real additional effort (I'm already picking up and placing my stuff in a specific spot) I also can type in my number for the coupons at the same time I'm scanning my card, and move the bags into my cart as my payment is being processed, which ends up saving even more time.

The only place I appreciate a cashier is when I get a boatload of groceries at Costco, those folks are box-packing wizards.

As a former cashier, I really hate people like you.

No, I will not check out your groceries for you. You are in self checkout. Wait in line like everyone else if you don't want to check out the items yourself, you impatient, obsolete bastard. FFS, self checkout has been a thing for over twenty years now; get with it, old man!

(Edit: I haven't been in retail for over a decade now. This post really triggered some PTSD I didn't even know I had.)

Have you been in the American minimum wage job market in the last 10 years or so? Every job that pays minimum wage doesn't give enough hours for the employee to be full-time, which means they don't get benefits, retirement contributions, etc. In these cases, outside of the onboarding costs, a $15 an hour employee does in fact cost $15 an hour.

A grocery store I used to frequent, I always picked this one lady's cashier line if she was around 'cause she was nice to talk to. She liked Mortal Kombat and making her own pickles.

I used to work service, and having people to talk to generally made the day much better. I definitely had favorite customers, and what do you know, it was typically people who were social.

Oopsie, accidentally forgot to scan an item

(Don't worry, I check the statute of limitations so you can't charge me with a felony )

I know I'm in the minority

Dude look around the comment section. 90% talk about prefering self checkout

That's what I'm saying! Not 1 in 20 cashiers give a shit to chat you up. And I'm in the American South!