Do supermarket self-scans make checkout staff redundant?

[kabbes]

You think someone working on the checkouts will be able to tell you that? HA! You're lucky these days if the fucking shelf stackers know something like that, let alone the checkout people.

That's what you get for not shopping in Waitrose.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Not a supermarket, but my doctor's surgery has got a book yourself in thing now. (I bet you cosmopolitans down in Old London Town have had them for ages.) You press the lady or gentleman icon on screen, then your date of birth, and it says "are you Bob?" and you press yes and it tells you to go and sit down. Loads of queues at my surgery so this is very welcome. Can't see it making the receptionists redundent though - they'll still be there to shout abuse at people on the phone.

 

[berniedicters]

Not a supermarket, but my doctor's surgery has got a book yourself in thing now. (I bet you cosmopolitans down in Old London Town have had them for ages.) You press the lady or gentleman icon on screen, then your date of birth, and it says "are you Bob?" and you press yes and it tells you to go and sit down. Loads of queues at my surgery so this is very welcome. Can't see it making the receptionists redundent though - they'll still be there to shout abuse at people on the phone.

We have one of these in our doctor's surgery. It's been broken for 9 months, but there's still a sign insisting thta you be a good patient and help other people by using it.

On the question of the supermarket self-scans...I answer them back, much to the embarrassment of Herself, and the hilarity of anyone within range. If you get the timing right, you can have a kind of argument with them...it's quite fun

 

[kyser_soze]

Not a supermarket, but my doctor's surgery has got a book yourself in thing now. (I bet you cosmopolitans down in Old London Town have had them for ages.) You press the lady or gentleman icon on screen, then your date of birth, and it says "are you Bob?" and you press yes and it tells you to go and sit down. Loads of queues at my surgery so this is very welcome. Can't see it making the receptionists redundent though - they'll still be there to shout abuse at people on the phone.

It actually cuts down on stress levels for the receptionists and those on the phone/queuing up because it means that conversations aren't interrupted, people left on hold etc.

I've done reception work at a GPs and health centre and it's one of the most stressful roles I've ever had in terms of having to remain polite in the face of incredible levels of twattery from the public.

And you've got a pretty forward looking health centre/gp clinic too.

 

[berniedicters]

It actually cuts down on stress levels for the receptionists and those on the phone/queuing up because it means that conversations aren't interrupted, people left on hold etc.

I've done reception work at a GPs and health centre and it's one of the most stressful roles I've ever had in terms of having to remain polite in the face of incredible levels of twattery from the public.

And you've got a pretty forward looking health centre/gp clinic too.

I know we're going a little bit off topic here - though I've seen TESCO checkout staff taking heat for all kinds of things that couldn't possibly be considered their responsibility - but it amazes me that people are able to be so nasty to customer service staff, whether it's in shops, doctor's surgeries, or even the back of an ambulance.

I understand that people get stressed, and I can see that there may well be occasions, such as trying to make an appointment with a doctor in less than four weeks, when that might result in people becoming a little tight-lipped, but some of the unpleasantness I've seen being dished out is completely inappropriate. Perhaps we need self-checkouts at the supermarket, and self-checkins at the doctor especially for people who have proven themselves unfit to warrant the privilege of being served by a human being. Not quite sure what we do about the ambulances, though...

 

[kyser_soze]

I worked checkouts at Tesco for about 5 years in total and luckily only had to deal with a few complete cunts in my time, but I've seen people reaching over and trying to punch checkout operators before (Surrey Quays, lovely people) over disputed BOGOF offers.

 

[White Lotus]

I like how half the posts here are talking about the self service tills whereas the OP was specifically talking about the "Shop 'n Scan" type handheld scanners that you just plug into a machine at the end

Yes I noticed ... My local Sainsbury's has brought in the checkouts, don't know why I didn't have the same reaction to them as I do to Tesco's scanners, maybe I'm more inclined to believe that Tesco are a bunch of arseholes.

Still some interesting views though.

 

[White Lotus]

regarding your point that part time staff are not entitled to redundancy pay, this is not true! my college lecturer ried to claim this last week. PT staff have the same rights as full timers!

I didn't say they weren't entitled to redundancy pay, I said they weren't entitled to benefits (eg JSA) because they weren't available for full time work, and/or were students, and/or had a partner who was earning.

 

[White Lotus]

Are supermarkets one big charity that has creating unnecessary jobs as part of its charter?

This is not about creating unnecessary jobs, it's about making existing jobs redundant and then shedding them.

Yes they might save some money. Hands up those who think the savings get passed on to the customer, then hands up those who think they go to boost profit margins and payouts to executives and shareholders?

 

[PacificOcean]

This is not about creating unnecessary jobs, it's about making existing jobs redundant and then shedding them.

Yes they might save some money. Hands up those who think the savings get passed on to the customer, then hands up those who think they go to boost profit margins and payouts to executives and shareholders?

I can't see the end of checkout people, imagine trying to self-scan a weeks worth of shopping. It would take weeks scanning one item at a time and placing it in the "bagging area"

However, for a few purchases they are great and are quite fun to use to boot!

 

[panpete]

No cos there are loads of thicko customers like me, who bollocks it up, so in our tesco, there are often staff hanging around the self service thingys, to help the more dense clientelle.

 

[EastEnder]

I worked checkouts at Tesco for about 5 years in total and luckily only had to deal with a few complete cunts in my time, but I've seen people reaching over and trying to punch checkout operators before (Surrey Quays, lovely people) over disputed BOGOF offers.

Did you work there around 2000/2001? I used to live at Canada Water, and shopped at the big Tesco many times. I'm pretty sure I never punched anyone, at least not that I remember.

 

[kyser_soze]

Nah, 1992-1995. Started off on the checkouts, moved up to the customer service desk and finally ended up as twilight shift manager at the petrol station. During my time at the petrol station I had to appear in court as witness to two assaults - one during a more general invasion and beating of Nottingham fans by Millwall fans, and the second between two women who were arguing over their place in the pump queue and started beating each other up (for which I was threatened twice by the accused's husband while at work, which was nice).

 

[Piers Gibbon]

I don't mind using the self service tills for a few items (just enough to not overflow the checkout area and cause electrosquawking) especially as it enables me to pay with my collection of coins from the dressing table

Oh and my local GP surgery also has one of those machines - with a big sign on it saying "USE TO ARRIVE YOURSELF"

eh?

 

[Grobelaar]

Shoplifting team plan...

3 of 4 people go to a supermarket, everyone but one person puts a few things in a basket and goes to the self-service till. All the people at the self-service tills deliberately get it wrong, weight things badly, put things in the bagging are that shouldn't be there, pick their purchases up before they're ready - causing an inordinate number of extra staff to have to come to their aid.

meanwhile the last person fills a trolley up with a load of shopping and just pushes it brazenly out the front while the diversion is occurring...

 

[big eejit]

THERE IS AN UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

I'm usually a fairly bored spectator at supermarket checkouts, but the one time we used the automatic checkout at Golden Hill Tescos I almost ended up kicking the fucking thing to pieces. Useless.

 

[SWAG MC BURIAL]

THERE IS AN UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

"It's not an UNEXPECTED ITEM, it's my OWN FUCKING BAG u wasteman till"***






***not aimed at u, electrogirl, just thought I'd make that clear



I'm convinced that the only place these damn things actually work properly is in that Boots in Fulham Broadway tube. Why can't they get it right anywhere else?

 

[keybored]

THERE IS AN UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

I'm tempted to smuggle a dogshit into Tesco and put that in the bag on the self-service thing.
Then when the security guy comes and rifles through the bag and withdraws his shitty hand in horror I'll say something witty like "bet that item was unexpected!" before they ban me.

 

[N_igma]

Nah they don't, everytime I go to a shop with them in there's always free one's and people are still queueing at the checkout. Force of habit I think.