We best shed fear of the self-checkout machine
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:33am Georgette Braun
Are you scared of self-checkout machines?
I’ve used the one at the Hilander (a Kroger store) on Main Street and Riverside Boulevard in Rockford just once. I tend to avoid it because I don’t want to make a mistake and feel foolish. I’m not alone.
Researchers studied the patterns at a lane of self-checkout machines in a Kroger Co. grocery store in North Carolina, and interviewed the users afterward, according to this Daily Finance story. “They found that shoppers felt more comfortable ringing up their own purchases if they were alone or in a crowd. But if there was just one other person waiting in line behind them, they felt more pressured and less confident and were less likely to use the machine again or recommend it to others.
“Retail Banking Research estimated the number of self-checkout machines in the U.S. will grow to nearly 192,000 in 2011, more than tripling the 59,000 that were in use in 2007.”
Yikes. We best shed our fears of embarrassment and get with the program or we could be waiting in lines longer as retailers increasingly cut checkers to cut costs. We can do it. Remember, some of us didn’t used to pump our own gas, either.
Entry Filed under: shopping
11 Comments Add your own
1. hokumboy | November 3rd, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Nope,
not me!
I refuse to use the automated self-checkout line.
I can’t bring myself to contribute to someone’s chances of ending up in the unemployment line. If that doesn’t bother you more than a little extra waiting time, well,,,,,,
Once a store becomes self-checkout only. I will stop shopping there.
2. jimmy | November 4th, 2009 at 9:04 am
good. glad to have you walk out. leaves less waiting time for me. i prefer self-check. saves time, and no one loses a job. people have to be available to service the computer etc. get w/the program.
3. notashopper | November 4th, 2009 at 9:32 am
My first experiences with self checkout was at a Homedepot a few years ago. They were the only ons open. I left my cart and went to Lowes. The next time I was in the Homedepot the same thing happened. No way to check out except the self service ones. This time after leaving my items I walked out and will never go back. It’s not a fear of using them, I’ve clerked in several stores and rang up thousands of items and that is the way it should be. I refuse to use them now or ever.
4. tk | November 4th, 2009 at 10:26 am
I wonder if the cost of not having cahiers is worth the amount of theft this system incourages. It makes it easy for dishonest people to steal using this system. I say keep it the way it is. I have no problems using one myself its real easy I just dont think its smart to have a lot of self checkout lanes.
5. Turbo | November 4th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Yes by all means stay out of those check out lanes if you have no idea how to use them! That way I can zip thru with my less than 10 items, without having to stand there while you fumble thru every step of the process
6. joe hoffman | November 4th, 2009 at 10:42 am
i am not afraid to use them, i choose not to give stores another chance to mazimize their profits and change their business practice so they do not have to face customers.
7. Amazing Scott | November 4th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Nope, I won\’t use them. My experience was at the Brynwood Hilander which is a wonderful store with great people working there. I tried the self checkout at their urging, and my purchase came to 19.51. I inserted a $20 bill and it spat it back out, told me to insert another. After a couple rounds of it not liking my money I took my purchases and handed the $20 to the clerk and told her to figure it out. I\’ve tried them again since and I just don\’t like them. If they don\’t keep the human element then I\’ll just shop elsewhere.
8. Joe | November 4th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Stores that use and promote the use of self check out are looking to increase their profit margins at the expense of CUSTOMER SERVICE. I for one will not shop these stores. Corporate greed has become all to normal and accepted in American culture and needs to be stopped.
9. Aaron | November 4th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
If I have just a few things, I use them. If I have a full cart, it goes to the cashier. I have not had any problems at all when using them.
10. Sarah | November 4th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Times, they are a changin! I prefer to go the fastest route through checkout, which is almost always the self-checkout. And anyone who thinks that a self-checkout machine is an invitation steal, try it.
11. Lynn | November 4th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I\’d rather use the self-check than deal with some of the rude checkers that they have in most establishments that require checkers. Retailers are putting bodies on these cash registers without teaching them the value of the customer and how to be customer friendly. Some of them have no business waiting on customers.
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