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Mr Interweb posted:I don't order much stuff on Amazon normally, but when I tried to place an order yesterday, I was told that it was going to charge me $3.99 for shipping (I don't have Prime, btw). Is this a recent thing? I could have sworn they had free shipping before (the only issue is that it might take longer for it to arrive). It's not a recent thing. IIRC it's normally only going to ship for free if you have Prime or a cart worth $35, and vendors who don't have their products served by Amazon set their own, separate shipping cost
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Mar 5, 2019 02:15
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Liquid Communism posted:They cut their door greeters as well. I just walk by them saying no thanks anyway as they gesticulate wildly not understanding why someone wouldn't want to wait in a line a exit the store after spending a few hundred dollars.
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Mar 5, 2019 03:47
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QuarkJets posted:It's not a recent thing. IIRC it's normally only going to ship for free if you have Prime or a cart worth $35, and vendors who don't have their products served by Amazon set their own, separate shipping cost Ah okay. Well that sucks, but at least I'm not getting as swindled as I thought.
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Mar 5, 2019 03:53
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Invalid Validation posted:They tried doing the app purchase thing at my Walmart and while it was great for getting in and out they stopped it within 2 months because of all the theft it created. Between theft and dumb/old people that can’t figure the machines out I can’t imagine it lasting very long. Here's a fun anecdote for you: an acquaintance is a manager at a nearby Target, and they actually doubled their number of self check-outs because the lines had gotten out of control. Not because people were slow, but because people would literally ignore manned registers with nobody in line to queue up at the self check-out instead. The Lowe's near me no longer keeps more than a single register manned at any given time as a matter of store policy. People in D&D have been proclaiming the death of self check-outs for a decade. They aren't going anywhere. And, like essentially all other forms of automation, they aren't about replacing so much as augmenting. The point isn't that you get rid of cashiers, it's that a single cashier can now man four or more check-outs at once. Paradoxish fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Mar 5, 2019 |
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Mar 5, 2019 06:10
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If you're actually confident with a self check out and its security settings aren't ridiculous, it's likely to be much faster than a manual checkout, not to mention you can do the bagging yourself.
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Mar 5, 2019 07:30
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Mr Interweb posted:I don't order much stuff on Amazon normally, but when I tried to place an order yesterday, I was told that it was going to charge me $3.99 for shipping (I don't have Prime, btw). Is this a recent thing? I could have sworn they had free shipping before (the only issue is that it might take longer for it to arrive). The other possibility is that you just ordered from a third party, not Amazon itself.
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Mar 5, 2019 08:40
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Paradoxish posted:Here's a fun anecdote for you: an acquaintance is a manager at a nearby Target, and they actually doubled their number of self check-outs because the lines had gotten out of control. Not because people were slow, but because people would literally ignore manned registers with nobody in line to queue up at the self check-out instead. The Lowe's near me no longer keeps more than a single register manned at any given time as a matter of store policy. I think a lot of it is just where you live. The Lowes near me put in self-checkout and the lines disappeared. A few months later they took all the self-checkouts out and now it's back to 5 minutes in line every time I go there.
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Mar 5, 2019 09:48
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A big thing with the shift toward large amount of self-checkout is that almost every store doing it is pairing it with adjustments to speed up the average case, especially relaxation or even elimination of the scale checks, but also UI tweaks and misc things to reduce the amount of human intervention required, and switching to image-based scanners that pick up barcodes more easily. The theft issue might be overblown anyway, it's probably not a function of the number of self-checkout machines so there's not much reason to not scale it up once they're in-store at all, and anyone that wants to steal poo poo has to think that they're less likely to get caught cheating the self-checkout machine than just walking out the door.
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Mar 5, 2019 10:03
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I figured the theft issues and security settings were entirely because of store owners being paranoid and assuming people would try to cheat the self check outs at every opportunity.
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Mar 5, 2019 10:37
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If the total annual theft is less than the annual pay of the eliminated cashiers...I guess it’s still profit?
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Mar 5, 2019 12:58
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The Home Depot near me changed their self checkout and the registers. Now it's a big touch screen with a gun for both of them, and I've walked up to regular registers without a cashier thinking they were self checkout. HD has always had pretty relaxed scales, so I didn't have too much of an issue there. You still need cashiers because you occasionally have custom length things that a cashier needs to verify and input, but most of my HD shopping is like three things, and the self-checkout is super quick. Grocery stores are the worst though for self checkout. When you have a lot of produce, the cashiers that know the numbers by heart are way faster than the lookup method at self checkout.
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Mar 5, 2019 13:29
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I'd be more willing to use self-checkout if I didn't need a human anyways, because their machines throw a poo poo-fit if I want to use a reusable bag. Bags which they themselves loving sell.
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Mar 5, 2019 20:23
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Ghost Leviathan posted:If you're actually confident with a self check out and its security settings aren't ridiculous, it's likely to be much faster than a manual checkout, not to mention you can do the bagging yourself. Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way?
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Mar 5, 2019 20:53
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way? This thread is just so bizarre for a non-american to read. People are being totally aghast about having to bag their own groceries and not be greeted when they arrive at a store.
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Mar 5, 2019 21:08
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way? Nothing is worse than sitting there staring at your iphone twiddling your thumbs while the cashier is wasting time bagging all your poo poo. I'd much rather be active and make everyone's lives, including my own, easier. I'd say it's more a uniquely american thing to expect everyone to cater to your every whim, and I don't like that one bit.
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Mar 5, 2019 21:09
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Ghost Leviathan posted:If you're actually confident with a self check out and its security settings aren't ridiculous, it's likely to be much faster than a manual checkout, not to mention you can do the bagging yourself. Confidence will make you better at doing something than someone who does it for a living.
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Mar 5, 2019 21:14
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way? i do, because i use canvas bags and have to walk a ways from my car to my front door (and sometimes i walk to the grocery store) so it's easier for me to play grocery tetris and pack the bags completely full, instead of having a few dozen plastic bags with three things each in them when i use a manned checkout station i also put my groceries on the belt starting with heavy/boxy things and ending with lighter, crushable things 
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Mar 5, 2019 21:27
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pseudanonymous posted:I think a lot of it is just where you live. The Lowes near me put in self-checkout and the lines disappeared. A few months later they took all the self-checkouts out and now it's back to 5 minutes in line every time I go there. I love self checkout when I'm just buying a couple things I can easily scan myself. I hate when I'm buying wood and inevitably need to wait for twenty minutes in the single available manned line. Edit: luxury handset posted:when i use a manned checkout station i also put my groceries on the belt starting with heavy/boxy things and ending with lighter, crushable things 
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Mar 5, 2019 21:32
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If you just hand them the bags they will fill them though? Are they refusing to use your canvas bags?
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Mar 5, 2019 21:33
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:If you just hand them the bags they will fill them though? Are they refusing to use your canvas bags? not nearly as efficiently as i do, i pack those bastards full baggers are generally more focused on throughput and getting customers through the line quicker than trying to make effective use of bag space, which is something i care about more since it reduces how many trips i need to take or bags i need to deal with once i leave the store
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Mar 5, 2019 21:35
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way? Depending on the grocery store, it's expected; you have a conveyor up to the cashier, then another 2 leading away where you bag yourself. (NoFrills, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Fresh Co., etc.)
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Mar 5, 2019 21:38
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My IKEA put in self checkouts and holy hell they couldn't pull them out fast enough. You think a grocery store is bad try imagining someone to scan box 3 of 4 of a giant bedroom set by themselves.
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Mar 5, 2019 22:05
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Why would I want to "do the bagging [myself]?" Do people actually care that much about their groceries being bagged a certain way? It makes me feel like an entitled baby when someone bags for me.
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Mar 6, 2019 01:38
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You get your bread crushed ones. Only once.
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Mar 6, 2019 02:21
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Reusable bags only should be the law as plastic grocery bags are an ecological nightmare, admittedly among many, but one thing I don't like about the US is that service people are expected to be cheerful, both by customers and supervisors. I also hate how American employees are expected to stand up for jobs for which there is no need to stand, but that's another story. I've lived in a fair few other countries, and I appreciate that people there doing miserable, low-paying, joy-destroying menial jobs are miserable... they should be. I would consider it a sign of grave mental illness for someone who does something awful hours and hours on end to be cheerful, but insisting that your wage slaves act that way is just adding insult onto the injury of the injustice of wage labour itself. You may be able to force someone to do Something AwfulTM under thread of taking away their meagre income, but it shouldn't be allowed to force them to give two fucks or even pretend to do so. David Mitchell sums up how I feel very concisely.
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Mar 6, 2019 03:35
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PerniciousKnid posted:I used to do this, but now my 2yo helps by grabbing the groceries and throwing them in the general direction of the belt in no particular order. I remember when I did this as a kid standing in the trolley, my mum taught me to get out the heavy stuff first.
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Mar 6, 2019 05:03
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Bird in a Blender posted:When you have a lot of produce, the cashiers that know the numbers by heart are way faster than the lookup method at self checkout. luxury handset posted:it's easier for me to play grocery tetris and pack the bags completely full, instead of having a few dozen plastic bags with three things each in them Plus they bag everything, including single-item purchases, items that are already in bags (bread, produce), and items with carrying handles.
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Mar 6, 2019 09:46
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The whole experience of American customer service is intensely creepy and embarrassing to my Eurotrash perceptions, from the fake smiles to the constantly returning waitstaff, from 'door greeters' to even just the way people speak. It is deeply bizarre and alienating and I can't help but wonder in horror what it does to people's mental health, or the mental health of society as a whole.
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Mar 6, 2019 10:04
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I'm possibly spoiled because I live a block from my grocery store and I go every day and get three things at a time over six consecutive trips. They follow the classic model of hiring local teens to work exclusively as baggers and whatever ancillary tasks that job does. But the cool thing is that about 20% of them end up working the register as they get older and it seems decent.
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Mar 6, 2019 10:16
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Hungry posted:The whole experience of American customer service is intensely creepy and embarrassing to my Eurotrash perceptions, from the fake smiles to the constantly returning waitstaff, from 'door greeters' to even just the way people speak. It is deeply bizarre and alienating and I can't help but wonder in horror what it does to people's mental health, or the mental health of society as a whole. It's part of the system that keeps the poor in line so they can be exploited, being told they should be happy, and act happy (and therefore it's their fault somehow they hate the miserable soul-crushing job they have) and that work has "dignity" even when it's to be a thoughtless service cog in a machine.
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Mar 6, 2019 15:09
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I must be the exception, because when I worked retail and food service jobs I really cared about those 'fake' personal interactions with people. Anything to remind me that I'm human and that the person on the other side sees me as one too. Tons of people treated me like a vending machine and I hated it.
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Mar 6, 2019 15:22
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I've found living in the same community as the clerks makes a big diffence. People on both sides get to know each other when you see each other all the time. Regarding taking to the customers. My father was instructed by a new manager to "spend less time taking to the customers" total sales fell about 25% the next month. Same manager asked "Why did sales fall?" "I did what you told me to do." "Well go back to what you were doing."
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Mar 6, 2019 15:52
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There's probably a happy medium between The Stepford Clerk and being a bitter husk who hates customers regardless of interactions. I noticed employees in the UK weren't necessarily outgoing but they weren't jerks offended you were using up their time, so I don't think the "US employees are overly cheerful" thing is entirely business practices.
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Mar 6, 2019 15:57
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It spoils people too. It makes very entitled people. I work with federal safety net programs and people constantly think they should be treated like the are a Walmart customer and bend over backwards trying to help them do very basic things. When the customer is always right a lot of people treat retail workers like slaves. I feel the same way about our tipping culture, it’s pretty gross all around.
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Mar 6, 2019 16:19
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I think pleasant, natural human interactions are totally fine, having been on both sides of the counter. But I find the (typically Boomer) mentality of "if the clerk isn't attending to my every need and sucking me off the whole time and appearing thankful for my business, I'm not getting great customer service" to be extremely off-putting. And of course that problem is exacerbated by having labor constantly slashed to make budget so you've got 3 people to perform the job of 6 and of course side work is never getting done because that needy customer just showed up and will take the next 45 minutes of your life. No no, I don't have PTSD or anything.
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Mar 6, 2019 17:02
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A fair bit of it is what I think is often called "punching down", by which I mean that people want to feel superior to others - no surprise there. However, this also happens with people who work in soul-crushing service jobs when they are the customer. They hate their lives and jobs and, so long as they can, they want to be the one making other people miserable. It's the same appalling human impulse that causes people to vote against their self-interest and do things like oppose increases to public services and higher wages if those changes would help left up both them, but also various groups that they don't like.
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Mar 6, 2019 17:34
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Hungry posted:The whole experience of American customer service is intensely creepy and embarrassing to my Eurotrash perceptions, from the fake smiles to the constantly returning waitstaff, from 'door greeters' to even just the way people speak. It is deeply bizarre and alienating and I can't help but wonder in horror what it does to people's mental health, or the mental health of society as a whole. People in other countries do things differently! It must be a sign of mental illness! Meanwhile, good luck getting an Italian to bring you your check in a prompt manner.
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Mar 6, 2019 17:41
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Invalid Validation posted:It spoils people too. It makes very entitled people. I work with federal safety net programs and people constantly think they should be treated like the are a Walmart customer and bend over backwards trying to help them do very basic things. When the customer is always right a lot of people treat retail workers like slaves. I feel the same way about our tipping culture, it’s pretty gross all around. wait, you are saying the poor are too entitled because they want to be treated as well as ....walmart treats them? What?
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Mar 6, 2019 18:15
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having worked in restaurants for a decade i think some people are just complete pricks regardless of their motivations or income level. some do it because they're walking around pissed off, constantly. some people like to power trip on others. some people compulsively run low level scams and use emotional pressure to roll them along. there's lots of reasons. however, like 90% of people are reasonable and good and they might have bad cranky days sometimes but most of the time they're willing to play by social rules
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Mar 6, 2019 18:18
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Owlofcreamcheese posted:wait, you are saying the poor are too entitled because they want to be treated as well as ....walmart treats them? What? Walmart will go out of their way to give customers what they want and it’s what is expected. When a client doesn’t fill out a simple form that has been explained multiple times then they will get super angry and think they can yell at you for it, unlike Walmart we do not have to put up with it. Being poor doesn’t give you the right to be a dick to people who are helping you. I’m poor and can handle not yelling at someone making my Subway sandwich. Invalid Validation fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Mar 6, 2019 |
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Mar 6, 2019 18:45
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