You walk into any supermarket or giant box retailer and you notice that the checkout lines are disappearing. Slowly being replaced by the ability to have customers do their own self checkouts. Businesses call it a cost cutting effort to maximize profits and all that other corporate jargon. What it really is doing is eliminating jobs and cutting overhead so CEOs and stock holders can continue to stuff their greedy pockets while everyone else suffers.
I’m not really sure who thought it would be great idea for customers to use self checkouts and bag their own groceries or purchases, but it’s not part of the shopping experience. If I’m going to be spending money in a store the last thing I want to do is ring all the products up myself, bag them, scan coupons and they pay for everything.
I get it though. Less workers mean less money spent on them and less benefits and insurance to dole to people. That just means more money for those who don’t need it. It means profits keep growing and in the end that is what those people care about. Putting money back in their own pockets and not yours.
While the main goal of self checkouts is to eliminate worker overhead; the reality these companies are still going to need them. I’m sure they’ll find ways to make other employees do more work for the same pay, but you’re going to need workers to monitor the self checkout lines.
People are going to try to steal merchandise. Maybe forget to ring up a product or three. Maybe stuff some items inside a box of diapers and only ring up the diapers but the items inside costs more. Stealing with self checkout lines is going to skyrockets and these executives are going to start to bemoan they’re losing money to theft when in reality they’ve been the one stealing money from workers this entire time.
People don’t want to wait in long lines to checkout themselves. They sure as hell don’t want to wait for people in front of them who have 100 items to scan before they can use a register.
Can you imagine Christmas time with lines around the store just so people can ring themselves up?
Some people enjoy talking to a cashier. Having them ring up items and bag them. They like that feeling of interacting with another person. Lord knows these days people are mostly connected to their devices.
When you buy a new car do you go detail it before you pay? Of course not. When you go to a restaurant do you make your own food? No, but I bet that is coming soon. Sort of some new hipster thing to do. Pay people so you can cook your own food.
Sad reality is that self checkouts aren’t going away. In fact they’re probably going to replace cashiers altogether. That is what happens when the lust for profits and more greed in corporate decision making does. It screws everyone but them.
But don’t worry they’ll still be an option on the register to leave a tip. Imagine that. Tipping so you can scan your items and bag them yourself. Their greed knows no bounds.
