I tend to agree. I think the idea of the machines is great, but I would hate to see that become the norm and not have people doing it at all. I used to be a cashier at a grocery store when I was in high school and tbh, I kind of miss the social interaction that came with it. I work in a group home with disabled adults now and it's quite isolating. I think as technology continues to advance, people become further isolated in many ways. I agree that I would rather see someone get paid to do that job, than for that money go towards a machine. A cheesy as it sounds, I like how small things like a checkout line keep people connected. Lame I know :expressionless:

I like using self checkout but they don't like me. It just refuses to let me put more than one item in a bag. I feel like I'm dealing with Buffulo Bill from Silence of the lambs.. It puts the lotion in the basket. and I'm like.. but.. but I wanna put more stuff in that bag.. then it gets all pissy and it's like PUT THE LOTION IN THE BASKET! I live in a pretty small town though so I usually just wait in line because there's a good chance I know the cashier :)

Self-checkout should have a built-in Idiot Sensing Shotgun.

There was this one time... a a colleague at an IT (software) company was having problem opening his new laptop.

A bunch of us gathered round and one of us (probably not me, I dont' recall actually) found the catch. I was laughing at this point.

Soon after, my boss hinted that I should get back to work. I was still laughing, couldn't stop. I told him that I was standing by in case the guy needed to close the laptop.

I was really laughing hard that day... I guess the boss was worried about the impact on the new kid.

Fair comment on one level I think...

But.. It does sorta depend... there's theory and there's practice. The two diverge... particularly (for me) as my fatigue increases. I can be nice sometimes, or pretty nasty at others.

So I'm on the fence with this topic...

What I really hate though is when a person takes ten minutes to go check through, when they know there are others in line. If I have a problem with a card or finding money or something, well hey - I'll stand aside. No point making my problem everybody elses problem.

We'd all be dead LOL!

I use the self-checkout whenever I can, but only one of my nearby grocery stores uses them and it's not my preferred store. I think they're great, though. I definitely get out of there faster when I use them.

And we must be pretty savvy around here because I can't recall ever being stuck behind someone having trouble with it before.

The grocery store by me uses self checkout for the express line. It is great! Now instead of having one express checkout line the store can have that same employee oversee six self checkout lanes. That way the people that need help figuring it out can get help, and the people that can efficiently navigate through the system can quickly check out. Also you don't get stuck behind the idiot that insists on bringing thirty items through the fourteen items of less line, or the person that pays in pennies for a six dollar purchase.