Person Exposes 22 Sinister Supermarket Tactics They Use Everyday That You Might Not Know About

I assume this is in the USA, where at the self-checkout you have to pick all your groceries out of your cart, and check them one by one, and put them back in your cart. Self-checkouts in most stores in the Netherlands are actually WAY faster than that: I go into the store, pick up a cart and a handscanner and scan my store-card. Then I scan all my groceries as I put them in the cart, and when I’m finished I put the scanner back in the rack, and scan my store-card again. A display shows my total, and I pay with my debit card. Then I walk to my car, and empty my cart into the car. During the whole process I have to put my groceries into my cart only once, and take them out only once. Sometimes when I want to pay, I am randomly selected for a check, and an employee of the store comes to my cart, and checks if I did scan the articles in my cart.

Phone scanner app or handheld scanner is quicker. You do it as you are going round and bag your items before you even get to the checkout. All you have to do is pay. I started doing this due to Covid and much prefer it. The self-checkouts are painfully slow if you have more than a couple of items - and that's even for someone who has worked on checkouts before today!

It is quicker because no one likes self-checkup and there's never a line for it, I finish way before person i would be next in line ic checked by cashier ;p Also covid - great way of cutting interactions down ;p

Myes, but no. Self-checkout is faster simply because most customers have 20 items, not several full carts. It's not the checking that is faster, it's the line waiting. Also because they can have 6 self-checkout working in a small area while you can't reasonably staff 6 checkout at all time with only 6 customer per hours. 93% dislike is b******t numbers. Also most reason it is disliked is either they believe it takes jobs away, want a human (even if they ignore them while on their phone), or they are simply incompetent with it.

I'm 76 and have arthritic knees. I do a week's worth at a time. Self-check is not acceptable for my shopping. Year by year, unfortunately, "my" store has fewer human cashiers.

I prefer self check because then my items are bagged the way I like.

I love the self-check because checkers have touched everyone else's products that have been handled by customers with who-knows-what on their hands and put in filthy carts--it's all passed down to you. It's not perfect but it's one less step in the chain.

My wholly unscientific opinion and observation is that 50% of the people who use self-checkout lack the fundamental basics to actually use them.

I go to the self checkout to avoid interacting with cashiers and so I can bag everything exactly the way I want to. It’s very important that I be able to follow my self-checkout routine. Speed is irrelevant for me.

…it literally takes less than a minute with shop and scan to scan the QR code at checkout, pay, and leave. AND you don’t have to make small talk which is the real reason people use self checkout

Refuse to use them at all. they are not paying me to do their work.

I was a grocery cashier for 8.5 yrs in the US. Loved self-checkout there, still love it now that I'm in the UK. I can check out a full cart faster than most ppl can do ten items or less, which seems to be the limit on a lot of self checkouts in the US. At least here in the UK they don't care how much stuff you have, probably because sackers/baggers aren't a thing even in the manned checkouts--customers are always expected to bag their own stuff.

I will never use one. unless i get paid to be a cashier right then.

It's quicker because it has "post office queuing" and people with less items, therefore faster moving queues. If you have tagged or age restricted items it takes longer.

If I only have 2-3 things, I'll use it. But if I have coupons or discounted stuff, regular checkout

The stores around me that have them are faster. They usually only have one, maybe two cashiers working, & the lines can be 5/6 deep, & they always have loaded carts.

I even have an app so I register my goods as I walk through the store and therefore only have to register the entire purchase = Hardly any line!

Not the cashiers near here. Also, not if there's a line at the cashiers and none at the self checkout. Yeah, no, most of this point is crap.

I don’t think this is true. If you know what you are doing, most of the time self checkout is quicker. Every other line has several people in it but the self checkout is rarely full, at least where I shop.

Maybe most people aren't, but I'm just as fast on the self check out as the store check out people are. Plus I get to bag my groceries exactly how I want them. If a store has a self checkout I will always use it over other options.

How is this sinister or sneaky? If you have a choice, then use the one you'd prefer.

Tell that to Walmart. Some of them keep registers closed with only self checkout open, backing up everyone. Ain't nothin fast about anything there.

I also am not being paid to bag my own groceries. It was a job for someone once. That and everytime in the past I've used one, I've somehow done it wrong, I'd rather deal with the cashier who wants me in and out as fast as possible than have to explain to the self checkout supervisor why I'm an idiot.

I hate those machines!

Self-checkout is good is you buy few items.

We have the US-style "scan it yourself at the checkout/kiosk" self-checkouts, and in my experience they're usually much faster than a regular register. If there are 4 people in each line at the regular registers, and 4 people in line for the self checkouts where there are 6 machines I'm going to get through that line faster than a regular line. I don't have to worry about how things are packed. I can scan through items and sort them as I go. I don't have to talk interact with anyone. I would be willing to wait longer just to not have to interact with someone.

I don't like interacting with people, so that's why I choose self check out, not speed.

I used to be the fastest cashier at the store I worked at, so self-checkout is significantly faster for me than going to a cashier. I know all the tricks!

I always make sure to pay myself when I use self-checkout. Usually with a steak or two.

I absolutely refuse to use self-checkout for several reasons: 1. I see no cost saving's to the customer, yet know the store sees some. 2. I want to keep jobs for workers instead of taking jobs from them, 3. I don't work for the store. They don't send me a W-2 at the end of the year so I'm not doing their work. 4. The clerks are much, much faster so lines in self check-outs are always slower. I have been known to leave my basket at customer service and walk out if there are only self-checkouts.

When the supermarket pays me a salary, I will then become their cashier. Until then, I will go through the line that has a cashier.

I never use them. They claim to save money - but it's put a cashier out of a job and the price is the same if the cashier & bagger check me out versus me doing it myself. The thought of putting someone out of work and the 'savings' going to the corporation? I'm not participating in that!

I don't like self checkout since it is something built for the store, not the customer. The principal is that the customer has to do most of the work, saving the company money, but doesn't pass on the savings. So I only use self checkout if there is a long ling to the regular one.

The post answers it's own question. 93% of shoppers don't like self checkout. Therefore the lines are shorter and the shorter lines makes it faster. Grade school level article here. Time wasted.

That study didn't account for long-winded cashiers/customers yapping while a long line is formed behind them.

I prefer supporting cashier jobs.