Self Checkout--a lesson in oxymoron
When I was a little kid I always marveled at the technique and skill of the grocery store checkout person. They could scan groceries so fast and they knew just where the barcode was on everything. They never had to look for it. They'd race through the contents of your cart and just like that they were done and you were on your way. I always wished I could be the one to scan the groceries but it wasn't to be. We had a Fisher Price cash register at home that we played with when we were little but it wasn't the same without the scanner and accompanying beep.
The first time I ever saw a self checkout at a store--it was Walmart--I was in love. My dream had come true and now I could scan my merchandise! (And I could check out without having to talk to anyone.) Then self checkout popped up at Baker's and this week at the commisary on base. Up until now I've had good luck using the self checkout. You learn what you can and can't buy without help from the attendant or dirty looks from those in line behind you. FYI--don't try to buy fabric at the self checkout. They have to scan one barcode then press some magic button, scan another barcode, and then ring it up. Also, if you try to buy alcohol at the self checkout you have to wait for the attendant to come check your ID.
Anyway...I was not so successful at the commisary on Friday night. Problem #1: for every item that you scan it tells you how much that item costs and you can't scan another item until it has finished telling you, "Two dollars." This makes the scanning process rather lengthy. Problem #2: If you don't place the item on the conveyor belt firmly enough it assumes that you're not going to take it home and credits you for the amount of the last item. Then you have to re-scan the item and after a few tries I came to understand that you should slam the item down on the belt. Problem #3: Everytime you have problem #2 the attendant has to come over and perform some sort of override function so that you can keep going. The lady should have just stood next to me and waited for the next problem to occur. So what would have taken 3 minutes max in the regular checkout line ended up taking almost 10 minutes in the so called self checkout where I couldn't do it by myself after all.
The first time I ever saw a self checkout at a store--it was Walmart--I was in love. My dream had come true and now I could scan my merchandise! (And I could check out without having to talk to anyone.) Then self checkout popped up at Baker's and this week at the commisary on base. Up until now I've had good luck using the self checkout. You learn what you can and can't buy without help from the attendant or dirty looks from those in line behind you. FYI--don't try to buy fabric at the self checkout. They have to scan one barcode then press some magic button, scan another barcode, and then ring it up. Also, if you try to buy alcohol at the self checkout you have to wait for the attendant to come check your ID.
Anyway...I was not so successful at the commisary on Friday night. Problem #1: for every item that you scan it tells you how much that item costs and you can't scan another item until it has finished telling you, "Two dollars." This makes the scanning process rather lengthy. Problem #2: If you don't place the item on the conveyor belt firmly enough it assumes that you're not going to take it home and credits you for the amount of the last item. Then you have to re-scan the item and after a few tries I came to understand that you should slam the item down on the belt. Problem #3: Everytime you have problem #2 the attendant has to come over and perform some sort of override function so that you can keep going. The lady should have just stood next to me and waited for the next problem to occur. So what would have taken 3 minutes max in the regular checkout line ended up taking almost 10 minutes in the so called self checkout where I couldn't do it by myself after all.
posted by Abby at 12:45 PM
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