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Innovation/Automation in Retail

I find people are painfully slow at self service checkouts. Sometimes it's faster just to go to a cashier. Last year at Metro, every self serve machine had to be wiped down after every use. The lady working there, took her sweet time slowly cleaning the machines. You go to machine that hasn't been cleaned, she would scream at you.
I don't think I have ever had to wait for a self checkout, anywhere. There's always more open ones than people waiting for them.
 
But he pumps his own gas and uses an ATM, I'll bet.
I never thought of it from that perspective, so I guess I'm in that category. I dislike self-checkouts; my questionable logic is if they want me to do staff work, I should get a discount. I will definitely not do self checkout at the grocery store (the ones we use don't have it anyway). I won't even bag - I am just that bad at it. During the height of Covid, when we used our bags store policy was we had to bag them ourselves. Staff often took pity on me (that and watching the line slowly build as I fumbled my way through.

But I do pump my own gas most often, which are usually cheaper than the the few full service stations left, so I guess there's my expected discount.
 
I never thought of it from that perspective, so I guess I'm in that category. I dislike self-checkouts; my questionable logic is if they want me to do staff work, I should get a discount. I will definitely not do self checkout at the grocery store (the ones we use don't have it anyway). I won't even bag - I am just that bad at it. During the height of Covid, when we used our bags store policy was we had to bag them ourselves. Staff often took pity on me (that and watching the line slowly build as I fumbled my way through.

But I do pump my own gas most often, which are usually cheaper than the the few full service stations left, so I guess there's my expected discount.

I'm terrible at bagging groceries too, i can feel the anxiety build as people look on. i would rather let someone else do it.

Now my boyfriend on the other hand, he's highly skilled in grocery bagging, he was a bag boy at Sobeys. He's even been complimented by the self checkout attendant on his bagging skills.

I love it when he does the shopping, nothing gets damaged and the bread is never smushed.
 
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At self checkout, I don't feel the same kind of pressure to rush through the process.
 
I prefer going to a cashier at No Frills as the overall process is a lot quicker than at a self-checkout. I load my items on the conveyer belt in a particular order for me to bag them after being scanned. I often have half my bags packed by the time the cashier is done scanning. I also can’t be bothered trying to find the correct produce code at the self-checkouts.

At SDM I always use the self-checkouts due to their inability to have more than one cashier working at any given time. The exception is when I’m getting a gift card and need the cashier to ring it in. The exception to the exception was on Christmas Eve at a SDM in Oshawa when they had a staff member ring in the gift cards at the self-checkout as the lineup for the only cashier was 30+ people deep.

Costco is the only other store where I prefer self-checkout as I typically am only getting a handful of items for my baby (diapers, wipes and formula) and Jarlsberg cheese. I usually walk right up to the self-checkout whereas there’s always lines at the regular cashiers.
 
The Star has a story on Freshii testing out out-source cashiers, who are actually employed in call centre in Nicaragua.


The 'remote' cashiers are earning $3.75USD per hour ( $4.80CAD)

****

I have to say, I'm right behind innovation, and take no issue w/self-checkouts, particularly where optional.

But I find this rather tasteless myself.
 
Not frequenting freshii myself, I have to wonder why they can't just use fully automated kiosks like other QSRs are deploying?

I don't really have a problem with employing people overseas, as long as the wage is competitive for that market.
 
The Star has a story on Freshii testing out out-source cashiers, who are actually employed in call centre in Nicaragua.


The 'remote' cashiers are earning $3.75USD per hour ( $4.80CAD)

****

I have to say, I'm right behind innovation, and take no issue w/self-checkouts, particularly where optional.

But I find this rather tasteless myself.
soon the virtual cashiers will be unemployed in Nicaragua as well lol..
 
Not frequenting freshii myself, I have to wonder why they can't just use fully automated kiosks like other QSRs are deploying?

I don't really have a problem with employing people overseas, as long as the wage is competitive for that market.
Sure, but that's the whole point. Companies offshore because they can pay wages that aren't a living wage - in many developing countries, a "competitive" wage is not enough to live on, and the minimum wage is practically worthless.
 

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