I live dead center between two grocery stores, Safeway and Fred Meyers. They're about 10 blocks on opposite directions from my house. I pass Fred Meyers every day on my way to and from work but I'll almost always drive the extra 10 blocks to go to Safeway. Well here's my gripe: I HATE shopping at Fred Meyers because they only ever open about 3 checkouts and then direct you to the 4 do it yourself checkouts. You know the ones, you put your basket down, select your language and then proceed to scan in all of your own items. Well Fred Meyers system is TERRIBLE and it never scans right or if the item scans okay it doesn't register that you've put it in the bag. So you get a message to wait for assistance. The person at the little booth yells at me to scan it again but it's still not working. If they have to come help you there's always a big attitude about it. Then when I scan my wine the whole thing locks up until I walk over to the counter and show my ID.

Basically I've found that these self check deals take twice as long and are far more hassle. You always need help so it's not really self check, just assisted check with a bad attitude assistant. They refuse to pay checkers for the other 20 closed stands so you have no choice but to do it yourself.

Fred Meyers isn't the only one, I've noticed that Home Depot and many other stores have gone to the same program. I will say that most other stores have a system that is much easier to use with far fewer errors. I can get in and out of Home Depot without any help. But besides just the hassle of these self check systems my biggest gripe is that customer service means so little to stores these days that they try to shuffle you out of there without having a rep help you. I'll drive a little further and pay higher prices to have a real checker ring me in and say hi . . . they even add that cheesey little touch where they say "Thanks for shopping Mr. uh Ribic" as they read my name off the receipt. It still makes my day to have someone treat me like a human being.

So in closing I'll just say I HATE the self check registers and lack of customer service in retail stores. Does this drive anyone else crazy?

 

I'm right there with you! I HATE the self-check-out lanes. They are taking over all kinds of stores in my area, and I haven't found one yet that reliably rings up the CORRECT price for the items I'm buying....then you get the attitude from the "assistants", or you have to stand in the mega-line at the customer service counter to get things straightened out. Usually, even if there's a line, I'll skip the self-serve and go to a real human who will at least smile as they take my money. Guess I'm old fashioned but I still enjoy talking with other people....

 

Yuppers....I prefer a human to check out with anytime over an automated anything. So far we don't have any of them here and if we get them I ain't going!

It's just another way for companies to make bigger profits and pay out less to employees. Automation....blah...how long before we are all replaced by a machine?

 

Just boycott the machines. I have never had any luck at the Home Depot machines but then I have not tried to use them recently. Every time I have been in the store recently they have been blocked off and only one human cashier was available.

 

Wal Mart has got to be the worst, friday at 6pm and the lines are going out the doors in the tire and lube shop, and they still have 2 registers open. I would kill for a self checkout in that place. I know I could be in and out in 5 minutes like I do at kroger with the U-Scan.

 

I wouldn't go to Wal-mart unless it was the last store in the world and I had to get some life or death item from them.

 

Some of the WalMarts here in Atlanta,GA already have self-checkout lanes. I have used self-checkouts in several locations,including 2 or 3 Home Depots. The only ones I ever have trouble with are at BJ's Wholesale Clubs. Those things never work right.

 

When I grocery-shop I always ask for paper bags. They don't slide around in my truck and I re-use them for other things...plus paper comes from trees and trees are a renewable resource. They don't have paper bags at those self-checkout lanes, so I try to avoid them. On top of that, there's always someone in front of me that has some kind of trouble using the thing...usually the people with coupons.

MR

 

I like the self check out. What I don't like is the people that don't know how to use it. Sometimes I'll get into a line behind someone that seems to be doing okay scanning theitems and getting them into the bag and then all of a sudden, here they go, whipping out the ol' checkbook!! How dumb do you have to be to not realize that the self check line can't take a check???

And one other thing I really hate is getting into a line with, say, only 3 people in front of you, instead of the looong line, then having all three people write checks! Then you watch the loooong line you avoided go away, while you wait for some person still living in the 20th century have their check approved! (and heaven help you if they need a price check!)

 

I hate the ones at BJ's too, they never work right, stuff gets hung up on the conveyuor belt. Also why won't they carry oil filters for F-150? I've asked them to, also you could E-mail compliants-suggestions to their HQ, but no more. Whats up with the gas pumps, they always have at least two broken down, sometimes as many as six. The pumps won't take my debit card anymore#@&*%! If Sams gets pumps I'll be going there.

 

The K-mart close to me tried those self check outs about a year and a half ago but now they tore them down and switched back to people. My grocery store is doing it now too, they are nice as express lanes if you have just a few things, or even one, if the prices come up right. Do people still write checks?

 

1st off i hate them too....i got stuck at home depot in one of these lines becase my girlfriend said "ooh lets try that thing" well i scanned it and it wouldnt recognize it in the bag, so it locked up and i had to wait 5 min for help....then it happened again after the guy left and i waited another 2 min before i left the ***** sitting on the line and went to go find a mgr. he fixed it and i was on my way but ill never use that thing again. 2nd thing is that NOTHING takes my damn card!! its worn out pretty bad and i need a new one. And 3rd Sams Club here has fuel

 

I not only boycott them, but am very vocal about them....
I ALWAYS say something to the mgr Like "You need more cashiers so your PAYING CUSTOMERS do not have to wait" and "I'll be at the other store if you need me"

PAY the KIDS their $3.00 per hour !!!!
***************************

That was my first job as a 15 yr old high schooler...
started as bag boy and "promoted" to cashier within a week....
(says more about the other kids than me !!! :-)
But heck, way back then we had to memorize all the prices !!!
And help people understand why 10 for a $1.00 was REALLY 10 cents

 

i shop jewel her in chicago, they have em too as everywhere, but i shop there cuz of the fact that they are a union shop. being a union boy, I must do my part. I tried it once at a home depot, never agian. too much of a hassle.

 

I must agree I hate them self check-outs
They have them in several stores around here and they are so slow it does not even pay to use them.
I was asked to get out of line at the store and use one the other day and told the assistant no thanks.
After a few requests I finally did and started scanning my items as the assistant that drug me to that thing bagged my groceries.
But as slow as the thing is (the waiting as it tells you the price it scanned and to put it on the belt} when I finally finished and after she had to swipe her card to fix several things that did not ring up right she turned to me and replied.
See that was not that bad now was it?
My only response to her was a polite yes it was bad considering that three people had been waited on in the line I was originally in behind the person that I was originally behind.