There is a huge amount of work happening across the retail industry on this.
I think it's a combination of several things. Anyone thinking that stock loss in these stores is nil is wide of the mark. I managed to 'break' their system by selecting items that I was not charged for.
I dount they'd admit publically to issues.
Inevitably there is likely to be a queue at staffed checkouts and they're used mostly by people who aren't in a hurry. My daughter had a part time evening job in Sainsburys and she said it was normally self checkout only in the evening when it was quiet but if somebody doing a big shop wanted a staffed checkout they would open one up.
I just suspect that people weren’t using them. I have a couple of the shops on my usual driving route and they are always empty. The prices simply aren’t competitive even against independent shops or the likes of Tesco Express.
You may be checked again soon, even next time but then back to normal (assuming no more mistakes). We had this a few months ago, embarrassing for my wife as it was the store she worked at, her colleagues were roaring
It can fail to spot things, I bought a meal deal with a hot wrap, so I carried the wrap but the other items went into my bag. It failed to charge me for the wrap. As the overall cost was still less than I expected I didn't try to get the mistake resolved! I don't think there is any option to pay cash, but that is a tiny number of people in London now, many cafes/shops are already card only.
That's my preference when the option is both available and working, when it's not messing around with a self checkout is a PITA.
I always 'quick check' (using a scanner), and rarely have to manually scan anything at the kiosk station. Occasionallly I get a rescan in mwhich the attendant is prompted how many items to pick to scan. The staff that I know there say that the results of the rescan are unknown to them but the welcome desk can find out if asked. The only problems I have is the ridiculous time that people who do self scan take when they have a full sized trolley with about 50 items in. The store's cashiers are much faster doing that on their conveyer belts, and it doesn't delay those who have the loyalty cards using quick check.
Here's a question for the experienced supermarket users.
I don't buy much, probably about a bags worth split over two bags for a balanced carry. I like to put my empty bags on the scales so I can scan and load in one operation.
In the past this has kicked up all manner of errors, but I have worked out that if I assemble my two empty bags on the weighing platform before scanning the first item, I can get away with loading my bags as I scan. Is it possible that the scales zero themselves on receiving the first item scan, thereby tareing out the weight of my bags, or are the scales getting less sensitive? Just curious.
How well this works though varies a lot between chains. Lidl seem fine but Sainsburys go loopy if you breathe a bit too hard on it.
However in my experience when you select this it still throws a hissy fit and insists on manual verification. Hence why I never pack my shopping until after I have paid.
It depends on how they've been configured. When you press that you're using your own bag, it will accept up to a certain weight to account for the weight of the bags. If you place a heavier bag (e.g. woven canvas or backpack) or a bag with something else already in it then it might not be accepted. This is to try and stop fraud. In my experience Morrisons have the least tolerance for bag weight - too many plastic bags will set it off.
That explains why it always happens for me, I use hessian/canvas shopping bags.
This is exactly what Amazon are doing.
The Sainsbury's at Holborn is still trading. Interestingly the Tesco Express along the road was 'Get Go' only but you can now enter like a normal shop and pay a a self scan checkout.
The gun yes but apps on mobiles can be troublesome and slow, especially with poorly labelled items.
Yes, this is very good advice. Otherwise the apps these days are incredibly fast and accurate to scan. Some are better than others, and I do like Asda for allowing you to search for any item and it telling you where it is in the store.
