I think more and more people prefer self checkout. I do. It's faster, you can bag your stuff like you want it,and you don't have to deal with cashiers who hate their jobs and their attitudes. While that last point is not unique to Walmart, it's does seem to be a constant there. I also notice that stores with self checkout available usually don't have long lines waiting to check out.

I imagine it ends up saving the stores money in the long run as well.

We have the same check out situation here in MN in my town. There are self check outs with long conveyor belts and there is the "normal" small purchase stations. This past weekend I got stuck waiting for people struggling trying to self check out with a FULL cart in the small stations. There were several check outs unmanned where checkers used to stand. They can't get decent help either.

More the reason why I now shop online and drive thru pickup.

I much prefer checking and bagging my only groceries. My pet peeve is when people let their children help. Also men often take forever, like they have a problem figuring it out.

Our Walmart just had a remodel and they took out lots of check out stands and put in a lot of self check outs. They also put up the gates but I don't think those gates are really going to stop anyone. They also put in a pretty cool vault for picking up online items.

I prefer self check out too. Sometimes the machines aren't cooperating and then you can't get the helper's attention because they are too busy chit chatting with a coworker who is also just standing there. It's much better at Kroger, at least they notice and come over to help you. Our Walmart has more self checkouts now, used to be only on the grocery side, now there is another self checkout next to that with a long conveyor belt like a normal check out lane and there are 8 or so more at the other ends of the store. This is good for the most part because they usually only had 1 or 2 regular lines open at any time, which took forever.

I love my home grocery delivery from Walmart.

I only do self-checkout if I have a few items and there is a long line for the cashier. I do NOT find it faster, because I am unloading, scanning, bagging, messing up, putting bag on cart, waiting for the super because they need to card me or somesuch. I looooove my one grocery store where they also unload my cart for me. The baggers are well-trained. And they put it in my car. The car guys know whether I want it in the trunk or the back seat.

The self-check at Target is the absolute worst, the set-up is stupid and I don’t toss that word around lightly. I will wait in the manned cashier line before I’ll go to the self-check there.

Besides, most of the staff at the stores I go to are pretty nice. There’s one store I will not go to, and one reason is that the cashiers always seem like they’d much rather be having a root canal. It’s a pretty upscale store, otherwise good reputation, but this particular location just pushes all my buttons.

All that said, I tend not to shop at WalMart much, because the location isn’t as convenient for me. I’m glad I have choices. But the WalMart I do go to, seems like the cashiers are pretty nice.

Our Walmart got the gates a month or three ago, they're rigged with an alarm if someone goes through them the wrong way - it's loud and, well, alarming. lol

Our Home Depot has gone totally self serve, and what chaos that is, I was there a couple Sat. ago and no one seemed to know what to do, even though I usually see more people using the self serve than the manned check outs there.

I don't care for self service myself as employee wages are built into the cost of whatever they're selling, and no one is reducing prices to reflect the fewer number of employees on staff. And a reduction in employment isn't good for the community, either.

"Also men often take forever, like they have a problem figuring it out."

Ridiculous comment. I do believe you think this is an insightful observation - too bad for you.

I won't shop at Walmart, but don't ever choose self check at any store, ever. All that does is put people out of work. We want cheap prices, but then complain when our kids can't find entry level positions, or there is no work at decent jobs for semi/unskilled labor. The more you choose self check out the more you are hastening the loss of those jobs.

There is help wanted signs all over the place here, even before the holiday season. They can't find anyone to work. So more business are putting in self checks.

LOL there are "help wanted" signs and for every sign you see there are 100 applications sitting on a managers desk. They sit there because the applicant can't spell, can't pass the math test, when they check references they find out the person was fired from their previous employment because they did't show up, the are 17 and dropped out of high school....

You'd think I've lived long enough to never say never. When my local Walmart first got self check I said I'd never use them because I want to see the cashiers keep their jobs. But after dealing one too many times with surly attitudes to the point where they look at you like you've grown 3 heads because you actually tried to talk to them I gave up. Now the only time I use the cashier line is when I have produce which is a little more of a bother in the self check line. I realize that working at Walmart might not be ideal but it's not so bad that the customer should be treated like that. I know that they have to put up with nasty customers but they shouldn't take it out on everyone. But I can't imagine using self check line at HD - the trained cashiers there can't even figure that stuff out!!

I prefer self check out when I only have a few items because I shop to get what I need and GO HOME. Standing in a line listening to the cashiers engage every customer in their weekend plans, the latest fishing trip, the grand kids' visit is not how I want to spend my time!! There's a line between polite and gracious and wasting everyone's time.

Elmer....it's true! Marilyn is just tellin' it like it IS. My husband is VERY intelligent. But he's slooooowwwwwww...... not like a checker that doesn't care and just whips it through....smashing the bread....cold things not sacked together....too heavy for one bag...... he's trying to do it right and it takes longer. I get it!

I usually have store coupons. Kroger mails them to me. I try not to hold up the line and have to use a checker....if there is one. Kroger only opens self checkout lanes early in the morning.

I have Harris Teeter or Wegmans shop it for me. I either use their curb service or have them deliver. Walmart is starting this service in my area too. Whole Foods, Safeway, Target and Balducci do it too.

I refuse to use them as well. Once at a Kroger's, late in the evening, I had picked up about a dozen items, got to the front of the store, and as nicole mentions, there were only self-checkout lanes. I stood dumbfounded for about 5 seconds, and the store manager who was right there came over. I asked why there weren't any checkout lanes open, she responded "There are several right here, just use the self-checkout lanes" My response was "I refused to work as a checkout clerk as a teenager for money, I'm certainly not going to do it now for free." and I left the basket right there in front of her and walked out of the store.

What Olychick said.

Bob_cville, you rock!

Good for you, Bob! Sad to say, most people don't seem to mind using them so this cost-savings for the stores will probably be here to stay, most unfortunately. More jobs gone.

An individual who shops infrequently or who has used self checkout infrequently or never will be slower. To suggest there's a gender corollation is dumb nonsense.

Unlike Bob I was very happy to have a grocery clerk job for a large chain when in college. It paid 3x the minimum wage and I stocked shelves and spent some time at checkstands- the days before scanners. The majority of the full time checkers were women. We had to take speed tests twice a year and the results were posted. I was always the fastest. Why? I think because I did the friendly chit chat before and after processing items but not during. When ringing up the items, I focused on that to be as fast as possible while being accurate and with that I got faster than others who had a more leisurely pace.

On the issue of men v women. I usually like to get behind the men. They usually have smaller orders, don't pay by check, and don't make small talk with the cashiers = faster check out!

Bob, you rock.

Kathy, you do not want to get inline behind my DH, who at his favorite store discovered that he can use loose change to pay at the self-check. Including pennies.

I noticed my WalMart installed concrete posts at the door area - I assume to keep someone from running a car into the place.

My Walmart up north has had the posts at the door for many years.

"... he said, 'I don't work here...I am just trying to buy things. If that doesn't work for you, I can go somewhere else'..."

Instead of "aggravated by doing their job", more appropriately aggravated from dealing with people with that kind of attitude! Clearly a guy who has NEVER worked with the public before!

AFAIC, if people are so arrogant they have to have people fawning over them for the few shekels they toss toward a store, I had the same response every time someone like that darkened my doorway. "Don't let the door hit you in the...." There are certain customers you do NOT want in retail.

I use self-checkout whenever possible. Don't have the cashiers gabbing with each other, don't have 10# bags of flour put on top of eggs, can verify the price is correct and I bag things for speed at home. All frig/frozen together, basement stuff together, bathroom together, etc. And what's the big difference at Target? You scan, bag, pay and leave. Just like any other place from what I've experienced. The noticeable difference I've seen at Target is they have a tone to remind you to remove the credit card instead of the obnoxious beep, beep, beep. Much preferable to me.

And you'll never agree on the men vs. women debate but MOST of the time, men go to a store to get their stuff and get out of there. To most women, it's a social event. 99.99999999% of the time when an aisle is blocked, it's a woman blocking the aisle. For some reason, they plant their cart 1/3 the way across the aisle and they plant themself 1/3 from the other side. Men? They move the cart to the side. Of course, there's the occasional exception but having been in retail for over 35 years this has been my experience.

The one interesting change I saw at one of the Walmarts around here is they put a large pipe on the back of the cripple carts so people aren't taking them out to their cars, and of course, they leave them out there, too lazy to bring them back in. I won't mention the usual gender of the offenders... :)

Amazon Go is still ironing out glitches, but I believe that there will be many fewer brick and mortar stores and most of the rest will eventually be Amazon go type stores.

As I said to one of the overseers at the self-checkout in the grocery store the other day "When you get your pay cheque, there's income tax to pay on your pay - but those machines aren't paying any income tax".

She agreed.

When a business increases their automation and produces as much or often more with 100 employees as their 500 used to produce, apart from the tax situation of the business, the goverment loses about 80% of the income tax formerly produced by those workers who are now gone.

ole joyful

Back in the day I worked for a major retail clothing store. SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE was the rally cry. The reason customers returned or were loyal to a store it was thought to be their service. It is your prerogative to continue to DEMAND service but I think you are spitting into the wind in the long run. It is ironic, it takes more employee time for a person to do the personal shopping and manning of those curb side delivery offers than it takes to check customers out. Perhaps automation is what is allowing stores to offer those services. They still employ the same number of people--they just have different jobs now.

They still employ the same number of people--they just have different jobs now.

This. I just saw that the U.S. added several hundred thousand more jobs. I'm just not convinced that a loss of checker jobs means a loss of jobs, I think other opportunities await.

Yes. I see lots of Walmart employees "shopping" for pick up and delivery orders now.

I use shoppers. They do a great job. Sometimes they pack my car and sometimes they deliver to my kitchen

Stores want me to lift heavy kitty litter boxes onto self checkout to get the barcode. That

I can’t. I feel sorry for the checkout people as much as myself. But they say they get used to it.

I have used two shopper services. Shipt and Instacart. They will deliver 24 hours. And can shop at a couple of stores for me before delivery. Yes they are a little more. I am much more efficient too. I never regret I forgot something. I am good for 3 weeks at a time.

Their latest employee?

Joann, there's a creepy robot in my Martin's too. It's taller than the one you pictured. It makes a beep beep beep sound and moves around. I avoid it!

Joyful, I think employers should pay social security taxes for robot laborers (the only problem is how to define 'robot' ... )

Everything else being equal, I'm not sure why anyone would be concerned about how this practice or that increases or decreases the number of minimum wage jobs available. If you're concerned with the general welfare of people in your community, wouldn't it be better to concern yourself with how to help people be better educated or enhance their skills to be capable of having higher level employment than minimum wage jobs?

If anything, a decrease in minimum wage jobs should trigger more participation and interest in job training and educational programs. Isn't that better?

I don't think there's much that is more effective in raising interest in being better educated or better trained than being stuck in a minimum wage job.

A college friend would return home for summers and work on "the line" at the DumDum sucker factory in northern Ohio. She said that working next to women who had been there for 10 or 20 or 30 years caused her to return to college in the fall with a renewed focus and increased drive to get a degree that would allow her to "get out"

Similar story for me in a way. When I graduated college and had an offer for an entry level white collar job in hand (from the college placement office), I had to face the reality of a cut in pay. The grocery clerk position was a unionized job and because I was at the top of the pay scale as a journeyman level clerk, the wage rate was a fair amount higher than the starting pay of my professional job. Except, that was it. Unless you got promoted into store management, the contract rate is what you're paid, no incentives, bonuses or otherwise. New contracts in the future might offer higher wages but not by much.

It was an easy decision. It wasn't about the money - the grocery job was mindless, boring, and not intellectually challenging. It was fine as a part time college job but I'd had enough of it. Some did question why I took the lower paying job - I find that attitude just as puzzling today as I did then.

There may be several reasons why people are unable or prefer the minimum level jobs. Believe it or not, many people do not have the intellect or attention span for the higher paying work. They also may have to choose a job based on what the working hours are in order to deal with child care issues. Childcare spaces and costs make it unaffordable for many to even think of working if they have children under school age. Some are also unable to attend College or University due to all the above. You pretty much can't get an interview at those higher paying jobs without post-secondary education. Just saying :-) In case you ask, I did have a very good job and wages before I early retired a few years ago :-)

There are decent paying jobs in the trades, just as an example, that don't require academic ability or interest.

I have two tradesmen in my extended family. One didn't graduate from high school. He'd gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd and spent a handful of years screwing around. Approaching his mid-twenties, he realized he needed to be a bit more productive in his life and gave thought to construction trades. He got into a plumbing apprenticeship program and had success through his working years as a well paid plumber. The second graduated from high school but wasn't keen on school. He'd always been interested in cars and spent time working on friends' cars and hanging around auto shops beginning in his high school years. Observing led to getting his hands greasy which led to OJT as an auto mechanic/technician. Similar story, productive working years spent as a skilled auto mechanic, a job he loved and found fulfilling. He ultimately went to work at a busy dealership and like the first, made a very good living.

These are just two examples. Most minimum wage jobs are boring and not very challenging. Most people don't find them satisfying and their attitudes about such jobs are apparent when you need to deal with them. There are many better alternatives but one needs to get off of one's back side to go out and see what's interesting and available to pursue.

I’ve completely given up going to Walmart for many reasons, but I do not mind self-check at all. In fact, the Kroger here in town is a “Scan, Bag, and Go” location. You pick up a scanner at the door and scan each item’s barcode as you shop. If you have fruit or vegetables that you have to weigh, you scan a code on the shelf, then take the produce to a scale where it prompts you to weigh each item. At the end, you pay at a self-check stand. It works great - unless you’re purchasing an age-restricted item like alcohol or cough medicine. The cashier still needs to scan those items for you.

Scan bag and go would work for me for most of my life I suppose. As pumping my own gas and ultimately paying more for it.

Then one day I couldn't but I did. Then I couldn't and realized the recovery time was a couple of days,

Funny, I do deliver for Meals on Wheels.

Small piece of plastic with a number but no visible bar-code on each orange, tomato, etc.

I assume it relates to self-checkout, but haven't confirmed.

More single-use plastic en route to the garbage can.

I live within a couple of miles of Canada's largest city's recently-acquired "dump" (four-letter word), called "landfill" (double four-letter word), reported cost something like 220 million.

I don't smell too "well" (?) ... "good" (?) ... but the neighbours report that it often offers substantial smells - free.

ole joyful

They do make paper stickers for produce that will compost. The organic produce I buy at the food coop has them (not all but much of it does).

Joyfulguy, yes ... the dump HaHa!!! As kids we use to go dump diving in these huge waste piles. Now they are gated and the people that work there have first dibs. Seriously, they actually make a fair amount of money from cast aways! So many people were just discarding everything and anything in our pristine forests and waters it was their solution. Back in the old days we just had bonfires and compost heaps and could return metals for $'s. That also worked.