"Why I hate using the supermarket self checkout"

For the concierge checkouts, many stores have both right handed and left handed lanes, two operators for each island. Some, Aldi perhaps only have the one option. But then that’s Aldi all over.

Many smaller stores seem to favour a single island with checkout either side. Equal opportunity for lefties, I suspect it is no more difficult for the staff than driving on the other side of the road where appropriate. :roll_eyes:

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It varies with the stores and the terminals.

The older cash & card terminals here have the bagging area on the right.

The newer card only terminals can have them on either side.

Our local Coles has them on the right whilst the next Coles south has then on the left which is a real pain.

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Apart from all the valid comments made I REFUSE to use self checkout because neither Coles or Woolies PAY me.
I refuse to take the job from someone else.
I refuse to take their pay packet and livelihood.

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Agreed, but at Kmart, access and even manning of the manual checkouts makes them more difficult to be used.

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I wish they gave me their pay packet. You must have a platinum loyality card or some special arrangement.

Servos have been doing this for years. Do you take the same approach with servos?

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8 posts were split to a new topic: Servos With Full Service or Assistance

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Servos With Full Service or Assistance

Won’t use self check outs. I have, and been frustrated by the constant crashes that occur. We are lucky here (Newcastle) insofar as they employ a lot of uni students as operators so there is a degree of intelligence behind the interaction/transaction. Don’t get me started about stickers on fruit and veg though…

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Coles is no better. My bag is so light that I’m sure it doesn’t register, but I ticked “have my own bag” anyway. No matter, repeated place item in bagging area messages resulted in the attendant attending. I am now experimenting with placing no bag in the bagging area and loading it up once I have paid

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I believe new technology is just around the corner that uses something akin to RFID. Each item is recognised by a modern derivative of RFID. You load your trolley, push it into a bay where the contents are scanned, and then you pay. The next stage is likely to be that you register a credit card with the store, and after the scan, your card is debited with the value of the goods. No more jobs for school aged checkout chicks. Imagine a warehouse scenario like Bunnings where you load your trolley and walk slowly past the scanning bay and then on to your car without stopping

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Not likely. Fact!
Or at least in trials. Oz is still a step behind.

Just read ahead to note the added convenience of the trolley load being totalled as you lift the item from the store shelf. Zero check outs required, as your CC is debited or charged as you exit the store with your trolley. No mention of whether you need to place your goods in a bag at the same time?

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RFID was coming in as I was retiring; I did some prelim research from a distributor/retail view and liked what I saw. Cheap, effective for analysis purposes and flexible in use. I gather a retailer is using this model now and would like to know how it’s working. All that said, a bit big brother; when do we start chipping the customers as well as our pets?

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We enough for our goods, and have to fill our trolley then empty said trolley for payment.
I refuse to pack my own bags so will always wait for a checkout.

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Could someone from Coles be reading these posts?
Went to Kmart yesterday, and first time! no problem at self-serve, even though I put my bag on the left as always. I still hate it, but.
Every machine in use of course, no sanitising wipes - BUT this is Tas, covid-free land

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Possibly. Some employee could be reading or a bureau. You can pay a media bureau to scan through publications for any mention of yourself, your company or key words. This applies to paper and digital media. They copy/paste and give you a periodic report or even an immediate alert depending on the contract.

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I think the resistance stems from the petrol station situation. A lot of us realize now that we should have made a stand against self-serve petrol. They are now longer referred to as service stations as there is no service. They are now petrol stations. There are still some service stations with full driveway service. I have been told there is supposed to be staff to fill your car if you cannot. Part time employment in Wollies and Coles had been what helped grade 12 and tertiary students while they studied.

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No this isn’t the case. There are unmanned petrol stations which are starting to appear in some locations (Tassie there are numerous) and can undercut traditional petrol stations due to their lower overheads.

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Lots of unmanned in NZ where manned petrol stations had been. Now just a terminal for the card purchase, pumps, and boarded up buildings.

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Impoosible for the cashier to come outside to serve petrol - usually only person there.

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One thing I do not love is when I scan marked down meat, especially premium cuts, and the screen freezes with a “wait for an assistant” message.

Despite Coles using their markdown stickers and barcode stickers which are designed not to be able to be removed and reused, they obviously have a comms failure between the markdown gadgets and the POS system.

However, I had an absolute doozey today after I bought the only pack of lambs fry at our local Coles and had to go to another Coles to get a second pack.

It was not on special or marked down but the self service checkout still managed to have a dummy spit which I needed like Custer needed more Indians at the Little Big Horn.

Our local Coles butcher checked out the back and said that they would not have anymore until tomorrow, our local Woollies had no stock and no idea, the independent butcher in our local shopping centre does not stock it, so I made a special trip to the next Coles for a single item.

And I did not have my trusty block splitter with me to re-educate the terminal.

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