"Self-Service" Checkout machines in Tesco

Wench

pennystretcher wrote: »

:mad: my local Mr T has removed the self-service tills with the belts!

They've left the ones where you have to pack everything straight away. And because I use my own bags, I always need someone to "OK" my bag when I put it on the scale...aaaaargh.

Yea, our big tesco stopped these quite a while ago now, I used to love doing my big huge weekly shop on them and annoying people in the queue behind me

Meadows

James_N wrote: »

For £6.00 ish an hour, a reasonably pleasant and numerate and intelligent teenager would provide a far better service to everyone, not just the old. Why do the stores think these machines are a good idea?

There is not much chance of them employing staff, have you noticed the lack of staff in Tesco stores these days, they are cut to the minimum and expected to fill the shelves and run to the tills to serve constantly.

Tesco do want to install more of these self scan tills, they would like to remove many of the staff operated tills.

stationaryace

Meadows wrote: »

There is not much chance of them employing staff, have you noticed the lack of staff in Tesco stores these days, they are cut to the minimum and expected to fill the shelves and run to the tills to serve constantly.

my 'local' Tesco seems to be picking up the slack then- they have more staff than customers (and its a busy store) who tend to lurk around the aisles chatting to each other and anyone else they know (one of them being myself). i only use SS if there are no/very small queues and i have about 5 items- usually my mid-week milk top up shop first thing in the morning- or if OH is with me to help with the multi-bag balancing act on the tiny little scales if i dare try to pack the frozen and fresh stuff in seperate bags

RadoJo

The trick with using your own bag is to select the number of bags you'll be using before putting anything on the scale - I do this and never have any trouble with the self serve machines. The only problem I have with them is that I accidentally leant my bag on the scale when I was weighing carrots and they nearly ended up costing me a fiver, but I can't blame the machine for that!
I quite like them, especially when I've only gone in for a few things at a busy time and I can zip through quickly. I think the more you use them, the easier they get, but I can understand why people prefer not to.

dave82_2

I had trouble the other day buying some loose ginger I put my recipe book on the part that weighs the loose items so it wanted to charge me £4 for a 30p piece of ginger :rotfl: didn't realise it had seperate scales (i.e. my book shelf) thought it would just work it out from the weight in the bag!

SarahMoon

kernewek wrote: »

The other day I bought an iron at Tesco and it didn't have a price on so I saw there wasn't a queue at the self service checkout so I scanned it through to check the price. Well, the reaction from the wicked witch, you would of thought I had just emptied my bowels in her living room.

Although to be fair selfscan checkouts aren't a price check facility.

Tesco ones annoy me "Bagging area" "There is a problem with the item"

Takoda

Yeah I've had nightmares with them too.

Will only use them now if I have one item and am using cash.

Most of the time I have a CD or a PS3 game in my shopping anyway and you still have to get someone to get it out of the 'thieving scum proof' case for you so the self bit is useless!

My local T now has at least one manned checkout until 12 now. People complained.

Jakg

James_N wrote: »

Without being too big-headed I would say that my 12 year old and I am at the top end of technologically-able people in the UK, both confidently using a variety of computers and electronic equipment productively for work and leisure.

LOL


I love the self scan machines - fewer queues as less people want to use them, I can pay as much in change as I like to empty out my wallet and then put the rest on my card, and I always get my clubcard points (seems that on the ordinary tills they always "forget"). Plus I dont get idle chitchat between staff when all I want to do is get some food in my lunch.

techno12

I use them every day on the way to work (buying my lunch) and generally ok. I have had it once not register £1 but the assistant was busy so I took it on the chin and put another one in. Not very MSE.

I wish they'd have different voices too - can get confusing with 2 or 3 of them blathering away at the same time

jenniewb

I use them at Tescos when I can because I like to pack items at a rate I can handle as otherwise I leave the till point and have to find a space to re-pack everything that had previously been shoved at me or worse- badly packed for me. (Frozen items in three bags instead of just the one).

I also like the way I can say I have used 4 of my own carrier bags instead of the sales assistant seeing my 4 reused bags and telling the till that I have only reused one. As they say, every little helps.

They can be frustrating (the message that there is an "unknown item" in my bag) is what annoys me the most. But get an MP3 player, and turn it up, the voices no longer speak to me! I use this dead time to ensure my bags are properly packed before yelling (as I have earphones on and cannot tell how loud I am talking) "I THINK THE MACHINE HAS BROKEN". Someone comes to fix it pretty soon after.