Blog: Dermot Cole
Reader says self checkout lanes at stores will put local people out of work
Published Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A reader says that the heavy use of "self checkout lanes" at Fairbanks stores will lead to the elimination of more jobs and it's a bad trend.
Reader Jim Morgan sent me the following note with his perspective on the growing use of self -serve lanes in stores.
He writes:
One thing I noticed when I moved to Fairbanks in July '07, was the high number of Fairbanksans that use the self-checkout lanes in the local big box stores. More users, it seems to me, then in much bigger cities.
Although it is probably hyperbole, I've heard that every time someone uses one of those self-checkout lanes, another American loses their job. I can understand using them if you are truly in a hurry (family waiting at home, guests coming, the holiday rush, etc.), but for regular day-to-day purchases, why aren't most here using the manned checkouts? Helping ensure jobs for their own family and friends?
Last week, I was in Lowe's at around 2 p.m. and found one single checker who was hovering near the four self-checkout lanes. Not a single manned checkout lane. One worker in a store that huge.
There is (or was, a couple years ago) a company in the South that is experimenting with a store that has no checkers at all, just the self serve machines and a couple 'helpers."
Wal-Mart is supporting that research into whether people will accept this type of store. I think business will keep this up until all big box stores are like self-serve gas stations. NO ONE THERE. NO JOBS. NO HELP.
And eventually, no one with the money to buy what's in the stores.
Can you get the word out that the more these self-checkout lanes are used, the fewer jobs there will be? Thanks for listening.
Jim Morgan
Full time RV'er staying in Fairbanks for a couple years.
I don't like the dang things simply because every time I try to use one it screws up and takes 10x longer. Still, I rarely see enough people to check out the crowd building in busier times. I mean, has anyone here ever seen any store with every checkout lane occupied? even 1/3 of them occupied? I haven't! Not here or the lower 48
I like the personality of the cashiers; it's worth the extra few minutes' wait in line for the cashiers to visit with my daughter and me. But then again, I'm a people person. We seem to be losing more and more contact with one another in our automated, electronic world.
I never use the self checkout lanes unless I am forced too . then if I get to a store that forces me too I bitch and yell about how unhappy I am , and how they put people out of work . I am willing to pay a little more just so I am helping to create a job for someone when I make my purchase . The smaller stores most usually have a checker , some of the big box stores are really bad for no checkers . I always go for the line that has a checker , even if takes me ten minutes longer . There should be an organized effort started called No Checkers No Shopping .
While we are at it maybe we want to do away with ATM machines and make everyone support local tellers. How about doing away with computers and manually record all transactions. If we do away with calculators we may improve math scores in k-12 also. Better yet, let’s go back to the 16th century and have no conveniences whatsoever. People worked harder and we much more fit than today but, life expectancy was very short due to all of those conveniences being non-existent.
I really don't remember a major recession when we slowly transitioned from full service gas stations to self serve, and I doubt that the country is going to fold because I find it much more convenient to go through the self serve line at local stores. I remember when there was a big push to charge out the nose for online banking and going to a teller was free. I think we will start seeing in the future more of a DMV model where it cost more to go down and do anything in person where as doing business on-line is free. And how I hate going to the DMV!
Look at the unemployment rate in the United States . All happen because we supported too many working people , didn't buy enough online . didn't do enough online banking , The government should form a committee to study how to put more out of work . Also there should be subsidy created for foreign car buyers , etc . Just too many people have jobs , and that makes them too independent .
Great topic, same lines of thinking apply to the web based travel resevations and airline check in kiosks.
Remember when this town had a few dozen travel agents working?
How about bill processing, how many people do you think it takes to monitor on-line GVEA payments? Compare that to people opening envelopes and typing in data.
The realtors are next, on line browsing has greatly de-valued their work. As a group they need to figure out how to remain relevant.
For me it seems like the net benefit to society is good, even as some pain occurs along the way. More efficiency is what capitalism is all about.
I am not a fan of the self-checkout lanes. I'm afraid that something will go wrong, and I'll be accused of shoplifting. I know it is an irrational fear, but a fear none the less.
I find self check out lanes fine if you only have one or two items, but like someone mentioned above, it only takes you longer(especially with produce). What I resent is that I come in and buy $100-$200 worth of groceries at Fred Meyers and they only have one "normal" (not self check out and not express) lane open. Quite irritating!
Personally, I love the self checkout lanes at the grocery store. No more dealing with soup cans in the same bag as my bread...If I happen to mention to the moody teen doing my bagging that I don't want my soup with my bread, I get the "I know what I'm doing" attitude.
Really! I bought sliced bread, when I get home, I want slices, not lumps!
I'll gladly take the self checkout if my cashiers of choice are not on duty
This country has automated so many processes within manufacturing also, and the people that were replaced by a machine were for the most part flexible enough to change with the times and find employment in another sector. I know it’s naive to believe that everyone will have top salary jobs and all lower level jobs will be taken up by robots. But, I think that history has shown that overall, as automation comes in to play the workforce shifts to support the automation or newer technology. Efficiency does create or transforms jobs. Not everyone will instantly get better paying professional jobs right off the bat but overall we are better off today than in the past.
dont go shopping during shift change, youll never get checked out!
First off Lowes does not have self check outs.
Second I will use the automated ones because their personality is usually better then the human checkers at Fred West. There's the ditsy Russia chick who stares off into outer space if you ask her anything. The lady would smokes about 4 packs a day. And the one broad who's always complaing about something. Once the machince (or the user) screws up, I get to be helped by an asian women who does not understand or speak English. Give me more machines!
As a cashier, who works at Fred Meyer. I have one question what could be so important that you cant take a few extra minutes to stop, breathe, and relax.
While you wait in line, or operate the Uscan system. I get so frustrated with people who get upset with me because they have slid their card, and the Uscan system hasn't given them a receipt. I have to routinely remind them that they are also playing the role of the checker, and need to answer some add'l questions.
So, the next time you go through Uscan. Please do us all a favor, Stop, Breathe, and Read the screen before you start your order. As the lane could be already in use, or imagine this the system may have crashed and is being rebooted.
Most of all I ask that you remember one thing, while we may only be cashiers. We're only human, and there is Six or more of you to one of us, and your patience would be greatly apprecited, and we in turn will do our very best to get you Out the door as quickly as possible.:)
The only way we are going to fix the long line problems, is to either be patient, or send a letter to corporate. Then maybe, I'll get some help at the desk, and you'll be able to light up and inhale a little quicker.
I hate those self check lanes. I never use them. If someone loses a job over it, it won't be my doing!
Available work is abundant in Fairbanks, available skilled labor is not.
Install more self-check lanes please so I can spend less time and money shopping for things I have to buy.
I use both. Sometimes I use the personified checker. Sometimes I use the self-checker.
There are some interesting personalities who work at Fred's. But, that's what makes it fun!
I love the self checkout! I don't shop at East Safeway because they don't have one. I have a life and don't want to spend it waiting on you to get your coin purse out or count you coupons. Bottom line is I don't use it because I want to put people out of work, I use it because I don't want to wait for you to finish your phone conversation and pay the checkout person.
Well, if you learn how to use the technology, the self-checkouts are very easy.
We have a big family, and it's always hard to find a short "full cart" line. So I've taken to using the no-limit self-checkout, and I'm much faster at it than any store employee would be. Bonus that in self-checkout at Fred's, my kids can't be tempted by candy and toys in the danged checkout line! (I'm sure they'll fix that up quickly, though).
If the lines are horrendous and there's only one "full cart" line open (and sometimes that line is to the back of the store), I leave my cart and go home. It's not my fault the stores don't employ enough people, or call their Blue-Line cashiers up sooner.
And, yes, Isanova, I have seen Fred's stacked back past the aisles with almost all of their lines open. It does happen.
Go there next Sunday afternoon and watch! :p
While we're at it, how about we stop using email and phones so that we can employ more mail carriers?
If we can show people how little low-skilled jobs there are, maybe there will be fewer high school dropouts, which would employ more teachers.
I usually go back in the meat dept. and cut my own steaks, also.The employees look at me kind of weird,but its all worked out so far.
reminds me of what happened to the poor buggy whip industry. terrible. anyone have any blank beta tapes for sale, btw?
When I'm buying something embarrasing in the "relationship" aisle, ... I use self-checkout.
I presume when I'm older and need depends, ... I'll use it then too.
adifferentview, you need to go back to Lowe's again, because they do have self checkouts. The last time I was in there, one lady was monitoring all four of them and tried to get me to use one. I told her I would wait in line for a cashier, as I won't use a self checkout unless I get a discount for doing the cashiers job for them.
AKbychoice: Apparently your time has no value to you. I'll take it.
I personally think they need to keep a few, a group of maybe four, for the quicker check out, and for lower items (10 or less). But for crying out loud, just get cashiers on the other registers! Holy moly, the lines are out in the aisles, and there's only one or two lanes manned. And you know that there are those that have full carts, not that that is their fault, they are shopping. WalMart is horrible on this, especially around standard after working hours. And the "express lanes" they have, what, for 20 items or less? How about one for 10 items or less, no weighing anything? Customer service suffers because of this. I'd hate to see how many lanes, full service are open at 3am at WalMart.
AKbychoice,
You are confused between Home Depot (Orange themed store) and Lowes (Blue & Grey themed store). I shop at BOTH, Lowes does NOT have self checkout areas. They are all counter driven unless it has been installed in the last 24 hours. I know several people that work there that are hoping for them to be installed; including family members.
Home Depot has had them for quite some time.
In my UAF days I worked for pre-Krogerized Fred Meyer. (Kroger put in the self checkouts at Freddy's later on.) I worked in another department and was called to cashier only when it was very busy or it was a holiday...mostly holidays, which meant I got paid $23.50/hour holiday pay to cashier.
I did not like cashiering. Even today, I won't cashier myself. The way I figure it:
* $23.50/hour holiday pay was STILL not enough to make me cashier willingly (but I still did it with a smile).
* The self-checkout means someone else is not getting paid their regular pay or holiday pay.
* The self-checkout means that the company is saving all those wages for itself, and those get paid to the upper management that doesn't actually do any real work. I haven't seen prices drop when self-checkout is installed in a store.
* As a customer, I don't get a coupon equal to $23.50/hour of my time to use as a discount toward my purchase. I still pay full price. Effectively, I'm working for them for free.
No, self-checkout isn't really a good thing.
(And yes, I try to use the human tellers at banks when they're open, too. My bank knows me by face and name and the kind of request I make. Consequently it's also another level of fraud protection. It pays to pay people.)
Wait till RFID tags are linked to debit cards........
i agree with the letter writer. i stopped shopping at the hardware box store that doesn't have a check-out person.
I wonder if Sarah Connor uses the self checkout machine?
What I don't like about the U-scans ANYWHERE is that if I don't want to put it in a bag, or put the item in my OWN bag, you cannot proceed. Annoying as crap, it is. I prefer to say hi to the cashiers and ask them how they're doing; it's part of what makes our community what it is; sourpusses and all.
The reason Walmart has more self checkouts in Fairbanks than in other areas is because they can't hire enough people to staff the store. They are routinely 100 employees short of what they want. While they are actually removing self checkouts in many places because of the theft problem, they add more here to make up for the shortage of cashiers.
When robotics was introduced in the factories of Detroit, people feared that jobs would be lost, and yet, the United Auto Workers Union later embraced the technology. Many blame the high wages and benefits of the auto workers for the failure of the automobile industry crisis. I don't, but some do.
Has the almost total lack of human interaction at the gas pump left thousands out of work? Not that anybody's noticed.
Fred Meyer's has something on the order of 25 checkout stands, more then half of which are unmanned at peak hours. In fact, the only time I ever saw them all operating simultaneously was during opening week. Early in the day, or later at night, only a half dozen or so are manned. But those self-check stations are always open, easy to operate, and one can work at his or her own pace, and pack their groceries the way they like them. We interact with the staff, know their names and don't feel at all like we're putting somebody out of a job. Please don't tell me that we should feel guilty about this - we have enough guilt to take us to an early grave...
Not only do I also think they take a job from someone BUT what kind of discount do I get for checking out my own groceries? If I am playing full price I am getting full service!
It's easier to use self check out because there are never enough employees to cover the other lanes. Go into Fred's on a Sunday afternoon. The store is packed, but only about half of the manned lanes are open. The rest are vacant. It's no wonder people use self check out.
Haven't any of you people seen TERMINATOR? Its inevitable that the machines will take over...
Like this computer I'm typing on for instance. The damn thing runs my life!
Like others have mentioned, I like the self checkout so I can pack my bags the way I want. Cold food that goes in the fridge goes in one bag. Canned and boxed food goes in another, snacks and cereal in another. Each bag is easy to unpack when I get home instead of having stuff that gets put away in different places tossed into several bags.
I am also wary of some of the checkers. There are some that are so darned slow it makes me crazy. I'm an impatient person, and I'm also a parent who works full time. My time away from the grocery store IS more valuable than time spent standing in line. Plus checking my own means I'm not just standing waiting. I like to keep busy. Then you have the checkers that could be twice as fast if they didn't want to tell you their life story, their political beliefs, their grandchild stories. Some days I don't mind, but some days I need to shop and leave without having my ear talked off. And one fine day I had a checker literally hold my reusable bag in one hand and scan and toss things in with the other -- no "packing," no notice given to what was going in which back, no notice of what was on top of what. And she CRAMMED those bags full. They hold a lot, but it was ridiculous how much she shoved in there. There are some good checkers, but most just seem to be putting in their time and waiting to get out of there.
My one pet peeve? Folks with 5 items who use the larger-order side self-check at Fred's West when there are open machines in the 15-or-less side. Leave the bigger ones open for those that have too many items to use the quick lanes!
I simply want the fastest way out, period.
I use both depending on how much I have and how long the lines are. Sometimes it is faster to go through the self serve line than to have a cashier do it.
I actually think it takes longer to use the self-checkout machines if you have a lot of items because you have to "bag" your 50 pounds of mulch or press the bypass button. Press the bypass button enough times and the thing shuts down until a helper comes over and types in a code.
I stick to the registers whenever possible. It's easier, more sociable and often quicker.
If your job can be replaced that easily by a machine, then you may want to start taking some classes, or learning a trade, because it will happen.
Protesting new technology because it puts people out of work is absurd. If you can't adapt, you will be left behind. A lot of these machines make it easier for increased production at lower costs and with less effort.
Can you imagine where we'd be if the automatic hay baler had never been put into action, or tilling a farm was still done by hand and horse because using a tractor was banned?
This was news worthy of a column? Elimination of cashier jobs was the ONLY reason there ever was for the U-Scan lanes. They are far slower than a real cashier is - we mere mortals have to scan every freakin' item three times before the laser reads it, and put up with "please place the item in the bag" over and over. I'd have been much happier to see them hire the proper number of cashiers.
Maybe if people in some of these places were paid a living wage and could get 40 hours a week they cold find employees to hire.
I do self check out.
At Wall Mart, you walk up hold the item in front of the scanner and stick the money in the slot, grab your change.
In the cause of GM and UAW, the bots wiped out thousands $70 dollar an hour UAW jobs. The bots work all day, don't strike, show up for work, and don't require retirement benefits, and don't vote for democrats.
Here we go again! This is just like the time Bart Thimonnier had a factory with 80 sewing machines sewing uniforms for the French Army. The factory was destroyed by rioting French tailors, who firmly believed in sewing by hand, one stitch at a time. They won the battle, but kind of lost the war, because now sewing machines seem to be everywhere, even in private homes. Oh, well, that's progress. They trashed the factory in 1841, but some people apparently still haven't learned that technological progress is a force that cannot be stopped.
In Ca during the late 60-early 70s the farm workers organized into a union for better wages, etc.
They were quite successful for many years raising the price of labor till it was not competitive with labor in Mexico and South America. This is why you see produce from South America and apricots from Greece.
Then farmers discovered grapes could be picked by a bot!
Also, America's ag production supplies food to millions around the world because of bots.
As I said, bots don't get sick, show up hung over, pg, go on strike, vote for democrats to pass laws to keep their jobs, and be supported on retirement at a level equal to their jobs.
By the way, I notice it takes 1 worker to watch 4 self checkout stands.
The thing that seems to slow, me, down the most is finding the bar code on the package.
Also, anyone remember the days before bar codes and scanners? That one change eliminated thousands of union store clerk jobs.
I am a control freak and self service ANYTHING allows me to be in control of my time and my attitude. LOVE OUR AUTOMATED WORLD!
Cashiers will go the way of the gas jockey's. Heck you have to be pretty old to even remember what a gas jockey was. Its sad but it is the so called future.
You would think they would atleast give a discount to those customers using the self checkout but why cut your greedy profit level. Free enterprise is great but as we have seen recently greed (and not terrorism or some foreign entity) will be the death of our economy and our country.
It amazes and saddens me how badly American's will treat each other all in the name of making a buck. What happened to honesty ,integrity , honest business men and honest bankers, and an honest hard day of work?
I run through the self-checkout line whenever I am in a hurry with a couple items...but honestly I wish all grocery stores would bring back the baggers who actually bring your groceries out to your car and pack them up for you. I am fortunate to get to shop at the commissary and there is nothing better than getting help out at 40 below. Those baggers earn every penny of their tips-only salary. Cindy at the West Safeway is the next best thing!!!!
frbksrdnk, I stand corrected. I don't usually shop Home Depot, for reasons I won't elaborate on, but I had to get something a couple of weeks ago that only they carried in Fairbanks. It was, in fact, Home Depot that I was thinking of.
Maybe if the cashiers cared more about their jobs I would go through the lane that is manned. HOWEVER, half the time they are rude, they are slower then if I let my 4 year old do the scanning and they squich my bread. Sorry if people are losing their jobs, but maybe if the quality was stepped up a bit, they might get mor attention. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but if your feelings are hurt, then it must have been the truth. NOT all cashiers are bad, I do look for the ones that I like to go through, but others, moving on to the self check out.
And what about Wal-Mart? They have 20 plus lanes and only have 4 open at a time, wheres my self scan at then? Open the lanes, or make them ALL self check out and skip the b.s.
I personally love the self checkouts. I do feel they must reserve some lines open for those who insist on feeling high and mighty, I have no problem checking my own groceries. I find I can scan, pay and grab my receipt for non produce items in about 40 seconds which is a heck of a lot faster than most human cashiers do. The only problem I can see is when there is a completely befuddled, hopeless person using the self checkout, that just slows up everything!
Gee 1AkFox - I thought that the reason that produce comes from South America is because bananas, brazil nuts and cocoa don't grow well in CA... Those are the three main agricultural imports from S. America.
And as far as the UAW's stance on robotics, it's my understanding that although the union was initially concerned about job losses, it recognized that industrial robots and flexible manufacturing systems actually improved working conditions in many areas, including safety. They realized that jobs lost in acquired industrial skills (ie, unskilled laborers) would have to be replaced by highly trained personel with skills in computer programming, mechanical engineering and electronic design who must implement, maintain and operate the robotics - they just can't operate all by themselves, and they DO, in fact, "get sick" and break down.
You're way off on the wages of the rank and file UAW, though. The entry wage for workers was (when they were working...) as low as $12/hour. The average was $28/hour. They did have decent health care and other benefits, adding around $10/hour to their wages.
The myth that the average guy on the line was raking in $70/hour was just that, a myth, that upper management would throw around to justify their own multi-million dollar annual wages. The CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally, rakes in $28 million per year, plus perks. If he takes only two weeks per year in vacation (as if...) and worked 40 hours per week (ya think?) that works out to... $14,000 per hour. Plus perks. Yeah.
But, I'd agree, to a point on one of your pluses - one great benefit is that industrial robots can't elect Republicans who'll start preemptive wars that takes National Guardsmen away from their jobs to fight on foreign soil.
Your turn.
I am just wondering about what all these lovers of self check lanes do for a living ? I wonder how many work for the government ? One thing for sure they show no compassion , they seem to be thinking of just good old me .
No Barks, we're not thinking of you at all. We're thinking that we don't want to stand in a line full of people with full carts to get a can of soup. We're thinking that if Fred's had more lines open for express checkout, we'd probably go there instead. We're thinking that compassion is not the issue - expediency is, and no, I don't work for the government - what does that have to do with anything anyway????
I don't see why we can't have both...obviously some people are married to the idea of a manned cashier station and will gladly wait an extra ten minutes to visit one, while others prefer to check themselves out...with two people to run ten self check stations (like at Freds west) there should be plenty of others to help the curmudgeons who insist on the manned stations...why should anyone decry it as a humanitarian disaster? I just want out...outlawing the self checkers will not make me a happier customer!
I also love the self checkouts! They are a great, speedy, convenient way to get out of the store quickly and spend my time on things more important and meaningful. Still need the "staffed" checkouts for larger purchases though.
I love self checkout cuz you can cheat on them and get a discount on certain items you buy.
Ever since the grand opening of this Fairbanks Wal-Mart in April 2004, ...and to this day- This is the ONLY Wal-Mart store I have ever witnessed that DOES NOT UPHOLD their worldwide store policy upon opening an additional checkstand after 3 people are WAITING in any line to buy SOMETHING...... the self checkout stands are a blessing there.
The majority of all the 'checkstand service' retail stores in town here seem like they're on strike or laid off anyway while waiting and waiting and waiting to purchase items as management always cut back on cashiers, so they might as well lay them off....
Today's technology can set up a machine to scan everything at once in a shopping basket and not having to wait and wait and scan one item at a time.
aint the self checkout for like ten items or less? i use both if i have alot i go to a manned line for a couple things its self checkout. it is pretty simple if you think about it. if my favorite cashier is working at freddies well i have to go to her lane no matter what
I'm all about checking myself out. Every time I pass a mirror. Dang. I'm a handsome devil.
Well I guess that I am just too old fashion , it seems that most here don't really care whether their neighbor has a job and a livelihood or not . The only thing that seems to matter is that they have the money or credit card in hand so they can rush through the line and rush on to do what ? Most don't seem to care whether the big corporations leave any of their money in Fairbanks or not . Most seem to want the top executives and stock holders to get richer . Or maybe they are just brain dead and cannot think beyond their own selfishness .
Barks, I'm old, too, and I've been around Fairbanks a long, long time. The only folks I know of who aren't working here are those who just don't want to work at all. I'm thinking in particular of those fellows who hang out on the corner in the box store area, across from Lowes. Day after day, you see the same young, able-bodied men standing there - I know they could get jobs if they wanted to do so. When I go to Fred Meyer's, I see pretty much the same folks who have always been there - there are plenty of them, and nobody seems unhappy. In fact, one of the gals in the self-check area who has been there forever tells me that she loves her job there, and laughed when I told her about the letter in Dermot's column today. She doesn't feel threatened at all.
If you don't like the self-check, don't use it. And rest assured that plenty of others feel the same. I happen to enjoy it - maybe because I used to be a "bagger" in the old days - another job fallen by the wayside, even in the regular checkout stands. Another job I used to have that went away - pin setter in the old bowling alley - remember those boys? We'd prop ourselves up away from the lane, wait for the ball to roll by and then jump down to reset the pins. That position went automatic years ago - thank God! I blame my hearing loss on that job, and my bum hip!
Barks, when I ran in yesterday I was thinking about my kids in the car (oldest is old enough to watch the other two) waiting to go to Chena Lakes, so I should get going with my ice and chips. When I ran in tonight I was thinking of my son and spouse who were headed to baseball practice, so I needed to hurry home with that forgotten item for dinner. When I do a week's worth of shopping with all three of my kids in tow I think about how ready we all are to get out of the store after being there for a while -- for our sake and for the sake of other shoppers who don't want to hear my youngest whine any more. So maybe thinking about my family is selfish. Sorry if you think it is.
Deadmoo,
Your comment is great: "I have a life and don't want to spend it waiting on you to get your coin purse out or count you coupons." I found myself in similar situations very often, especially in grocery stores.
Bring on more self check-outs please!
I luv those hot young cashiers...Ill wait in their line anytime!!! WHOO HOOOO!!! YEAH!!! otherwise its off to the scanOmatic 10000...
O yeah old gent in 60 foot rv thats HOME REPOT with the scanOmatic 10000 not lowes.. but they do look alike!! (the stores) One good thing about scanOmatic 10000's it frees up workers to climb up 3 stories to restock a product for me!! If she's hot Ill find more for her to do...on the ladder...
= 0
Bring back Denis, the Overly Friendly Checker at Fred Meyer West.
frozen, I see you learned so much from our Governor's most recent national outrage about the sexual exploitation of young women.
The reader brings a very interesting point comparing the stores here in Fairbanks vs. the lower 48 in terms of the usage of "self-check outs" or "U-Scan" units. What the reader does not understand is how very difficult it is to maintain quality help in our community--regardless of what industry may be in question. In looking at Fairbanks we all know that this community is very transient and people come and go far more often than in any other city I have lived in. Drive around town and look to see how many "Now hiring" signs are hanging. . .and have been there for months or years! I can't honestly say that I like the Self-check outs. . .but in many cases it is a necessary evil for the retailer. This community has had self check outs for so long that many customers will stand in line at at a self-check out vs. taking a few steps to a "manned register". This is obviously not always the case. . .but it has become part of our local shopping experience. I don't ever want to give excuses for poor customer service (in terms of having enough cashiers at any one time) but it is a daily fight to ensure a proper check out experience. So, to answer to author--yes the "Self-check" outs or "U-scans" are taking jobs. . .but the jobs that they are replacing are almost impossible to fill (and maintain) here in Fairbanks.
At least the automated checkout doesn't say "You've got a lot of stuff!". And I can put the heavy stuff in the bottom of the bag instead of on top of the fragile stuff.
Until supermarkets begin to give me a 10% discount for using them, they can ring up and bag my groceries.
This fella has the right idea. We should all start knitting our own clothes by hand too, damn textile factories have put to many people out of work. While we're at it let's boycott those stupid automobile thingies too they can't be good for the horse and carriage industry. And we really need to do something about that lousy sun. All the free heat and light it produces below cost is killing the candle business and putting people out of work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlemaker...
The self checkout lanes are a pain in the rear anyhow....They never work right. It is going to take a lot more technology, then those things are equipped with, to outright do away with cashiers!
Again, if some of the workers actually looked like they wanted to work and again, would NOT kill my bread, I would go through the lanes, but sometimes it just aint worth the hassle. They will always have to have someone to stock the shelves, help customers, which even now they really dont do, and they will always need someone to clean up the spill on aile 7.
If Fred Meyer is having problems finding help, they should head to their exit on Airport and to the stoplight at Chili's and Johannsen. Plenty of people needing (or just asking for) money out there. Give them a shower and a cot and I won't have to feel bad every time I drive by and not give them anything. They could get at least three hires. As far as the self-checkouts go, I too hate it when it yells at you for not putting the item in the bag, even if I did but the sensor is not sensitive enough to pick up light-weight objects. Cheers.
One last word , with a little history . Pre 1987 checkers at the local grocery stores here in the Fairbanks area were paid good money . Back when every price had to be punched into the register , the clerk had to keep tract of the prices in case it was not on the product . Then along came the big bust of the middles 80s , that is when the grocery stores began to feel the pressure of the slowdown . At that time all the checkers in the major stores were union . The union contract was expiring and negotiations were tough for the clerk's union , so it was decided that the present checkers would continue to receive the good pay , and the new hires would start at a really reduced wage . All because people would like to get their groceries for nothing if they could . The self checkout lines is cheaper than a slave , they don't have to be fed . Hard to believe that so many people still dream of having a slave .
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