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

Uplink

rob897 wrote: »

it would be better if it would allow you still scan items and then when you press finish and pay you then need to be authorised to continue to make payment rather than hold everyone up behind you!

Sure, but then it wouldn't be better service because of them monitoring you. It would be just because you're a nice person. That monitoring should help when people are jerks so nice persons like yourself don't get worse service just because somebody is either a jerk or new to the machines.

staceyvalli

My top tip (as a supermarket employee)

Scan everything first then bag them.

rob897

Uplink wrote: »

nice persons like yourself don't get worse service just because somebody is either a jerk or new to the machines.

Yes, some people should be banned from
Them. Such as, old biddys who dont know what there doing. People buying loose items and not knowing what to do next.

Thats all i have right now...

Middy

staceyvalli wrote: »

My top tip (as a supermarket employee)

Scan everything first then bag them.

Also, if you decide to scan and pack, whatever you do, don't hold the bag! Customers don't understand this and the nagging woman in the till shouts at them.

I explain to customers that there are scales underneath the bagging area, Holding the bag on self scan is like standing on your bathroom scales on one foot.

Also some parents should be banned as their kids jump onto other customers' bagging areas, play with other self scans, pick up shopping and scan it at another self scan etc.

Middy

The other day, my shopping bill came to £4.03 after staff discount. I put in 3p then a fiver, thinking I would get a £1 coin as change.

No what happened was my change was 4x20p 3x5p 1x2p and 3x1p! I wasn't pleased to say the least!

QuincyBella

Some tips as an M&S SCOT (self-service check out) operative:

- the machines can 75% of an item at any time so there's no need to specifically seek out the barcode

- on reduced items we put replacement barcodes over the originals; sometimes they don't totally obscure the original though, and you could end up paying full price. Put your finger over the white code whilst you scan

- scan restricted stuff first and carry on with the rest of your scanning, then you don't need to wait around waiting for approval

- put your bag in the bagging area before pressing Start

- put coins in gradually or you will cause a bottleneck in the till

- don't faff around too much once your shopping is bagged, weight imbalances confuse them. Likewise, allowing kids to clamber on scales is ill-advised

- any offers will come off your total after you have told it how many bags you have used. Dine-in etc will not show up til this point so it may look like you're paying a lot. If you're not sure if a deal has been recognised check what your discount total is - a saving of approx £8 is likely to be dine-in.

On a personal level, if you don't like them, don't use them. I have dozens of people complaining every week that they hate the tills, yet they still use them instead of queuing for 5 minutes (if the queues are long enough another till would be opened). They tend to be people who decide not to put the items on the scales and then get infuriated when the till becomes "confused". "Stupid machine!" they say...I'd love to tell them it's operator error but I'd probably be fired : /

Oh, and please don't turn up expecting the assistant to scan it all for you (am sure you all have better manners than this anyway) - we can't set that precedent as there are too many tills /customers.

Finally if you let your kids scan alcohol and /or put in the money expect your alcohol purchase to be refused. This happens a lot, and people can get stroppy and upset but you wouldn't send your schoolchild through a regular till with some wine and ten quid so why should SS be different?

QuincyBella

rob897 wrote: »

they also have a touchscreen control panel which is usually in the center of the SS aisle. in all the stores ive been too, I have not seen one member of staff standing at these where i believe they can control all machines which in turn would save them time coming to you and could multitask with other customers.

That is exactly what I do; I can approve items and override scales from there . It generally makes everything run smoothly.

Middy

I had a customer that had unexpected item in bagging area. The last item that was put through was loose carrots. It was his first item and it wasn't loose carrots - loose jersey royals. He thought he could get away with paying 80p a kg for these instead of £3 per kg. Caught him red handed and voided off the 'carrots' and weighed them as the JRs.

I wonder how many shop workers that work on ss catch these out?

QuincyBella

Middy wrote: »

I had a customer that had unexpected item in bagging area. The last item that was put through was loose carrots. It was his first item and it wasn't loose carrots - loose jersey royals. He thought he could get away with paying 80p a kg for these instead of £3 per kg. Caught him red handed and voided off the 'carrots' and weighed them as the JRs.

I wonder how many shop workers that work on ss catch these out?

Yeah, this happens a lot with apples too, I find it hard to believe ever single person was just "confused" /:rotfl:

miss_scrooge

When I went to supermarket told staff didn't know how to use it so he done it for me that's my tip.Tried to avoid it but had to as no tills where open even though there where 5 staff chatting.