Supermarkets Do Not Think of the Customer - General Discussion Discussion

[–] Mint Berry Crunch (345) 8 years ago

Good, the less dipshits using the self check out, the faster I can get out of the supermarket. Friggen losers trying to pay to a and use coupons with a machine. It's even worse when they add to the fact that they don't what the hell they are doing, and are over the max items for self checkout.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

I'm glad you feel like a God that YOU can get out of the market faster than anyone else and contribute to a job killer of many.

Dude, from your prior comments on threads, you are no God and you will find out the hard way, when you least expect it.

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[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 8 years ago

I suppose it never occurred to you that fumblers at the self-checkouts may be using it for the first time. Heck, using a credit card can be confusing at times. Hmm, is this the store that has chip readers or not? The machine has a place to use a chip card, but does it work yet, so do you insert card or swipe? Enter PIN or sign?

My local gas station installed new pumps with a program that requires me to answer about six questions before I can start pumping gas. Pay outside or inside? Rewards customer? Are you using points today? Do you want to join our Rewards program? Car wash today? Credit or debit? Zip code? Do you need a receipt? Sheesh.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Good point. Credit/debit card system are all different in virtually every store I go to, and it's annoying. Some are swipe-only, some have a slot for chipped cards, some have slots for chipped cards but aren't yet enabled, and all of them have different button systems.

One store I frequent you even have to wait until the cashier is finished ringing you up and presses one kind or another of button until you can use your card.

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[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 8 years ago

Yes! I remember one time I hit the wrong button on the last digit for my PIN. So I tapped the button that I thought would take me back one space - instead, it cancelled the whole transaction. Argh.

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[–] Mint Berry Crunch (345) 8 years ago

Using it for the first time? Using a card can be confusing? You mean two things they teach kids who haven't even graduated high school to operate? Yeah. NO. These people are retards. It's not rocket science. If it's that friggen hard to observe how orders are checked out on a register, go to the cashier and let them handle the complexity of scanning bar codes and pressing 3 buttons. If this were a difficult task, they wouldn't hire no experience, no educated kids and pay them minimum wage. If it were a difficult confusing task, that must make me a fricken genius.

Self Check out is for people with a few items and can handle being self sufficient. But nope, retards see a small line and rush to it to clog it and make it longer like the other lines full of other retards who hold up the cashier by being retards. Which is ALWAYS the case. IT'S NEVER the cashiers fault for the long line. It's either an idiot who doesn't unload their basket, or doesn't have enough funds on their EBT, or some stupid old lady who still writes checks and doesn't fill any of the check out until the order is over, not even the name or the date, or can't read a sign and thinks they are being ripped off because they don't know the difference between the price and amount per weight side.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Life must be one annoying, frustrating thing after another for you. You have my condolences.

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[–] Nipsey_Russell (1339) 8 years ago

🤣😂

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 8 years ago

The two most common jobs in the US are checkout cashier and retail floor worker, totaling 8 million jobs and paying roughly $9.70 an hour. They will be mostly gone within 10 years. Amazon has a test grocery store in Seattle, currently only for Amazon employees. They scan an application when they enter the store. The app directs them to the items they want, cameras identify the item and the quantity they take and debits their Amazon Go account. Shoplifting is a nonissue. The customer is out of the store in literally half the time it would have taken with human assistance. And the prices are lower. This is happening whether you like it or not.

When World War II ended, the business of business was providing good jobs. Perhaps the most defining aspect of US culture was a middle class. Other cultures had an upper class and a lower class. We made room in the middle. In 1965, the hourly wage for someone who SHOVELED COAL, which requires no skill or though, was $16. You could have. family and own a home is 1965 on that! Adjusted for inflation that wage would be $123 an hour today! For shoveling coal! Corporate America is no longer benevolent, it is imperious. Prepare for the future, kids.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

I have boycotted Amazon! The only way we can reverse this is by boycotting, unless you want to support them because of their business ethics.

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[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 8 years ago

There are already so many less retail brick & mortar stores than 20 years ago. In my city, whole blocks of retail stores are being razed and rezoned to residential. Because rental income for a 4 story apt building can bring in so much more income. So many new apartments being built and there are no stores to serve those new residents. Everybody shops online (I'm guilty of that myself) and retail stores are dying. All those retail jobs are going away too.

In some ways I do like that I can find what I want easier online and buy it without ever leaving my house , I can buy it without even having to put on pants and shoes. The lazy side of me does appreciate the convenience. But then you never leave your house and never interact with people. Retail areas used to be like the town square of the 20th century- they were where people went to meet and be in society. It's depressing walking around a ghost town that used to be a thriving marketplace.
Christmas shopping is so different now. I am sad that a whole generation will never know that experience of a bustling downtown in December, with all the stores having elaborate and creative window displays, all the people carrying bags, consumers could afford to buy things and and stores were prospering.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Kspkap does not agree with your $16/hr. to $123/hr., resulting from today's inflation.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

I don't either, although I both like and respect R_Kane. That figure can't be correct.

Added: Not the inflation figure, which is no doubt correct. I disagree that coal workers would have been paid $16 an hour back then.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Read it and weep

http://www.saving.org/inflation/inflation.php?amount=16

I think we are all living in denial. Something about the working minimum wage HAS TO BE DONE!

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

As I said, my disagreement was not with the calculation for inflation, but that ANY coal worker would have been paid anywhere near $16 an hour back then.

This has nothing to do with denial.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Well, I will let R_Kane explain himself; however, it still would not matter. The fact is inflation and prices have gone up and that means that wages have been stagnant.

I was not sure when you edited your post, before or after I had replied with the inflation post; however, most people today live in denial. I was quite astounded that whatever they were paid then and now, there is a huge margin. The specific wage number is only just a spec compared to the actual trend. I will leave you with this as I have to go to my part time.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

There is inflation. There always has been inflation. No one could possibly argue that, nor did I.

Wages have also increased, so no, they're not stagnant. They have not increased commensurate with inflation, that is true.

Sorry, but there's no way a coal worker was paid $16 an hour back then. R_Kane was merely mistaken, so there's no reason for you to be astounded over it.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 8 years ago

Hello, folks. I got my wage information from an article published on the Salon website in December 2013, by Edward MacLelland and titled "The Middle Class Myth." The dollar figure was (almost) accurate, but it came from the wrong part of the article! Ed was writing about a Chicago man who was graduated from high school in 1965 and got a job shoveling coal into a 2,000-degree furnace in a local steel mill. He was able to have an apartment and own a car with the $2.23 an hour the job paid. Adjusted for today, he was making $17.86 an hour. It was a better story the way I'd remembered it! One reason the menial job paid so well was because it was a Union job. Compare $18 to the $9.70 today's cashier and retail workers are getting. When and if the Holy Grail $15 minimum wage goes through, those retail jobs are going to vanish. No way Walmart or Best Buy is going to pay a 15-buck minimum and arvin, they don't need your business so boycott away. Eight million Americans are out of work. The country's most popular jobs are gone.

Wait, it gets better. Popcorn wrote about the vanishing retail store. What's vanishing along with them? Shopping malls. What do malls have in addition to stores? Fast food outlets and food courts. I don't know if fast food work is the second-biggest employment sector in the US, but it has to be a whopping big one. The fast food chains already have automated kiosks up and running and they'll be running even faster when $15 an hour gets here. Popular jobs are going away due to changing business models and the fact that it is cheaper to buy technology than it is to pay people.

And thanks for the show of support, Catbooks 😺

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Consumer boycotts will definitely have an effect and they will have to adapt to it. If consumers only allow businesses that only hire humans, those kiosks are as good as gone. Who is going to fund the running of those kiosks and pay the people who maintain them? The cycle is going to reverse itself and it makes those CEOs and board stupid. Thing is, they have to go full circle before they start realizing it.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

You're welcome, R_Kane :). $2.23 an hour makes much more sense.

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[–] Prelude (1443) 8 years ago

Another thing that saves everyone time, the shoppers and the store, is to have baggers. Self-bagging in the normal checkout line -- where the human cashier doesn't even help to bag for you or with you, is a big time waster too.

In the US it's fairly common for supermarkets to have a person who bags your stuff fast and efficiently and can be finishing that up while you complete your transaction, and bang, you're out of there and the next customer is at the register ready to process.

In the UK, no baggers. Everyone has to put their items into bags themselves, and not everyone is efficient at doing it. Then they have to stop and pay, and then go on finishing bagging their items. The whole things gets slowed down, and the rest of us have our freezer goods slowing warming up on the conveyor belt behind the slow person.

If UK supermarkets would only hire people to do bagging duties, everything would move along more swiftly, and also a ton of people would have a job. I know it's not a great job but it can be hired for part time, for students and retirees doing just a few hours' shift, say.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Actually, even in the U.S., they are cutting back on that. The businesses are being so stingy that even those jobs are being lost and people are being lied to. "Oh the economy is so tough, we need to keep our profit margins and we have to eliminate those jobs." So now you will see cashiers bagging groceries and they are being paid the same wage as they were, just as cashiers.

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[–] Prelude (1443) 8 years ago

That's sad to hear; those positions gave a lot of people jobs and also made for a very efficient flow. Over here, cashiers aren't expected to help at all with bagging. Once in a while they will help bag one difficult item but they normally just sit back and watch you.

If the US cashiers are now supposed to bag as well as run your items, they should have pay that reflects that extra duty though.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

And that is where the dilemma is right now. Of course, you cannot force supermarkets to pay better, unless you boycott or go at it as a group. In the past, there use to be tons of strikes and protests and even unions.

Now days, it usually goes like this. If a business cannot see enough of a profit, lay off or fire people from jobs that could be done by one person (or so the corporation thinks). So the baggers are gone and now you have cashiers. Next, all the cashiers have to pick up that job duty; however, to save even more of the cost, make that another of their job duties. The cashier does not like it? Well fine, they are fired! See, the business never is harmed because they know they can find someone to replace that individual and they make a fortune off them. It is not about ethics, it is about profit.

In the meantime, that poor soul is struggling to make ends meet, regardless of whether or not he has a job. If he has a job, well, he is just fighting to survive. If he does not have a job, he is on the government dime and he may actually be more well off. There needs to be a defined line about what the government gives and what the real minimum should be. If people should get off welfare, they need an incentive to.

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[–] napsdufroid (2077) 8 years ago

So, serious question: What's a realistic solution, knowing that companies will rarely do anything, however beneficial to customers, that will erode profit margins?

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Strong government.

My proposal would be to tax businesses that do not pay the working wage relative to inflation $20/hr. Tax them higher if they decided to go international. If they can lower their prices, while doing this, they get an incentive. If they pay higher than $20/hr, they get an incentive.

It is an incomplete thought, but it is a mess of taxing and relieving at different spots. It needs to look very convoluted so businesses cannot just find loopholes.

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[–] napsdufroid (2077) 8 years ago

Ok, so if you tax them at a higher rate unless they pay a working wage, they can use the excuse that they cannot sustain as many employees as they currently have or it will cause irreparable financial damage to their company and possible force them out of business. They can also use the same excuse not to hire additional employees. What then? (Just playing devil's advocate)

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

These are huge azz corporations, they would have a hard time stating that. Well, I am sure they would have to provide proof of what they say, complete invoices of how much is going to profits margins, equipment, utilities, etc.

If they cannot hire additional employees, it would be understandable; however, if they cannot do that, then they would have to make sure to give full benefits to both their full time and part time staff (however many they do decide to stay with.) It will probably be a long azz discussion of sorts, kind of like when the Senate and House have to pass bills.

Additionally, if they do not pay that inflation wage, they would have to pay a tax equivalent to wages they are offering, up to that wage on all their employees. So basically, if they are offering $7.25/hr., you can imagine how much that would be. If any of their workers are on the government dime, it hurts them more.

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[–] napsdufroid (2077) 8 years ago

We've already had huge corporations stating exactly that...and being believed

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Our government is easily swayed and lobbied.

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[–] napsdufroid (2077) 8 years ago

Exactly. And likely even more so right now...

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

But even more so, I feel like the other side has a point as well, all the people who are anti government. If the businesses were one step ahead, you would not need all this BS! It's kind of like the "see how easy that was?" concept. I mean "Come on, we are a first world country and we are still struggling with ethics?"

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[–] napsdufroid (2077) 8 years ago

In business, there have been very little ethics for a loooonnnggg time

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

I have the second highest, most replied to thread on the "general discussion board". I appreciate it guys. This is kind of like one of those things I wanted to check off on my bucket list for this website. I am sure everyone has one or soon has a thread that goes "viral". It is great to debate and see what everyone has to say on it.

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[–] Prelude (1443) 8 years ago

It's really interesting and fun to have a huge discussion about stuff like this, yeah! And I think it's all grist for the mill in making the site active and alive. Keep on keepin' on!

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

Who does not like a little political discussion right? The rough part is when two people on here start going at it and they end up hating each other. lol

So far, I have just been able to really "agree to disagree".

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[–] Prelude (1443) 8 years ago

My supermarket's self checkout machines have a problem of one kind or another about three times out of every five times I use them -- and no it's not me doing something wrong. I do everything I'm supposed to and then the screen calls out some kind of error. The assistant comes along, sometimes after several minutes because she or he is already busy running around fixing OTHER machines too, plugs in their number and everything proceeds -- but I never find out what the hell made that happen. It doesn't even say the usual warnings like wrong item in bagging area or whatever. It just glitches.

This also happens a lot to the other people using them too, not just me. So in my experience and observations, these damn things are not a smooth experience at all. They are constantly fucking up for no discernible reason.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

There was one guy, next to me, who apparently had charged him wrong for what he was buying. To this day, I never thought a machine could screw up calculating something. I mean, you have a machine that basically has all the prices keyed into it. All it has to do is add those numbers up and it probably does this over and over again. The guy was trying to figure out how it all added up to $7.99 and he even asked the assistant if he had scanned something twice. I was not really paying much attention after that; however, I think he ended up getting something taken off to reflect the correct amount.

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[–] pancine (40) 8 years ago

I feel like I'm donating free labor when I use self-check. No thanks. Unlike many I'm not in a constant hurry 24/7 so I don't mind waiting on line if necessary, I enjoy the brief human interaction with the checker. And I don't feel guilty about taking someone's job away, when applicable.

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

I disliked your last statement, but at least you were honest.

I actually do use to self check out a lot and I know I am a hypocrite for it.

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[–] pancine (40) 8 years ago

I wasn't implying that anyone was a hypocrite one way or the other, just my own approach. What feels right for me. In my case I've shopped at the same store for many years and have gotten to know a few of the employees over that time.
If I do have a gripe it's the free labor aspect.

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[–] Indianna (426) 8 years ago

I agree but sometimes if a cashier is not a "happy camper", i'd rather deal with the machine☺️

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[–] arvin g borkar (2854) 8 years ago

I actually have found out that if one goes to the self-checkout, one can get coupons. When I got to a person, I do not get coupons.

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[–] Indianna (426) 8 years ago

So did you change your stance? Are you for the machines, arvin? ☺️
I live in Europe now so there are cashiers but i remember using the self-serve machines and getting a lot of relevant coupons on things i bought. I buy organic so they were coupons i would not find elsewhere. I think it is a marketing incentive to use the machines. The cashier position will probably become obsolete in the U. S. In 20 years.

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