Friday, June 1, 2012

The Self Check-out Lane with Jill Kemerer Vlog

Welcome to another webisode of "... with Jill Kemerer"!! This month we're discussing the self check-out lane.

June 2012: The Self Check-out Lane with Jill Kemerer


I apologize for the barking toward the end. My dog flipped out due to the cement trucks pouring a foundation across the street. She can't handle the construction noise!

What are your thoughts on the self check-out lane? Does it make life easier or can it be a time waster?

Happy June 1st!! Have a great weekend!



29 comments:

  1. I don't like them either, Jill. Most of the time I'd rather wait for a REAL checkout person. I actually got a lot of nasty looks from clerks in England for not using the self-checkouts there, but I was afraid the machine wouldn't like my credit card, because even though it has one of those smart chip things they have in Europe, the one time I used it, it didn't work and I had to pay cash.

    But I also don't like automated phone calls, where they assume you want to check your balance or something similar and make you jump through all sorts of hoops to get that unwanted information before you can actually get to a real person who can help you. . . and makes you jump through the same hoops you just jumped through.

    Or even worse, you do all that, and the real person you talk to says you need to be transferred to someone else, and then that person tells you the other person was the only one who could help you, and you're in an endless circle of transfers, telling your story over and over again and never getting the same person.

    In general, technology is great; however, in many areas, it's still not up to replacing a real person.

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    1. Oh, Barbara. I'm SO with you on the automated phone lines. They're enough to put me on blood pressure medication!! Enjoy England!!

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  2. I hated them at first. I took me longer to go through them than the line up. But I do like the one at my local grocery store (it usually doesn't have much of a line up).

    I'm with Barbara on the automated phone calls. It takes forever to get to the department you want. :(

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    1. Stina, I've learned the self check-out lane is only for easy to scan items and only if you're paying with debit or credit. Anything more exotic isn't worth it!

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  3. Hahaha, Jill! Our self-check out isn't as bad as yours; we don't have those pressure-sensor things (although we have them here at the Home Depot stores and they drive me crazy). I'm still not a fan of self-checkout, but when there are three times as many self-checkout lanes available as there are staffed checkouts, what are you going to do? The worst is when people are behind you and are impatient. I try to hurry, but I'm not the fastest bagger. One woman behind me actually accused me of being INCONSIDERATE because I bagged all my stuff before touching the "Pay" button! What the heck? It's not as if she could have started her grocery checkout with all of my stuff in the way, anyway. But folks generally are wound a bit too tight in our neck of the woods, unfortunately. DC suburbs, you know - a lot of them think they are more important than anyone else. Sheesh.

    Fun vlog, Jill! Have a great weekend. :D

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    1. Oh, yeah, Kathy--you're SO inconsiderate for BAGGING YOUR GROCERIES!! Come on! Ugh!!

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  4. LOL. I get so P.O.'d at the self-checkout in Wal-Mart. They wouldn't need the stupid things if they had even half the registers manned. And 9 times out of ten, the clerk has to help most people, so what's the point?

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    1. Don't get me started! Our local grocery store routinely has either NO clerks or ONE clerk between 8-9AM. That means we have to use the self check-out lane. And, trust me, there are plenty of people shopping right then. I don't get it!!

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  5. Okay, silly confession: I like to use the self check-out lane and see if I can get my stuff scanned and bagged faster than the clerk in the express lane. Apparently, I have a competitive streak that comes out at odd times. Loved your vlog, Jill!

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    1. Anything to make the experience more fun, Melissa! I'll have to try that! :)

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  6. LOL! I don't use them unless it's something SUPER easy and I have a credit card.

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    1. I'm with you. There are certain items we just have to avoid when self checking-out! :)

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  7. I HATE the self-checkout. I'd rather stand in a line for a real cashier and that's saying a lot coming from a most impatient person!

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  8. Did you say exotic lettuce! That sounds fabulous.

    You WANT to bag the item. You WANT to bag the item.

    CMU. That's my text speak for cracking me up.
    ~ Wendy

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    1. Apparently Boston Lettuce is exotic in my world! Ha! Ha! Thanks for making me smile, Wendy!

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  9. Wow, this is so me! I hate the self checkout, especially if I have produce. Trying to scroll through and find the right code for a specific type of lettuce would probably blow my brain up all over the checkout.

    lol

    Angela

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    1. Yeah, I've actually had out-of-body experiences with the self checkout. Not pretty...not pretty!!

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  10. I love the self check out lane. Exotic lettuce?

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    1. I know, Loree. So Boston Lettuce isn't really exotic... it just feels like it! Ha!

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  11. My husband is horrible at the self-checkout. He can never get the barcodes to scan!! Ha.

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    1. Lindsay, I can attest without meeting him that he's better at it than I am! I'm the worst!!

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  12. Cute little doggie :-) My dog whines when he hears me talking to other people. "Pay attention to me!" He seems to convey.

    I think the self-checkout is faster IF you know what you're doing. I've gotten in line behind people that were befuddled over the scanner and had to wait longer than if I had simply gone to a regular register. And yeah, half the time the barcodes don't scan properly. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Too funny, Brandie! Sophie gets anxious when people hug. She just doesn't like it, the little weirdo!

      Never get in line behind me. I'm self checkout challenged!

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  13. I don't mind the self-checkout lane when I just have a few things. I tried to go through it one time with my eco-grocery bags, and oh my word, what a horrid pain that was! The weight sensor kept thinking my bags were grocery items that I hadn't scanned yet. Apparently self-checkout and eco-friendly don't mix.

    Have a great weekend, Jill!

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    1. Oh, I can only imagine the knots you tied the computer into. It can't handle me accidentally leaning against the scale, let alone putting a *gasp* eco-friendly grocery bag on it! :)

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  14. I think the U-Scan lanes like to mess with people. About 40% of the time they call the clerk on me. For what??? Because they can. Next time I'll look for Candid Camera.

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  15. I like the self check out lane when I only have a couple of items and the lines in the other lanes are long. My husband despises them!

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  16. Several people were using those lanes today when I had just 4 greeting cards. I flew past them, juggled between several regular lanes till I got the one that was most empty and paid with a regular person.

    My daughter loves the self check out. I will let her do mine, but I don't dare do it myself. I just might run into problems like yours or worse. I hate talking to machines on the telephone, too.

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