Notice: This will be by only post today I will be attending a wake for a family friend. Be back tomorrow.
Have you been to the supermarket lately?
Did you notice that there were few check-outs open….only those pieces of crap known as the ‘self-checkout’?
Those modern inventions that allow companies to limit the employees needed as ‘cashiers’.
There seems to be more and more of these soul-less SOBs showing up every day.
This is why I use a store that has NO self-checkouts….I like the interaction between myself and the human cashier….
But the problem of the self-checkouts is getting interesting….
There are those who always do, those who occasionally do, and those who’ll never, ever so much as contemplate such a degrading experience.
No, I’m not talking about attending an Apple launch event. I’m talking about choosing self-checkout over the human kind.
It’s become a severely emotive subject, one that causes conniptions among the usually mild-mannered.
Why, some supermarkets are even inserting barriers to prevent shoppers from leaving until they’ve had their self-checkout receipts inspected.
But who ever gets the receipt anyway?
Naturally, I seek solutions to the world’s problems, so I was moved to a heightened frenzy by this statement: “New Vynamic Smart Vision POS solution built on SeeWare distributed machine learning simplifies in-store checkout for frictionless, accurate, self-service transactions.”
Look at all those words. Aren’t you pulsating at the idea of, um, a frictionless shopping life brought to you by smart vision and machine learning?
Please, therefore, allow me to translate a little. There’s a big deal here. Well, a big deal for everyone who gets heartily annoyed whenever they use self-checkout machines.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/hate-self-checkout-get-ready-for-a-change-you-never-expected/
But since there are times when I am forced to participate in this exercise I believe that these companies should give a 3-5% discount on my total purchase…..because I could care less on the stock futures of said company….this idea would be a show of good faith to their customers.
Any personal thoughts on this subject?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
I don’t mind doing the check-out, so as to pack the items the way I want them, but I sure like your discount idea!
My condolences on the loss of your friend.
Thank you….he was closer to Sue than me…..I appreciate your kind words. chuq
I feel bad because of the workers that will be displaced. My regular store packs stuff properly or you can do it yourself. chuq
I actually prefer self-checkout. Not to sound like a snob, but I don’t generally care for the forced exchange of meaningless pleasantries with strangers.
I am not a fan of most people either….but my regular store has people working that I know personally so it is a pleasure most time. chuq
Self checkout is the wave of the future and those who cannot stand the idea need to be seriously buying a working farm. I hate the damned things too but at least AI can punch in the code for bananas when I am buying a steak if I want to ….but for some strange reason I never seem to want to …it is either that I have some morals or that I am afraid of getting caught.
Morals….after working hard it is not hard to do the right thing. chuq
I do NOT like the self-checkout at all…whether it refuses to acknowledge the item has been put in the bag, or the contstant ringing for assistance that the machine itself triggers…frustrating! That said, there is now a Whole Foods near me we stopped at to discover it’s a new system: you scan the app on your phone when you enter, then go in and fill your own bags with anything you want, then scan your phone again to leave…that’s it. Not one single item got scanned – including a head of lettuce! By the time I got to my car I had an email receipt with every item listed….technology!
That sounds interesting…sadly no Whole Foods near me……chuq
Every supermarket (large or small) here has a portion of self-checkouts, some more than others. I refuse to use them, and will happily queue for a real person. But I am never in a hurry when I shop.
Best wishes, Pete.
I feel the same…I am old and retired….I have time to wait. chuq