MSE Forum poll: Self checkout vs human cashier?

pollyanna24

I work in a supermarket and find it hilarious that people think I would be out of a job if I didn't scan their items. 

The supermarket I work in expect you to do so much more than just stand behind the till, i.e. reductions, stock shelves, deliveroos that the customers sometimes get annoyed when I'm not there waiting to scan their shopping.  But I'm not allowed to just stand there.

Neil49

Wherever possible I use a hand held scanner as this let's me check prices as I go around the store. I use Sainsbury's quite a lot and you need to use a scanner to get the personalised nectar card discounts. 

rowan222

Whichever is faster. Although I tend to prefer self checkout. The thing that annoys me at my local Sainsbury's  is at the self checkouts you have to wait for approval if purchasing alcohol. That's fair enough but a lot of the time the assistants are not paying attention or there is only one on duty so I'm waiting around for them to release me.g

RobfromCornwall

I do plenty of human interaction stuff at work.  It's nice to go shopping without having to pretend you actually like other people.  

grassmarket

A lot of people here seem to have lost sight of the actual question! It’s not ‘do you prefer self scan to manned tills?’ It’s ‘which one would you use if you just had a handful of items, plenty of time & no queue?’

In that case - of course I’d go to the manned till! If a human being was standing right there, waiting to serve me - I couldn’t imagine ignoring them & choosing a machine instead! Not unless there was something about me (or them) that was repugnant, eg BO, heavy cold, a glass eye 😉 If however that person was busy doing other work, then unless they wanted to stop & serve me instead - I would self scan. 

It’s also worth remembering that there will always be customers who want/need to deal with a human being. So it IS worth using the manned tills occasionally, so that store management don’t lose sight of that need. 

Bob2000

Cashier 100%.
You are doing the job of store staff but the company still charge you the same even though no staff.

cantbelieveit23

Given the specific question, I would choose self service.  Certainly in the supermarkets I use, it will be quicker than queuing for one of the few manned (or womaned?) checkouts.  If I have a larger shop, or have complications like yellow stickers, vouchers etc, I prefer a human as I will probably need help from staff at self service anyway, and getting large numbers off items through the SS system is a clumsy business.  I can never understand people with just a handful of items waiting behind several customers with large trolley loads.  By the way, I'm one of the elderly people for whom SS could be difficult!

molerat

Self scan every time, preferably with a gun which is a necessity in my local Asda with the horrendous incorrect ticketing.  I go in for shopping, not a conversation.

flaneurs_lobster

molerat said:

Self scan every time, preferably with a gun which is a necessity in my local Asda with the horrendous incorrect ticketing.  I go in for shopping, not a conversation.

My local Asda's a bit rough, never felt the need to go tooled up though..

Daytona

It depends upon how much I've been overcharged by cashier mistakes/fraud at the store. Co-Op are the most dishonest, so I don't shop there much and always use the machines. Otherwise I'd support the checkout people.