CycleChat Investigates - Self Service Tills

[ebikeerwidnes]

If I'd been allowed to taser people when I worked at Bury's, you wouldn't have been able to move for bodies convulsing in the aisles.

ETA: I worked at Waitrose for a bit once and it was even worse. The number of fancy pants sounding individuals who came in asking for stuff they'd probably read about in Food Monthly but didn't know how to pronounce, much less cook, was glorious. My favourites were quinoa and puy lentils, or anything Spanish with a "z" in it.

My friend's Mum used to own a jewellery shop in a posh part of the Wirral (West Kirby for those that know the area)

Hence she knew a lot of the local shopkeepers

There were quite a few locals who expected to be able to take things and pay later because they were CLEARLY able to pay and could be trusted
This especially applied to shops like the butcher and greengrocer

They were also the ones most likely to "forget" to pay and to be found to have "accidentally" put some extra things into their shopping bag instead of the basket

She commented that the poorer looking people were more likely to be trustworthy if they wanted to take a piece of jewellery to the door to see it in daylight

or as my Mum put it "fur coat and no knickers"
(I originally thought that was some reference to sexual morals - but it just meant all show (the fur coat) and nothing else - still prefer my original thoughts!!!! - which was more accurate I still question)

 

[MontyVeda]

That should be resolvable. Sainsbury's have weighing scales that auto detect what fruit/veg it is. Not really tested them but they always know what bananas are.

They don't know it's a banana. They only know the weight range of a single loose banana. If you find an unusually large or small banana it'll flag it.

 

[Mike_P]

They don't know it's a banana. They only know the weight range of a single loose banana. If you find an unusually large or small banana it'll flag it.

Works fine on a bunch of 3 or 4 bananas

 

[MontyVeda]

Works fine on a bunch of 3 or 4 bananas

that's because it knows the average weight of three or four bananas.

 

[presta]

You know all you're achieving with that is annoying other customers and leaving some underpaid employee with the headache of your tantrum, and those customers, right?

There was a till in Tesco that was what you might call 'slow':

Put an onion on the scale & press 'o'.
Nothing happens
Wait
Press o again
Nothing happens
Press again
Wait
"ooo, sorry, we haven't got any of those"
Press delete
Nothing happens
Wait
Wait some more
Press delete again, and just as your finger touches the screen, the page changes, and you end up with cream cakes.
Press delete
Nothing happens
Wait
Wait a lot more
Screen saver blanks screen
Wait
Wait....
"Well, do you want to continue with transaction or not?"

It wasn't just the once, it had been like it for weeks, and I'd spoken to staff about it before: "Uh yeah, that one is a bit dodgy"

After weeks of no repair I walked out, and told them to get the checkout fixed as I went past. Then it got fixed.

I wonder how many other people have been patient enough with a checkout to find out how long it takes the screen saver to come on.

 

[Mike_P]

Best ones that I have come across were the first lot the local Asda had, you could empty a pocket of change into it and it would count the coins promptly. They then replaced them with ones that took each coin in turn very slowly. Sure it was deliberate to make you use a card.

 

[Drago]

Three shoplifters! Off with their hands!!!

 

[slowmotion]

If I only have a few items and have a problem with the till, I just ask the till attendant to scan the whole basket for me. It saves time and blood pressure.

 

[Mike_P]

Just had a problem with a M&S one. It scanned a gift card on my mobile okay but there was still 4.45 to pay tried scanning another but the display greyed out. An assistant tried and at the third attempt it worked.

 

[farfromtheland]

Just for the record, I also have no TV but was too shy to vote twice.

 

[presta]

Works fine on a bunch of 3 or 4 bananas

If a scale measures 500g it doesn't know whether that's four 125g, or five 100g bananas, or three 166g apples. If you put a pineapple on and tell it it's a kiwi fruit it will know that even the largest kiwi doesn't weigh 1100g, but if you put eleven kiwi on it won't know it's not a pineapple.

 

[classic33]

Sitrep - thr sensible majority want their inventor burned at the stake, but those who love them are coming close behind. Exciting stuff.

Surprisingly no shoplifters or those without a TV.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/bus...m/news-story/7221e929321f95d6d96ae38816586cb5

 

[Accy cyclist]

🧐 Three shoplifters! Off with their hands!!!

Make that four, I've just ticked that option!!🧐

 

[Pat "5mph"]

but if you put eleven kiwi on it won't know it's not a pineapple.

Yeah but ... 11 kiwis are more expensive than a pineapple.
Anyway, usually pineapples and kiwis have their own individual sticker for scanning.

 

[Mike_P]

If a scale measures 500g it doesn't know whether that's four 125g, or five 100g bananas, or three 166g apples. If you put a pineapple on and tell it it's a kiwi fruit it will know that even the largest kiwi doesn't weigh 1100g, but if you put eleven kiwi on it won't know it's not a pineapple.

Pretty sure the ones I am talking about are a bit more than just the weight as there is a sensor so it's taking an image of the fruit/veg