BristolUK

I don't do it - seldom have so little and the queues seem longer anyway.

But I was interested in this article in the guardian.
What does the underlined part mean? That the shopper, when using the normal checkout, unpacks and repacks what the checkout person did?

Vulcanoid

Self-scanning in this instance isn't self-checkout. They scan as they go around, so can bag as they go, and have all their stuff bagged before they pay at the end.

Shard

Yes, with the self-scanner you scan and 'pack' (into your own bags) as you go round. I've been using it the last couple of years and only had my first 're-scan' a few weeks ago. The assistant just selected 5-6 random items from the bags and said OK. I thought the person who wrote the missive to The Guardian was protesting a bit too much! Not even from Tunbridge Wells!

bats

Self scan: you scan the items and put them in your shopping bags that are in the trolley. Then you leave the store.

Regular checkout: put them in, take them out, put them in. Do the Hokey Cokey ...

dave_j

It's insidious isn't it?

The store owner will tell you that 'We're installing these different shopping methods to make YOUR shopping experience simpler' when what they really mean is 'We're installing these different shopping methods because it increases OUR profits'.

And how does it do this? It does it by reducing the number of employees, generally low paid employees at that.

Call me a Luddite but I don't much care for systems that seek to increase the wealth of the already wealthy at the expense of the low paid.

At the extreme end of the business is the new Amazon Go store in Seattle where there are no checkouts at all other than an unseen virtual system. It remains to be seen whether Amazon will need to replace low paid cashiers with equally low paid security staff.

'Ah' I hear you say 'they have to do something to combat internet sales, and these don't have any conventional employees at all and they make even larger profits'. And I agree with what you say, internet commerce is here to stay, but do we need to try so hard to eliminate jobs that so many need to make ends meet?

BristolUK

Ah, right. I remember that being introduced in a Sainsburys at Bude some time in the 90s.

Yes...it was kind of weird how they appeared to recognise that but still wanted to justify it.

I find most of the staff are far more likely to make a good job of packing than me. Except for when I pack to cycle home, of course, then I do it best.

BristolUK

I wonder if they'll develop a method where you enter the premises, choose what you want to eat and actually have them not only cook it for you, but serve it to you while you are seated. They could even provide the eating utensils. That would be an exciting new concept.

cheeky_monkey

Nope self scanning was introduced by Tesco in 2010 ..not the 1990s..so says google anyway

Pulaski

The two things are not mutually exclusive. ..... I prefer to pack my own bags, and in most cases self scanning (unpack-scan-repack, US style) is a LOT quicker, I find, and the queues shorter or non-existant.

Vulcanoid

Definitely not the first iteration - I remember my mom doing self-scanning when I was a kid. It was a big deal getting to hold the scanner as you were going around the store in Weston (although mandatory re-scan then seemed to be about 75% of the time - you'd put the thing back, it would print out a receipt which said thanks for doing it, we're just going to check, and half a dozen employees descended on you to get it done as quickly as possible)

Shard

On that argument we should all be toiling in the fields, instead of letting those evil machines steal jobs and income.

BristolUK

Maybe they called it something different or it was a trial. I've lived in Canada since 2004 and I remember being on holiday some years earlier and visiting Bude.

In the entrance to the Sainsburys store were all these gadgets that looked like calculators and the signs invited customers to use them to tot up their purchases as they shopped and save having it done at the end.

cheeky_monkey

i know what you mean..but that was just checking the amount you spent before you got to the check out and for checking prices where they weren't clearly marked..self scanning is different.

Shard

Yes I recall scanners being around back then too. The difference is the software/screens was a bit crap until recently, so people didn't use them. Now, they are incredibly convenient and reliable, even alerting on 2 for 1 offers when the shelf is not marked. Checkout is much quicker. It surprises me that only about 10% of customer use them.

Vulcanoid

Nope.
https://www.marketingweek.com/1995/0...ce-at-safeway/ <-- when safeway introduced them
Shoppers to check out supermarket scanners | The Independent <-- when Sainsburys extended them

Wasn't just for finding them out, it totted up the whole thing, and printed out a barcode that was the only thing scanned at the end. Unless you were selected for the re-scan.