Spill the beans...on your self-service checkout tips (beep)

mrs_happ

I will NEVER use these self-serve machines. Don't the public realise that these machines are taking peoples jobs ? Where I work they installed two, and then two of our people had to move to other branches as we were "overstaffed"
Eventually they will try to replace ALL shop assistants with machines.

mrs_happ

aintshesweet wrote: »

My tip is don't use them :P
I just want to have a moan about the machines. I hate them!
I have lost my rag (properly) a couple of times with Tescos SS. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't necessary. They should have just served me, properly, on a proper till.
Also, am I the only person who prefers to put their handbag down to pack my bags?? Surely not. I want to scream at the machines when they tell me my handbag is an "unexpected item".

Just don't use them !!!! Get served by a real human being,much better and easier.

mrs_happ

abitofhelp wrote: »

I try to avoid them, i hate self sevice scanners, so much so I am in a challenge to avoid supermarkets for the month of May. Thats not the real reason but its good enough. I shall keep an eye on this thread for any further tips.

I also hate them, and refuse to use them. I want to be served by a real person. They will eventually replace ALL shop assistants with machines, think of the job losses.

rpettigrew

I hate these machines and actively avoid using them. They remove the space for two proper checkouts and stick 4 of these awful machines in place so you can serve yourself.

More insulting is the fact you are not even offered a 10% discount of your shopping for having to serve yourself. :mad::mad::mad:

mann-banks

I work for the the largest supermarket chain and have to come out quite frequently to deal with problems on self service. I would suggest anyone who hates them complains to which ever supermarket they use head office. Management need to be aware of peoples feeling about this issue. I would also say if your red light goes on and no one helps, if you look around your no doubt see a gaggle of managers yacking march up to them and ask for them to help. They are paid to work not talk.

IDProtected

Mister_Q wrote: »

This is not a tip on how to get the best from self service scanners.

Don't be rude to other people. Simply unnecessary.

rachbc

I love them normally and don't have too many problems but one evening I bought a load of reduced items in morrisons and not a single itme would scan - I had to stand an input every barcode with the queue behind me getting longer and longer, getting more and more flustered and sweaty and therefore making more and more mistakes. I have never wanted more for the the ground to open up and swallow me but I persisted!

Now when I have lots of reducations I head to the staffed checkouts!

Shain

I obviously have magnets in my brain or something, as I seem incapable of managing an easy transaction on them.

I would certainly avoid buying anything small - I tried to buy the small Lindt bunnies at Easter and they were too small to register as being put in the bag - grrrr!

I sort of wish the machine would say: "We think you're probably a thief - a bored 12-y-o will be with you in about 10 minutes when you're on the brink of walking out anyway...". It would have a refreshing honesty!

I use the self-serve things to spend handfuls of change. I buy something very cheap and just chuck in MASSES of coins - you get your change in the lowest number of coins. A couple of weeks ago I bought a chocolate bar and chucked in about 7 quid in change - I just kept pouring it in! Otherwise, I'd rather talk to an actual person.

But the thing that drives me completely bonkers is the amount of things that just don't scan. I have to watch the machine like a hawk to make sure it's doing what it's supposed to - at least I don't feel I have to do that with the staff!

BitterAndTwisted

mrs_happ wrote: »

I will NEVER use these self-serve machines. Don't the public realise that these machines are taking peoples jobs ? Where I work they installed two, and then two of our people had to move to other branches as we were "overstaffed"
Eventually they will try to replace ALL shop assistants with machines.

Oh, they can try but I doubt that we'd all stand for it. Every single time I've used one it's got messed up somehow. I reckon for every employee they take off a till they'll have to employ someone else to help numpties like me.

God, I just hate the way the machines bark at me. Especially when the machine thinks I haven't put a scanned item in my bag. I've scanned it, so I'm going to pay for it, so who cares where it is now?

Mind you, there are a few assistants who I'd quite like to see taken off the tills. Like those zombies who never actually look at you the whole time you're being "served". So rude, so unfriendly.

I might be a saddo but I like the friendly banter I get at my local market. Nothing the supermarkets can provide would replace that for me. And the machines don't call me "luv" or "flower" either

Uplink

phone_angel wrote: »

It could be seen as a bit pointless to some but I refuse to use robot tills in supermarkets as they are job killers and these companies already make enough profits. Soon we will be stacking the shelves as well or slicing our own deli.

I just have to reply to this post.

Just re-qualify as a robot till engineer or programmer or something, and there you go. They may take away the jobs from the humans at the tills, but they'll give jobs to those who create and maintain them. In theory, there's a balance.

Otherwise, why don't you take your shoes off and bash them to show what you think of them, just like in the old days?

I personally would like more robots everywhere. And in the case where you do need a human, I'd rather have a text interface to the human, as this would get rid of any misunderstandings and call centre background noise that makes it really hard to understand what the rep is saying.

I always use the Tesco self-service tills by the way, except in the rare case where the manned tills have shorter queues (it happens!). As for stacking shelves ourselves, I'd want a robot to do that for me as well, as well as find the item I want and bring it to me. The best would be to go to a "grocery warehouse", type in a list of items I want, and get all of them bagged and ready to go automatically - maybe do this at home, then just go and pick my order up, "click and collect" style?