[Truepop]

Anyone find them useful?

I did when I was in nashville, tn but here in denton, tx no one really gets the concept of a fast lane and will check out a whole cart of items.

[ManOfSteal]

I find them...well, non-fast.

[d4nth3m4n]

i have been in walmart twice in my life. scouts honor. but both times, it sucked. and was slow.

[TheBadgerHunter]

Last time I was in a wal-mart was about 8 years ago.

[fireside]

wal-mart sucks. its big, has huge ceilings, everything is grey, its dark, and there are about 80 employees walking around aimlessly but only about 10 on the 30 checkout lanes.

[Timo]

[ x ] never been to a wal mart

[Lancer409]

never been to a walmarts ... been to target and stuff .. i assume it's the same?

[hart]

if you mean the check-out-yourself lanes, my experience is that it is amazingly slow.

machine: please scan your item
self: scans item
machine: please scan your item
self: (already scanned item, now what)
(repeat several times until item scans successfully)
machine: please place item in bag
self: item is already in bag, now what
machine: please place item in bag
self: ok...what, should I take the item out and put it back in?
(repeat)
(repeat for all items)
machine: please scan next item
self: but I want to check out. I'm done scanning
machine: please scan next item
self: I WANT TO CHECK OUT. GIVE ME "CHECKOUT" AS AN OPTION!
machine: please scan next item
self: argh! there are 5 people waiting behind me and I want to check out.
machine (finally): please select payment.

etc.

my conclusion: if you want to get out fast don't use the fast lane.

[TETENAL]

Originally posted by Timo:
[ x ] never been to a wal mart

I once worked in a Wertkauf which was later purchased by WalMart. Wertkauf was Germany's retail chain that sucked the most, so I wondered why WalMart purchased them. But then they americanized it ("Great Value! GreatValue!" – as if my grandmother knows what that means) and it sucked even more.

[MacGorilla]

[x] Avoids Wal-Mart at all costs.

[Ghoser777]

The ones at my local Jewel have worked well for me.

[mitchell_pgh]

I've been there a few times in my life. Growing up more then 30+ miles from any form of civilization, it's the only place to buy anything.

After moving away... I don't shop there...

That being said, those check out lanes are ridiculous. They are incredibly slow.

ALSO, it's I'm buying the food, the least they could do is price and bag my groceries/purchase.

[i_rooster]

walmart should sell macs

[The Oracle]

self-checkout is bad from my interaction with it. It's slow, stupid, and cumbersome. They are mostly empty at the wal-marts I go to.

[wdlove]

I also have never been in a Walmart. Like shopping at Costco.

[Xeo]

Wal-Mart is my favorite sells-everything store. If given a choice, I pick it over the alternatives (Target, K-Mart, Shop-Ko, etc). Not sure why you all hate it.

I like Target as a store better, mostly because they have more style, but the selection isn't as big.

Kinda sounds like Windows vs. Mac OS... people don't use Mac OS because their isn't as much software, but it does look better.

[Gankdawg]

If you are going to Wal*Mart expecting fast service, you've got another thing coming. You get what you pay for. Cheap prices often equal cheap service.

[i_rooster]

Originally posted by Xeo:
people don't use Mac OS because their isn't as much software,

this is true

[wataru]

Wal-Mart represents everything that is wrong with America. It's downright depressing.

Xeo, I can't believe you're turning traitor to the home team. Target is based in Minneapolis! Where's the MN pride?

[i_rooster]

Originally posted by wataru:
Wal-Mart represents everything that is wrong with America. It's downright depressing.

This is not true.

[tooki]

Sure it is. It's American capitalism at its worst. (Well, it's not the only example.)

tooki

[i_rooster]

Originally posted by tooki:
It's American capitalism at its worst. (Well, it's not the only example.)

tooki

And you must be a communist? or maybe a greepeace beatnik

[tooki]

I'm neither. But these super-corporations have gone insane and taken over the world, and that's really bad.

tooki

[drive-thru]

I voted yes, although never been in a Wal*Mart, the self-scan things in my local supermarket actually work well.

We have hand-held scanners which you take round with you and scan your stuff as you pick it up, then you pack it straight into a bag. When you get to the checkout you just hand the thing over (along with an items which didn't scan), the staff do some magical witchcraft thing, you pay and leave.
This normally works pretty well because there are checkouts reserved for this method only and most people don't bother doing it anyway so the reserved checkouts are always empty. Also you can keep track of your bill as you pick things up.

[MacMan4000]

Originally posted by drive-thru:
I voted yes, although never been in a Wal*Mart, the self-scan things in my local supermarket actually work well.

We have hand-held scanners which you take round with you and scan your stuff as you pick it up, then you pack it straight into a bag. When you get to the checkout you just hand the thing over (along with an items which didn't scan), the staff do some magical witchcraft thing, you pay and leave.
This normally works pretty well because there are checkouts reserved for this method only and most people don't bother doing it anyway so the reserved checkouts are always empty. Also you can keep track of your bill as you pick things up.

that "carry around a scanner" idea makes too much sense for Wal Mart... and Wal Mart is too cheap.

I always wondered why they pay people to be "greeters"... There too cheap to open more than 5 lanes, but they can afford to pay someone to stand inside the door and say "welcome to Wal Mart"

[Spliffdaddy]

So a few weeks ago I went to Wal-Mart to buy a pack of cigarettes. Yeah, I know, dumb idea. But it was about 3am and I figured it wouldn't be busy and Wal-Mart is pretty much within sight of where I live and maybe the convenient location would outweigh the inherent risks involved with shopping at Wal-Mart.

Naturally, things went horribly wrong.

So I get in line at 'Register 18' (this was a smallish Wal-Mart) which just happens to be a '12 items-or-less Express Lane' - as well as being the only lane from which cigarette purchases are permitted to be made. Let me introduce Shawmika Terrence. Shawmika was the middle-aged lady at the '12 items-or-less Express Lane' paying for her 37 items (school clothes, school supplies including a dozen spiral notebooks and countless other scholastic doodads). I hoped her children (grandchildren?) would learn to count past 12, unlike her dumb-ass self...but anyways, I cut her some slack. Mostly because she was maybe four customers ahead of me and there wasn't much I could otherwise do about it.

Shawmika fumbled for her wallet, as if she was somehow surprised by the fact that the cashier expected payment. I just knew she was the type to pay with exact change, especially if it meant fumbling for her coin purse and digging around for ten minutes in an effort to find 84 cents among pennies and nickels. But no. I was wrong about her. She had a traveler's check. Oh my Lord, this can't be happening, I though to myself over and over - as did the 3 customers in front of me, no doubt. I'd have felt much better about the whole ordeal if Shawmika had simply pulled a revolver from her purse and started shooting up the place. That wouldn't have taken anywhere near as long as the red tape involved with using a traveler's check at Wal-Mart at 3am in the '12 items-or-less Express Lane'.

Sensing the escalating frustration of the customers being delayed in the almighty '12 items-or-less Express Lane', and thrwarting the inevitable riot and looting that was about to take place (maybe that was just me), another register was quickly opened. Register 6, I believe. We were quickly corralled into the new register, where the very next customer asked for a pack of Marlboro Lights. I sat back to observe the process, because I wanted cigarettes, too. The cashier logged-off her register, removed the key and walked a quarter mile over to the cigarette rack behind the immobile '12 items-or-less Express Lane'. Returning, naturally, with Ultra-Light 100's which were incorrect. Another epic journey to the cigarette rack and back yielded the correct make and model of cigarette - and the transaction could begin. BEEP-beep. The register balked at the cigarettes. For this was not Register 18 the '12 items-or-less Express Lane' and all the other registers were locked-out somehow.

The cashier apologized profusely and asked if any other customers were needing cigarettes. I raised my hand, as if I were in school or something. She apologized to me, as well, and offered no remedy for the situation. So I robbed the place. Took every cigarette in the store - then went back in and grabbed Tawmika's travelers check and ripped it into pieces. I made her count to twelve as i fled the scene in my '64 Impala.

Actually, I went to Citgo and bought a pack of cigarettes. But I though the other ending was way cooler.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by wataru:
Wal-Mart represents everything that is wrong with America. It's downright depressing.

Xeo, I can't believe you're turning traitor to the home team. Target is based in Minneapolis! Where's the MN pride?

Haha, well I worked at Target when in high school so maybe I avoid them so I don't feel like I need to straighten shelves. They all look the same, after all.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
But it was about 3am

Oh yeah, I forgot about that when posting earlier. I like Wal-Mart because they are open 24 hours. None of the other stores around here are. Plus I have fond memories of being stupid teens and wandering around Wal-Mart at 2am making asses of ourselves. Security always followed us.

[wataru]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Haha, well I worked at Target when in high school so maybe I avoid them so I don't feel like I need to straighten shelves. They all look the same, after all.

They look the same!!?!?!1/1!1!?1 Wal-Mart is filled to the brim with crap and fat, ugly people. Target, on the other hand, is filled with tasteful decorations and doesn't feel like its clientelle is mostly rednecks and carnies.

[i_rooster]

Originally posted by wataru:
Wal-Mart is filled to the brim with crap and fat, ugly people.

This is not true.

[Kilbey]

I abhor the self-checkout lanes. It eliminates jobs.

And for those of you who feel it's faster have a strange concept of time. I have used one before just so I can say I hate something after using it. I hated them before using them and I solidified it after using it. They are slow! Heaven forbid you want to buy alcohol or use a credit card in one.

Now, the concept of tiny radio tags on all products and sensors that automatically charge me as I walk through the door on my way out is intriguing. But still, the loss of jobs would be too much of a loss.

At my local grocer I have a few friendly cashiers that remember me by name and always ask where my daughter is when I go in there without her.

[TheJoshu]

I've been to Walmart thrice, unfortunately. It gave me a headache each time, and I have never given them any of my money. (The first time was to return something that someone else bought for me, the second was to buy a space heater for the purpose of quickly drying a carpet and returning it on the third time.)

[Truepop]

I can't stand all the red at target. the Super Target 20 Miles away isn't bad they also have some green but it's just too much damn red.

plus target isn't open at 11pm.

[drive-thru]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
So a few weeks ago...

Reminds me of this from The Sneeze.

An Open Letter To My Nemesis
08/29/2003

The Woman Who Took Forever To Pay With A Check
Ralph's Supermarket
Alameda Ave, Burbank CA

Dear Madam:

HOLY F*CKING SH*TF*CK! IT'S 2003!!! GET A CREDIT CARD! HERE! TAKE MINE! AAHHHRRRGHHHH!!!

Wait. Why do I smell toast? Uh oh...

having... stroke....

unghhhh.....qid98fik;f09jsdl.........

(THUD)

Sincerely,
Steve
Heaven

[Drakino]

I voted yes, as my local grocery store and home depot have them. I find them much quicker to run through with a few items then to go through a line at both stores.

Being that the employees have a brain at both stores, they enforce the item limit, and discourage people from using carts in those lanes. The one at the grocery store ysed to be real picky about where an item was, but was quickly fixed.

Often I hear
"Please scan *beep"
"Welcome super club mem *beep of first item"
"Please put the *item in bag*"
"Please scan your ne*beep*"
"Please put the *item in bag*"
*Checkout button pressed*
"How do you wish *ATM button pressed*
"Use the pen pad device to complete your transaction"
"Thank you for shopping at King Soopers"

[andi*pandi]

I don't care for self-checkouts, especially at home depot where you have unweildy things that don't fit on the item pad. Also don't like lack of service--if I were getting a discount for using those lanes, maybe. Thing Drivethru mentioned sounded nifty, like a bridal registry scanner gone amuck.

and walmart is evil.

[Zimphire]

I love being able to check myself out. I don't have to deal with annoying/slow register workers. Nor do I have to stand in line.

So it works for me.

[The Oracle]

Originally posted by Kilbey:
It eliminates jobs.

But still, the loss of jobs would be too much of a loss.

It isn't wal-mart's responsibility to create jobs, no more than it is Ford's responsibility to give you a free car.

[Gankdawg]

Originally posted by andi*pandi:


and walmart is evil.

Here we go again for the eleventy billionth time.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Wal-mart is totally gross and I never shop there.

[oVeRmInD911]

The more people who have jobs, the more people who will buy things.

So if you get rid of all cashier jobs in favor of self-checkout, then you cut off some of your consumer base.

[Scifience]

I've never used the ones at Wal*Mart, but my local grocery store has them.

I like them much better than waiting in line - not because it is faster, but just because I feel like I am actually *doing* something other than standing around waiting to get checked out.

I like ATM machines for the same reason.

[PurpleGiant]

Originally posted by Kilbey:
I abhor the self-checkout lanes. It eliminates jobs.

I appreciate the sentiment - but out of interest, do you use internet banking, or ATMs? How about booking tickets for a show online? Buy train/tram tickets at a machine?

[wataru]

Technology often eliminates jobs in the short-term, but that is not news. Pretty much all of our modern conveniences have come at the temporary expense of some jobs. Are you going to cry about all the rickshaw pullers that have been put out of work by the automotive industry?

One of the main points of technology is to free people from menial labor. I think it's stupid to attack these fast lanes unless you also want to take a stand against all of technology in general.

[nredman]

never used them, i don't shop at walmart, but i do have to go there for work and when i see people use them it doesn't seem all that fast since the people can't figure them out half the time...some walmart customers aren't too smart.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by PurpleGiant:
I appreciate the sentiment - but out of interest, do you use internet banking, or ATMs? How about booking tickets for a show online? Buy train/tram tickets at a machine?

Nope, My local bank branch is closer than the ATM and the tellers are my friends and neighbors. I stopped using my ATM card after reading an article a number of years ago about how the bank I was currently using was going to start charging for actually going to a teller instead of an ATM. I went immediately and cancelled that account and opened a new one at a credit union that promised never to do that.

I buy my movie tickets at the booth for the same reasons. Plus it's a bit more romantic to walk up hand in hand with my wife and purchase the tickets. It's not very romantic to use those little ATM ticket dispensers or online.

I also buy all of my airline and travel tickets through a travel agent. I usually get better prices and I am once again helping out someone in the community.

It this day and age of technological convenience it is easy to lose sight of the people who are being affected.

[Zimphire]

Kilbey at this Wal-Mart I don't think it made anyone lose jobs.

Late at night there may be 5 checkouts open. There is still the same amount open, they just have self serve ones now open as well.

[Vi0]

Wal*Mart is the spawn of satan. Want low-lifes, illegal immigrants, third worlders, less stores, and a lower standard of living in your neighborhood? Just keep shoppin at Wal*Mart.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by Vi0:
Wal*Mart is the spawn of satan. Want low-lifes, illegal immigrants, third worlders, less stores, and a lower standard of living in your neighborhood? Just keep shoppin at Wal*Mart.

And keep reading the FUD.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by Vi0:
Wal*Mart is the spawn of satan. Want low-lifes, illegal immigrants, third worlders, less stores, and a lower standard of living in your neighborhood? Just keep shoppin at Wal*Mart.

A town near me suffered a great revival and excellent well planned revival after a Wal*Mart was built (the * stands for Sam. You'd have to work at a Wal*Mart to understand).

There was a lack of good paying jobs and very little investment in the area. Wal*Mart came in, built, and supplied jobs. It showed other companies that there was still life in the town and they started building and supplying more jobs.

Sure, A few mom and pop stores closed down. The biggest complainer was a guy who owned a small sporting goods store. The guys working at Wal*Mart made more than he paid his employees and Wal*Mart hired more of them.

YMMV.

But I still hate the self-serve check outs.