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Go off on one: Self checkout at Tescos

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    • CommentAuthorkatiejane
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     
    Not sure what was going on today with the scales on the DIY till nearest the Krispy Kreme donuts on the right (with your back to aforementioned donuts), but I got a leek for 2p and a sweet potato for 1p.
    • CommentAuthorandy
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     

    I was going to post about queue strategies and the self checkouts at Tesco, because yesterday there were two queues the same length (about 6 people in each) - one leading to the 4 self checkouts and 1 leading to a lady behind a real till.

    Assuming people self checkout at the same speed as a real till, then you should join that queue.

    BUT I joined the queue for the real till and was finished before the person who joined the self-checkout queue had even started.

    So we can safely say that people doing their own till stuff take over four times as long as a real till, so even if the real till queue is much longer, you should join that one.

    • CommentAuthormagicP
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     
    I think the self-service tills can add time on to the visit. They insist on you putting each item on the scale and then you have to pack it away again. Then it faffs unnecessarily at the end and tells you to take the items when you already have done.

    And if you're buying alcohol, it has to alert the supervisor to check your age. All much slower than it need be.
    • CommentAuthorIan
    • CommentTimeFeb 6th 2008
     
    Don't even get me started on how the people queuing for the self service tills seem completely incapable of counting to ten items...

    ...it is this same innumeracy that then bowls over into illiteracy when they need to use the self help tills...

    ... although it can't be illiteracy there is a recorded voice talking to them and pictures for the food buttons that they designed to allow a two year old to use...

    ...so it is some other lack of response to stimuli that only psychologists researching on "sixth sensists" can hope to rectify .

    The only way to get through it is to drink the alcohol in the queue before the machine tells you it has to check whether you are old enough to buy it.
    • CommentAuthorFour Eyes
    • CommentTimeFeb 6th 2008
     
    Jesus don't get me started on the self-service checkouts at Tesco's...

    Firstly there should be some form of IQ/cognitive ability/English language/vegetable recognition test undertaken before you're qualified to use the machine. Secondly, there is ONE queue for all 4 checkouts. Don't think you can be sneeky and start a double queue depending on whether you use the left or right checkouts.

    If you see someone around 5.30 most evenings shouting back at the thing...
    "There is nothing in the bagging area stupid woman"
    "How can I remove nothing from the bagging area"
    "Yes I am going drinking tonight, and yes I am over 18"
    "I know I'm buying paracetemol, but don't worry I'm not trying to kill myself"
    then say hi, it's probably me.

    Oh, top tip. Put everything through as carrots...cheap as chips...

    Avocados?...no carrots...
    Courgettes?...nope, look like carrots to me...
    Ciabatta? nope, just funny looking carrots :)
    • CommentAuthormagicP
    • CommentTimeFeb 6th 2008
     
    Oooh, you're right about the one queue thing. I've seen a fair amount of bristling going on when someone makes a mistake about this.

    And I'm glad I'm not the only one answering the machines back.
    • CommentAuthortosscat
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2008
     

    This does bring up the wider question of when 'people' are at any till and they are suprised that all of a sudden they have to pack their shopping and further suprised when they have to pay for it, prompting much rummaging in handbags for purses then much rummaging in purses for money, cards, club cards, coupons etc when they've been standing in the queue for 10 minutes doing nothing (well, maybe gassing on the phone about nothing).

    • CommentAuthormagicP
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2008
     
    I saw one couple split their shopping between two tills to speed things up. Then they realised some of the special offers wouldn't be calculated as it would be two separate transactions...
    • CommentAuthorIan
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2008 edited
     
    did they have fewer than 5 items each?
    • CommentAuthormagicP
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2008
     
    No, they had loads of items each. Good point.
    • CommentAuthorgeoff
    • CommentTimeFeb 9th 2008
     
    @ magicp

    if you scan the booze first, then they normally have plenty of time to authorise it

    and you can put stuff straight into the bags on the scales

    if i ever get a job on the checkouts i will let you know other tricks of the trade.
    • CommentAuthortosscat
    • CommentTimeFeb 9th 2008
     

    If you've got a string shopper to cut down on your environmental impact then it's a bit of a ball ache - you have to sort of stack it then pack it.

    • CommentAuthorgeoff
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2008
     
    i think the new (and rubbish) bags are fully biodegradable now... hmmm
    • CommentAuthormagicP
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2008
     
    Cheers Geoff, my gripe about the packing is the same as Tosscat's.
    • CommentAuthorColette
    • CommentTimeFeb 18th 2008
     
    Actually, if you glare (or smile, depending on mood) at the Tesco person by the tills, they can press a button on their magic screen that allows you to pack directly into whatever bag you've brought with you. Of course that assumes that there is a Tesco person by the tills though...

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