U-Scan, motherf###er! Do you know how to use it?

[ToxicAdam]

I love the invention of self-checkouts. They have been around for what, seven years now? It's great to walk into a store and grab three items and then scan them yourself and walk out the door. No cashier to greet ... no stupid bagger to bag each item in its own bag ... no waiting behind someone with 30 items and 30 coupons.

It was alot better when they first came out. People were intimidated to use it. Almost like stage fright, they were afraid to hold up lines or that they would somehow screw up. Old people especially, you NEVER saw anyone over 60 use one. These were people that could barely operate thier universal remote control, no way they could operate a touch screen.


Well, that has changed .. more and more I see idiots that use the self-checkout. Of course, you have the AARP crowd that takes too long to do simple things. But worse yet, are the people oblivious to the fact that 7 other people with 3 items or less are behind them while they check out with 7-8 fruits/vegetables (which all need to be weighed), 20 of the same item in their baskets (har har .. because its only 1 item .. 20 times!) or those goddamned coupon people.

I refuse to even go through a Wal-mart self-checkout. You have the absolute dregs of society shopping there .. and seeing them try to navigate the menu screens is like watching paint dry.


Can't we require people to be licensed for self-checkout? A way to weed out the assholes who can't operate a touchscreen .. or discern when thier purchases probably aren't the best for self-checkout (slimy chicken breast buyer, I am looking at you)?

Thanks for your time.

 

[Dan]

It was alot better when they first came out. People were intimidated to use it. Almost like stage fright, they were afraid to hold up lines or that they would somehow screw up.

I used to be one of these people. I think I posted about it in an old thread on these U-Scan lines. It's pretty fucking simple though, and outside of the random technical glitches that occur, I love it and it's made my grocery shopping so much quicker. Shit, I get frustrated because the software is too slow.

But you're right, there are some really annoying people who insist on using the U-Scan systems and clearly shouldn't be, either because of the kinds of items they're buying or because they're physically incapable of moving at socially acceptable speeds. It's pretty bad when I decide it'll be faster to wait in a normal line than attempt the U-Scan.

Oh, what the hell is the point of having barcodes on coupons if you have to take them to the U-Scan supervisor? It defeats the whole damn purpose, and yet that seems to be the way Meijer has it set up. I tried using one once and when it asked me to show it to the supervisor, I just said fuck it and cancelled it.

 

[Shogmaster]

Somewhat related, Best Buy in Hollywood (La Brea and Santa Monica Blvd) has this huge parking garage that it shares with bunch of stores near by including a huge Target. Someone clever decided in planning that it would be good to impliment a self payment parking payment system to make the exit lanes move traffic out of the garage faster (only needing couple of manned payment station lanes at the exit while the other two exit lanes will be using the automate system).

The problem is, that the payment must be made at one of the many self payment kiosks throughout the shopping plaza BEFORE YOU GET TO YOUR CAR. Of course, this purely depends on the smarts of the shoppers to know that you CANNOT use the two automated exits lanes if you didn't use the automated kiosks before they got into their cars (even though the signs warns of exactly that as they enter the lanes). That naturally means that 99% of those that use the automated exit lanes are clutching their dollar bills like drooling drugged monkeys staring at the machine at the exit while dozen cars behind them are honking away like crazed cabbies in downtown Seoul (I now have used up my superfluous adj quota for the week).

This in turn forces those two attendents manning the 2 pay to leave lanes to go back and forth between the auto lanes and their stations to manually lift the gates. It literally takes 15~30 minutes to leave the parking garage on busy shopping days. A tragedy since it's the closest Best Buy to me.

I have no idea what the point of this whole story was.... Murphy's law pwns you? No point in advanced planning ever? I hate Hollywood? Probably all of the above.

 

[ToxicAdam]

Somewhat related,

I have no idea what the point of this whole story was.... Murphy's law pwns you? No point in advanced planning ever? I hate Hollywood? Probably all of the above.

Wow that sucks. You win, sir. That sounds worse than sitting in a 15 minute "express" line at Wal-mart.

 

[Ecrofirt]

My local Walmart has people using these thnigs when they've got carts filled to the brim with stuff. At that point, it becomes ridiculous, and takes twice as long to get your shit done than if you just go to the regular cashier.

 

[aoi tsuki]

Oh, what the hell is the point of having barcodes on coupons if you have to take them to the U-Scan supervisor? It defeats the whole damn purpose, and yet that seems to be the way Meijer has it set up. I tried using one once and when it asked me to show it to the supervisor, I just said fuck it and cancelled it.

Just a guess, but it could be to reduce fraud. It would be easy to print up some barcodes and pass them off as coupons. For that matter, it would be easy to print up some bardcodes on labels and stick them on products. Extremely easy, actually.

 

[Ecrofirt]

what exactly stops a product from setting off the alarm as you leave the building?

 

[Hitokage]

Oh, what the hell is the point of having barcodes on coupons if you have to take them to the U-Scan supervisor? It defeats the whole damn purpose, and yet that seems to be the way Meijer has it set up. I tried using one once and when it asked me to show it to the supervisor, I just said fuck it and cancelled it.

Because they aren't U-Scan exclusive. Not to mention the billion things that can go wrong with coupons, the cashier not having to type in the UPC by hand for each and every single one, and the simple fact that expiration dates aren't coded.

 

[RaymondCarver]

I refuse to use the automated lines for reasons of the slow-as-watching-paint-dry people.


However, the main reason I refuse to use the lanes is because the use of automated lanes takes away people's jobs.

 

[emomoonbase]

what exactly stops a product from setting off the alarm as you leave the building?

Usually it's a radio frequency tag. The proper frequency will "deactivate" the tag when it is scanned at the registers, and then the readers by the doors scan at the tags original frequency. When they find something that is on that it they beep. People defeat them by removing the tags or masking the signal by wearing foil lined jackets or putting foil in their pockets and placing the item in it.

This will be a moot point when rfid hits in 2k6 which responds to a higher charged radio signal that can go through warehouse walls. Plus you'll be able to actually see things with the rfid tags in them move around the store or warehouse in real time on monitors.

 

[ChrisReid]

However, the main reason I refuse to use the lanes is because the use of automated lanes takes away people's jobs.

And if enough of these jobs get eliminated, it'll force more people to go back to school and otherwise find a means to increase their productivity, thus increasing the standard of living in the long run.

But you're right, there are some really annoying people who insist on using the U-Scan systems and clearly shouldn't be, either because of the kinds of items they're buying or because they're physically incapable of moving at socially acceptable speeds. It's pretty bad when I decide it'll be faster to wait in a normal line than attempt the U-Scan.

That happened to me in the run up to Christmas. The damn regular cashier express lane ended up being a bunch faster than the self checkout at Fred Meyers. The thing was crawling with idiots. Some guy had his slow ass 6 and 7 year old kids doing all the checkout while he stared at the ceiling, oblivious to the 15 people waiting to use a checker machine behind him.