Posted: Oct 10, 2019 3:03 am
Self checkout is great when stores use it right. Like with most maligned technology it's people that are the problem.
The store I usually shop at does it right. The self checkouts are small and designed such that only people with a couple of items can use them. The employees they free up instead work as baggers for the cashiers who take care of those with more items. Essentially, instead of having 4 lanes with 4 cashiers they have 2 with a cashier + bagger while have 3-5 self checkouts for people who only need to pay for an item or two. Vastly superior to what you'll find at Walmart where they might have 1 cashier and then maybe 1 person responsible for 10+ self checkouts.
The store I usually shop at does it right. The self checkouts are small and designed such that only people with a couple of items can use them. The employees they free up instead work as baggers for the cashiers who take care of those with more items. Essentially, instead of having 4 lanes with 4 cashiers they have 2 with a cashier + bagger while have 3-5 self checkouts for people who only need to pay for an item or two. Vastly superior to what you'll find at Walmart where they might have 1 cashier and then maybe 1 person responsible for 10+ self checkouts.