Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

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cjd
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Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by cjd »

Last weekend I went to Home Depot (again since two months ago) and they added barriers at their self checkouts. They are two sided, and cover both your back and side. Remind me of a bus shelter. It's a little awkward, since you have to put the cart on the open side where the bags are and unload, scan and load from there. Home Depot's new self checkouts only have a handheld scanner, and there's nowhere to set items, so this along with the barriers seems to me it would invite theft. The handheld scanners seem to promote scanning items without removing from the cart, so I wonder if a lot of items don't get scanned either intentionally or accidentally.

Also the attendant was going around wiping the four stations and told me which one was clean as I walked up.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by storewanderer »

Maybe you can scan items directly from the cart.

I am very surprised how "honor system" the new Home Depot self checkouts are. However the employees (sometimes there are 2 on duty here) are very active in watching what you are doing which I think helps serve as a deterrent.

Are these barriers clear?

These stores are so big, can't they just space out the self checkouts so they are properly distanced...?
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by cjd »

Yes they are clear plexiglas. There are four self checkouts, in two rows of two checkouts. Lowes only has two self checkouts at the far end of the regular lines and they are rarely open. Not sure why, or if they have added barriers.

The old Home Depot checkouts were very sensitive and every item had to be placed in the bag until they added the "I don't want to bag this item" button. In a home center many items are too large to fit into a bag so it was always causing issues unless you were buying all small items. So I expect that's why they have gone to the current setup. I thought it used to be they wanted to scan everything and bag it before you placed anything back into the cart, but this seems to negate that. It is easier to just leave everything and scan it without removing it.

I haven't been to Walmart, I wonder if they have changed anything as far as the self checkouts go. Last I went two months ago + now they were wiping after every customer, or at the least every two-three.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by Alpha8472 »

Safeway at some stores have floor to head height clear plastic barriers separating each self checkout. This allows all of the self checkouts to operate at the same time. Yes, you do have to place all items in the bagging area to weigh.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by mbz321 »

I don't go to Home Depot very often, but last month I needed one item. The local one only had one self checkout open and it was only to be used for those buying big items that would be hard to hold up to the cashier (lumber, appliances, whatever). I approached it as there was nobody in line when i got 'snapped' at, and had to wait in a long regular line.

Two days ago, I went to a different location where I could use the self checkout, although the employee overseeing the line was directing those paying with cash to a regular line (which didn't quite make sense either).

Overall, Home Depot has been the most restrictive in terms of access/checkout during all of this. Even on my most recent trip, they were only letting in a few people at a time.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by storewanderer »

mbz321 wrote: June 4th, 2020, 6:40 pm I don't go to Home Depot very often, but last month I needed one item. The local one only had one self checkout open and it was only to be used for those buying big items that would be hard to hold up to the cashier (lumber, appliances, whatever). I approached it as there was nobody in line when i got 'snapped' at, and had to wait in a long regular line.

Two days ago, I went to a different location where I could use the self checkout, although the employee overseeing the line was directing those paying with cash to a regular line (which didn't quite make sense either).

Overall, Home Depot has been the most restrictive in terms of access/checkout during all of this. Even on my most recent trip, they were only letting in a few people at a time.
Home Depot is really discouraging people from entering their stores. The location near me has multiple pick up lines set up outside (with cones, buckets, or whatever else they can use) for the parking lot to support drive through.

What is ironic is their parking lot (and Lowe's Parking lot) was absolutely packed to the gills the whole month of April/May during their usual busy Spring season despite all this. I think they were doing anything possible to prevent outbreaks in their stores, in an effort to keep employees working.

With that said have we seen reports of outbreaks in Home Depot or Lowes Stores of employees?
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by cjd »

I did not notice any of that at Home Depot here. I had heard they were limiting people in the stores back in March and April, but apparently by this point that practice had stopped. I would not be happy to be snapped at for trying to use a self checkout (wouldn't that make more sense in allowing better separation than standing next to people in a line and in front of a cashier?)

Lowe's here for some reason decided to stand up big piece of granite and write a sloppy (pickup area here) on it, and lean it up against a tree in the island between the road in front of the store, and the parking spaces designated for pick up. Why they did this I have no idea, but people are stopping right in the road to have items brought out to their car, which makes no sense when there are about 8 designated parking spaces that they can use and not block the road. I don't understand why they now need a huge makeshift sign to designate this, or why they thought it would be a good idea to use the street as a pickup area, if that's what the idea is.

Lowes parking lot here too was completely packed during the lockdown. I keep saying I don't know how it would make a huge difference to have the smaller stores open vs having only big box stores open and pack them out.

When I did use the self checkout at Home Depot I don't think anyone else was around, most seemed to be in the regular line. The attendant didn't seem annoyed that I used it though, they just told me which one was clean.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by Alpha8472 »

The Home Depot in San Leandro, California was still doing the limited number of customers in the store at a time. There is always a huge line. They want to discourage roving groups of looters. This area was hit hard by mobs of looters and the Walmart next door was set on fire.

Home Depot believes limiting customers somehow cuts down on shoplifting. It might to some degree.
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Re: Self checkout barriers at Home Depot

Post by cjd »

I visited Lowes tonight. The two self checkout counters were unsurprisingly closed. There were markers on the floors for distancing at the checkouts and cones in various sports with signs stuck in them reminding to stay 6 feet apart. The employees all were masked. There was an announcement that went beep beep beep please follow safety measures of 6 feet apart, wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Handwritten signs at the door stated not to enter if you had symptoms as seen at other stores.
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