Yahoo Finance Why you’re wrong about self-service checkouts
Ben Marlow wrote yesterday that, “It is every shopper’s worst nightmare – the proliferation of the dreaded self-checkout. There can’t be a human being on earth that doesn’t hate them.”
Worst nightmare? Speak for yourself! There's nothing like the soothing beep of a three-pack of onions swooshing past; or the satisfaction of knowing you can take your time and play Tetris with your groceries as you bag them, with no one huffing and puffing behind you.
Now brace yourself, for this might come as a shock, but many of our readers actually prefer to scan and bag their own groceries.
While most of our readers – admittedly – agreed with Ben’s view that human cashiers are best, our poll of 18,000 readers showed that a full 38 percent prefer self-checkouts – or other newer and more technologically advanced options, such as scan and shop apps.
Readers came together in passionate defence of the unmanned machines, arguing they were easy to use, convenient and most importantly: quick.
“I am in my late seventies and I just love the self service checkouts!” states Telegraph reader Lavinia Fuller, as she describes how she can “control the speed of my scanning and it keeps my brain alert”.
“I find it amusing when they have to check my age! I love learning new things and keeping up with technology,” Lavinia adds.
And she is not the only one. Reader Matthew Green shudders as he remembers “the days of super long queues with cashiers having big long chats while you're just trying to buy a pint of milk.”
The ‘I love self-checkouts’ (yes, I will be making t-shirts) theme continues: “I prefer the self-checkouts” argues Sud Anym, “particularly where you can scan as you shop. It saves taking everything out of the trolley at the checkout, only to then have to put it in your bags in some form of race with the checkout person!”
Other readers expressed their disbelief at shoppers preferring to join a lengthy queue rather than face what Ben Marlow describes as “technological mind-scramblers”.
“Don’t be so ridiculous. It is not difficult to use self-service checkouts,” argues Carol Townsend, who says she only ever uses the ‘Scan as you Shop’ Tesco scheme.
“My goods go directly in the bags, the bill is added up as I go round, one swipe of a payment card and I am out of the door. Easy, convenient and so much quicker.”
This sentiment is shared by Telegraph reader Paul Donson, who defends self-checkouts, saying how they are “no hardship” and highlights the fact that he would “rather have a Marks and Spencer with self-scanners than no stores at all.”
He adds: “Times change and we need to change with them”.
Meanwhile, Ann Humphrey would simply “prefer staff to be available on the shop floor to answer queries rather than manning the tills”.
Luckily for Ann, another Telegraph reader, Louise Lawrence, shared how her “local M&S told me that the new self-serve checkouts meant that they could free up more staff to be on the shop floor, helping customers!”. Sounds good to me!
But are staff really necessary at all in today’s day and age? Anonymous Telegraph Reader does not think so: “If customers are ‘confused’ by the simple process of buying something in a shop, then it's not the shop's fault. Staff costs money, and that money goes on the price of the goods.”
Similarly, Telegraph reader Ross Buchanan gives a leg up to the same argument: “I would prefer to still have a Marks and Spencer in my city, but it shut down due to expensive staff!”.
Personally, I stand with fellow reader M Wood, who raises the question: “Since when was choice a problem?”
At least there are now alternatives to being stuck behind a chatty Patty who can’t find their purse. All I want to do is buy a loaf of bread…
