Walmart, Costco and other companies rethink self-checkout, some stores removing them

return2ozma@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 646 points –
Walmart, Costco and other companies rethink self-checkout | CNN Business
cnn.com
355

You are viewing a single comment

Milk is frustrating to scan? I did it yesterday just fine...

I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. People find it difficult to maneuver? Can't find the bar code? Self checkouts tend to have a hand scanner too, and they could use that.

Self checkouts tend to have a hand scanner too

I'm going to guess that this is regional or vendor specific, because I've literally never seen a self-checkout with a hand scanner. And if I ever did, I would expect it to transform into a broken, dangling cable within a few months.

Perhaps. I've seen many, and they're wireless. I suppose they might end up missing.

I know Walmart has them, it's kinda necessary considering the size of some of the products they sell.

We have hand scanners at the local grocery chains HyVee and Dillon's (owned by Kroger) that are doing just fine. Lowe's and Home Depot have hand scanners too. They have all sorted out all the 'unexpected item in baggage area' and other stuff years ago.

No idea about Walmart, but could see that type of store going cheap on the hardware and having it treated terribly.

It's fairly new in my area, but it's great. That and contactless payments (Google and Apple Pay) are nice.

Every self checkout I've used has a hand scanner. Scanning your own things is so much faster. I fail to understand why people whose job it is to check people out all day are so slow at it.

Then you get the customers that want to have a conversation with the checkout clerk. I'm sure the checkout person doesn't care that your grandfather has the same name and he was name after his great grandfather who rode the rails across the expanding United States in the 1800s.

I fail to understand why people whose job it is to check people out all day are so slow at it.

It is tiring as hell and they might just be pacing themselves.

Can't wrap my head around this one. I held the gallon up the the scanner, it beeped, and added the price to my total. I can understand if people were intentionally stealing it for any other reason, but to say that the act of scanning it is just too much of a hassle...?

The condensation over the barcode/potentially warped shape of the milk often makes it not scan on the first go. Seen it many times haha.