Check it out… Yourself
I know… you don’t work there. So why, when you thought you were a customer, are you expected to handle the checkout duties? Isn’t that something someone else should do? Like an employee, who gets paid to be there?
It was probably Walmart that was first with self-checkout in the area, but since then, many of the larger retailers have followed, including Meijer and Target. And of course, not everyone is happy about it.
Though it’s a fairly recent development in the big box stores, self-checkout has actually been around for decades. I remember my first time. I was pretty young, but I vividly recall the experience. My parents stopped at an unattended fruit stand by the side of the road where we selected a couple bags of sweet cherries, left a few bucks in the can, and went on our way. There you go… self-checkout.
And since then, plenty of our retail transactions have evolved and now require a little bit of self. Remember when gas stations had attendants? Men in silly hats with their name on their shirt actually came out to the car and pumped the gas. While we sat in the car!
And who among us doesn’t appreciate the convenience of the bank’s outdoor automatic teller? No small talk required… just plug your card into the machine, enter the required info and presto… cash! That’s self-checkout at its most efficient.
Sure, plucking cash out of the slot from the comfort of your car is a little different than checking out a cart full of groceries, but the idea is the same. Fewer workers means less overhead which means savings for the customer, right? Or more profit for the company… one of those two.
It seems those complaining about having to do a job formerly handled by someone on the payroll do not represent the masses. A recent survey cited in a CNN Business article showed that more than eight in ten respondents were satisfied with the self-checkout experience.
I reached out to a few local retail managers, but haven’t heard back. With prices the way they are these days, maybe they think it’s best to lay low. Not a bad idea.
One of the objections to self-checkouts is that they take away jobs. When they first appeared at our Walmart I asked an employee about that. I was told they couldn’t find enough people to work, so self-checkouts made sense. (And dollars.)
Although the goal of these companies is to reduce costs, the move to self-checkouts hasn’t been without its unintended consequences. It seems the autonomous kiosks represent a sizable investment, while at the same time requiring a fair amount of high-tech maintenance.
And then there’s the theft, or if you prefer… shopper error. You’re probably shockedSHOCKED that people left to their own devices… and vices, occasionally slip a couple items in the bag without performing the necessary scan. Shrinkage, the term used to cover losses including theft, has increased anywhere from 30 to 60%, industry-wide, depending on the number of unmanned kiosks in use.
Personally, I appreciate having the option of self-checkout or traditional employee-assisted. What I fear… and I believe we’re headed in that direction, is sometime in the near future there won’t be any option. It’ll be 100% DIY. Like where we are with gas stations.
There are more than a few technological advances we thought would be around forever, but in fact have proven to be less life-changing than originally predicted. Remember the Segway? Barely. Self-checkouts? They’re here to stay.
I think much of the angst felt by shoppers doesn’t really have that much to do with self-checkouts. They’re actually pretty convenient when you only have a few items. The problem resides more in long lines, self-checkout or otherwise. We just don’t like waiting, regardless of the situation.
The writers at South Park credited Kim Jong-il, but it was actually some guy named John Maxwell who said, “Change is inevitable.” But there’s more. He added, “Growth is optional.”
Bla, bla, bla. Don’t you hate it when some smart aleck cools your jets with a reasonable observation?
Pints for Polio
Today’s the day when you can put your Friday fun to work and help continue the fight against polio. Yes… polio.
You may have thought it’s already been eradicated, but the fact is it’s still out there. Like that last burning ember in the fire, it must be extinguished entirely or it could come back.
Our Marquette Rotary Clubs have teamed up to sponsor Pints for Polio, where every pint of beer poured at participating businesses today (Friday) from 2 pm to close will raise $0.25 to help eradicate polio. The money raised is then matched 2 to 1 by the Gates Foundation. Over the past five years the total has been close to $30,000.
The full list of participating businesses can be found at https://www.facebook.com/marquette.rotary. If you’d like to contribute but would rather skip the suds, info for that is also on the FB page.
And Finally…
Well, not finally, but we’re getting closer. The MAPS School Board is currently soliciting MSHS nickname ideas to replace Redmen and Redettes.
To submit your suggestion you can find the Survey Monkey platform on the school’s website at mapsnet.org Submissions will be accepted through Friday, November 17th.