They’re convenient, pretty easy to use, and faster than waiting in a regular checkout line. But self-checkouts are causing headaches for some supermarkets and shoppers. Legislation in the pipe in California will lay down new rules.
Some retail stores – not all of them supermarkets by any means –
have as many as a dozen self-checkout stations…
A solution and a problem
Self-checkout lanes are supposed to be faster and easier for shoppers to use. Supermarkets have been implementing them to cut down on the number of human cashiers they have to employ. Thus saving money and administration effort on their most cumbersome operating expense.
But we all know how frustrating it can be when we try to scan-out items that don’t have a functional bar code, or have no code at all. And I’ve noticed many a time that older folks and others unfamiliar with technology in general often require help from the store employee hovering there to help. In fact, I’ve seen the poor staffer scrambling between three shoppers at once trying to unravel their specific snarl-ups.
And I’ve personally have been frustrated waiting for a self-check station when the machines are tied up with other folks processing what seems like dozens of items. Self-check is intended to be like another express lane, where shoppers with a few items can avoid the lineups.
Uptick in thefts
Store operators say there’s been a sharp increase in thefts via the self-check lanes. Not only are desperate shoppers stealing more, they’re being more brazen about it.
“I have also observed customers who just walk through the self-checkout area when there are no workers [on duty],” said Pinole, CA supermarket employee Letizia Costa. “They just walk out with their items.”
Costa says she called 911 to report a gang of three housewife thieves and was physically accosted by them when they noticed what she was doing. So, the new legislation is not just about convenience, or staffing economies. It’s also, literally, about stopping brazen grab-and-run thefts, as well as shopper and staff safety.
Where else but Cali?
California is the place where new culinary ideas are often born, and fine dining is almost an official pastime. Grocery shopping takes a leading role in Cali life. So, if there was going to be an outcry aimed at self-checkouts, you might logically expect it to be loudest in Cali.
And it’s there that new legislation – the first of its kind anywhere – is being considered, to regulate the use of the machines.
What they’re considering
Key points among the new regulations being proposed include:
- ‘Transactions’ limited to 10 items or less
- At least one manually staffed checkout station must be available in the store
- Certain items may not be self-checked
- Store must provide at least one employee to supervise every two self-service stations
- Employee is relieved from all other duties while monitoring
Opinion divided
Opinions on State Senate Bill 1446 are, however, divided. Multiple labour groups have expressed support for the new law. But the California Chamber of Commerce and California Retailers Association want more. They’re getting behind another, wider-ranging bill which contains more-comprehensive retail theft provisions, including stiff penalties for repeat-shoplifters.
My take
Whichever approach the California state legislature adopts, their regulations will probably serve as a blueprint for similar measures elsewhere. And, given the adversarial climate suffusing shopper-supermarket relations these days, they can’t come soon enough.
The issue goes beyond customer comfort and controlling store ‘inventory shrinkage’. It’s become a matter of staff and shopper safety.
~ Maggie J.