It does work, though
I feel terrible, but it does make the whole thing more bearable just by the way the till staff do say "Hello" vaguely enthusiastically, and make a bit of small talk/have a bit of a laugh.

At our local, however, they're replaced all till staff with the DIY machines. These invariably fall over, so there's actually an army of former till staff there to direct, authorise, fix problems and help pack. It's bloody awful.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:17, 4 replies)

I fucking hate those things with a passion
Unless you're buying fewer items than will fit comfortably in one bag, stay well clear. They don't like you moving a bag. If you take more than a few seconds to put it in the bag. They constantly error on the weight as you scan it in. Stuff that you don't need to weigh like toothpaste.

And a shit-load of other faults that only serve to piss me off.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:23, closed)

I find them ok
ones at B&Q are particularly useful. I don't want to stand in a queue with a million cunts each buying stuff to recreate the rabbit-proof fence when all I'm buying is a packet of nails and some sandpaper.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:24, closed)

B&Qs a bit different, because you don't necessarily have to put stuff in the bagging area.
Mrs Vagabond and me have a shopping trolley (yes), and it means that we have to pack twice now - once into the shopping area, and then when finished (and when finished only) from the shopping area into the trolley.

This is because it won't accept trolleys, and despite being told that we should cut down on disposable plastic bags, it still expects us to use disposable plastic bags.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:27, closed)

that is true
I never use on in the supermarket if I have a trolley

and you are right about the bag thing too. that is the biggest thing that pisses me off. I get my own back by telling it I've used 20 of my own bags each time.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:31, closed)

Yes, this.
Rolled out the technology waaaaay too early.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 16:25, closed)

DIY Self Service
Sounds like a wank in theory and is a load of wank in practice. Loads of stores around here now have them, and surprisingly enough most people avoid those checkout points like the plague. I certainly do unless its for one single item, even then its 50/50 to wether I'd want to queue instead. Hateful idea, and whoever thought of it ought to be shot..... 3 times a day before meals, then hit with hammers on Sundays
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 17:39, closed)

I, for one, don't need service with a smile.
If I did I'd go tip some stripper or hire a call girl.
I want to buy things as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible -- the person on the till could be talking to thier colleague about the best way to kill me and eat me for all I care as long as I get to buy what I want without any pissing around.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 17:59, closed)

When I worked at a Petrol Station
This was my policy to customers, despite managemant wanting me to chat with each person. You come into buy petrol, you're not here to browse or anything, and most of the customers need to be off in a hurry.
(Buftoon posted this on, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 18:10, closed)

^
when staff approach me in the shop to ask if there's anything I want, it creeps me out, tbh. I'd rather look for it myself and if there's something specific I want I'll ask
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 15 Jun 2010, 8:58, closed)

Agreed.
Every time I use those automated bastards, they never work properly. I've had staff try and persuade me to use them despite my protests, and on the rare occasions where I do give in (just to get them to shut up), the machines have some kind of error. Maybe it's just me...
(Draco Rattus ate all the pies on, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 18:00, closed)

I normally use the self service tills at Asda because they're normally quicker, but they can be a collosal pain in the arse. There's one at Asda that come up with an error for almost every item that you place in the bagging area and you have to pick it up and put it back down again a couple of times before it's happy with the weight of it. Most of the staff who look after them are completely incompetent too, half the time if you're buying booze they'll be standing there doing nothing while you scan the rest of the shopping and by the time you've finished and really need them to authorise it they're helping someone else - only once have I ever had someone there come over to authorise my booze before I was ready to pay. These days I go to a normal check out if I'm buying booze. The self check outs down give you sweets either (the guy at the til earlier gave me a sweet).
(mmm....beer, Mon 14 Jun 2010, 21:51, closed)