Marketfriday - Self check-out YAY or NAY?
This is my contribution to #marketfriday challenge hosted by the lovely @dswigle.
This post addresses another hot topic: self check-out or not? I posted this on my FB wall and I got a lot of engagement, most of my friends said “no”. So, let’s see what my steemian friends say.
Ok... let’s go to BJ’s. Large department store, where you buy in bulk. That’s why it is called “wholesale club” and you pay an annual membership fee for it. The prices are a little lower, because people buy quantities. It works for large families. 😊
From the entrance you’ll be overwhelmed by the amount of merchandise they display. From books to appliances to food to flowers, here are some very self explanatory photos.
... they cut meats and cold cuts for you...
... some food ambassadors... promoting snacks 😊
... flowers 🌺 flowers 🌸 flowers 💐
Now, at the register you scan your items and charge your credit card. This is the self-check-out I was talking about.
In another post I was telling you about the non-bagging situation. No plastic bags, the cashier leaves your stuff on the counter, you must pick it up and put it in your bag. Now, no cashier. You must scan what you bought and pay cash or credit. No bags of course.
There were five check out points and 6 workers standing around. I couldn’t take pictures of them, it was too obvious. Customers were struggling with their products and those workers, paid by the company, were looking. I didn’t see any one of them helping. Ironically, all customers in line were senior citizens.
So who benefits for what? I don’t know. What do you think?
Seems bad for the customer, great for the store!
Store employees complain that many were laid off, I assume they were, but still... I saw many just standing around the check-out points to maybe supervise.
Absolutely Yay! I hate long lines at the check out. There are practically never any lines at self-checkouts.
Self check outs have huge lines here. 😃
Interesting. It's the other way around in America, then. I'd always thought Finns were eager adopt new technology and to be prone to avoid unnecessary contacts with other people.
I think this is ridiculous. We are paying for a service, not only for the products. Otherwise, we can ditch these stores and go buy the products right at the source.
I refuse to pay using that method. If I see no clerk present, I'll just leave without paying.
Ha ha you cant’t, the alarms will go off 😃. Anyways the clerks are watching you doing their jobs and probably the managers are watching them watching you through those cameras! Lol.
Then I'll go buy my stuff elsewhere. 🙄
I have to admit that I actually don't mind the self-checkout, but, mainly because I don't buy all that much at the grocery store. I also use BJ's and ours is a little bit different in the fact that we have only half of the registers are self-checkout and the other half have people on them. If I go to the ones with people, they in fact scan and put it back in the card unless you got boxes ahead of time. They do provide boxes at the one that I go to.
Having lived in Europe for quite a while, I am not offended with no bags because I never got a bag there. It trains you to be kind to the environment and bring your own. I have found that as Americans we are lazy in that respect. Perhaps lazy is the wrong word. For the longest time I think that we were uneducated about it and Europe has been very ahead of the game and that concern.
The fact that the employees stood around and watched the senior citizens were struggling with things is a sign of how we are bringing up our children. There's absolutely zero respect for their elders. As a former New Englander I could tell you that my parents made sure that we respected our elders and I don't mean that they made us as in they threatened us unless we were kind to them oh, but I think that they showed us by doing. They were always very doting on their parents send their elderly aunts and people in general so all of their kids in turn or very respectful. We were never allowed to call people by their first name, as a matter of fact if they were our neighbors, we always called them mr. Or mrs. Or Aunt was very popular. I think I had about ten grandmothers and only four of them really belong to me. Is it the times in which we live? I don't think so. I still put full responsibility on the parents. And well that is wrong because Society helps mold them, if they're given the proper instruction early in life oh, it doesn't matter what Society does to them they will have been given the correct instruction. Okay now I'm just I'm babbling but to be sure if I was there in your BJ's, I'm not sure I would want to use your self checkout. And I sure as heck would be writing to corporate to let them know about their lazy employees that are overlooking people struggling. If it's never pointed out to them, how will they ever correct it?
Thank you so much for producing this post for Market Friday!! It is such a great idea and I'm glad you ran with it. Thank you for all the time and effort it took to put this post together and it's always I wish you a most wonderful weekend!
#MarketFriday loves you!
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We don't always bring our own bags to the store in Finland, either. Finnish plastic bags you can buy at the supermarkets are quite thick and can be used multiple times without rupturing. We use them as garbage bags, which may be somewhat wasteful. But we use them for other purposes, too. We have probably half a dozen of them in the house right now. My wife nearly always uses durable plastic bags designed for long time use. I'm a bit lazy and usually buy a plastic bag. They cost about 20 cents. You always pack bags yourself at the supermarkets. A salesperson does it only in special stores.
I did forget about that. Even in Germany, there are places that you can buy your bags. They make it expensive so that you get the incentive to use your own. I may be cheap, but 20cents for a bag is expensive.
Thank you for your input. My personal opinion is that they can have a few self check-out, but still have a few regular cashiers. The plastic bag ban is a good thing, but the cashiers should still help customers to put their groceries in their own bags. I saw cashiers helping only when customers buy bags from them. You use your own bags, you pack your own stuff. I don’t like that attitude a bit!
That is exactly how ours is! Our BJ doesn't have any bags and so there is none to buy. Not helping is something I would be writing to corporate about! That is inexcusable!!
You have yourself a wonderful day! xo
Well, that seems dumb (the oldies, no bags and no help) but I LOVE bagging my own groceries. I make them square, distribute the weight evenly, use fewer bags and never put a heavy thing on top of something soft. I hate when I get groceries and can’t bag them myself.
I like to pack my own too, as I don’t buy much anyway. But I don’t like when the cashier dumps all my stuff on the back counter, turns her back on me, goes to next customer and rushes me out. Nope.
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It won't work in South Africa, we need to employ people most stores will have a cashier and a packer.
What I would love to see is no plastic, products not being double or triple wrapped with cling-wrap, take your own bags which are made of cotton or similar, plastic must go long before cashiers.