self checkout – The Burning Platform

Guest Post by TE Creus

I’ve noticed that self-checkout is taking over more and more shops and supermarkets. They have existed for a while, of course, but more as an alternative to reduce lines, but now many shops have exclusively self-checkout machines.

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Yet, self-checkout appears not to be very effective or convenient, neither for shops nor for customers. Many customers tend to dislike self-checkout, as evidenced by the fact that there are always lines for human cashiers but none for self-checkouts. They give you the perception of more speed, but it is just illusory. Professional human cashiers scan and move your products faster (especially in Germany, where they go so quickly, basically throwing the stuff at your face, that you can hardly keep up).

“Nobody likes self-checkout”, says an article at CNN, “Here’s why it’s everywhere”.

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Submitted by Hardscrabble Farmer

Like a parent teaches a child by example, a government without a moral keel to guide it’s population will render them every bit as corrupt.

This also serves as a secondary reminder that a corporation that places it’s profitability above it’s humanity will maintain neither.

Via Get Pocket

The Banana Trick and Other Acts of Self-Checkout Thievery

“Anyone who pays for more than half of their stuff in self checkout is a total moron.”

Beneath the bland veneer of supermarket automation lurks an ugly truth: There’s a lot of shoplifting going on in the self-scanning checkout lane. But don’t call it shoplifting. The guys in loss prevention prefer “external shrinkage.”

Self-checkout theft has become so widespread that a whole lingo has sprung up to describe its tactics. Ringing up a T-bone ($13.99/lb) with a code for a cheap ($0.49/lb) variety of produce is “the banana trick.” If a can of Illy espresso leaves the conveyor belt without being scanned, that’s called “the pass around.” “The switcheroo” is more labor-intensive: Peel the sticker off something inexpensive and place it over the bar code of something pricey. Just make sure both items are about the same weight, to avoid triggering that pesky “unexpected item” alert in the bagging area.

Continue reading “The Consequences of Unchecked Corruption”