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
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The closest grocery store closest to my house is the only self-checkout store around me that still uses scales and they’re awful. There are certain items it doesn’t pick up on and it forces you to bag your groceries after checking out, making everything slower. I avoid that place at all costs, even though it’s the closest to me.

I think they all still have scales, but I think most people's problems must be with poorly-calibrated ones or something. I haven't had trouble with them in a very long time. What I have trouble with is the camera above assuming I'm stealing and summoning a person every single time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the ones I use have a disabled scale, but only that one grocery store I mentioned actually uses it. It could be that they have poorly calibrated scales, but if that’s the case, then all of the ones they use are. Self-checkout everywhere else is a breeze.

When I worked at a grocery store, the attendant could override the "unexpected item" alert and it would re-tare the scale, causing problems for the next person if it wasn't actually broken. I bet that's what's happened at the store you avoid; just years and years of careless attendants overriding too quickly and messing up the calibration.