I only found this to be a problem with the early ones. Aldi was the first shop I found to use pretty decent ones, and they also took a long time to switch, IIRC initially they didn’t like the quality of the self checkouts available. Of course all the other shops in my area were using near decade old self checkouts by that point.
That and they’re not really saving any money on labor. Like, most of the day, you’re only gonna have one customer at a time checking out, and you need at least one clerk hanging around the self check out at all times to clear errors or scan IDs. Sure, durring busy times you’d need more clerks at registers, but like, you need them in the store anyways most of the day, doing other stuff like managing inventory or cleaning up messes.
So it’s not saving them money, and it’s potentially costing them money in terms of additional equipment and shrink form stolen goods. The real reason to have self check out is to appeal to socially anxious customers or to make the store seem “tech forward”. And like, aldi kind of eschews that kind of stuff, at least in the US. Can’t speak to aldi sud in Germany (Aldi nord is Trader Joe’s in the US.).
I only found this to be a problem with the early ones. Aldi was the first shop I found to use pretty decent ones, and they also took a long time to switch, IIRC initially they didn’t like the quality of the self checkouts available. Of course all the other shops in my area were using near decade old self checkouts by that point.
Aldi in the US is actually in the process of phasing out self checkout.
Interesting, I wonder if the theft increase means it isn’t worth it.
That and they’re not really saving any money on labor. Like, most of the day, you’re only gonna have one customer at a time checking out, and you need at least one clerk hanging around the self check out at all times to clear errors or scan IDs. Sure, durring busy times you’d need more clerks at registers, but like, you need them in the store anyways most of the day, doing other stuff like managing inventory or cleaning up messes.
So it’s not saving them money, and it’s potentially costing them money in terms of additional equipment and shrink form stolen goods. The real reason to have self check out is to appeal to socially anxious customers or to make the store seem “tech forward”. And like, aldi kind of eschews that kind of stuff, at least in the US. Can’t speak to aldi sud in Germany (Aldi nord is Trader Joe’s in the US.).