I stepped into my local CVS last night to discover they had completely renovated it. They added a new food section with more refrigerated items and also added 3 self-checkout stations. Self-checkout stations are popping up at many retailers including Stop & Shop, Walmart, and Home Depot. Since watching Friedman’s lecture, these machines now make me think of his reference about Southwest Airlines. Now you can go food shopping, scan your own items, and also bag your own groceries- Stop and Shop and other retailers who utilize this device are putting you to work for THEM! Stop and Shop has taken it one step further with a scan as you shop option. This is where you can take a scanner that is available in the front of the store and then scan and bag your groceries as you shop for them. Then your bill is already calculated when you arrive at the register.
People I’ve spoken to about this technology in the past have very different opinions about them. I personally will use the self-check out if I only have a few items and the line is shorter than the others. Other people see it as a challenge to use, because some items won’t always scan or the belt won’t recognize that you’ve placed something on it and then you need to get someone who works there to help you with correcting the problem. I have never used the scan as you go option at Stop and Shop, but a couple people I’ve spoken to say that they love it. They think it makes the experience easier and all you have to do when you arrive at the register is pay your bill and leave.
I found an article on MSNBC.com about this technology and at the end of the article they ran a pole asking people what they think about self-check outs. 36.9% of people stated that they hate them because they feel like they are doing the work while 34.5% of people said they loved them and 27.6% of people said they just use them when they have to (http://business.newsvine.com/_news/2011/07/08/7043552-what-do-you-think-of-self-checkout-lanes). I also found a couple youtube clips showing the process of the scan as you go and a comedy sketch about the self-check out options. How do you feel about these options? Do you think they are putting you to work for the company you are paying?
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Here are the links:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/egUsziFModA
http://youtu.be/T99QJtvHx9k