It's a Walmart thing....

[gary_in_neenah]

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WalMart is almost exclusively self-checkout now. The last time I was there the lady checking receipts at the exit stopping everyone.

I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "Sir... Sir!!!!" as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store.

Look. You can either trust me to do self-checkout or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you.

Signed,
All of us

 

[matti]

I love the self checkout at Walmart and use it exclusively. However, I have never had my receipt checked upon exiting the store. I wonder what the requirement are for having a receipt-checker at the door?

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Yeah, I don't mind the self checkout. It's usually faster than waiting on a cashier. I've been "checked" for a receipt but I'm not sure what the "Walmart Criteria" is for being checked. I wasn't wearing pajamas and crocks and with normal grooming and hygiene, I guess that's a Red Flag for the Security Team.

 

[mrbb]

I have never used self check out to date, and no plans to any time soon! , all of the stores near me still all have folks working registers, so its good for me! as I prefer it that way! but I gather I am old and not the way the world is turning!

However, they still some times ask to see a receipt when leaving a store, , self check out or not!
its just what it is!
too many folks stealing these day as, and stores are just trying to catch what they can IF they can> IMO IF folks were all honest, it wouldnl;t be asked, but sadly, folks are not all honest, might even be more cheaters today than ever! IMO

 

[pclark]

We now have to pay inflationary prices, check ourselves out, bag it, and then get checked to see if we paid for it or not.

This is why I try and avoid businesses who offer no customer service. When my wife says we need to stop at Walmart I just roll my eyes and say great.............

 

[matti]

Regarding the theft, that's really frustrating for me. I was at a CVS in Denver in May and some guy with a handful of stuff just walked out of the store in front of us and the manager. I told the manager that the guy didn't pay and the manager simply said it happens all the time. He also said each store is allotted a certain amount of money to cover shoplifting. I was so angry that I was red in the face, but I guess that's the way it is.

 

[whitedust]

Major rebellion at Burlington WI Walmart tried to eliminate checkers. Lines got long at few checkers and fights started to break out pissed off frustrated customers in checker lines. They started checkers back up man them moves very well now. I don’t mind self check for a couple of items quick and easy but Crazy imo for a basket full of merchandise.

 

[SHOOT2KILL]

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WalMart is almost exclusively self-checkout now. The last time I was there the lady checking receipts at the exit stopping everyone.

I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "Sir... Sir!!!!" as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store.

Look. You can either trust me to do self-checkout or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you.

Signed,
All of us

I do the exact same thing

 

[latner]

I've gotten spoiled with shop and scan at our local Meijer. Scan your items with your phone and bag it as you go, no waiting in lines.

 

[katden4]

I think most of this is driven by lack of people willing to go to work. I really don't blame the store. I blame lazy people.

 

[mrbb]

I think most of this is driven by lack of people willing to go to work. I really don't blame the store. I blame lazy people.

I am sure LAZY is a part of it, but it is also a spoiled PEOPLE problem, (a lot of folks living of funds there parents and families have generated) and then there are so people knowing how to abuse the system, anymore claiming all sorts of acronyms that seem to prevent them from SO called being able to work!
when yrs ago, many of these things were not even invented yet!

and using there CONDITIONS< it as a endless supply of income over having to get a real job and support themselves!
right now I know a handful of folks in there 20's that DON"T Work due to they CLAIM they cannot pay attention, and collect good money by staying at home(home also paid for for them thru benefits they collect) , playing video games, smoking pot, and riding ATVs
but they just CANNOT pay attention long enough to work, REALLY< IMO, there are a LOT of BS conditions that are nothing but excuses to NOT work and collect a pay check off tax payers that DO Work!

things like this IMO are the real problem that is killing the average working class person
they see these folks getting ahead NOT working and start to think MAYBE they too should STOP working
a lot of BAD examples out there folks, historic highs of them if you ask me!
unemployment and government hand out were designed to HELP you till you got back on your feet,
these days there considered endless income by a LOT of folks, that have NO plans to ever go to work!
add in ,law makers that actually want to make shop lifting NOT be a crime, and well, its NO wonder stores have high rates of folks leaving without paying
there is a serious lack of PRIDE In people today to know they are getting by on there own , and NO shame in folks collecting government handouts when they REALLY could be working!

 

[m8man]

I hate self checkout deals, I always ask how the self checkout Xmas party was

More getting rid of jobs in the name of the $$$$$.

May be the way of the future but I hope to not be part of it

 

[pclark]

I see Walmart in some stores is also taking up all the flooring and just diamond grinding and polishing it. They will no longer have to buy flooring or have heavy maintenance costs. I would guess this is a cost saving method but also goes back to the self checkout situation. You can't expect retired people to strip and wax floors every 3 months. In certain areas the help is heavily skued toward retirees just trying to make extra money to exist.

 

[dfattack]

self checkouts are nice if you have a handful of items like a previous post said. But I really don't think the self checkouts are to save money, although there may be a savings as a result, but don't think it's the objective. Finding anyone to work is not easy. In my industry automation is being tested only because it's hard to find workers. If we had an steady stream of applications automation would move down the to do list.

 

[eao]

Well they pass these minimum wage laws so that's bound to make companies explore alternatives to minimum wage jobs and self-checkouts are a way to replace those workers. The more laws that are passed to give the employee's more benefits and wages are bound to affect the employee numbers.

 

[dfattack]

Well they pass these minimum wage laws so that's bound to make companies explore alternatives to minimum wage jobs and self-checkouts are a way to replace those workers. The more laws that are passed to give the employee's more benefits and wages are bound to affect the employee numbers.

Completely agree

 

[G]

I own a grocery store in a small town. The main reason for self checkout is not to eliminate jobs. The reason for self checkouts is because there is nobody to hire anymore. There is also seemingly nobody in the floor stripping and waxing biz anymore. Not within 100 miles of me anyway.

I have given up on kids. Their schedules are filled up from the time they are a fetus until they graduate from high school. There is so much extracurricular that takes up all their time. Holiday tournaments and summer camps and driving to three states to throw balls around. Sometimes they even have classes! At any rate there is no time for work slotted in. And if you are foolish enough to hire them and work around THEIR schedule very few have the ability to operate a till and make change should someone present them with a twenty dollar bill to pay $17.11. They lock right up. Telling time also seems to be a big problem for them. It makes absolutely no difference if you pay them minimum wage or fifteen bucks an hour. They have no concept of money. When you hire them you are a babysitter and not a traditional employer as things used to be. It simply isn't worth the trouble.

I employ several retired folks. Both male and female. When you hire these people you are hiring someone with some life skills that are responsible and appreciate having a secondary source of income. They understand clocks too!!!

There is more self checkouts and automation in all of our futures. Like it or not.

As for what is going to happen to these 20 to 35 year olds that have zero life skills I don't know what is in store for them. Lifelong public support I suppose. But hey - one time when they were 17 they scored four touchdowns in one game!!!! Just like Al Bundy.

 

[pclark]

I own a grocery store in a small town. The main reason for self checkout is not to eliminate jobs. The reason for self checkouts is because there is nobody to hire anymore. There is also seemingly nobody in the floor stripping and waxing biz anymore. Not within 100 miles of me anyway.

I have given up on kids. Their schedules are filled up from the time they are a fetus until they graduate from high school. There is so much extracurricular that takes up all their time. Holiday tournaments and summer camps and driving to three states to throw balls around. Sometimes they even have classes! At any rate there is no time for work slotted in. And if you are foolish enough to hire them and work around THEIR schedule very few have the ability to operate a till and make change should someone present them with a twenty dollar bill to pay $17.11. They lock right up. Telling time also seems to be a big problem for them. It makes absolutely no difference if you pay them minimum wage or fifteen bucks an hour. They have no concept of money. When you hire them you are a babysitter and not a traditional employer as things used to be. It simply isn't worth the trouble.

I employ several retired folks. Both male and female. When you hire these people you are hiring someone with some life skills that are responsible and appreciate having a secondary source of income. They understand clocks too!!!

There is more self checkouts and automation in all of our futures. Like it or not.

As for what is going to happen to these 20 to 35 year olds that have zero life skills I don't know what is in store for them. Lifelong public support I suppose. But hey - one time when they were 17 they scored four touchdowns in one game!!!! Just like Al Bundy.

Agree with evreything you stated. I feel for you having to run a retail business and keep help, it can't be easy with todays society. As you stated, there is nobody stripping and waxing flooring anymore, they don't sell much VCT (Vinyl composite tiles) either. Too many other flooring products now like LVT or LVP which have high levels of PVC's in them that are cheap alternatives and don't need to be waxed. We brought the following products to the US 3 years ago, great sustainable alternative, type in Liquid Linoleum on you tube and you will see what I am talking about. I may not be on board for EV's at the moment but we started our flooring business 3 years ago to bring better product choices that are not harmful to the environment.

 

[LoveMyDobe]

I don't like self check outs . I almost sat down and cried at one because I couldn't get their darn plastic bags to open to put my stuff in ............ and I was paying with a check, yep I still occasionally do, and they have to have someone there for that transaction.

 

[favoritos]

The original thinking behind self checkout was founded on time and money saving.
I get the time factor with no waiting for people to move around and fill in for peak. The machines are always ready if you have enough of them.
The money factor also makes sense when looking at station cost and labor. Empty checkouts and idle employees are expenses that continue when not in use. I am impressed with how some stores have learned to manage EEs through peaks. The better managed stores have them multi-tasking near checkouts to fill in high volume bursts.
The RFID concept was close to becoming mainstream. The business mentioned in the thread title had a plan and timeline. They could not find a vendor to make the id cheap enough. There was talk about eliminating cheap items, like packs of gum, because the roughly 25cent expense could not be absorbed. The irony of the RFID failure wasn't death by expense. It was from seeing the shortcomings of self checkout. Consumers learned how to play the system and labor became a factor again.
@grub, I'm glad to see you are running that business. I consider those stores the backbone of our communities. I also know it's not easy. Margins in grocery keep getting pinched with the big players trying to grab the easy money.