Tesco self checkout
We were at the supermarket picking up some munchies when on our way to the cashier we noticed a bunch of self checkout counters. It was hard to grasp the concept at first, I check out my stuff? Who will check and see if I was honest and didn’t skip anything? I still don’t know how they make sure people don’t cheat (probably monitor them with CCTV’s) but the idea of having customers check themselves out is unreal.
Its a pretty easy process, you take your items one by one, scan them on the machine and place them in the bag. Then you have a number of ways to pay, I chose credit card and just placed my card in the machine and that was it. Its the coolest thing ever.
Oct 23, 2007
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32 Comments, add your own...
1. Annie | October 23rd, 2007 at 12:40 am
Hi Mark,
I think it checks for the weight. They have them in all grocery stores here(US) and the machine complains if you don’t place it on the counter where the bags are. You don’t necessarily have to place it in the bag, but you have to place it on the counter.
2. sar7an | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:03 am
You can’t cheat the machine. The only way to not pay for what you want is by not scanning the item into the machine. And if you didn’t, while walking out the alarm of the bar code will go off. No way they will leave the checkout for a customer based on his/her conscious.
3. mohammed | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:10 am
mark actually there is a hidden cam ive spoken to one of tesco staff members 5 month ago when i first saw it i too think its cool and wish we do have such a thing here in kuwait who knose maybe will see them soon in sultan :)
4. Mark | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:10 am
sar7an barcodes dont set alarms off not unless the items have RFID tags which if they did i wouldnt have to scan them, they would be read automatically. I think they just monitor people by cctvs to make sure they scan everything they take out of the basket and put into the bag.
5. Mark | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:12 am
mohammed thats what i was thinking, a hidden cam which they just use to double check the customers arent cheating.
6. Faisal | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:31 am
Wrong ..
Weight of the basket contents = Weight of the bags contents = Weight of the scanned items
If you miss an item there will be difference, and the machine will be alerting the staff
7. eRamzi | October 23rd, 2007 at 2:06 am
well this is how we checkout groceries over here in the states when you’re at Kroger or Target you can check out yourself. and yest it is weight sensitive, so anything that you dont end up weighing on the machine before checking out will alert the staff. even IKEA here has this option. lastly, you have one supervisor for each 4 checkout counters. but this does not mean that the system isn’t bypassable. CCTVs RFIDs Barcodes and some other magnetic codes (different than the barcodes) prevent you from walking out without paying for what you have. now if you are planning on shoplifting a box of kellogs that’s another situation :P
8. Biohazard | October 23rd, 2007 at 2:42 am
I’m too simple to cheat, I fear “the man”. I’m just a peasant! =(
I’d use the cashier anyway, feels more human..not just a “get supplies, live!” thing.
9. Sal | October 23rd, 2007 at 3:34 am
Dude,
You’re in London with your wife on a supposedly mini-honeymoon and you’re posting more than usual. You guys need marriage counseling, seriously.
Cheers
10. sar7an | October 23rd, 2007 at 4:12 am
Wow, I should have lifted something then to figure out how they monitor these stuff rather than assuming wrong concepts lol.
11. Wer3Y | October 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 am
ulllah :D people ou9alaw el gomar o e7na lel7en ” Fee Raqam ” :P
12. Awartany | October 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 am
This is really cool! Imagine it in an Arabian country :D Even with monitoring, it will be a disaster!
13. Z District | October 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Home Depot in the states has self check out which also is great, and you get to scan all your own stuff! Makes it easier to finish up quickly!
14. Mark | October 23rd, 2007 at 8:49 am
Faisal there is nothing around to measure the weight and if you have your items in your hand you scan them and place them into a bag directly.
Sal shut the fuck up
15. holla | October 23rd, 2007 at 8:57 am
yeah dude i miss self checkout at krogers and shit. it was just so fast and easy.
16. STING | October 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
Mark
is this available in london ?
http://www.sybarites.org/2007/10/22/limited-edition-ferrari-segway-pt-i2/
17. Zed | October 23rd, 2007 at 9:19 am
hahahah @ STING’s comment
18. Armani Exchanger | October 23rd, 2007 at 9:42 am
Ahhh basically as the old days when i was in the states … there is no lines in Jam3ieah as i am facing here!!!
19. Abdulaziz | October 23rd, 2007 at 11:50 am
i love this machine… i make sure i use it whenever im in Tesco, and i wish someday we see it in kuwait before we turn 75 … though a lot has to change before then, like the people having the honesty to monitor themselves
20. Biohazard | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:39 pm
It’s every costumers fantasy to use the “toot!! toot!!” machine.
21. Amjad | October 23rd, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Monitoring the customers with CCTVs to make sure that they didn’t cheat is not practical…
22. This Lady Says | October 23rd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I do self check-out all the time. Its much easier than standing in line.
Customers cant cheat because if u dont scan ur item, then the alarm will go off when u leave the store.
Also, the computer tells u to bag the items to check for the weight.
Very efficient and less time consuming. I love it!
23. shoosha | October 23rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
haha i know this :P fee someone on another computer checking if ur checking out everything :P
24. ??? | October 23rd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I always try to use it but sometimes it jams up which takes forever to resolve.
25. anas | October 23rd, 2007 at 6:10 pm
the self checkout if nice when you’re buying less than 10 items .. people dont really use them much in the US and UK for larger quantities since there’s no one to bag the stuff for you and take them to your car (places like Ukrops in the US REFUSE to accept TIPS from you when they bag and take your stuff to the car) the thing wit the machines is .. they are always placed closest to the DOOR .. and that is usually where all the security is … you can cheat the machine when its 2 am at wall mart and not much security are around,, if they forget to close down the self checkout isles that it .. .. you can pass the a few items through the machine with the barcode side facing you .. so that non of the scanners scan it .. .. and pretending like you scanned it and then pop it into the bag .. .. most machines are not as advanced as weighing the stuff and what not .. it’s just apart from the kids and homeless i doubt anyone would want to steal anything from a GROCERY store .. !!
anyway .. i guess my point is .. even if one in a 100 actually stole the $5 item .. the advantage of such machines when the place is really crowded is worth much more than the few stolen items to the super market.
also, some machines actually do DE-ACTIVATE the (fake IR) while passing it through the machine .. but we are talking about FAKE barcdes that dont get read by the machines scanners and they are only used on the more expensive items .. no on the small consumable items .. it’s just not worth it .. ..
and yes the cameras are the number one security feature used in the US since its easy for them to actually find the person after he has stolen something where as in kuwait, 1. not enough people are watching the cameras 2. if someone steals and leaves .. it’s virtually imposible to file a claim (who in the ministry of interior cares about a bottle of shampoo!)
26. Bo Bader | October 23rd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
I self checkout all the time at Wal-Mart and the Food Pyramid (Albertsons). There is always a person who monitor what your are scanning and what you are doing. The machines also have sensors on the bags platform that monitor the weight of items you scan and put in the bags. You can actually steal things if you really disparate, but its hard to steal expensive things (such as electronics) because they have trackers that you need to disable when you scan them.
27. Hanoda | October 23rd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Hi ,I have try`d it I think we went to the same store and it was amazing ,but am shure they did it becouse there was a security bar on every thing so if you took any thing without paying every thing will PEEEPPPP
28. SWOS | October 24th, 2007 at 1:56 am
just a quick update, we will have this in Q8 soon, its been confirmed that they will be available everywhere in 2097.
29. Ansam | October 24th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I used the self-checkout long time ago in the states back in late 1990s and it really is convenient but not a new concept :-)
30. omar | October 24th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
the items you scan have a certain weight registered within the database, so the bagging area/tray would be expecting the weight you just scanned. If there’s extra weight it would go “…Remove these items before continuing”. And even if you remove the items you already scanned it would go “Items removed from bagging area, please return items to continue”…
I lived with these machines for 2 years now, haha
I stopped going to an actual employees on cashiers!
31. balboa | October 24th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
i live in halifax NS canada and they r all over the place its not a problem and when i went to saudi arabia i saw them
32. civil engineer | November 12th, 2007 at 2:12 am
strain gauges check for any strain which translates to wieght of the product you scanned which is in the systems database.
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