Walmart self check out

Hoid

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 15, 2017
20,408
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I am pro Walmart self checkout. If I have two or three things I can get out of there way faster doing it myself. Same at Home Depot. I should get a discount for performing the work they otherwise have to pay someone to do. But I don't get a discount.

This is the basic problem with automation. When machines displace workers those workers get nothing and the consumer gets nothing the only people who profit are the companies.
 

Durry

House Member
May 18, 2010
4,709
286
83
Canada
It's good to see companies implement automation and make a profit.
We need to see more companies making a decent profit.

Sears didn't have self checkout or much automation, and they didn't make a profit, so now they have gone broke and they are now going to disappear from the landscape.

Now people will bitch because they have fewer choices to shop in.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
49,906
1,905
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I was using the Morrisons self checkout on Thursday night. There's a sign saying "Five Items or Less." I had a bottle of Merrydown Cider, a bunch of bananas, a can of Whiskas for my cat and a packet of digestive biscuits.

Some numpty started having a go at me saying I had more than five items, even though I didn't - I had four.

What annoyed me even more was that he had a packet of rice.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
49,906
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How many bananas??? One or more???

Morrisons???? What that?

I think it was five bananas.

Morrisons is a supermarket chain. It was this one in Bolton town centre.

 

Kreskin

Doctor of Thinkology
Feb 23, 2006
21,155
149
63
I am pro Walmart self checkout. If I have two or three things I can get out of there way faster doing it myself. Same at Home Depot. I should get a discount for performing the work they otherwise have to pay someone to do. But I don't get a discount.

This is the basic problem with automation. When machines displace workers those workers get nothing and the consumer gets nothing the only people who profit are the companies.
It is saving you time. If that is no value to you you can always use the full service checkout.
 

B00Mer

Make Canada Great Again
Sep 6, 2008
47,127
8,145
113
Rent Free in Your Head
www.canadianforums.ca
It's good to see companies implement automation and make a profit.
We need to see more companies making a decent profit.

Sears didn't have self checkout or much automation, and they didn't make a profit, so now they have gone broke and they are now going to disappear from the landscape.

Now people will bitch because they have fewer choices to shop in.

....and then they automat your job and you'll be here crying.. :lol:

Self-serve gas stations sell for the same price as the ones with a gas jockey - no savings and you have to get cold and wet

co-op has full serve, they only place to buy gas.

 

WLDB

Senate Member
Jun 24, 2011
6,182
0
36
Ottawa
They don’t actually eliminate jobs. A cashier is still there the whole time to monitor them and help if customers don’t know how to use them or have a problem. Plus they are still very easy to get by if you want to steal something so it’s just not feasible to fully automate that role. I used to work at Home Depot and they had self checkouts but they never stopped looking for cashiers. It was the one position in the place that was always open, same with the Wal Mart in my area. At some point the machines may become good enough to replace cashiers but they’re nowhere near ready right now.

I am pro Walmart self checkout. If I have two or three things I can get out of there way faster doing it myself. Same at Home Depot. I should get a discount for performing the work they otherwise have to pay someone to do. But I don't get a discount.

So you want the pay of two minutes at minimum wage? In Ontario that’d get you 38 cents.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Satelitte Radio Addict
May 28, 2007
15,248
2,879
113
Toronto, ON
They don’t actually eliminate jobs. A cashier is still there the whole time to monitor them and help if customers don’t know how to use them or have a problem. Plus they are still very easy to get by if you want to steal something so it’s just not feasible to fully automate that role. I used to work at Home Depot and they had self checkouts but they never stopped looking for cashiers. It was the one position in the place that was always open, same with the Wal Mart in my area. At some point the machines may become good enough to replace cashiers but they’re nowhere near ready right now.

They would need to spend the money on security guards if they got rid of the cashiers.

I find it infinitely better than being stuck behind some shopper who is price matching coupons on every one of her 30 items (and half the time we wait while she finds the coupon on her phone).
 

WLDB

Senate Member
Jun 24, 2011
6,182
0
36
Ottawa
I find it infinitely better than being stuck behind some shopper who is price matching coupons on every one of her 30 items (and half the time we wait while she finds the coupon on her phone).

When I worked a cash those types of customers were pretty annoying. If the price match was a small enough amount I’d just put it through rather than wait for proof.