Comments on: Death of the Cashier

By: Ian Horner

Ian Horner — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:16:00 +0000

Having just recently come back from living in Japan, I feel uniquely able to answer a previous commenter. Yes, Japan has the superior checkout line, compared to any form of checkout anywhere else in the world. The pleasantness of the transaction, the fact that they will count out change for you, and chat with you on a real personal level (if you speak the language) all makes for a very pleasant experience. – Which is where culture shock sets in when you return to Canada. I don’t need to describe the unpleasantness that is dealing with at least 70% of cashiers here.

The self checkout I looked at as a wonderful way to avoid that unpleasantness for the few items I needed to purchase.
That is, until I saw the line, and how slowly it was moving.

Self checkout is great, but until the novelty of it passes past the general public, it’s going to be more of the same waiting. People sitting around trying to figure out how to scan their items, or use a touch screen. For 90% of the population, those are skills already possessed by the employed cashiers of the store. For the rest of us though, once the riff-raff clears, we’ll get a chance to breeze through the lines, and not have to worry about taking our iPod earphones out while doing it.

By: Tim A

Tim A — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:03:03 +0000

Depending on the retail setup the lines may look long but you are typically in a line for 4-8 checkouts so it goes pretty quick.

I’ve had the opposite experience with waiting. I’m usually through these in no time. On average way faster than a regular cashier.

By: Farhan Thawar

Farhan Thawar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:46:25 +0000

I also thought these were the cashier killer until I noticed the long lines and how hard it is for normal people to scan items fast

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:33:41 +0000

The Wal-mart and Loblaws near my house also have self-service kiosks. They take longer and non-tech savvy people don’t know how to use them, which results in a long line-up (with me usually at the end waiting).

By: Mark Evans

Mark Evans — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:28:36 +0000

Tim,

I’m not ardent of a shopper so a lot of retail trends pass me by.

Actually, the Loblaws and CanTire near me just put them in. That must say something about the neighbourhood!

Thanks for the comment.

By: Tim A

Tim A — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:22:06 +0000

Mark, where have you been? These checkouts have been available in and around the Toronto area for maybe 2-3 years or more. In fact the Loblaws near me just ripped out their older ones for slightly more efficient ones.

I have never had any issues with them and prefer to use them since the lines are typically shorter.

By: Mark Evans

Mark Evans — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:36:49 +0000

Dean,

My experience has been pretty good, especially when buying less than 10 items. Not sure I’d want to go through the hassle of doing a large grocery order myself, though.

Mark

By: dean collins

dean collins — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:34:40 +0000

Wait until you use one….you wont be so enthusiastic.

Having used them in the Home Depot Manhattan outlet I can personally vouch that they suck…..they should all be replaced by foreign nationals on work visa’s who actually want a job rather than gum chewing ‘dissapointed this is all their life turned out to be….but not prepared to do anything about it’ americans who think minimum wage is beneath them.

ever shopped in Japan? there is no way an automated service could replace that level of transaction.

Cheers,
Dean

By: Jason Detchevery

Jason Detchevery — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:39:56 +0000

Last time I used a self-checkout was about a year ago. A bug in the software caused my balance to reset back to 0.0 after I had deposited the required cash. The other people in line were able to vouch for my actually putting the cash in and the retailers gave me a refund, though I’ve been a bit nervous of them since then, though granted I haven’t seen any in my town now since I moved, so I would probably use one again.

By: E Guy

E Guy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:02:42 +0000

Home Depot has has them as well. Reflects a trend toward individual control and efficiency. Why have someone else do something that you can do yourself more effectively?…in many respects travel agents and retail banking clerks are a dying breed.

In commerce environments where products are bought – sales people will or have already been phased out in large part (see above). In commerce environments where products are sold (cars, high end clothing, and others), the retail agent will continue to have a role, although its role will shift over time.