3/27/06 Which do you prefer at the grocery store

[Minis On The Edge]

I was at Lowes yesterday and noticed one of those "check yourself out" lanes. I noticed them at my grocery store too and even at Kmart. Which do you prefer to use:

Self Service Checkout?

Cashier Lanes?

Or do you have no preferance?

[Nameless1]

Strongly prefer self-service checkout! We're rarely shopping for more than a little bit of stuff, and once you understand how to ring up veggies and croissants, it goes much faster than even the express lines. Plus, I get to bag my own groceries the right way, not by the "toss three items in a plastic bag, then go on to the next bag" method.

I'm totally obsessive-compulsive about Bagging Groceries the Right Way. It's 'cause my parents used to shop at one of those warehouse stores, back when the concept was new, and my father insisted on teaching me to bag groceries to his exacting standard. Drives my husband crazy to shop with me, as the groceries must not only be Bagged the Right Way, but the items must be removed from the shopping cart to the conveyer in the Proper Order for Correct Bagging.

[SuzyQ]

I love love love self checkout. ;) ;)

I don't even care if it is supposed to be an express. I use them anyway, because I can usually take my time loading them on the thingy. And can bag them the way I like. The only down side is they are a bit tempermental. But it's worth it.

SuzyQ

[heike]

Hi - whenever I go to the States I love the normal lane - somebodys packs your stuff in bags, you can choose between paper or plastic and if you are lucky enough the guy takes it out to your car and packs it in there - so lovely and nice !

Now I tell you about the German way of shopping: you have a full shopping cart, put your items on the band - the lady starts moving the articles though you are not ready taking stuff out of the cart. When she is out of space she looks at you with that "aren´t you faster"-look - then they have to check your cart if you dont forget to put something on that band and peep peep peep every thing is scanned, the lady wants money but I am still busy putting the articels in the car (of course with no method, just fast fast fast). You want to pay cash what most Germans do, please do not give coins or even start for searching the right coins in your purse ... just give a note and take the change, otherwise people in lane behind you get mad. If you use credit card, make sure you know your pin ... ;) and then you can leave the store, take every thing yourself to the car, etc. No bags for free, we have to pay for them (makes sense because of all that plastic trash) and they make sure that you put back your shopping cart, because you want to have your 1-€-coin pack (a little more than a dollar) that you have to stuck in the cart in order to get it (comparabel to the airport-systems)

Well the more I think about - a self checkout lane would be great in Germany - they can save the money of the poor lady, too (I mean that ironically, because everybody only want´s to safe more and more)

So - I just love to go shopping in USA, when the sales staff asks you how you are (though they don´t care about it really, but it´s nice) and you can have everything packed in bags, no such hurry. But the most I like the shopping carts in which you can place both - your child and your shopping articels :-)))

Best wishes from the no-service-desert Germany - Heike

[hydroped]

;) Heike - You just described the typical California Grocery store - rush rush rush, everyone in a hurry I don't mind much myself. I do get sort of claustrophobic in big crowds so I try to shop mid week while most others are working.

As for self service or regular check out I absolutely refuse to use the self service. Why should I pay full price to use a system that saves them money, puts someone out of a job and can't determine the difference full priced items and clearance items? If they want people to use those they should give the employee discount on those machines. And I can't count the times I've taken an item up that rang up at a different price than the shelf tag or the marked price on the item. I can't actually say how I feel about those cheap self serve check outs... it involves strong language- but the term "Rip-off" comes to mind. By the time I'd have to wait for someone to come up.. figure out what's wrong.. find the right price... over ride the machine, etc. I could be long out of the store by just going through and letting a real live human checker take care of any mismarked items for me. I think society is altogether too automated - people forget how to deal with people and how to say "Hello, how are you today?" I think I'm one of the few customers that people look forward to seeing in those busy markets like Walmart and Vons - it's nice to make someone smile who might otherwise not be having such a great day.. and machines don't smile.

-David

[havanaholly]

Oh, I have to agree with David, the self-service lane is the only time I ever thought DH was going to stroke out on me (he's an engineer, so he knows how to use the nasty thing, and discovered every one of the problems David mentioned). Trying to charge us full price for a clearance item is what decided us to clear out the whole transaction, put the items back and move on to a store with regular checkouts.

[darrellandmelissa]

I perfer check out people. Mainly because I am soo tired after putting the groceries in the cart and walking around the store. They take it out of the basket, bag it put it back in the cart push the cart poutside and put it in my car.Put away when home

Lately I have been shopping at the discout place, I have to walk around the store putting my items in my cart, take it to the register put all that stuff on the conveyor belt. put it all in bags and the bags back in the cart. puxh the cart ot my car. put them in my car. put away when I get home. I need to shop at this stor more often because it is cheepr. I think next tme I may use one of those electric carts. With my lung condition, I am not able to walk down every isle in this store. I mainly go there to buy meat and take my son with me to help.I need to start buying everything from their.. The price difference is worth the drive, but being able to physically do it is another thing. UYsually when I go shopping and get a lot of stuff here, that is all I do that day and I rest the next day.

Melissa

[Color Me Holly]

I was at Lowes yesterday and noticed one of those "check yourself out" lanes. I noticed them at my grocery store too and even at Kmart. Which do you prefer to use:

Self Service Checkout?

Cashier Lanes?

Or do you have no preferance?

I prefer a person, but I have used the self-check out if I am only getting a couple of items. My main grocery shopping I do at a warehouse store. They take it out of the cart, but I bag it. Sometime I do it at Walmart because the prices on what I buy are the same at both stores except the meat. Fred Meyer is the store I use for one or two items. Usually they only have one full service lane open with a long line and the self-serve with a few people ringing out their cart full of groceries themselves. I do agree that it is a rip off in the way that it is cheating someone out of a job. Fred Meyers also has checkouts in the electronics and clothing dept so if the lines are that busy, I go check out there.

[Peggi]

Like Teresa, if I have only one or two items I will use the self-check out. But beyond that I rather have a person. I've tried the self check out mainly if I run an errand at lunch, but have found that if it is more then 2 or 3 things I save time waiting to use the regular checkout. Cause as David said these things are temperamental, and half the time they don't have anyone watching to help.

[ilovecats]

I prefer a checkout person. I have used the self serve one a couple of times at Wally World...both times had scanning problems and had to have the person come help me. I like to have someone else ring the stuff up and bag it while i write my check to pay them. ;)

[SuzyQ]

CrzyLdyWmn

I do agree that it is a rip off in the way that it is cheating someone out of a job

OK you all are starting to make me feel guilty. But not guilty enough ;)

We live in a tourist town and get over 10 million visitors a year. So I would still rather go through the quiet self check out then deal with the cranky check out people after having do deal with cranky tourist all day.

Mind you I do appreciate every one of our tourists but you all can imagine how a person must feel day after day of the same questions and the slow driving. ;)

I always have to smile when I am a tourist in another town. I know how those locals are feeling about my driving.

SuzyQ

[Laura1008]

I much prefer a person check me out but if I only have a few items and the lines are busy I will definetely go to the self serve lane. I wholey agree though that if you are going to be working for the store you should get an employee discount.

[smallhouset]

OH my, I thought I lived with the only compulsive shopping cart person. Not only does DH take things out of the cart in a specific order, but each item must have the barcode facing the scanner so the checker doesn't have to look for it.And each group of matching items ( cleaning supplies, animal food, paper products) must be scanned before the next group starts down the belt.After all that I just want to get out of the store, so they can ring it up. Gives me time to regroup before we get home and have to go through the "everything must be lined up on the shelves straight and even" routine just to put 3 bags of food away.

[doogster]

I use self checkout for mundane stuff like toothpaste, if that's all I'm buying. I prefer checkers, why? Glad you asked. you didn't ask, well, you should have. Beer. Yep, there's enough reason right there. If you're buying beer, or anything with ETOH on board, a checker has to come and verify your age anyway. DVD's, they don't have the security thingie deactivator at the self check out (at least here anyway) because you could just walk through and deactivate the thingie. And I just LOVE having the security alarm go off while I'm alking through with something I just paid for. And yes, I buy a lot of DVD's. Most recent: Saw.

[LisaN]

I prefer the person in places like Walmart, target, and home depot or lowe's. Mainly because their self checkouts are kind of lousy.

Grocery store--if I have less then 20 items--yes, I am a self checker. Mainly because the bagger piles the oranges and lemons on top of my bread. And I can take my time checking out, without people bumping into me with their cart. Also, if I'm in a hurry, I don't have to stand behind the person quibbling about 'it's ten cents less down the street at Food Lion" ( and they have over fifty items they are buying.. Either bring your coupons or go to the other store.. ;) ) I like to save a buck as much as the next person, but not when I have ice cream and perishables in my basket. I have limited time when shopping, so that's why I like the self checkout system. Never really had that many problems with it.

I also pick and choose my times to shop. I love to shop for groceries in the early morning--between 7 & 9 am, when virtually no one is in the store.

[MiniMadWoman]

I prefer to go through the manned or ladied checkout lines if I have a ton of groceries and have them bagged for me . . . I get to choose paper or plastic (plastic is best for cleaning up after doggies!) ;)

I go through the self checkouts if I only have a few things. I find them to be sooo tempermental that I don't save much more time going through them anyway.

[Nameless1]

Gives me time to regroup before we get home and have to go through the "everything must be lined up on the shelves straight and even" routine just to put 3 bags of food away.

But they must!

And the boxes and cans must have their expiration dates written on them in laundry marker, so that there's no question about when they must go bye-bye if uneaten.

I have been known to clean out cabinets for fun.

I'd probably hate shopping with your DH, though, as his system might be different from mine, and therefore wrong. ;)

[Missymew]

I'd prefer it if someone else would do my grocery shopping. I hate shopping for groceries. My husband isn't crazy about it either. I always go through the line with a check out person. I don't like to see jobs taken away from people. I'm seriously thinking of starting to grocery shop online.

Susanne

[smallhouset]

But they must!

And the boxes and cans must have their expiration dates written on them in laundry marker, so that there's no question about when they must go bye-bye if uneaten.

I have been known to clean out cabinets for fun.

I'd probably hate shopping with your DH, though, as his system might be different from mine, and therefore wrong.

He doesn't do the expiration date thing, only because he hasn't thought if it yet.

He is the worst, I try to go shopping when I know he's involved with something else, so he won't go with me.He has to inspect everything and he drives me crazy. Have you ever seen the show MONK? He's alot like Monk. Not quite as bad, I'd have to hurt him, but close.

[Lisa_F]

Absolutely, positively - must be a real live check-out person for me!

In the past, whenever I tried using the self check-out system something would always go wrong. Either the stupid machine wouldn't recognize the bar code - or it would scan the wrong price - or it would spit the money back out at me when I tried to load it in the machine!

About a month ago my son went shopping with me - we had a full cart of groceries and all the lines with live checkers were fairly long. He pursuaded me to use a self check-out stand as almost all of those were standing empty. He told me he uses them all the time with no problem. Unfortunately I agreed to give it a try (hadn't used one in a long while & thought perhaps they had improved).

First problem we had was the scanner scanned the first few items twice. Got a live person over to over-ride the double scanning and we continued on. Second problem - the stupid machine was not recognizing when we put something into the bag - so after putting each item into the bag we had to stop - push a button on the screen that said "skip bagging" and then proceed with the next item. This happened repeatedly. Third problem - once the two bags on the holders were full - we attempted to remove one of the bags so that we could start filling a third bag (couldn't use a third bag with the two full ones sitting in the way). As soon as my son removed the bag the stupid machine started bleeping at us that you can't remove the bags because the items aren't paid for yet. So what are we supposed to do - put the next several scanned items on the floor??? I don't think so. Pushed the button for a live person again and told her the problem. She apparently didn't know what to do if you needed a third bag either. So I handed her the scanned items and told her I was NOT putting my groceries on the floor. Fourth problem - after getting all the items scanned - I tried putting my money into the machine - and it promptly spit it out at me. Tried again and it spit it out again - so I grabbed a different bill out of my purse and tried that one. Stupid machine took the money but it did not register on the screen that any money had been recieved. Good thing the live store person was standing right there with me - holding all my groceries in her arms so she saw what happened. She had to call over another store person who then called over a manager to over-ride the machine again. The whole process took infinitely longer than it would've taken had I stood in one of the long lines... Never again.

Lisa

[heidiiiii]

If I only have a few items I will go to self check out, but if I have a full cart I want a person. Plus I talk to the cashier (we know each other) and they bag for you. I grab all the produce and bag myself. I hate when you get a teen that has no idea about bagging. Sometimes you find adults with the same affliction.

[Shakyshaky]

I refuse to use a self check out again for those very reasons. We have to buy gallons of water here because the water is bad. Have you ever tried to fit 8 gallons of water in one of those little bagging spaces? I was only just getting water so I thought why not, I could just scan one 8 times and be done right? Nope. It wanted me to put all 8 gallons on that stupid little table. I vowed never to use one of those things again!

I try to go early in the morning to so there are less people because I always have a full cart and I hate it when people make me feel bad for having alot of groceries. If they want to get out so bad THEY can use that stupid self check out lane! Sorry did not mean to rant. I'll be good now.

[Josi]

I will only use the self check out lane in Home Depot or Loewe's, when I only have a couple of items and the place is full of customers. But with groceries, I much prefer being served by people. Having my groceries scanned, bagged, and put into the cart while I am watching the checker for price variations, sorting out the coupons, and managing the payment process. I think all this is worth whatever wait time I have to endure in line, and besides this gives me time to read the headlines on the tabloids and have a good laugh!

[Nameless1]

He is the worst, I try to go shopping when I know he's involved with something else, so he won't go with me.

Yeah, I've noticed that my husband is weirdly willing to go grocery shopping without me. I always thought it was 'cause he's a nice guy, but now I'm starting to wonder.

I also have panic attacks in large grocery stores, so there are very few places I can shop comfortably. Fortunately, supermarkets run not-so-super here in the city, due to limited space, so it's not as bad as when we lived back East.

[doogster]

I try to go early in the morning to so there are less people because I always have a full cart and I hate it when people make me feel bad for having alot of groceries. If they want to get out so bad THEY can use that stupid self check out lane! Sorry did not mean to rant. I'll be good now.

The only time someone with a lot of stuff annoys me is when they insist on going through the express 10 items or less lane. And then take 20 minutes to get checked out. Back in Canada, Texas, Arizona, heck everywhere but here, the cashier would not permit this. But here they seem to have taken the phrase 'the customer is always right' to it's PC, totally insane, nth degree. You absolutely cannot make a customer unhappy. Know what? By not making that 1 customer, who cannot follow rules, unhappy they make the 20 or so other customers who can follow rules really unhappy. But it's that 1 you know will file a complaint that you have to cow down to.