Have you been to any stores lately where the clerks proudly tout the praises of their new self-checkout lanes?  How many times have you been so tempted to ask what type of discount they are offering for you to do your own checkout?  I have been very tempted to ask this.  I have several reasons for disliking this form of checkout.  Some may agree, while others may disagree.  Let me explain my reasons for disliking this and we will see where you stand from there. 

1. Let us start with the fact that let us face it the economy is not doing the greatest lately.  The unemployment rate is approximately 4.3% over the entire nation.  Guess how many clerks it takes to man up to six registers!  This is outrageous.  This tells me that they have now reduced the need to have five employees on staff, which means our unemployment numbers will go up.  The number of hours each employee is getting will be reduced, and the amount of people overall on state aid and welfare will start to increase.  No this is not going to suddenly happen overnight.  Nevertheless, it will eventually happen as more and more companies and store locations put the self-checkouts in place. 

1. If I wanted to work for Wal-Mart or Bi-Lo for example scanning groceries or other merchandise, I would simply apply for a job and get paid for it.  At the very least since I am expected to work, can’t I get a discount of some sort?  I have to scan my items, wait on the register to take 5 minutes to process the last item scanned, plus bag everything myself.  That sounds like work to me, isn’t that what the cashiers and baggers are paid to do?  If I am doing it free, why should these companies employ people with those specific job tasks and pay them?  After all, I am doing it for free for them at the handy little self checkout lanes. 

1. The clerks who work the self-checkout lanes tend to be stressed out and frazzled I have noticed.  Ever wondered why?  Seems to me they are overworked.  After all, they get paid the same amount whether they are watching one customer at a time ringing up merchandise as if they are watching up to six customers at a time ringing up merchandise.  This leads me to believe that obviously that one clerk is not able to handle the job duties properly, hence more employees is the solutions.  Oh but wait, self-checkout means fewer employees, not more.  This idea must be put back on the shelf, we mustn’t schedule more employees to work the self checkout lanes, instead customers must be forced to stand around waiting on the one clerk to finish with the other five customers before coming to our register to enter a code to make the register work properly again. 

1. When I am waiting to checkout, I do not want to wait around for the other customers in line in front of me to figure out how to use the machine when I could simply wait on a trained cashier to handle it for me.  Why should I?  Once again, I am not receiving any form of discount of pay for having to work for the company even if for only a few moments.  I am not getting any real benefit out of this arrangement at all.  Typically, there should be a give and take win here; instead, I give up my labor and money in exchange for merchandise that I am required to pay for anyways.  Isn’t the employee discount at Wal-Mart around 10%?  I want my 10% at least if they expect me to use the self-checkout since I am then am employee of theirs.  I think that is fair what about you? 

I am sure some people think that my attitude about this is a bit harsh.  However, I am trying to look towards the big picture.  If everyone is accepting of these companies insisting on us working free, how long will it be before all the registers are replaced with self-checkout units?  How many unemployed people will then be roaming around desperately seeking employment?  I shudder to think of the potential consequences that this can cause.  Yes, technology is meant to improve lives and make things easier, but at what cost?  Should our working people be in total fear of their jobs because a machine is capable of operating cheaper than they do?  I would like to think that employees should have some form of stability; however, the top bosses at these major companies I am sure would disagree.