Rules for the Self-Check Option at the Grocery Store

Date: December 23, 2005

First and foremost, if you have more than 10 items, you need to make a decision whether it would behoove you to use this convenience at all. Use these guidelines:

1. Are most of your items vegetables? If the answer is yes, it is a pain IMHO to have to look up each of these items in the little viewer thing. Sometimes they will have the numbers on labels so you can just key in the code. Even so, you have to use the touch screen to do that rather than a quick scan. So use your discretion!
   
   
2. Do you have a lot of very large, heavy items that you will prefer to skip bagging? The self check at my 2 Albertsons' stores limit the skip bagging feature to be 3, and if you exceed that, the little red light comes on and you are prompted by a computerized voice that assistance is needed.
   
   
3. Are you shopping for your party and have lots of alcohol? Again, this will require approval by the cashier who is overseeing the self check machines. This cashier is often a multi tasking person who is running around doing other things, such as helping people at the service center, or restocking items. This person wears a pager, I am told. The unknown variable is the delay time between the self-check machine and the multi tasking, overseeing cashier person who has all of the power.

Second, as this photo indicates, sure, it's fun to have the kids experience new things. I remember when the self serve gas stations came into existence in the 70s (remember when we had a choice to have it pumped or to do it ourselves so getting gas wasn't an unpleasant experience that sent us off being flammable...?) If you are sitting there with a big line behind you, this is no longer cute. It's downright annoying. Especially when 2 out of the 4 self checkout machines is down, the other one has a guy waiting for the Multi Tasking Cashier God to come and approve his items or make the machine quit telling him he has an unknown item in the bagging area or whatever else. Bottom line, if there's a big line, sure, let the kid try maybe one item, but you do the rest.

Third, if you are not comfortable using machinery and computers, please don't even try. Leave it to the professionals. This also goes for when you have a cartful of items. Yes, you have to stand in line, but I would be willing to bet that if you timed your experience of standing in line and having a cashier scan all of your items vs. doing it yourself at the self checkout for the reasons stated above, you'd still come out ahead. The Professionals have all of those magical vegetable codes (or most of them) memorized. They are wizards with the scanners, and the machines don't complain to them about 'unknown items in bagging areas' or anything else.

Other Notes:
If you choose to get cash over, be sure to retrieve it. I have walked away 3 times without retrieving my cash. Twice, it was taken by a dishonest person. Once, the Cashier God caught it, printed out the receipt and when I came back 10 minutes later with my receipt which matched, I got my money. Whew!

Two days ago, there was a very long line at the self check. One woman had a cartful of items and the machine kept yelling at her about this and that. I defer to the more than 10 item rule. In front of another machine was this obviously comatose woman who was standing fiddling with her wallet for a good 5 minutes before even STARTING to scan any of her items. Come on now! There are 10 people in line and I could have scanned my order cashed out and gone in the time she stood there dawdling!

So, in closing, I will say that I like the self checks, but folks, be considerate, and know your own limitations.

Funny how the common thread of my rants seem to be experiences in the grocery store...

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