I love these machines. Minimal human interaction and I get to bag things the way I want? You just tell me where to sign, bud. They have definitely ruined traditional cashiering for me. Once I went to my local grocery store and theirs were down for maintenance or whatever and that soured my whole experience. Luckily I noticed right at the door so I was able to leave and go to another one a few miles away for the glorious automation bliss. I've heard it said online that not everyone likes them. Some think they should get a discount for "doing their job". And these people can vote. I see my local grocery stores are also implementing online ordering where they can pick up their weekly beetus mix without even going inside. I suppose those same people will think they should get a discount for doing regular shopping?

Even fast food is getting into the game. They have kiosks now, but they really need to update them to accept cash. At least the ones in my area because there really is no point in using one if one has to go up to the front to pay. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the drive-thru is simply these machines.

So yeah, how do you feel about this form of retail automation? Are you ready for everyone to follow the amazon model and go full-on costco with the warehouse experience?

Fuck self check out. Here in my redneck town very few people use the self checkout, and I love it. Why are we in some sort of rush to eliminate jobs.

I like self check out, but it drives me crazy when you're waiting and all the machines are occupied by people that scan groceries like a retarded arthritic monkey...
I will happily skip pointless social interactions, it may shock you all to learn that I'm not so much a people person  :suspic:

I don't mind real talking and serious conversation or even a catch up with a friend... But pointless small talk is boring and I being bored is like physical pain to me.. 
. Seriously 

I bet those who hate self-serve checkouts because " they took 'er jerbs " ironically love online retail - completely removing the middle man and need for shop front.

It's quick, it's easy and it eliminates small talk - for a lot of people, not having to talk to anyone is a blessing.

The next stage, I've read has been trialed in the UK. Completely register free - you scan in, you scan the items you want as you shop and scan out, paying for it via bank account/credit card attached to the app. I would suggest each item has a weight, and you'd put your collective basket/trolley on something to ensure you're not taking more than you've paid for.

Jan 27, 2019 10:16:28 GMT NATH45 said:

I bet those who hate self-serve checkouts because " they took 'er jerbs " ironically love online retail - completely removing the middle man and need for shop front.

It's quick, it's easy and it eliminates small talk - for a lot of people, not having to talk to anyone is a blessing.

The next stage, I've read has been trialed in the UK. Completely register free - you scan in, you scan the items you want as you shop and scan out, paying for it via bank account/credit card attached to the app. I would suggest each item has a weight, and you'd put your collective basket/trolley on something to ensure you're not taking more than you've paid for.

This makes so much sense, rfid has been around for years, you should just be able to put it in your trolley and not scan it. 

On the whole " they took 'er jerbs " front, it's become almost fashionable to bash the old self-serve checkout, yet people are big supporters of things like itunes, Netflix and other digital platforms - think of the video shops, record stores, etc jobs that don't exist anymore. These are entry level jobs, first opportunities for many a young person, now gone.

What's funnier is that he way people decry wall Street greed whilst shopping with multi-nationals and online only platforms that actively look to remove people to lower prices and increase profits.
I don't understand why Gordon Gecko is the poster child for the asshole yet Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos worshipped.

But hey... Nothing makes sense any more

I think I've heard about experimenting some places with that scan-n-go concept. May have just been on some club warehouses, but it certainly sounds familiar.

If you really cared about your fellow man and saving jobs I doubt you'd ever go into a store like Walmart. The same people are probably the ones who go into stores on Thanksgiving.

Automation is inevitable. The only reason we don't have fully self-driving cars and robots cooking fries at McDonalds is because they haven't figured out a way to perfect it yet. Boycotting the kiosk isn't going to kick the can further down the road. It'll be here when it's here, so I might as well enjoy anything that makes my life more enjoyable. I just wonder if we do get to the point where everything is fully automated, will a crazy place like America actually get behind UBI? Seems unlikely, but kinda hard to make a profit on those automated groceries when your core base can't buy anything.

I'm a self checkout fan, able to get my shit and get out with little to no human interaction? Done deal. If there's not one open though, I just go to a normal lane, much less likely to get stuck behind someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

Jan 27, 2019 10:16:28 GMT NATH45 said:

I bet those who hate self-serve checkouts because " they took 'er jerbs " ironically love online retail - completely removing the middle man and need for shop front.

It's quick, it's easy and it eliminates small talk - for a lot of people, not having to talk to anyone is a blessing.

The next stage, I've read has been trialed in the UK. Completely register free - you scan in, you scan the items you want as you shop and scan out, paying for it via bank account/credit card attached to the app. I would suggest each item has a weight, and you'd put your collective basket/trolley on something to ensure you're not taking more than you've paid for.

Similar to this?


I use self serve all the time, I feel like there should be slow/med/fast lanes like at swimming pools based on your ability to use the machines 😒.

From my experiences in working in a bar the people that say the refuse to use self serve because they take jobs..are the absolute rudest customers that i’d rather a machine deal with.

More often than not when I deal with ordering from a person it’s frustrating, I know they have KPIs and things but it annoys me.
Anyone that’s been to EB Games/GameStop knows exactly what I’m on about.

Just a few years before the AI blockchain activates and slowly phases out the need for humanity anyway so I’m not too concerned with the jobs part in the meanwhile.

I like using self-check out when I’m in a rush, getting one thing or in particular if it’s personal items eg. Feminine products.

It takes me 30 seconds to grab and pay for a bottle of water, but if I had to get served by a person it takes a minute if not longer based on who is front of me. One morning it took 5 minutes to get a bottle of water before work just because the self serve was closed.

next y'all will be complaining about people hand writing checks and counting out exact change

Jan 26, 2019 12:56:07 GMT nazzer said:

Fuck self check out. Here in my redneck town very few people use the self checkout, and I love it. Why are we in some sort of rush to eliminate jobs.

Creative Destruction.

Here’s how I see it:

Advancements in technology have been replacing workers since the industrial revolution. And yet every time it becomes a hot topic due to the next big advancement, people cry out about their jerbs.

Then politicians come in (usually on the right, at least in Canada anyway), and say that whatever thing is taking jobs will go away and jobs will be their priority and jobs jobs jobs.

THEN those same politicians get voted in and the jobs go away anyway because corporations have lots of money and Joe Average doesn’t. Those same politicians also do away with social services and things like universal basic income because “those last guys over spent! We have to budget to create more jobs!”

So who’s the real villain here? The corporation for existing and funding advancements in technology in order to increase their profit in a capitalist society? Or the government who could actually do something about the inevitable job loss and just lies and doesn’t do anything?

Jan 28, 2019 22:06:23 GMT RT said:

Here’s how I see it:

Advancements in technology have been replacing workers since the industrial revolution. And yet every time it becomes a hot topic due to the next big advancement, people cry out about their jerbs.

Then politicians come in (usually on the right, at least in Canada anyway), and say that whatever thing is taking jobs will go away and jobs will be their priority and jobs jobs jobs.

THEN those same politicians get voted in and the jobs go away anyway because corporations have lots of money and Joe Average doesn’t. Those same politicians also do away with social services and things like universal basic income because “those last guys over spent! We have to budget to create more jobs!”

So who’s the real villain here? The corporation for existing and funding advancements in technology in order to increase their profit in a capitalist society? Or the government who could actually do something about the inevitable job loss and just lies and doesn’t do anything?

Nice post RT,

What most people tend to forget is that it is corporations that employ people not governments. 
Corporations answer to share holders not to social idealism.
The task for the government is then to stimulate corporations to employ, train and retain staff. Broad brush Tax cuts don't really work, they need to directly stimulate companies that employ. Perhaps the corporate tax rate could be reduced based on the median employee income and increased based on executive bonuses. 

My only problem with Self-checkout is having to constantly get paper receipts when I buy one item so I have proof of purchase if the sensor goes off. I don’t want to be in Emma’s position.

At one point the sensor was going off in almost every store I entered for about a week, tried every thing I could think of to eliminate possible causes to no avail. Then it just suddenly stopped without explanation.

Though I know quite a people that work at supermarkets and tell me they aren’t really allowed to do anything if they see someone blatantly stealing in the first place or putting meat through as bananas. So 9/10 they didn’t even bother to glance at me when I’d stop with receipt in hand to show them i’d paid for my item.

Feb 1, 2019 15:40:30 GMT System said:

My only problem with Self-checkout is having to constantly get paper receipts when I buy one item so I have proof of purchase if the sensor goes off. I don’t want to be in Emma’s position.

At one point the sensor was going off in almost every store I entered for about a week, tried every thing I could think of to eliminate possible causes to no avail. Then it just suddenly stopped without explanation.

Though I know quite a people that work at supermarkets and tell me they aren’t really allowed to do anything if they see someone blatantly stealing in the first place or putting meat through as bananas. So 9/10 they didn’t even bother to glance at me when I’d stop with receipt in hand to show them i’d paid for my item.

When I bought a WiiU many years ago it went off on me. I purchased it in the back and paid for it there. Didn't give me a receipt and I was on new console glow so it didn't cross my mind. Not sure if I didn't hear it or what but someone said it was beeping. Went back in and told the greeter I paid in the back and they could check if they want. Can't leave their post I guess. He wasn't chasing me so I just went to get it to ease my mind.

Since they're locked up I couldn't have made it this far if I didn't pay. But I suppose people do smash displays. How do they not notice it happening? Oh yeah understaffed as fucked. That and nobody's taking a knife for a corporation for 13 max after 10 years lol.

Another time it went off because I had a security tag on some expensive sheets. Nobody cared but I went to the cashier to let her know. Funny that I missed the tag because it was the whole point of going to a cashier. Figured it'd be easier since I'd need the host to do it on sco anyways.

Next time dude toss your item in the air and catch it when you're out of the censor.