Tag Archive for: self checkout

Thomas Paine Is Not Happy With Self-Checkout Machines

The defenders of this machine tell us it is progress. They tell us it is faster. They tell us it gives us control. Yet what sort of progress requires a man to perform labor while pretending he has been liberated from it? What sort of control demands waiting for an associate to come check your ID so you can buy mouthwash? What sort of speed requires an attendant to be summoned like death himself every time the machine deems a barcode perplexing. 

I Love Self-Checkout Because I Never Steal And I Always Pay For Each Of My Items Every Time

I would never place an item in the bagging area without scanning it. Even if I wave it over the barcode reader and it doesn’t read, I would never place it in the bagging area or my pocket. I would simply ask for assistance, wait my turn as other honest patrons are served, and then explain to the worker that the baby formula says it’s twice as much as it used to be and there must be some kind of mistake.