I have come to realise that there is a major problem with the concept of self service checkouts in supermarkets.
When I come to a conventional till, with conveyor belts each side of the scanner, I can place the products on the first conveyor in the order which I wish to pack them in the bags. For example I always try to pack bread last, as you can end up with a ruined loaf if it is underneath something heavy. This also applies if there are ‘solid’ items each side, as when you carry the bags the ends pull in and compress everything from how it was packed.
With a self scan checkout you do not have the space to lay out the products in how you wish to pack them, and if you try to re-arrange them when packing, then it affects the scales and repeatedly alarms, requiring the duty member of staff who patrols the tills to come and clear the error.
About 10 days ago I was in a queue for the ‘traditional’ basket only till, when a member of staff asked me if I would use the automatic till. I said I would as long as it did not keep causing problems. I then had, in 1 bags worth of shopping, 6 error messages, and I was not messing around with the scales – I was digging things out of the basket in the order I wished to pack them, which was difficult in itself!
So, these are my conclusions on self service checkouts – probably fine for 5 or 6 items, but for any more, in their current layout anyway, impracticable.
Tags: automatic, basket, bin, checkout, packing, self-service, supermarket, till
