Recently someone in my Blogland mentioned or blogged about supermarket payment systems comparing manned and self-service tills. I think it may have arisen because of the superfast manned tills at Lidl and Aldi. I cannot recall which the person preferred but he/she was very adamant about it.
So far as supermarkets are concerned it all boils down to money. Fewer people = less cost = more profit potential. Lidl and Aldi have limited employment down to a fine art together with easily scanned bar codes and staff who work their socks off.
So far as we, as customers, are concerned a lot is personal preference. Going through a manned checkout is rarely fast. An aside - a wonderful irony used to be that one of the fastest checkout staff in our Coop was also one of the most sociable. People would join her queue just for the craic (Gaelic - enjoyable social activity). Sometimes other staff would be free. However, if you are in a hurry with a few items self-service is invariably the fastest way out of the shop.
So far as society is concerned our Coop (which I believe is the largest in Scotland) employs a lot of staff and is an important employer. The more self-service checkouts the fewer people employed.
Amazon has gone one further with a trial shop, in London I think, which has no payment facilities at all. You register your phone when you go in and as you put something in your shopping bag it is automatically charged to your card.
Of course the fewer the staff and the greater the automation the less attention can be given to 'confused' people (usually elderly) or the disabled who need help.
I do not look forward to a day of complete automation, I'll pay the price and help employment. Am I alone?
When in Ripon, we have a choice of several supermakets. Sainsbury‘s has self-checkout points which work well for us, unless we buy wine; then, a person comes to our check-out to make sure we are of legal drinking age. At Booth‘s, there are only manned tills, as well as plenty of other staff in and around the store. There is even a person disinfecting the trolley or basket for you! But then of course Booth‘s is in a different league of supermarkets than Aldi, Lidl & Co., and the higher number of staff is also reflected in the price. We can afford that, but many families won‘t be able to.
ReplyDeleteMeike, as you say, Booths is a cut above the other supermarkets and in the Waitrose league I believe.
DeleteStreets ahead and cheaper than Waitrose and you can buy in bulk from them if you have a pub or restaurant or are just a greedy bastard. They take your order you pay and they deliver. The prices are competitive.
DeleteAdrian, don't all the supermarkets, except Lidl and Aldi, deliver now?
DeleteI don't have a huge preference for self-service as opposed to going through the regular checkout, but if I have only a few items I usually opt for the unmanned machines. As a general rule I am happy to be in and out of the store as quickly as possible, especially since we are far from done with COVID, I fear. You mentioned the sociability of the attendant at the checkout and that doesn't seem to happen much here. Perhaps they are instructed to get the job done and not waste time talking. Yesterday I picked up one avocado and was thankful for self serve, rather than having to line up behind others to pay for one item.
ReplyDeleteDavid. the irony of the sociable assistant was that she was also the fastest. She was a lovely lady with a great personality. That is quite rare in supermarkets probably because the job can be mind-blowingly boring. It's years since I was in a Canadian or US supermarket but I was very surprised in the US at the sheer disinterest of the staff. Probably because they sported big circular badges telling me to have a great day. I made a circular badge and stuck it on my clothing. It said "Please don't tell me what sort of a day to have". No one ever commented upon it.
DeleteYou perhaps have never had the experience in the Deep South of being told, "Y'all come back now!"
DeleteI have never been to the Deep South, David. My experience of the US is limited to California and a bit of Michigan.
DeleteYou will be familiar with. "Is that You." It sounded rude to me at first.
DeleteAdrian, "Is that You?" always sounded very bizarre to me.
DeleteThe only place over here to have self service checkout tills is M&S. When I have used those in M&S self-service only stores across in the UK I get very frustrated as I only have their Chargecard which requires a signature. All that fussing about to scan and pay then I still have to call someone over to accept my signature. I just give up and get P to pay with his credit card instead.
ReplyDeleteHeavens above, JayCee, I thought signatures on charge cards went out with the last century.
DeleteNot Graham, you are not alone. In our small town I admit to occasionally joining a particular queue in the supermarket to talk to a specific cashier. However, I recently discovered the "my Nectar prices" at Sainsbury's where they 'reward' me for doing a self-scan shop by offering discounts on some items I regularly buy. And some of these discounts are significant - 25% or 30% in some cases. With current inflation those discounts are worth going after and now I have got used to using my phone to scan barcodes it's actually a very quick & simple process.
ReplyDeleteJayne, I've not used my phone to scan bar codes yet. That sounds exciting. I do use the scan and go in Waitrose in Milngavie when I'm in the Glasgow area. It's terrific because you can see exactly when you get to their 'big discount' amount without trying to keep it in your head.
DeleteThey opened one of those "Amazon Fresh" stores in my town not long ago but I haven't been in it. I think Amazon has enough money and I can't imagine scanning items with my phone and not making mistakes or changing my mind and then trying to figure out how to "undo". I am getting to old for it all, I think.
ReplyDeleteI have my regular store, "Jewel/Osco foods" and I am happy with that. I have time to wait in line if I need to and it doesn't bother me since I know longer need to keep a tight schedule.
Ellen, I didn't know Amazon had opened a few such stores but, of course, I was only aware of the UK ones. You'll be much more ahead of these things in the US.
DeleteYou are not alone!
ReplyDeleteA local convenience store is self check out. I avoid going there for that reason.
In a way, self check out feels sort of futuristic electric sheep sleep Blade Runner-ish.. Figuring it out, is uncomfortable. For a 14 items or less self check out at a grocery store, I can see the benefit. A full check out system, however, is stupid.
I agree, Maywyn, that self-service for a large shop would be a nuisance.
DeleteMaywyn, sorry to digress, but Blade Runner was one of my favourite films back in the day. I will never forget Batty's monologue "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die."
Graham,
DeleteMany years ago I studied Blade Runner in a Sci Fi course. I still have my VHS tape. Your memory is astounding. I remember no dialogue or much of the story. Pieces of scenes and the atmosphere are all I have.
Maywyn, if I could remember anything important to the extent that I can remember that then I would have been very satisfied. As it is my usual memory is terrible and it always has been.
DeleteI go through self-checkout at supermarkets if I have only a few items, but otherwise I prefer interacting with a human cashier. What I truly despise, though, is self-checkIN at kiosks such as have been installed at McDonalds.
ReplyDeleteThose screens are a health hazard but the food does you little good so stop using them if it bothers you.
DeleteI've never been in a McDonalds in the UK. In New Zealand I used to take the children in occasionally when they were very small and if it was raining because McDonalds had great play areas. They also had a MacCafé attached which was like a real cafe and sold excellent coffee and cakes.
DeleteWe have a brand new Co-Op, very swish it is and so it should be as they are 20% more expensive than Sainsbury who are 20% more expensive than Aldi or Lidl. What is good is that we now have self checkout. No more waiting behind an old wifey with discount coupons a year out of date and thirty lottery tickets to check. We still have the Special bloke who can't differentiate between a 10p coin, a 20p coin and a 50p coin but Lynne the boss said someone has to have him and he's better in here than out their working a machine. It all averages out when we cash up. Plus he knows to have a wash before coming to work. The state of him when he worked for Kenny.
ReplyDeleteAdrian, The Coop is very expensive but at the end of the day they do provide a good social service to the community in addition to just being a shop. These days it doesn't always stop me shopping at Tesco though.
DeleteI'm with you being wary about self serve checkouts. I don't like them but I guess I could use them if I had to,
ReplyDeleteRed, I'm happy to use them if I have just a couple of items.
DeleteNot a big fan of self service tills in US. Would rather humans were employed. These days almost all my grocery shopping is done by pick up service--I order everything online and then choose a day and time for pick up. When I get to the store, I park in certain designated numbered spaces, call in to store to let them know what space I am in, they bring everything out and load it in my car. I don't even have to get out of my car--although we always have a brief, friendly chat. So not completely soul-less. The cost for the service is about £2. Well worth it as it keeps people employed (staff do the "shopping" and packing) and keeps me out of spaces where rarely anyone wears a mask and Covid numbers are high. Also means one cannot impulse shop. :)
ReplyDeleteOTH - Our library system has introduced a new level of automation. When you check out books/etc., no matter how many you have (we have no limits on checking out books), you simply stack them in a pile on top a special metal plate on the counter. Put your library card under a device to read the code. All the books immediately check out in a flash. Did that with seven books the other day. Transaction took less than 10 seconds. Frees the librarians to handle more difficult requests/issues. Our county libraries are still well-staffed and well-financed--unlike many places in the UK.
Mary, I liked your statement that one cannot impulse shop using your shopping method. When I go shopping I always have a list of things on my phone which I have put there during the preceding days: usually when I realise I'm about to run out of something. However the majority of my shopping is 'impulse' shopping in that I will decide when I look at the shelves what I'm going to cook over the next few days. The library in Napier New Zealand had a similar system. Ours here still stamps them manually. However we do have a library service including a mobile van service for the very rural areas.
DeleteI work in a supermarket and have been for about 5 years now, the trouble with people who have small items compared to big trolleys is that they are the people who gridlock the checkouts. The purpose of self serve machines is to get people with smaller items through quickly so they dont' have to wait and clog up the bigger checkouts. I offer to help people with scanning their items on the self serve ones but people have this weird idea that our jobs will go if they use them which is false. There are enough other customers in this world to constantly fill up the big checkouts with no problem.
ReplyDeleteAmy I always found getting through checkouts quite easy in New Zealand although I did use the self service in Pak'n'Save quite often. I don't recall our other supermarkets having self service but it's a good while now since I lived there. Generally in supermarkets here trolleys are banned at self-service checkouts.
DeleteI heard or read somewhere that it is bad form to take a loaded trolley into a self serve area, that they are designed for a quick getaway for those just needing to purchase a few items. That was when they were first introduced here, maybe it no longer applies but the thought is stuck in my head now so I rarely use them as it's a rare day that I'd make a trip to the supermarket for a few items. The other reason I avoid them is I find it hard to not reply when the machine talks to me and always feel such a dill when it happens.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a favourite check-out lady at the supermarket I frequent and will wait a little longer in the queue to be served by her as she is always so friendly, cheerful and polite. Although it has dawned on me it's rather unfair to make her work harder than the other check-out staff just so I can feel better.
Pauline, generally trolleys are forbidden in self-service checkouts in the UK. I use them if I'm in a hurry but otherwise I'm happy to go through the manned checkout. The advantage of the unmanned is usually speed but occasionally there are larger queues for them - especially with schoolchildren at school lunchtime.
DeleteOccasionally at M & S I find no-one on the till, so am forced to use their DIY system and card. At first I found the system very confusing and unpleasant but I eventually got the hang of it. However, I always look to see if there's someone at the till. I much prefer a human; and paying with cash.
ReplyDeleteCro, during lockdown I had to go to the b`nk to get tips and car parking money. I never use cash to pay otherwise.
DeleteI use them. I like to get in and out of a store quickly.
ReplyDeleteDebby, I use them in those circumstances too.
DeleteI usually shop in the last hour of the shopping day at "Lidl". With a full trolley it is very awkward to use the self-checkout tills. It's so much easier with a human being and a conveyor belt. Sometimes I have to ask them to open up a serviced till.
ReplyDeleteYP, I've never been in a Lidl with self-service tills.
Deleteyes, they have self-service checkouts in several places here from the supermarket to the retain pharmacy to even a larger thrift store, which no longer has manned checkouts although people are there by the self checkouts to assist. My preference is always to go to a manned checkout as we usually do a larger shopping trip. There is way too much automation taking over positions once handled by people and I don't think it's always better.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice, I've never seen self-service checkouts other than in the grocery shops although I'm sure they are in other shops too. I do recall some of our DIY shops having self service but they seem to have abandoned them. Perhaps someone will correct me if I'm wrong on that.
DeleteGraham, yes they are in other places here as most recently a larger thrift store installed self-service checkouts but there are employees nearby to help out so still there's a human interface.
DeleteBeatrice, I don't think I've ever come across a thrift store(charity shop/op shop) that big in the UK although I live rather parochial life these days and rarely stray out of Scotland.
DeleteI always go through a manned checkout. I get on well with all the crew who work at my local supermarket. It's always a lot of fun, and we share lots of laughter...mixed some intelligent conversation, too, every time I visit! They're a friendly, cheerful, helpful group of people. I've no desire for automation.
ReplyDeleteOld-fashioned? Yes, I am! I enjoy the person to person contact. :)
Unless I'm in a hurry, Lee, I agree with you.
ReplyDelete