Trolley? Is that what you Brits call a shopping cart?
People in the southern U.S. say "buggy".
People in the southern U.S. say "buggy".
self checkout lanes
- Thread starter farmkid
- Start date
yes it is
^ One of the few terms I haven't heard.
On cars, we say hood, you say bonnet, we say trunk, you say boot. I really watch too much Top Gear.
On cars, we say hood, you say bonnet, we say trunk, you say boot. I really watch too much Top Gear.
you can never watch too much top gear 
Australians also use the term "trolley".
"Shopping trolley" also refers to a hand-pulled shopping basket; usually with two wheels. I honestly cannot remember what those are called in the States. Mine has little cats all over it.
Our little ones wear diapers and ride in strollers; yours wear nappies and ride in push carts. When I was recovering from surgery, I used a walker. You might use a walking frame.
I just call it a shopping cart. Or a laundry cart, since I used mine to drag laundry to/from the laundromat.
A few stores near my home have huge carts I like to call the SS Shopping Cart.
There are a lot of times I could use one of those hand carried baskets, but carrying one of those while carrying a reusable cloth shopping bag leaves me with no hands to retrieve goods from the shop's shelves. A few chains provided some half size carts (still the same height) for low volume shoppers, but it didn't take long for most of them to disappear, apparently misappropriated by customers who chose to use the carts beyond the borders of the parking lot.
Back on topic: Whoever designs the self checkout lanes had trouble realizing there would be customers with the hand carried baskets, as many lack a surface to place the basket while taking items out of it to scan them. While the stations feature a convenient plastic bag dispenser, it occupies the space (and scale) where it would be convenient to place a reusable bag. I haven't asked how a self service customer is supposed to get their reusable bag credit ($0.05 a bag) at the store that offers it.
There are a lot of times I could use one of those hand carried baskets, but carrying one of those while carrying a reusable cloth shopping bag leaves me with no hands to retrieve goods from the shop's shelves. A few chains provided some half size carts (still the same height) for low volume shoppers, but it didn't take long for most of them to disappear, apparently misappropriated by customers who chose to use the carts beyond the borders of the parking lot.
Back on topic: Whoever designs the self checkout lanes had trouble realizing there would be customers with the hand carried baskets, as many lack a surface to place the basket while taking items out of it to scan them. While the stations feature a convenient plastic bag dispenser, it occupies the space (and scale) where it would be convenient to place a reusable bag. I haven't asked how a self service customer is supposed to get their reusable bag credit ($0.05 a bag) at the store that offers it.
Not to mention, god forbid you actually try to put your reusable bag in the bagging area....
Once you get good at them they're much faster and more efficient. I never stand in line at an attended lane if I have a choice.
I've worked as a computer programmer, and I was annoyed when I first recognized that the various vocal messages and alerts are designed around the premise that the customer is trying to steal items. It makes all kinds of sense, can't argue with it, but I was insulted.
Yeah, that's what all that "please place the item in the bag" bullshit is about.
I first figured it out not at a grocery store but at Home Depot. Two years ago when we were building the starship command center set for Polaris I was hitting HD several times a week for all kinds of things.
HD uses the same machines and same system of prompts as one of our major grocery chains. However, the size and nature of products at a hardware store is a great deal more various than in most places that would use this kind of system - so there are a lot more hiccups at check-out, more effort to figure out how to check out efficiently, and consequently more opportunity to observe.
Like Squiggy I tend to make a number of stops during the week for a few days worth of items. However, I've learned to operate the self-scanners efficiently for a full basket of items when I want to do that - you have to take the approach, though, that checking out is your job and requires your full attention and concentration for the whole time you're doing it. It becomes a game to get through thirty items, pay and bag without causing the system to stop, back up, call for a cashier etc etc.
For gods sake why are you blaming the checkers, and wherever did you get the notion that they came up with the idea for these things or like them? In fact, it's the most strongly unionized companies that have the fewest such gadgets because they reduce the need for staff.
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My Wal-Mart had them too, but now they're gone. In their place are 8 new express checkout lanes, and it's much better!
If I had to hear that, I'd probably bash the machine to pieces, or start yelling unrepeatable four-letter words (probably both).
You realize these "complimentary" things are not really free, right? You're paying for them anyway, as the hotel fully expects people to use/take them.
And yes, eating grapes you haven't paid for IS shoplifting.
If the price at the till and the price posted on the shelf don't match, damn right I'm going to "heckle." Even if it's just 5 or 10 cents, it's still the principle of the thing. And yes, I realize this annoys people in line behind me; I don't care. The store has to be kept honest, and I don't let the clerk get away with saying, "Maybe you got it from another shelf?"
Well, no. I am quite aware of which shelf I got it from, thanks!
What is a FEM?
Any clerk that basically said they were too busy to help me and steered me to a self-checkout would see me asking for the manager. And after I'd said my piece to the manager, I'd be right out the door without buying anything.
@Trekker4747: You do realize that disabled and elderly people have the right to shop, don't you? Sorry if they (we, actually, since I'm disabled) tend to move slower, didn't realize you had the universe to save and were being held up!
@RAMA: I've seen lots of elderly people who are reasonably comfortable with modern technology, but that's likely because they had family, friends, or a local seniors' center to patiently teach them how to use it. Instead of getting angry at them, how about next time you see an elderly person having trouble, offer to help? It would be a good deed on your part, and you might be the difference in whether or not an older person learns to use the machines properly - and maybe in future you wouldn't be so terribly inconvenienced.
@Voice of God: I take you have excellent eyesight and dexterity in your fingers? If so, count yourself lucky. It takes me a little extra time to swipe my card and punch in the numbers, because (a) Some machines are different and can frustrate a customer who has never encountered that type before; (b) I'm extremely nearsighted, and have to actually remove my glasses and get really close to the keypad to see what I'm doing. And no, I'm not an octogenarian. I'm not even 50 years old yet (getting there, though). I'm just somebody with fibromyalgia (which means I'm not as dextrous as I used to be) and vision problems. Thanks for being judgmental, people in our position really appreciate that.
Thanks for your compassion.
I've found that sometimes it helps to answer as if they really did care. As you say, it's a departure from the ritual, and surprises them. That said, I've been fortunate at times to get a clerk who really does give a damn if I've found what I was looking for, and will take steps to find out if there's any more in the storage room and if so, will find someone to bring it to the till.
Couldn't agree more. The regular clerks at the place I get my groceries know how I like my stuff bagged, and there are a few with phenomenal memories who can recall peoples' membership numbers (I shop at a co-operative; I get a portion of my purchase amount back annually in a dividend cheque). We chat about the weather, sometimes the clerk will ask about something I'm buying if they haven't tried it personally; I don't mind if they're curious about some different kind of juice or flavor of milk or chips.
I'm comfortable at this store. My family has had a membership there for over 50 years, and I've been shopping there since I was a toddler. I've seen it change and grow, staff and managers come and go, and I know I can expect decent service there. If there's something that I'm not happy with, I can expect to talk to a manager about it and he will do his best to make the situation right. It's nice to shop somewhere where the customers can be on a first-name basis with the managers, and even tease them a bit (like I do sometimes when I see one of them wheeling a huge trolley of food to or from the storage area - I say innocently, "You must really be hungry to be eating all that!").
And this store has no self-checkout stands, the clerks do the bagging, there are courtesy clerks to help people out to the car with the groceries, and they don't have the shopping carts locked up so you have to pay $1 to use them!
That is one thing they seem to have done right over here: there's a platform on the left to put your hand-basket if you only have a few items; probably because they realised that most people aren't going to piss about with a full trolley of goods - that's when I have the most aggro with the things. They also have a button on the touch screen to state you're using your own bags so you put them in the bagging area and wait for the system to weigh them.
Yeah when I was a kid (I'm actually from the States originally) I took the laundry in a rectangular metal basket as well. The shopping trolleys people tug down the road here tend to be half the depth and consist of a bag wrapped around a dolly, essentially, with a drawstring. Available in many patterns and fashion colours! If you don't have a car they're a must.
Of course I do. I'm speaking more of people who're obviously "unqualified" to use the machine due to lack of technological skill. I've been in line for on of the things before and the woman in front of me, in her 80s, has simply no idea how the thing worked or what it was talking about or how to ring up her produce. I wondered what made her want to take on such a challenge as operating the thing in the first place.
If a person is disabled or physically incapable of moving quickly that's one thing. It's something else entirely when they're moving slowly due to not understanding the machine or how to use it properly.
I use the self-check lanes because I know I can check myself out faster than a cashier and I don't have to be roped into stupid chit-chat with him/her. I've been on their side of the register, I know they have to as part of their job but you have to also read people and see if they're going to be receptive to talk. But less the chat and more that most cashiers I encounter these days move very slowly. To say nothing of the customers ahead of me in line still using the archaic form of payment known as the check.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
My Wal-Mart had them too, but now they're gone. In their place are 8 new express checkout lanes, and it's much better!
If the price at the till and the price posted on the shelf don't match, damn right I'm going to "heckle." Even if it's just 5 or 10 cents, it's still the principle of the thing. And yes, I realize this annoys people in line behind me; I don't care. The store has to be kept honest, and I don't let the clerk get away with saying, "Maybe you got it from another shelf?"
Well, no. I am quite aware of which shelf I got it from, thanks!
What is a FEM?
Any clerk that basically said they were too busy to help me and steered me to a self-checkout would see me asking for the manager. And after I'd said my piece to the manager, I'd be right out the door without buying anything.
@Voice of God: I take you have excellent eyesight and dexterity in your fingers? If so, count yourself lucky. It takes me a little extra time to swipe my card and punch in the numbers, because (a) Some machines are different and can frustrate a customer who has never encountered that type before; (b) I'm extremely nearsighted, and have to actually remove my glasses and get really close to the keypad to see what I'm doing. And no, I'm not an octogenarian. I'm not even 50 years old yet (getting there, though). I'm just somebody with fibromyalgia (which means I'm not as dextrous as I used to be) and vision problems. Thanks for being judgmental, people in our position really appreciate that.
Thanks for your compassion.
With regards to price yes sometimes stores miss putting out a price change, shop workers are human after all.
But you do get customers who pick up an item and later put it down elsewhere, and the next customer sees a price in front of it and assumes it's that price without reading the price label.
Customers fail to read offer signs correctly. I.e they pick up an item that is stated to be exculded from the offer.
Perhaps they directed you too a self checkout because the other checkout(s) weren't working, they can fail from time to time you know.
Perhaps they had finished their shift and were trying to be helpful.
Thankfully in the UK customers can request there bank issue them a Chip N Sign Card, where they sign a slip rather than key in numbers for just those reasons.
FEM = Front End Manager; basically shift-supervisor.
What is a FEM?
Any clerk that basically said they were too busy to help me and steered me to a self-checkout would see me asking for the manager. And after I'd said my piece to the manager, I'd be right out the door without buying anything.
Have you ever offered to help such a person? It's amazing what modern pieces of technology some people don't know how to use. I was once asked - with gestures and facial expressions - to help a Hutterite woman place a telephone call. I don't know if she normally never used a phone, or just didn't understand how to use a touch tone pay phone. Or maybe she didn't read English (the Hutterites speak German). But she asked, and I helped. And I didn't mind at all.
Okay, what was your point?
I don't get mad at the clerk unless they start arguing with me when I know I'm right and they don't want to bother figuring out what the proper situation is. Some clerks have said, "I'm going to have to get someone to check on that to see if it's right..." and my reaction is, "Well, get on with it, then!" And yes, there have been times when I've turned out to be wrong; sometimes it's just a certain size that's on sale (nothing like having to watch the number of grams on a bag or box - sometimes a mere 20 or 50 grams means it's on sale or it isn't). In that case, I apologize, the clerk asks if I still want the item, I say yes or no, and we finish checking out. But I tend to get angry when a store's staff automatically assumes I'm stupid.My Wal-Mart had them too, but now they're gone. In their place are 8 new express checkout lanes, and it's much better!
If the price at the till and the price posted on the shelf don't match, damn right I'm going to "heckle." Even if it's just 5 or 10 cents, it's still the principle of the thing. And yes, I realize this annoys people in line behind me; I don't care. The store has to be kept honest, and I don't let the clerk get away with saying, "Maybe you got it from another shelf?"
Well, no. I am quite aware of which shelf I got it from, thanks!
What is a FEM?
Any clerk that basically said they were too busy to help me and steered me to a self-checkout would see me asking for the manager. And after I'd said my piece to the manager, I'd be right out the door without buying anything.
@Voice of God: I take you have excellent eyesight and dexterity in your fingers? If so, count yourself lucky. It takes me a little extra time to swipe my card and punch in the numbers, because (a) Some machines are different and can frustrate a customer who has never encountered that type before; (b) I'm extremely nearsighted, and have to actually remove my glasses and get really close to the keypad to see what I'm doing. And no, I'm not an octogenarian. I'm not even 50 years old yet (getting there, though). I'm just somebody with fibromyalgia (which means I'm not as dextrous as I used to be) and vision problems. Thanks for being judgmental, people in our position really appreciate that.
Thanks for your compassion.
With regards to price yes sometimes stores miss putting out a price change, shop workers are human after all.
But you do get customers who pick up an item and later put it down elsewhere, and the next customer sees a price in front of it and assumes it's that price without reading the price label.
Customers fail to read offer signs correctly. I.e they pick up an item that is stated to be exculded from the offer.
Perhaps they directed you too a self checkout because the other checkout(s) weren't working, they can fail from time to time you know.
Perhaps they had finished their shift and were trying to be helpful.
Thankfully in the UK customers can request there bank issue them a Chip N Sign Card, where they sign a slip rather than key in numbers for just those reasons.
I've never been directed to a self-checkout. I just stated what would happen if that were ever the case. Luckily my local Wal-Mart has customer service counters that are reasonable - if the tills are crammed with people, they don't mind if I only have one or two things and ask to check out there, if I'm in danger of missing my bus. Same with the local London Drugs.
It may seem that I'm a cranky, exacting customer. Sometimes that's the case. I don't tolerate staff rudeness, and will complain to the manager about it. But I also have asked to speak to the manager and when he appears, have praised a staff member for being particularly helpful and courteous, especially if the person is a trainee. The managers appreciate feedback on such things.
I suspect from the shoppers point of view you are wrong maybe 1 in 10 times. From the Cashiers point of view it could be more a case of the customer is wrong 9/10 times.
You've said you're reaction would/is "Well get on with it, then!" I think you'll find a "Thank you" will work better. Whilst you say you don't get angry, how you phrase a response can acome across as "Can't you <insert expletive> people do anything right!" or "Thanks, for sorting this out for me"
You've said you're reaction would/is "Well get on with it, then!" I think you'll find a "Thank you" will work better. Whilst you say you don't get angry, how you phrase a response can acome across as "Can't you <insert expletive> people do anything right!" or "Thanks, for sorting this out for me"
