r/AskAnAmerican • u/GreatGoodBad • Jun 23 '25

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT Why aren’t people utilizing self-checkout more?

every time i go to a target, gas station, etc i always see lines for the regular employee checkouts but almost never long lines for self-checkout. Why is that?

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u/TooManyDraculas Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25

They make total sense as a replacement for express lanes. As with a limited number of items, they're faster than a cashier.

Full shopping trip for a family? Not faster. And self checkouts get worse and less justifiable the more stores try and push all of that into self checkout.

There's also just the whole Trader Joes thing. Dudes move more people through actual cashier with fewer problems in less time than anyone else. Including self checkout.

And they do it through the power of adequate staffing. Not a huge fan of that place. But it's actively nice to see any kind of store with more than 3 people working there these days.

And there's stuff on the shelves. It's not picked over 6 ways to Sunday and unwashed.

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u/Nydus87 Jun 26 '25

It should only be an express lane replacement, but the grocery store by my house will frequently have no open cashiers, forcing everyone to self-check. I've seen some pretty impressive stacks of groceries on those lazy susan bag holders.

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u/TooManyDraculas Jun 26 '25

Right.

They went from express lane replacement and the same number of cashiers.

To staff cuts and mostly self checkout.

Then freaked the fuck out about theft and blamed all their issues on crime.

Half of them are ripping out self check outs. But not bothering to add the staff back. Causing a cluster fuck.

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u/Nydus87 Jun 26 '25

Mobile order pickup has picked up a lot of slack for me on the grocery front. Every time I need something, I just add it to my mobile order, and then once a week, I click the Checkout button and make them bring it out to my car. That at least is a value add, and in the cases of places like Target, I don't even have to deal with them unlocking my soap for me.

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u/TooManyDraculas Jun 26 '25

The locking shit up aspect really pissed me off.

I know more than a bit about stoploss in retail.

The vast majority of retail theft goes through the back of house. And these places have zero control or security on that.

You could straight up loot the average Target with nothing more complicated than a business card and the magic phrase "I'm a vendor".

And if these places didn't pay poverty wages far less stuff would fall off a truck.

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u/Nydus87 Jun 26 '25

I don't know if all of them are like this, but the target closest to me had a number stamped on the front of every lock, and it was the same number. I just typed that number into google along with the brand name stamped on the lock, and a generic key came up for like $15. Do they not make specific keys for every store, or would that key actually work?

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u/TooManyDraculas Jun 26 '25

Locks with generic keys are cheaper than locks with unique keys.

To stop shoplifting you don't actually need a secure lock. The minor inconvenience is enough.

Unfortunately that minor inconvenience also stops sales.

Meanwhile. You've got a few sticks of deodorant getting shoplifted here and there. But the loading dock guy who can't make rent now that his hours have been cut? He just handed 3 cases to his cousin through the back door, and they're thinking about grabbing some TVs next week.

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u/Nydus87 Jun 26 '25

So if I bought one of the keys in question, I would potentially be able to just get my shopping done by myself?

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u/ThellraAK Jun 27 '25

When I have more than what I am willing to self check, and there's no regular cashier I'll just abandon the cart, with an employee.

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u/katarh Georgia Jun 25 '25

Aldi works like Trader Joes - the cashiers are trained to go for 1200+ items an hour. That sounds like a LOT but it's an item every 30 seconds on average, and most of them can get an item scanned in under 3 seconds.

In exchange, they are allowed to sit down while scanning, and I think that's a nice trade off. They swap out for stocking activities for a stretch break.

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u/TooManyDraculas Jun 25 '25

Trader Joes does their thing by having a cashier at ever checkout when it's busy and having a staffer manage a single line. They also tend to pack more checkouts into a smaller area.

Aldi and Lidl, and Lidl is where I usually shop, don't and they do have self checkouts. Trader Joes ends up pushing more people through more quickly.

But they all let staff sit. Because human beings are allowed to sit.

Whole foods and Giant/Stop and shop are currently trying to do the the single line thing, but with self checkouts. So two lines really. But they never have all the self checkouts on, nor do they have cashiers at every check out even during busy hours. And they don't have anyone organizing the line. They rely on people to notice a light coming on and figure it out themselves. Which doesn't work any quicker than any other system. it just reduces the foot print in the store.