self-checkout laneI'd take the self-checkout lane over checking out with a cashier at the grocery store any day of the week. You can skip the long line and zip right through; you don't have to deal with a potentially annoyed or cranky employee; you get a rush from doing it all yourself. What could be better?

Evidently, I'm in the minority, however, as many supermarkets across the country are phasing out self-serve lanes. It seems like shoppers are just too lazy and impatient to check out themselves.

What's so amazingly ironic about this most recent change in supermarkets is that the self-serve checkouts were supposed to be the wave of the future: Not only would they be a convenience for customers who could get in and get out by doing it all themselves, but they were also thought to be a cost-saving measure as well because the machines would eventually reduce the need for cashiers.

Instead, customers complained that the self-serve checkouts were confusing, tedious, and frequently didn't work. For many, the lanes often took more time than a traditional cashier lane because they had to wait for an attendant to come over and ID them when buying alcohol or override the machine if it rang up the incorrect item (as would often happen). And the most common complaint about the self-serve checkouts? People HATED bagging their own groceries.

Overall, people reported a much more satisfied supermarket experience when they checked out with a cashier. In response, supermarkets are replacing the self-serve lane with a cashier. Let's all remember these whiny complainers the next time we have no choice but to stand at the end of a long line while the cashier slowly and painstakingly rings up each item wondering if we could do it faster ourselves ... I know I will.

Do you prefer the self-checkout lane or the cashier in the grocery store?

 

Image via pin add/Flickr