They always seem to do things just a tad differently in the US. In the UK, Aldi is a very basic shopping experience, with more affordable prices than most. I didn't mind it, but always found I couldn't get everything I wanted there, and would still have to go to one of my favourite supermarkets, mainly Sainsburys. They also did a lot of European brands that were not known to us. So sometimes I got too lazy to go there. I really like the fact that you have to bag your own stuff, because I believe it contributes to the speed of the service.
I seriously HATE self-checkout, and don't even like to go there even when the clerk is right there and offers to help me check stuff out. I am not a machine-oriented person, and even though one of the things that I have done was worked as a clerk in a convenience store, I just feel different about going through the self-checkout line at the grocery store. I will wait longer and go through the regular line every single time. And pretend not to hear the bagging clerk telling me that the self-checkout lane is OPEN and I can use that. Uh-uh, not for me at all ! !
I don't really have a problem with them, aside from an ethical one. They put people out of work. It's sort of the same dilemma we see with robots. In fact, it's been noted that even McDonalds might be eventually reduced to a manager and some cooks because of checkout machines.
@Jason76 While this is true that they don't require a cashier; I do not think that it is unethical to use a self-checkout for that reason. Almost everything that we buy, whether food, clothing, or other products, has been produced using machinery , and this is true for at least the last hundred years, or close to that. Where grains used to be harvested by hand, and planted with horse and plow, this has not been the case for many years. First there was the farm tractor that replaced the horse and plow, and then came the larger farm machinery that is used in most of the commercial farms nowadays. Very little of what anyone buys has been hand-made, or even hand harvested. So, unless you consider all of this unethical, too; then a self-checkout line is not much different than any other kind of self-automated procedure.
I like to get in and out of stores but not rush around-but I do not mind the self checkout way of doing things. Most stores give me anxiety with the fake frieindliness and mankind can really make you uncomfortable as well sometimes-so I try to avoid to much eye contact. I find self checkout a better way to go,so I can avoid the regular lines with their feelings of being trapped and claustrophobic.
Shouldn't the shopping be cheaper if we have to check it out by ourselves? I certainly think so! I don't use the self-service checkouts because there is enough unemployment nowadays and I think that these self-service checkouts are putting people out of work. So to kind of protest against it, no matter what shop I am in, I insist on being served. I have been approached a couple of times to use the self-service checkout but I have told them I don't know how to use it and so they have had to show me. Then, while they are showing me I have complained about not being served by the proper means. I've also moaned about not getting a discount when I am expected to serve myself.
One of the stores that seems to have really good prices is ALDI. They have very fresh produce and good quality products, as well as excellent prices. You do have to bring your own shopping bags, and any 25 cents for the use of the shopping cart (which is given back when you replace the cart back in the line again); but I am pretty sure that they do not have a self-service line at ALDI. I do not think that it so much because of self-service checkouts that people are losing their jobs. Because of the economy, stores have been struggling for the last 6-8 years (thanks, Obama), and some of them have gone out of business completely. Other stores have remained in business; but cut down the number of employees that they have. This has happened everywhere, and not just in stores that have a self-checkout line. Because there has been a shortage of cashiers for several years due to the economy, and customers complaining about standing in long lines to get waited on, the stores started putting in the self checkout machines. So, it is actually, the lack of cashiers that caused the machines, and not the other way around.
How funny to see this thread! I just left the store frustrated at the "self -checkout" kiosk. I had 14 items to scan. I scanned each, bagging them right after. However, the monitor kept giving a reading of "unknown item in the bagging area". Of course there were no employees to be found. What should have taken 7-8 minutes ended up taking 20. So, my answer is yes, I have experienced problems.
