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Thread: Self Service Is The Scourge Of Grocery Shopping

  1. #16
    Sith Lady and Cool Kid Darth Penguin's Avatar
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    In my backwoods area of Quebec, there's not much in the way of self-service. Sprawlmart is the only shop I can think of and I do tend to use that as I generally only have a few items.

    Once when I used to self-serve checkout in Provigo in Montreal, I had to wait for another cashier to clear my alcohol purchase as I didn't have any ID on me*, that was annoying.

    *I'd left my purse in the car with the brood and just took my PC and debit cards with me. I didn't make that mistake a second time.
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  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by bhlombardy View Post
    I'm going to take the self-checkout premise a bit further... When I shop at some stores in the US (Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale, and Stop & Shop to name a few)... they allow me to use my mobile phone to scan the UPC into their respective app as I put them in the cart, (or in case of Stop & Shop you use a scanner gun you pick up on entry to the store -- which you can only get if you're a loyalty card member).

    Regardless, I scan the items as I put them in my cart so I really only have to handle them once. I actually have my bags in the cart and I'm bagging them as I go along.

    When I get to the checkout and scan my membership card, the whole cart is processed in one fell swoop and I pay. -- At Sam's Club, I can pay for them right in the app and not even have to see a checkout. I just show my digital receipt at the door.

    These are even faster because you only have to handle your items once when you pluck them off the shelf and cart/bag them.
    Oh, I love that. Handling everything only once sounds fabulous. I bring my own bags too, so would have no problem with this.
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  3. #18
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    stop using self checkout. they kill jobs and all spending on credit / debit is tracked.
    don't use it, it will go away.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by dyalect View Post
    stop using self checkout. they kill jobs ...
    I still don't buy the "lost jobs" aspect of this debate and here's why:

    The Sobey's and Superstore in my neighbourhood have as many cashiers working at any given time as they ever did. They have ALWAYS had at least 3 or 4 people working the checkouts before the self-serve lanes came in. They were only ever fully staffed at peak times. -- Now they STILL have 3 or 4 cashiers on at any given time, including the one person that oversees the self-serve checkouts. They are STILL fully staffed at peak times. The Sobeys in my neighbourhood only took away ONE actual full-service lane (not four) and put in FOUR self-serve checkouts, and there is ALWAYS one person working those... plus the original 3 (on off-peak times) working the other lanes. -- No loss of staff here.

    The truth is, self-serve checkouts arent a staff-cutting strategy by retailers. It's actually a throughput and efficiency tactic which allows them to process more transactions per hour, increasing their volume throughput. As a shopper, if I see long lines that I do not want to wait in, I typically leave the store and abandon any thought of completing my purchase and I'll shop elsewhere. But when I see an alternative that is moving people through more quickly (ie: self checkout) , then I'm in... and THAT is what the retailers are hoping for.




    don't use it, it will go away.
    For self-serve checkouts to go away, you'd have to convince enough shoppers at every single store to not use them so that not even ONE self checkout EVER gets used. If even ONE of them is being used at any given time, then the store is still breaking even on the throughput model (one checkout to one attendant)... but I'm afraid those low numbers are not likely going to happen.

    Neither will you see the full-service checkout disappear. There are still people using them. Want to know how I know??? Because I STILL see them in line at those checkouts. There are commonly people who have too large of an order to make self-serve even remotely practical for themselves -- and yes also there are those who might want to pay cash, or who want their groceries bagged for them, or who like to flirt with the cashier, or whatever their reason. (and also, these are not the people I want to be stuck behind!) Either way, the full-service lanes arent going to vanish either. Those jobs are safe. So please stop saying how self-serve checkouts are killing jobs... they arent.

    Saying that using self-serve checkouts is killing cashier jobs is a bit like saying you shouldnt cook your own meals because you'll put professional chefs out of business. Or you shouldnt drive your own car because taxi and bus drivers need to earn a living. And better not grow your own vegetables in your backyard, or farmers are going to struggle! -- Seriously, there are plenty of people who use those services to keep them in business.

    ...and all spending on credit / debit is tracked.
    On the credit/debit front:

    Cash is practically obsolete. MOST people use credit & debit as their primary method of payment, regardless of where they are shopping, let alone the type of checkout. And especially if they are shopping for a family. Not many people with $150-$200 grocery orders are paying for them using cash... especially when plastic is so much easier, faster, and is more likely to garner you rewards of some sort. (and also, people with the $150-$200 family sized grocery order, arent going through the self-serve either... just saying)

    As for being tracked:

    All shopping with loyalty cards are tracked too... in fact that's the whole point of them. We get rewarded for letting them track our purchases. I've accepted that... so why should I care that Sobeys, AirMiles, or even Scotiabank knows what I've bought? I've got nothing to be ashamed of. If someone wants to know that I bought 12 boxes of Pop-tarts, so be it. What are they going to do with that information? ... wait, I dont care. All I know is that I just scored 200 AirMiles and 4% cashback on my Visa.
    Last edited by bhlombardy; Fri, Nov 2nd, 2018 at 05:17 PM.
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  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by bhlombardy View Post
    Cash is practically obsolete. MOST people use credit & debit as their primary method of payment, regardless of where they are shopping, let alone the type of checkout.
    Remember when shoppers used to pay with cheques? I told my DD this and she's like "Whaaa?", LOL
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  6. #21
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    The very odd time I go to Walmart I do like to use the self checkout....because I can unload all my change to pay for my order Collecting my change now for a freezer stock up
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  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by couponmummy View Post
    Remember when shoppers used to pay with cheques? I told my DD this and she's like "Whaaa?", LOL
    Yea, I do.. and if any one of them was ahead of me in line, I'd be PRAYING for a self-serve checkout!
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  8. #23
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    The thing is that they can't raise prices, so they cut cost by making us part-time cashiers.

    I actually prefer self-service. I have a face where strangers like to talk to, but I find small talk exhausting. I like the option of self-service, I just hate to be coerced.

    You need to sort out your feelings. Do you really enjoy interaction with cashiers? Or do you hate to have to do the work yourself? Are you afraid of technology? I'm getting a vibe that you just hate change. If you do prefer cashier interaction, there are plenty of other stores you can use. You might have to pay a bit more and buy different brands.

    For me, I absolute hate inefficiency. What I do is to use Amazon more. I buy my household cleaners and personal care from them. And I use Click & Collect service at Walmart and Fortino's for food. I even switched to Pilly for pharmacy delivery. I have cut my shopping down from 3 hours a week, to 1/2 hour a week.

    I highly recommend click and collect because you pay the same prices, and no additional fee.
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  9. #24
    Mastermind Natalka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by couponmummy View Post
    Remember when shoppers used to pay with cheques? I told my DD this and she's like "Whaaa?", LOL
    And not only personalized cheques, I remember using counter cheques - for those who don't know, there would just be a blank book of cheques at the till and you would fill in your address and account number.

    Gah, I'm old.

    I haven't used a self-service checkout, because I haven't been in-store grocery shopping since I became disabled.
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