Comments on: Sainsbury’s self-checkouts fail on so many level

By: Roger Ingle

Roger Ingle — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:23:41 +0000

These things are the product of Satans arse.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:05:13 +0000

I am one of the people who operate the self scan tills and very rarely have any problems with customers on them.
apart from the “unexpected item in bagging” area issue (which is minor in comparison to, for example the till crashing) i don’t have a awful lot of call outs.
for people who say they are only suitable for a small amount of items. i had a gentleman the other day who put £238.13 worth (113 items) of groceries through a small (10 items or fewer) self scan till with no problems bagging issues or anything. and he used his own bags (With no problem) its a simple system you scan and then place the item on the bed or in bag and LET GO OF IT don’t keep hold of it because then it cant weigh it and when the lights go green scan the next item DONT LIFT THE ITEMS OFF UNTILL YOU HAVE PRESSED FINISH AND PAY as it works by weight, so the removal of a product will cause a prompt.
Don’t give us cashiers abuse because we ask you to use them were doing our job we don’t like asking its what were told to do. don’t ask for a discount because your doing our job because your not. and don’t stand and click your fingers were human not dogs.
People get frustrated with them because they look at a checkout boy and think thats an easy job i could do that. and when it comes to it they can’t so the get angry because they cant do the job of a person half there age.
Sorry rant over lol

By: Nai

Nai — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:33:46 +0000

Our local Sainsbury’s has also just installed several of these machines-from-hell, replacing most of the basket only checkouts. The scanning was no problem but it all took (at least) twice as long as usual, and I could find no way to avoid the irritating voice nagging me that there was an “unexplained item in bagging area” every few moments, even though all the items HAD been properly scanned through. It seemed as if an assistant had to intervene every other item for one reason or another.
Why is it such an issue to use one’s own bags as well? Isn’t that de rigeur in these days of more environmental awareness? They really need to sort this hopeless system out so it’s more user friendly. Supermarkets are becoming more and more impersonal and dehumanised imo.
On the plus side it will encourage me back to the local greengrocer’s and baker’s shops more often.

By: peter

peter — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:09:57 +0000

I thought I’d give my local Herne Bay branch of Sainsburys a go at their self checkout machine. Just for fun really with 5 items. I had my own bag which apparently makes the process more complicated for some daft reason. Every item I scanned I kept getting the ‘unknown item in bag’ or words to that effect. I then had to wait for a human cashier to reset the bloody thing. I just felt slightly embarrassed by the whole experience. Shan’t be using them again – until forced to when all human cashiers are ‘unknown items’ !!!

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:07:04 +0000

At first read of the message above from ‘Dylan Thomas’ is that it is a work of fiction!

By: Dylan Jones

Dylan Jones — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:07:07 +0000

I don’t know why but people don’t seem to like the self scan checkouts, they are simple, convenient and quick. Some people are so scared of using them because they don’t want to be embarrassed if they do something wrong, there is an attendant there 24/7 so there should not be any problems.

For those shoppers who shop in the morning in supermarkets, what do you expect, if your not in work why should the supermarket draft in more cashiers, just because you are scared of using the self scan checkouts, because you think you are doing the cashiers jobs. If they took them away and then you still Q’d you would ask for them back.

So stop complaining about these self scan checkouts as they are useful and help you get out the store quicker, not to have a gossip with the cashier! Listen to the woman telling you on the self scan instead of pushing down on the scales and then waiting for authorization because it thinks, you have put something on the scales, don’t scan something and put it straight on bag sections because it weighs it, and don’t just stand there with your payment card giving the attendant the eyes. Imagine you were the attendant, you wouldn’t be happy.

By: maggie williams

maggie williams — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:25:20 +0000

Had a v stressful encounter with a full trolley and self-scan machine at Sainsbury’s last night. Nearly left trolley, but realised I needed the shopping. Probably good for a few items, but the last thing I wanted to do after a busy day was play a game of supermarket check-outs.

By: Simon Brazil

Simon Brazil — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:50:51 +0000

Try getting chewing gum to register, it has almost no weight so I now throw it as hard as I can into the bag. Not to be advised for delicate items!!

Last week I bought the Sunday Times (newspaper) and had to have one of the staff come over and authorize it as it had adult material in it, not sure what it was but I’m sure kids aren’t buying the Sunday Times for it’s illicit content!!

By: Robyn Slingsby

Robyn Slingsby — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:02:49 +0000

Aaarrggghh, I hate those self scan machines – they make me very cross. They turn what should be a simple task into an incredibly stressy one. I can’t understand why the many design faults in the system, ie the constant screeching that you haven’t put something in the bagging area and so on, haven’t been ironed out by now. This is why I would rather stand in an enormous queue to pay a real life cashier for my two items of shopping than risk being screamed at by an incompetent machine. Rant over :0)

By: Phil Rees

Phil Rees — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:23:32 +0000

Early this morning, I ventured through the corridors of our local Sainsbury’s. Filling one basket with more items than is usually safe. On venturing from the wine isle like a weighed down tourist, first glancing left then right, in search of an available checkout. My gaze settling on the single cashier, three customers deep with trolleys filled to the hilt. I search a bit harder, making out an unwelcome tourette like echo, uncaringly voicing “unspecified item in the bagging area”. With bated patients I stood in that queue, for some time I might add. Until a member of staff joyously pointed back towards these new-fangled machines. Forcing my riposte, while attempting to shroud any disdain… “But will I see a discount for performing your job?”… I’ll let you to figure out her reply.