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According to food industry data in 2020, 29 percent of transactions at food retailers were processed via the self-checkout option. That was up about 6 percent from the year before. Dreamstime

According to food industry data in 2020, 29 percent of transactions at food retailers were processed via the self-checkout option. That was up about 6 percent from the year before. Dreamstime

Given all the questions you might be faced within this constantly changing complex world, here’s a topic no one might ask about but me: Where do you stand on self-checkout?

The smart aleck answer is probably, “Oh, about three or four deep.”

Are you a fan of ringing up and bagging your own groceries? Do you spend more time looking for assistance than you do putting the eggs in the bottom of the bag?

The self-checkout machines were initially introduced in 1986. The idea originally was for the customer to do the work which would eliminate labor costs and lower the prices. Do you buy that?

To me, the experience with self-checkout usually means I’m only buying a handful of items. The idea is to scan your Pop-Tarts and potato chips — you know, the basic essentials — and head for the parking lot. The biggest decision to be made is whether to pay cash or insert a debit card.

There’s also the possibility that the barely-out-of-high school attendant will need to mitigate your purchase by punching buttons at a dizzying rate of speed so that all of the other shoppers won’t be delayed and will get home before dark. Then again, maybe that’s just me.

Bar codes and coupons can further impact the process, and the latest navigational hurdle to cross is whether the shopper would like to round up the total. From what I understand, this pertains to a coin shortage. Any chance the option might ever be to round down?

Apparently the headaches of self-checkout are not exclusively experienced by just the customer. The retailer also, at times, pays a price for doing business. Sometimes the bar codes malfunction. The fruits and vegetables might need to be weighed or manually entered for a code. Some customers just steal stuff. Other customers still haven’t figured out how to scan an item.

Ever hear this announcement as you’re trying to checkout? The machine proclaims matter-of-factly "unexpected item in the bagging area." It might just be operator error, but it could also be a shopper who scanned a cucumber, then dropped a T-bone in the sack.

So if all this aggravation happens on a daily basis, why are more and more retailers installing more and more of these machines for our convenience? According to food industry data in 2020, 29 percent of transactions at food retailers were processed via the self-checkout option. That was up about 6 percent from the year before.

Once upon a time, the only question the shopper must prepare to answer was paper or plastic.

When COVID came along, personal contact was a no-no, further popularizing the self-checkout model. Some stores are moving to offering nothing but that option, eliminating the human clerk altogether.

What amuses me from time to time are the long lines waiting for self-checkout. We all believe, I suppose, that the line with the machine will be faster than the one with the real person ringing up the merchandise. Industry numbers reveal the wait time is about the same.

We all probably believe it must be quicker to do the work ourselves. But what’s the acceptable amount of time you’re willing to wait for that privilege?

If all things are equal, I’ll opt for the line with the human cashier. I don’t mind the small talk. After all, it usually involves predictable, generic, mundane conversation, right? It usually starts with, “Did you find everything?” and finishes with, “Do you want to round up?”

Some shoppers prefer to avoid the personal interaction. They’re there to get their hummus and prefer no other interaction than discreetly inputting their card numbers.

Isn’t it interesting that not so long ago we were all muffling our conversations behind masks and standing six feet from each other? Now we just want to get in and get out as soon as possible.

I catch a little heat in our family for engaging in what might be considered meaningless and unnecessary conversations. I’ll talk to a waitress or a cashier for a moment or two just because. Even when I’m on the phone with a customer service rep, if they’re trying their best to help, I’ll often offer a genuine word of thanks. You get what’cha give, I always believe.

Now, if only that cashier would just once ask me, “Would you like to round down?”

Reach Warren Peper at peperwarren@gmail.com

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