Self-Check Outs at Lowes/Home Depot

[Brewtal66]

Have you ever used one of the self-check outs at Lowes, Home Depot or maybe a grocery store? Around here I really only see them at Lowes or Home Depot.

Are you a fan of them? Do they save you time?

Personally, I absolutely hate them. Here's my list of reasons why:

1. They are a pain in the ass. I have some electronic voice telling me what to do. If I don't do exactly right, I have to either redo it, or wait for a cashier(voiding the whole point of a self check out). I rarely find they save me any time.

2. They create job losses. So now Lowes only has to have 1 or 2 cashiers working, instead of 3 or 4. Yeah it saves them money, but, and my next point...

3. I don't get a discount. When Lowes or Home Depot prices something, they are taking into account all operating costs(variable and fixed). This includes the cost of hiring and employing people. So if there's no employee helping me, that means that Lowes/HD is bonusing out. They aren't paying for that extra man power required to sell the item. But do I get a discount for checking myself out? Absolutely not. I still pay the same price no matter what. If I got a 5% discount for self check out, I'd be much more inclined to do it myself.

4. Zero customer service. There's no interaction. I walk up, get barked at by an electronic machine, and that's it. An employee is a heck of a lot quicker ringing up items(especially when you have lots) than I could ever be with the units they have. Plus there's no "did you find everything okay?" "How are you doing?" or anything else for me to say "that was a great experience. I'll be back."

Okay rant over. I just really hate those and pretty much refuse to use them. Usually at the Lowes or HD, they have those open, plus one check stand way over in the lumber department. I'll take the extra 30 seconds and walk over there to a real human.