Stores removing self checkout (Save Mart)

[storewanderer]

Save Mart has removed self checkout from one Carson City Store (South Carson) and one Reno Store (Kietzke) in recent months. Neither store does much business and there were times in the past where I saw both stores offering self checkout as the only means by which to pay for goods.

However I find it odd they have outright removed the machines from these stores. I guess business really is THAT bad that they can't even afford to pay for the lease of the self check equipment.

Aside from Kmart who removed them on a (mostly... except a few stores where they owned the units...) chainwide basis, has anyone else observed stores that had self checkouts then removed them?

Certainly leaves some giant empty spaces in the two Save Mart front ends.

I'm not a real fan of self checkout but I do see ways that it helps address service issues in low volume, understaffed stores by providing 4 potential checkouts so people don't have to wait behind a large transaction at the one open lane. Another benefit of self checkout is to run it in the middle of the night in a store that may have a robbery risk. I also see how these machines address service issues in high volume stores for customers with small transactions as I have seen configurations in some Kroger owned Stores with 6-8 self checkouts alongside each other that work very nicely in making for no wait time.

Still it is funny to see Save Mart removing these as more and more stores are embracing this technology, improving it (such as Kroger with the handheld that the employee uses to watch the lanes) and putting the equipment in.

[Super S]

The one I found most interesting is the Longview, WA Walmart. They had self-checkouts, then removed them and replaced them with conventional checkstands. Supposedly theft went UP when they installed them. They did not, however, add additional cashiers and checkout times are frequently long in this store. Walmart is currently building a second Longview store as well as one in Woodland, and I am curious if either of these will have self-checkouts.

I am a fan of self-checkouts when I need something small like a gallon of milk. However, I am not a fan of stores which feel that they don't have to staff ANY regular cashiers during busy periods of the day because they have self-checkouts. Some Kmart stores were guilty of this, and this is a common problem at both Lowe's and Home Depot. I personally think Fred Meyer (Kroger) has done the best job of integrating the self-checkouts while keeping regular cashiers on hand for those who prefer that.

[DerangedHermit]

I personally think Fred Meyer (Kroger) has done the best job of integrating the self-checkouts while keeping regular cashiers on hand for those who prefer that.

Stop & Shop is pretty good, but not spectacular, in this regard. Plus, in the stores that have them, S&S's Scan It guns make self-scan really easy.

[Alpha8472]

Yes, I have heard that Walmart has removed self checkout units from many stores. In Arizona, they removed the self checkout units due to theft. Some recently opened Walmart stores feature only 4 self checkout units. Previously they had many more self checkout units. Walmart loved to encourage self checkout unit use by only staffing a few cash register with employees. Long lines at regular checkouts forced people to use self checkout and irritated many people.

Studies have shown that self checkout units do require quite a lot of staff intervention. Many customers especially the elderly have trouble trying to figure out the self checkout system. They often don't place the item in the bagging area which sounds an alarm and requires an attendant to clear the system. One clueless person at the self checkout holds up the line. This is why Target does not believe in self checkout. They realize that self checkout units frustrate many customers and still require an attendant to fix any problems caused by incorrect use of the self checkout system. A well trained cashier can give a much speedier checkout than a person using self checkout.

Fresh and Easy uses self checkouts exclusively. Trader Joe's does not believe in self checkout units. They want every customer to be greeted by a friendly and efficient cashier every time. Shopping at Fresh and Easy is often a frustrating experience because the stores are so understaffed. You won't find any friendly faces there due to the severe lack of staffing. It's just so impersonal.

Labor unions absolutely despise self checkout units. They believe that self checkout units take away jobs from employees. Self checkout units also cost money which could be spent instead on employees. Putting people out of work to save a little bit of money is not exactly what we should be doing in this economy. People get jobs and they spend money to help improve the economy. If you get rid of those jobs, there is less money spent to help improve the economy. Pressure from the unions may influence supermarkets into not installing self checkout units. Labor unions may even try to put a clause like this into new labor contracts.

[Brian Lutz]

The Renton WA Walmart store removed its self checkout lines when it remodeled to the latest design package (and added a much larger food section) a couple of years ago. The store is in what I would presume to be a high theft area, so this isn't too surprising.

Interestingly enough, Costco has experimented with self checkout in some of their stores around here. I know the Issaquah store (next to their corporate headquarters) had them for a while then removed them. I believe the Woodinville store has them now, but I've never seen them in any other Costco store.

[Super S]

I can't even imagine a store like Costco, where people tend to buy lots of merchandise in one setting, having self-checkouts in use.

[krogerclerk]

Home Depot has become heavily reliant on self checkout. Given the bulky size and large transaction size of their stores, along with odd items such as nuts and bolts, blocks, etc sold by the piece, this isn't a very customer friendly approach. I don't think Lowe's has heavily added SCO.

One thing I've noticed is SCO's attract people that don't want the human interaction, just want to get in, get out, etc. Also, there are the germophobes who don't want the cashiers and baggers handling their food, ironic, when they don't worry about the handling that happened prior to the checkout experience, from the source to the shelf. Another group is ones that assume its the only choice available without even looking, they tend to be stressed out by using the SCO, and approach it as another horrible task in the shopping experience. Often the ones drawn to self checkout aren't making purchases that are well suited for SCO. While SCO can accomodate large orders, depending on the model, in reality small orders with UPC's are still the easiest and quickest to use at an SCO. Large orders as slow due to the security features of most systems. An average cashier can move 2-3 customers in the same time it takes for one to use an SCO for a large order. With small orders, a manned express can move 4-5 customers in the same time it takes for 3 or people using SCO's.

In all it seems the appeal is a customer feels he/she is in control of the checkout process and not having to wait while reality may be less than ideal.

My pet peeve is the stores that could benefit the most from SCO, low volume supermarkets, rarely have the option, resulting in having to wait in the only line available.

Even though the dollar store chains, Family Dollar, Freds, Dollar General etc. deplore having cashiers, due to theft issues, SCO would be problematic. These stores seem to attract a less tech savy clientele that would be resistant to SCO, but to the occassional shopper, such as myself, these would be a boon in such stores.

[VibeGuy]

Silverdale, WA was the prototype store for self-check at Costco, and Gig Harbor got them a few months after their newbuild store opened. I was actually surprised they *didn't* open with them, as the test had been going on for at least a year at Silverdale.

Costco does a pretty solid job of it, frankly. There are times that facing Costco when you need, say, three items is just too much to risk a busy check-out lane (see also, 4th Ave S. in Seattle) but if I know I can self-check and be gone, I'm inclined to stop in, and *everybody* knows you can't get out of Costco with three items, so I presume they've figured out that for some members, they drive impulse and incremental sales by increasing the number of visits per year per member.

Given the exceptional overall quality of the Costco check-out experience once you're out from behind people stocking up their mini-mart, they're actually the last store that *needs* self-check, but it's a nice option when waits are four carts deep at every checkstand.

I'd love to see more stores adopt the Costco-style SCOs, as well - they have VERY long run-out belts so you're not slowed down by the bagging process. Cross WinCo's split bagging belts (where one order can be rang while another is bagged) with SCO and you'd have a winner.

E

[norcalriteaidclerk]

Yes, I have heard that Walmart has removed self checkout units from many stores. In Arizona, they removed the self checkout units due to theft. Some recently opened Walmart stores feature only 4 self checkout units. Previously they had many more self checkout units. Walmart loved to encourage self checkout unit use by only staffing a few cash register with employees. Long lines at regular checkouts forced people to use self checkout and irritated many people.

Studies have shown that self checkout units do require quite a lot of staff intervention. Many customers especially the elderly have trouble trying to figure out the self checkout system. They often don't place the item in the bagging area which sounds an alarm and requires an attendant to clear the system. One clueless person at the self checkout holds up the line. This is why Target does not believe in self checkout. They realize that self checkout units frustrate many customers and still require an attendant to fix any problems caused by incorrect use of the self checkout system. A well trained cashier can give a much speedier checkout than a person using self checkout.

Fresh and Easy uses self checkouts exclusively. Trader Joe's does not believe in self checkout units. They want every customer to be greeted by a friendly and efficient cashier every time. Shopping at Fresh and Easy is often a frustrating experience because the stores are so understaffed. You won't find any friendly faces there due to the severe lack of staffing. It's just so impersonal.

Labor unions absolutely despise self checkout units. They believe that self checkout units take away jobs from employees. Self checkout units also cost money which could be spent instead on employees. Putting people out of work to save a little bit of money is not exactly what we should be doing in this economy. People get jobs and they spend money to help improve the economy. If you get rid of those jobs, there is less money spent to help improve the economy. Pressure from the unions may influence supermarkets into not installing self checkout units. Labor unions may even try to put a clause like this into new labor contracts.

So far,I have seen self-checkouts locally in a couple of stores:the Antelope FoodMaxx(Watt/Elverta)and at the Marconi/Watt Raley's,and both stores are union.However,there are only 4 machines at the most at each location,and each store has at least as many regular lanes available(the Raley's has at least 2 regular lanes for every self-checkout).In the case of the Marconi Raley's,while I've never had any issues when I've used them,they do have a couple of employees monitor the self checkouts in case a user has any problems.On my most recent trip inside a Safeway(Howe/Fair Oaks)earlier this month,I didn't see any self-checkouts yet...

[Alpha8472]

Walmart opened a new store in Cornelius, Oregon recently. That store does not have self-checkout. Walmart is completely paranoid about shoplifting now and realized that they were losing too much money from the self-checkouts.

Walmart is terrible at opening registers. They only have a couple of registers open to save on cashier costs. The lines are horrendous.

The local high volume Safeway near me just received 4 self-checkout machines. It was really funny watching the people trying to figure out the system. The lights on the machines were flashing and the attendant had to constantly come over and fix the machines due to customer error. Self-checkout does nothing but make one single employee want to tear his or her hair out at the customers who don't know how to use self checkout.