Those self-serve checkout stands at stores...

[Charger_Fan]

Ok, so around here, we started getting the self-help checkout stations in grocery stores about 2 years ago.

In the beginning, being a fairly confuzer friendly guy that I take myself to be, I thought it looked fun to use...especially since I could be over & done with paying for my 5 items in my hand before any of the 5 other standard lanes (with full shopping carts & screaming kids) had moved an inch.
So I scanned all my stuff, bagged it, paid for it, received my receipt & headed out...only to be stopped by the "master overseer cashier" at the end of the line. She wanted to make sure I actually scanned & paid for everything in my bag.
Fair enough, so she looks my receipt over, then opens my bag(s) & takes a quick inventory of the contents. The whole time I'm standing there while she's rifling through my crap, I'm thinking "this is no longer saving me time"...especially since 2 sets of mothers/screaming kids got out of the store ahead of me.

The next 15 or so store visits, I just went through the cashier lines like in the good old days...much less bother.

After a while, I decided to give the self-help station another try & ended up with a slightly less time consuming version of my 1st try...but this time, I didn't get actual cash back as my change...I got FRIGGIN' TOKENS!! I grabbed my metal tokens & toy play money, walked over to the "M.O.C." & demanded actual money in exchange for the Milton Bradley version I was holding.
She gladly gave me real money in exchange & as I walked away, I vowed to never again do that. That was a couple years ago.

Fast forward to last night...
I decide to visit a new Home Depot (hardware store version of Wally World) that recently opened up on my way home.
Being a new store, of course they have all the latest in gadgetry at the checkout stands...except PEOPLE! There were 4 empty checkout lanes, 2 of which had lights on, which would normally indicate there was an employee close by to take my money. After hanging out at one of them for a couple minutes (scoping out AA batteries & tape measures), I decided to go to a self-help station (1st I've seen in a hardware store).

I figured that as soon as the thing started beeping as I scanned my stuff, someone would show up to make sure I wasn't stuffing anything in my socks...I was wrong. I scanned my stuff, bagged it, swiped my card (ain't doing the play money-for-change thing again), got my receipt & headed out the door.
I looked back as I was walking out to see if anyone cared...nope.

Hell, why didn't I just fill a cart with all the tools I discovered that I never knew I couldn't do without & bolt for the door while I was at it?
Yeesh.
I already decided that that store sucks, I'll stick with the smaller hardware stores that have real cashiers to take my money & give me a hard time for not writing the bolt bin number on my bags, while I stare at their boobs.

[Ponch ®]

i seen them at one of my local walmarts. I never really use them, unless I only have a couple of items and I'm paying with a credit/debit card. Otherwise, it seems to complicated.

[Old Moparz]

I've seen them, but have avoided them so far. I could tell it would be more of a hassle than waiting 20 minutes behind the old woman counting out the exact change in pennies that she digs up from the bottom of her purse. I also watch people setting off the alarm at the door & looked shocked as security frisks them & reads the receipt. I know unmanned (or is it unpersoned these days?) electronic check outs, toll plazas, gas pumps & more are the way of the future, but I'll steer clear as long as possible. (Although I do like the ATM at the bank, it's like winning at the slot machine.)

[73dodge]

I like em. I can go through the check out at the grocery store and be out the door in no time. Although if I got tokens instead of money I would be kinda PO'd too.


But I think that if you tried walking out the door with free stuff the little radio tags that get deactivated when you swipe stuff would set off the store alarms.

[Ponch ®]

But I think that if you tried walking out the door with free stuff the little radio tags that get deactivated when you swipe stuff would set off the store alarms.

not everything has those tags

still, I would guess that they have about a zillion cameras covering every possible angle at each checkout lane.

dude, when are you coming out this way again?

[bull]

I've used them at Home Depot and Fred Meyer but probably 70% of the time I find them a PITA because if you don't move your hands exactly right the machine apparently assumes you are stealing something. And try wrestling an 80-pound bag of concrete up to the scanner and then "put the item in the bag" as the machine tells you to do. Seems like most of the time I find myself waiting for the self-service "storm trooper" to push a button somewhere to clear a glitch I somehow created. If I have two or three small items they're ok but if I have a lot of stuff or something big, forget it.

[dodgecharger-fan]

I love 'em. We just got them in at Home Desperate and I can get in and out there in minutes. That's nice when I usually end up there 6 times on a Saturday.   

The high ticket items send an "alert" to the "M.O.C." to double check. They have to "clear" it on the central terminal in order to complete the transaction on your terminal. Basically, these alerts are for two reasons - one to reduce theft and two, to make sure the securty tags get de-activated properly so you don't have to deal with the embarassment of setting off the alarm at the door.

The units here spit out cash for change - they even offer "Cash Back" if you're using a debit card. Saves a trip to the ATM and there's no service charge.

[73dodge]

But I think that if you tried walking out the door with free stuff the little radio tags that get deactivated when you swipe stuff would set off the store alarms.

not everything has those tags

still, I would guess that they have about a zillion cameras covering every possible angle at each checkout lane.

dude, when are you coming out this way again?

Don't know but I here things are not going well at CBS after I left I might have to make a stop out there to slap some resellers around. But this week and next I am in new York and then to Texas the week after that.

I'll let you know when I come out and maybe Vain can join us when we go to that little place with that has the bartender with the balloons strapped to her chest...........   

[Ponch ®]

I'll let you know when I come out and maybe Vain can join us when we go to that little place with that has the bartender with the balloons strapped to her chest...........     

 

[Charger_Fan]

Dayumm! I'm thinkin' there should be a camera required on the next visit.

[Ponch ®]

Dayumm! I'm thinkin' there should be a camera required on the next visit.

never thought of that, but I suppose that could be arranged....

[ChargerHound69]

I can't stand those things at Home Depot.  Everytime you scan something it says wait for the associate to assist you.  What good does that do you.  They have those things open all the time with no one in line because the are tired of the hassel.  Then they have one lane open with a real person with about 10 people with fullllllllllllllll carts of lumber.

Get rid of them, or find a better way.

[BrianShaughnessy]

I use them at Price Chopper at lunchtime to get a sandwich and a pepsi sometimes.... not bad... except lately more old ladies are using them and wasting my time trying to find the code for broccoli and using coupons.
Usually I can be done in a minute or 2.

The home deblows ones are usually closed... and if they do work they always are ph8gged up and keep telling me to put the stuff in the bag over and over.   If they work it's better than waiting on the 1 of 15 registers that is actually open with an actual cashier.

[dkn1997]

for groceries, they suck.  try swiping bananas or apples on that.  you need the code, bla bla bla.  and the ones by me now have lines, just like the cashiers!!!

at least you don't get the snotty look from the machine, that's a plus.

[73dodge]

Dayumm! I'm thinkin' there should be a camera required on the next visit.

never thought of that, but I suppose that could be arranged....

yes it must be seen to be believed

[ChargerHound69]

How do you put a 2X4 in the bag.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Dayumm! I'm thinkin' there should be a camera required on the next visit.

never thought of that, but I suppose that could be arranged....

yes it must be seen to be believed

I see you've met our bartender.  How much do you think those things earn her in tips every night?

[Recharger]

If I have two or three small items they're ok but if I have a lot of stuff or something big, forget it.

Overall, I love 'em.   I've been using these things for a few years now, and the bottom line is it only saves time if you have a few items to check out.   In fact, most of them have some sort of "12 items or less" restriction now.   There's some sort of timer & scale built into the thing, and if you don't drop the item into the bag within a few seconds of scanning it, it will give you that irritating error message.   People who are unfamiliar with the system tend to scan and then stare at the screen to make sure it worked, and meanwhile that computer voice tells you to see the cashier for assistance.   This was explained to me by the cashier at a grocery store a while back as I was swearing (rather loudly, it turns out) at the machine.   They've been working rather well for me since then.   Still, I'd rather get that error message once in a while than have some bitchy part time high school punks smack their gum at me and huff & sigh when I point out pricing errors.   

Speaking of pricing errors, about two weeks ago I was at Home Depot looking for a few of those 3M paint & rust stripper wheels. I searched around for a while and finally found what appeared to be the last 2 in the store, both of which were hidden behind some other merchandise and covered with enough dust to suggest they had been sitting there untouched for a few years.   I took them up to the self checkout thingy and swiped them.   Both came up with a price of 1 cent!!      Those things normally run 10 bucks.   I looked at the cashier in charge of the checkout lanes and she just looked at me and shrugged so off I went.   I figure if I was at a real checkout lane the kid would have called a manager and I would have sat there holding up the line for 15 minutes while they scratched their heads and looked up UPC codes.   I guess things are bound to work out in my favor once in a while.   

[BrianShaughnessy]

How do you put a 2X4 in the bag.

I don't know... that was my problem.  I picked up 6 - 1 x 4's and it kept telling me to put them in a bag!

[Stormhammer]

Hell, why didn't I just fill a cart with all the tools I discovered that I never knew I couldn't do without & bolt for the door while I was at it?
Yeesh.
I already decided that that store sucks, I'll stick with the smaller hardware stores that have real cashiers to take my money & give me a hard time for not writing the bolt bin number on my bags, while I stare at their boobs.

because the magnetic security system would go offas you walk through the door - EVERY item is magnetized and has to be over the scanner to demagnitize so as not to set it off - and the magnet is facing the barcode - so you scan, it gets demagnetized... no scan... lets hope you know how to run 

so yea Mojo, nowadays pretty much EVERYTHING is tagged... save for like gum or something 


and if anyone tries to scan an 80lb bag of concrete... you know there's a little handheld scanner at the top of the machines that you can pickup and scan the barcode w/o lifting that bag.... 

[Old Moparz]

How do you put a 2X4 in the bag.

I don't know... that was my problem.   I picked up 6 - 1 x 4's and it kept telling me to put them in a bag!

You can go back to the lumber dept & get the saw guy/gal to cut it into smaller pieces for something like $.50 per cut. It would cost more, but if you wait until it's on sale & bring a coupon, it might not be that bad.   

[Mass_Mopar]

our price choppers have 1 person for every 6 machines.  they just stand at a little booth between you and the exit.  although you can still get away with scanning the barcode on 1 of the beverages in the 6 (12, 24, etc) pack and put it in the bag.   

[ChargerHound69]

Now when the alarm goes off at Home Depot they don't even look.  They are so used to the people at the self check out not running the magnets over that thing.  Maybe I can get that saw I have been looking at.

[ChargerHound69]

Oh wait, that guy that stands there sometime would tell me to put it in the bag.

[bull]

and if anyone tries to scan an 80lb bag of concrete... you know there's a little handheld scanner at the top of the machines that you can pickup and scan the barcode w/o lifting that bag....  

That's what I figured they would have but I looked all over the place for one and couldn't find it. If I could find a portable scanner I would use it on everything while it sits in the cart.

And is it me or does anyone else have a heck of a time finding the little slot where your change is supposed to come out when you pay with cash? Your money comes out one spot and your receipt is like four feet away in another slot.