Remember driving with my uncle when i was a little kid. Had to pay a toll on the parkway near him…10cent tolls. Of course they had the lanes with baskets to throw yoir dime in. He said to me…i always go to the toll collecter…u do t want them to lose their jobs!

Fast forward now….no toll collectors anywhere..all electronic tolling.

Times and technology change. We cant save low level jobs.

[QUOTE=Michael G.;2248699]Your right but this is mainly the fault of our educational system where these skills are not taught

You're correct!

Here's why...Teachers Unions: Are the Schools Run for Them? - Foundation for Economic Education.

I was shopping at a Walmart in NC a couple years ago where they had someone with a scanner checking receipts at the exit. It was a very quick process that could not possibly check the contents in the cart so I asked her what the purpose was. She explained that sometimes people would exit with a cart of goods and a receipt, but the receipt was not dated at the current time/day. So the scan was just checking the time on the receipt.

My opinion is the same as it was a few months ago when someone posted the exact same copy-paste on Facebook:

Signed - speak for yourself.

1. The Walmart you're complaining about isn't exclusively self check-out.
2. The self check-out banks have at least one employee, in some cases more than one, to assist shoppers with those very self check-outs.
3. The self check-out banks also have a front end manager to handle anything that the associates can't handle.
4. You're not "entitled" to shop there at all. They can ask you to leave, or prevent you from entering, any time they want for any reason EXCEPT any that violate discrimination law - "protected classes." Saying "I'm a customer and pay your salary" does not make you a member of a protected class.
5. Walmart, Target, BJ's, Sam's, and Costco all have folks at the exits to check receipts. They always have. They're instructed to check randomly AND to check baskets of things that aren't in bags, or baskets that have things on the bottom shelf, where a cashier (or customer) might have missed (or intentionally tried to steal).
6. Enjoy your boycott, and get out of my line. I prefer the self check-out and you're in my way.

It's a copy-paste from an internet meme. It's a few years old and has recently resurfaced.

Publix has actual cashiers. If you know you have trouble seeing and will need assistance, then next time go into the line with the actual cashier. If you don't, then you are one of the reasons they don't hire more cashiers.

Another view point ;

Labor is expensive and most folks don’t want to work menial jobs. They want paid holidays, sick time, 401k programs and health care. Those are all value added benefits that get added to the cost of the goods that we buy. Are you willing to pay more for those goods to support the working class people? How many of you have called contractors and gone with the cheapest who offered you a quote? How much does he pay his help? What benefits do they get?

Here in the Villages is a labor shortage. Who’s gonna check you out and bag your groceries? Let me hear you complain when you have to wait 15 minutes to make it thru check out. Are you willing to pay more for your groceries to support 15 cashiers and a slew of folks to bag your groceries? Publix is open from 7 AM to 9 PM seven days a week. Do you want to work nights and weekends!

Are self check outs really stealing people’s jobs ??

As far as checking your receipts. Costco does it as a way to protect you. They check receipts at the door to make sure a cashier did not ring up an item twice.

There was also an article that I read the other day about store thefts. It’s up over 26% to a tune of $94 Billion dollars. We all pay for that in one way or another. Sorry that you did not have time to let that person do their job to help cut down on thefts from the store.

My understanding was that he/she started in a cashier line but was asked to move to a self-checkout line.

I doubt that these people "boycotting" the self checkout lanes are saving any jobs. Technology changes constantly. As someone else said, these low level jobs are being phased out due to changes in technology. I have a relative that works at Walmart up north and with no high school degree, gets almost $20/hour. Obviously it's cheaper for Walmart and ultimately cheaper for us to have self checkout rather than pay cashiers well above minimum wage. Retail is transforming. We are shopping a lot differently than we did even 5 or 10 years ago. And another way to look at it, is these self checkout stations are creating new jobs - people have to manufacture and service and program these checkout stations. One thing I like about self checkout is that I don't have to wait in line very long. And that is a plus for both the customer and the store. For those that don't like it, or have medical issues, you can still check out with a physical person.

I'm one who has trouble with self-checkout lines. I have Reynaud's Syndrome, which numbs the fingertips when exposed to cool environments. Any temp below 76 deg. F. seems to trigger it, so I have to get an employee's help anyway.

Best post of the day. Hands down.

Waiting longer in line for a real checkout person is kind of a self fulfilling prophecy. If there wasn’t so many self checkouts stations, there would be more “live” checkout stations. If going to Walmart, if I am getting one or two items I will use self checkout. If I have a cart full of items or something expensive I will go to a live checkout line. At Sam’s we will use the scan and go app. This is really a time saver. A Sam’s employee is going to check your cart regardless of your checkout method. You might as well skip the line all together.

And the reason that they put in self checkout is that they usually can’t find workers to work the counter.

Do you use an ATM??

Do you use a kiosk to place orders?

I agree with your comments. Companies use a problem in hiring staff as the need for self checkouts. I was in a large Leesburg store today with multiple self checkout options and a few cash registers in the middle of which 1 was open. The customer in front of me had a few items, but as I learned she wanted it rang in 2 transactions. The second transaction needed a price check. During my wait there were 5 employees walking around talking to each other. One of those finally opened another register.