It's a bullshit job though. Do you refuse to use elevators because they no longer have attendants? Having worked on a checkout at one time, it was always depressing. Plus there were other tasks that could be done and most people you deal with are awful.

People making the same old quips also make the job that little bit more unbearable - "must be free", urgh. Seriously you are not gods gift to comedy with these jokes, workers hear them 100 times every day and it is like some kind of compounding psychological damage each time.

But where are the mirrors?

We all love to hate on Walmart, but in my part of the world, it's got the closest implementation to what I consider acceptable self-checkouts.

The biggest quality of life feature is that they don't use the the weight sensors in the bagging area. You can use the hand scanner to scan every item in your cart sans weighted produce, as fast as your body will allow.

On the flip side, most of the chain grocery stores in my area have the bagging area scanners that need constant overrides, use AI cameras that lock up after every third item and require an override each time, slow machines that seem to have to compute the pi to the 10 sextillionth digit after each item is scanned before it will be ready for you to place it in the bagging area, and things of that nature. Those suck for sure.

You people don't have self scanning? Pick a barcode scanner at the entrance, scan everything when you put it in your bags in the cart, and just pay at the exit and walk out (unless you get a semi-rare random check). One of the favorite features of the store I use is that I fill the shopping list at home in the app (that can be shared with other accounts) and then I see the list in my phone or the store scanner, sorted by the order of sections in the store, so eg. all fruit and vegetables will be next on the list when I get to that section. I also like that you see your total in real time and the scanner reminds you if there's a "3 for 2" or other offers.

I shop in the morning to avoid lines. But, before self-checkout, they'd only have two registers open, so there was still a line. With self-checkout, in the morning, there's never a line so it's faster.

I like Walmart self-checkout machines better than others I've used, such as at Lowe's or Target (I don't shop at Target anymore) because I only need to put in my pin number, there's no other confirmations. I ignore the rate the store, donation, and print or email receipt questions while I put the groceries back in the cart, those all time out and the receipt prints by default.

I'm happy enough to chat or not chat to strangers, so that was never an issue for me. I'm sorry so many of the younger generation were apparently so poorly socialized, it must be stressful.

Tell me the OP is from the US without telling me they're from the US.

I get that you are technically doing someone's job for free, but you can always collect your "pay" by giving yourself a "discount." Personally, I prefer to scan my avacados as potatoes so I can have my avocado toast every day and be able to save up for a house. I'm almost there, it's only gonna take 30 more years for a down payment! 😁😀🙂😐☹️😢😭

I honestly don't hate the self checkout, I hate it when they do it poorly.

Oversensitive scales, improperly weighted products, stuff without barcodes, tiny little bagging areas that can only hold two bags. No belt for unloading groceries. Please remove the item from the bagging area, help is on the way. (Help is never on the way)

The grocery store where I used to live had a bunch of regular lanes, You threw your crap on the belt, Scan it over the sensors and send it down to the collection area where you could bag it. It was honestly pleasant.

I went to Target in the evening once, had an entire cart full of groceries. I push it up front there's no cashier's open only the self checkout. I look at the person manning the self-check out and say

Why aren't there are there any registers open?

Sorry just the self checkout.

This is going to be like 8 bags.

Yeah, sorry.

I shrug leave the cart there and start walking out the door.

No, wait: The cashier goes and opens the closest register to the self checkouts

The last self checkout I used, a store associate took my things and scanned them for me....it was a strange self checkout experience