Discussions

lots of staff at the self check out, very helpful, very friendly, and the layout is much better than before. I would still have liked to see a bit more bagging area, it gets a little tight if you have more than 4 bags going. I like the self checkout, and hopefully more people get used to the idea and embrace it, plenty of staff to help you through the learning curve.

Used it today, with 2 five year old helpers lol. It took a bit longer to scan our items but we really weren’t there long. We would have been there longer had we used one of the traditional tills as the lines for those were long!  
 
I had a few things I needed help with and I actually had 3 different staff help throughout my transaction. All 3 were great! I would imagine over time though that the amount of staff in this area will decrease. It is the same in Portage and I don’t remember seeing that many staff.  
 
I do like how they aren’t as finicky as the old self checkouts were and you can place the big items back into your cart without it yelling at you haha. It was very smooth, even with the little ones scanning items.  
 
However, SS’s click and collect has won me over and that is where I now do 95% of my shopping. The odd time I only need a few things I usually still go to Walmart just because I know the layout better than SS so it’s quicker for me.

Self checkouts are not for me. It's not because I think they take anyone's job away. I just don't like them and quite honestly there's no benefits for me to do it myself. I hardly ever go to Wal-Mart so it really is a non-issue for me.

I don't mind the Wal-Mart self check-outs - frequently used them before they installed all the new ones and will continue to use the new ones. The line-ups are generally shorter and move more quickly than at the regular tills and the express tills. I can bag my items the way I want them bagged without having produce and bakery items squashed by canned goods and heavier items. I don't shop at SuperStore very often but have used their self check-outs on occasion for the same reasons as above. I think the self check-outs are here to stay and will be showing up in more stores so may as well embrace them.

I was at Walmart tonight with a full cart. Got tired of waiting in line and tried self checkout. I usually just leave it for times I have minimal groceries but wow. They must have fixed the buzzer thing that makes you leave your items on the bagging area because I had no issues tonight. I was in and out way before majority of the people I was in line behind got through. This is my new favorite thing. And I could bag my own groceries properly

I'm not going to Walmart or other such places for a service. I'm going there to purchase items I need and go. So I use the self serve checkouts often.

I like the self checkouts, I can get myself in and out faster than having someone ring me through. What I don't like is when they check your receipt and search your bags at the door. That's a deal breaker for me. If being treated like a thief is the price to pay for convenience, then I will shop elsewhere and pay more.

Is this something new they are doing? I have never had my receipt checked or my bags searched and I use the self checkouts the majority of the time because they are quicker and I am out of the store much sooner than waiting in line at the staffed checkouts.  
 
And as a side note to those who were expressing concern over the self checkouts not accepting cash, you can pay cash in those areas. I commented to a staff person one day that it would be nice if I could pay cash for those times when I have only a couple of small items and was told just to let staff working in the self checkout area know and they can accept cash - they have a till at the end of the area that they can use for cash payments.

I prefer the self checkout, much more convenient imo. Like others have stated, no one asking you to donate or to apply for a CC, and you can bag your own groceries the way you like. Also, I hate waiting in line lol!  
 
I have never had my receipt checked or my bags searched, so perhaps this is a new practice? I really don’t think this is a big deal, if you didn’t steal anything, you’ve got nothing to hide, right?

More people are shopping online, which is really the purest form of self checkout. Walmart also now offers online shopping and parking lot pick-up. What it really does is eliminates the long wait at check-out lanes that are a huge waste of space. The self-check out's are much more space efficient and allow for more people to check out faster. When I did my shopping on Saturday, I just laughed at all the people standing/waiting in line at the till while I strolled right up to my self check-out and waltzed out in no time....it's a breeze and I love it! Oh, and for those people worried about jobs, those tills don't just maintain themselves, or get installed by a robot.

I think the self checkouts have their place. Do I want to use them when I have a cart brimming with stuff? Nope - but then I'll use one of the provided cashiers.  
 
Personally, if I have like 20 items, its so much faster and more convenient to use the self checkout. As an added bonus the kids find it a lot of fun too to scan the items! I always use the credit card and have racked up more than a thousand extra "Walmart dollars" just by doing so - free money for that which I would have spent anyhow, so I don't mind the non-cash aspect. I also like the poster who went into detail about the problems people are bringing up and showing the actual solutions (for example, using cash at the self-checkout - who knew?) Good on you.  
 
As for people losing their jobs, it seems like it's only CHANGING their jobs. And honestly, if you want to talk about job loss I think the point is quite silly. We have had machines, computers, and inventions crop up over the past 75 years which must have 'taken' a ton of jobs! Generally those are the jobs no one wants to do anyhow! (I mean, a backhoe can really save a lot of shovel loads!) And no one complains about the mail carriers who don't have nearly the load now that bills and letters are mostly all sent electronically. Nor how people can pay their bills online instead of dealing with a person at the office they're paying the bill at... etc etc etc. There's literally thousands of examples of jobs people used to have to do that are taken over by 'machines'. (And jobs created by those who have created the programs and machines and continue to support and fix them as well)  
 
I don't know - I think the click and collect, self checkouts, buying things online and convenience are designed not only to save the company money, but also to bring the customer convenience. I'm all for innovation, and those who refuse to see the good points brought up aren't going to have their minds changed anyhow. I'll be happily self-checking my way out of the store so I have more time to get the rest of my stuff done!

to know this... how many of you that love self checkouts are cashiers? How would you feel if you were replaced by a machine in the years to come? With advances in technology anything could happen!  
 
Will we see robocops for an example? How about machines sweeping the streets or clearing snow?  
 
I prefer actually talking to a real person.

Johnbisonbear said "to know this... how many of you that love self checkouts are cashiers? How would you feel if you were replaced by a machine in the years to come? With advances in technology anything could happen!     Will we see robocops for an example? How about machines sweeping the streets or clearing snow?     I prefer actually talking to a real person. "

That was my question. Did the cashiers that used to work the tills at Wal-Mart lose their job or did they get a different position in the store?

people who were photo developers were eliminated when digital cameras became popular and no longer needed to get rolls of film developed? ATM's, telephone switchboard operators, self-serve gas station, automatic vehicle washers, and the list can go on. All things today we take as normal, that took jobs away.  
 
Automation and technology will continue to advance, like it has since the the early ages of humans.

Trevor B said "people who were photo developers were eliminated when digital cameras became popular and no longer needed to get rolls of film developed? ATM's, telephone switchboard operators, self-serve gas station, automatic vehicle washers, and the list can go on. All things today we take as normal, that took jobs away.     Automation and technology will continue to advance, like it has since the the early ages of humans. "

People won't/don't give two s***s unless it's their job/livelihood that is phased out by automation.

I don't mind using self checkouts however if you're buying fresh fruit or anything that doesn't have a bar code you're SOL. The last self checker I used (at another store) did not accept cash either.  
 
So if I buy fruit or need to pay with cash I'm forced to stand in the line for the one open till with ALL the people who don't or can't use the self checkers. Nah. I'll just go somewhere else thanks.

I actually do not mind the self checkout. It's always empty. The tils are full like no tomorrow.  
 
If its fresh product and no barcode, then you obviously know what type of vegetable your buying. Just type in the name and it will automatically appear on screen. Takes seconds.

Getty said "I actually do not mind the self checkout. It's always empty. The tils are full like no tomorrow.     If its fresh product and no barcode, then you obviously know what type of vegetable your buying. Just type in the name and it will automatically appear on screen. Takes seconds. "

also have a sticker with a number on it that you can type in.

But at RBC downtown last year. I went in and asked the teller if he would cash a cheque for me, as I could only access $250 of it if I deposited it. He asked if I had online banking and if I knew how to deposit cheques with my phone. I said yes I did know, but I wanted him to do it so I could have my money as I needed more than the $250 I could have accessed. Again I asked if he could do it. He says “yeah I guess so. Could you pass me your phone? I’ll show you how”  
 
I’m now understandably frustrated, but I’m not taking it out on this guy who’s just trying to do his job, BUT HE LEGIT DID NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I WANTED FROM HIM.  
 
So he got the manager, who I explain my issue to, and she says “oh this is a simple fix” and I’m like “finally, my cheque will be cashed for me. Perfect.” And she hits some buttons and says “here, now you can access $500 of your cheque after depositing it!”  
 
I’ve never ever yelled at someone providing me with a service but that day I came close. While I appreciate the rise of technology in the service field because then I don’t have to stand in line/ talk to a person/ wait as long (self checkouts, the McDonald’s kiosks, ordering food via an app etc etc) I dislike that it’s come to a point where employees will refuse to help you because you’re meant to use the do it yourself option. I also dislike that people are losing jobs to machines, which sucks.

garden123 said "These are national decisions for these companies in reaction to minimum wage hikes in other provinces. Although we don’t have as high a minimum wage as some of these other provinces, we are seeing the results of those wage hikes here. It’s great that they increased minimum wage but as you can see, companies are finding a way to keep their labour costs in check. This is the wave of the future.   Friends i have in Ontario with hourly jobs have seen a raise but also a decrease in hours... so they are no further ahead. Sucks but that’s the way business works. No company is going to just take an increase in labour like that without either decrease hours or increasing prices. "

No big company should complain about increases to min wage, they have been relaying on a public subtilized work program for way to long. The company pays their workers $11.15 but then those workers who need more to live rely on my Tax dollars to subsidize they're income either it be from tax breaks or social programing, I for one am sick and tired of subsidizing multi billion dollar companies to poorly pay their employees causing me to pay more taxes.  
 
 
Its also why i refuse to use the self check out systems Im paying for the service to having my purchase baged through the price of the product and in reality through the taxes i pay...