Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

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Alpha8472
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Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by Alpha8472 »

Self-checkout machines have always been a controversy.

Some hate them, and some love them.

Personally, my opinion is that they cause problems if people don't know how to use them. If customers know how to use them, it can be ok but still slower than an experienced cashier.

We don't need self-checkout. An expert cashier can check out customers even faster than self-checkout.

Self-checkouts always cause problems. If a person removes anything from the bagging area, the machine locks up and has to call an attendant over for customers assistance. This makes the customer frustrated and really annoys the employee who staffs the self-checkout area.

I'd rather have a skilled cashier help me than try to use a machine that risks locking up and getting stuck.

Self-checkouts frustrate inexperienced users while the other customers waiting for the self-checkout unit get really annoyed at the inexperienced customer ahead of them.

If I am spending money at a full service supermarket, I prefer to have a cashier scan and bag my items. I am not spending my hard earned money so that I can do a grocery clerk's job for free.

Self-checkout units don't save the store any money. They still need to employ a person to monitor the self-checkout units. The employee meanwhile is constantly running around trying to help customers who don't have a clue how to use self-checkout. It drives the poor employee crazy!

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Last edited by Alpha8472 on July 8th, 2011, 6:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by Super S »

I have mixed opinions of self-checkouts. In some busy stores, such as my local Fred Meyer, they do have adequate cashiers on hand for larger transactions, and self-checkouts are great when you need just a gallon of milk or something. However, there are always conventional cashiers available. The self-checkouts are a supplement and the arrangement works well considering the variety of merchandise.

On the other hand, certain stores use self-checkouts as a reason to not staff very meny cashiers, claiming it costs too much money. Home Depot and Lowe's are guilty of this. Lowe's in particular will have ONE cashier available at the lumber entrance most of the time. Near the main exit, the only cashiers available most of the time are self-checkouts, and the attendant is not always present. They do not work well in this type of retail, especially when so many items are large and the self-checkouts do not have scanning guns, only the in-counter scanners. I have been stuck behind people trying to drag large items over the scanner, which are bulky enough they require two people to lift.

What angers me is when a store has a low staffing level to begin with, installs self-checkouts and reduces the staff even more, then removes the self-checkouts without returning the staffing to previous levels. Walmart has done this in several locations.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by storewanderer »

Certain Kroger divisions seem to have a policy where after a certain time of night, the only checkout option available is self checkout. Smiths has this policy (though not in the location I shop at). I know Fred Meyer does not have this policy... I think the Colorado KR Stores also have this policy. I know Smiths isn't the only place I've seen it.

It is a TERRIBLE policy. It sends the wrong message to customers. It completely discourages customers who are doing a full cart shop. Wal Mart and WinCo both provide staffed checkout late at night, yet a FULL SERVICE supermarket is trying to force self service? So backwards.

Save Mart and Albertsons also have similar forced self checkout on a store by store basis during late evening hours. Again, terrible policy. I know this isn't Save Mart's company policy, but despite multiple complaints on my part to their corporate office, and repeated assurance they would have a full service lane open at all times, a couple of their stores here are still doing this after 8 or 9 PM. Probably doesn't matter as much for them; people would be crazy to pay either store's inflated prices for a full cart shop. One of the Save Marts in Carson City was having self checkout as the only option on weekends in the middle of the afternoon. That store has since had its self checkouts removed. Surprise, surprise.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by Alpha8472 »

Walmart is the worst with self checkout. They try to force everyone to use self checkout and only have 1 or 2 cashiers.

The lines are incredibly long and everyone hates it. They don't want to spend any money on more cashiers and people leave the store completely enraged.

Home Depot and other home improvement stores are the last place where self checkout should be used. How are you supposed to scan items when they are too heavy and bulky to lift onto the scanner.

The problem is that self checkout technology is awful and it isn't getting any better. Who designs these machines anyway? If people wanted to shoplift they'd walk right past the self checkout machines.

The machines seem like they are made to frustrate people and lock up so that you have to wait for an employee to come over.

Why haven't they added hand held scanners? Do the people who design these machines just sit around all day long and do nothing?

Most of these machines are made by the ATM company NCR and they are a mess! They are the same company that makes and runs those awful DVD rental kiosks under the name of Blockbuster Express.

Those machines have DVD cases that scratch up the discs due to a poor design. The DVDs end up being damaged and unwatchable most of the time. It is a rip off!

No wonder why Dish Network, the new owner of Blockbuster, is in court right now trying to get NCR to stop using the Blockbuster Express name on their kiosks.

NCR should just stick to making ATMs. Those are the only machines that at least do their job most of the time.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by storewanderer »

I am not a frequent shopper at Wal Mart, but I was in one of the Reno ones on Wednesday. They have 4 self checkouts in this store; one was broken. There were at least 10 regular lanes open. The 3 regular express lanes that were open down on the grocery end had shorter lines and were moving much faster than the self checkouts.

Wal Mart also closes the self checkouts by 10 PM and moves back to having 4-5 regular lanes open, then cuts to 1 regular lane open around midnight.

Back to the topic of NCR, they are sending their own self checkouts to the graveyard. They are charging these stores absurd amounts of money to repair broken machines. I have observed Save Mart will let it get to 2-3 machines broken before they make a service call since the calls cost so much. Most of Save Mart's stores are such low volume operations that it doesn't even make sense to have self checkout in them. Plus about the only thing Save Mart even comes close to doing well is having good customer service; self checkout completely takes away that cashier customer interaction.

But Safeway is installing new NCR self checkouts in many stores so that should give NCR lots of new business for now.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by storewanderer »

Also, Kroger's self checkouts do have hand held scanners. The employee has a handheld PDA like device that shows all activity and has a scanner on it so they can modify your transaction from the handheld (not have to go to the cashier counter or log into the customer machine). This works very well.

Kroger does not use NCR's self checkout software.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote:Also, Kroger's self checkouts do have hand held scanners. The employee has a handheld PDA like device that shows all activity and has a scanner on it so they can modify your transaction from the handheld (not have to go to the cashier counter or log into the customer machine). This works very well.

Kroger does not use NCR's self checkout software.
I have not seen handheld scanner guns used in Fred Meyer self-checkouts, but they do use the handheld device. I have noticed that Fred Meyer has been using a few different types of self-checkouts which seem to be based on the same operating system etc, but the counter and layout design do get updated occasionally. In fact, Kroger/Fred Meyer seems to be the only ones updating the design at all.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by storewanderer »

You may find a few SVU Albertsons that have a self checkout where you scan the item then when you put it onto a conveyer belt next to the scanner the conveyer automatically moves it down near the bags. Fresh and Easy uses a similar design.

I've seen numerous variations to Kroger's self checkouts.

Safeway seems to be installing very small profile units that are pretty similar in design though smaller in size to the first generation units. Safeway is very late to the game with self checkout. Probably time to focus on other upcoming technologies.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by krogerclerk »

All scanners are going to have to be replaced because of switching to the new international standard UPC, plus RF tags are being tried in place of UPC, also Shopping Buddy exists, used at select Bloom and Stop&Shop, in place of self checkout.

There are certain demographics that utilize self checkout more readily and easily than others. Generally a solid middle class clientele that is tech savvy is the biggest users of self checkout.

One of the factors of self checkout is using wrong PLUs for produce, creating losses. Also the impulse sale of candy and magazines are lost at self check.

It really goes beyond customer service issues, the cost of investing in a system that is under utilized and soon to be obselete comes into play, along with losses from accidental and intentional theft. Lost impulse sales, etc.
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Re: Albertsons LLC Removing Self-Checkouts

Post by krogerclerk »

Fujitsu has debuted its Advantage checkout version of self checkout which eliminates the scanning/weight parity issues of most sco designs and speeds the checkout process, leaving only bulk items, primarily produce as the issue that make self checkout daunting to the average shopper.

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