16 replies to this topic

[spud the mackem]

We now have 8 checkout points in our Supermarket, which means that 8 People are no longer required, there is also 4 in the library.There used to be 4 very charming ladies there,now there is only one,as a supervisor.The Railway Station is the same,put your ticket into a machine to exit the platform.I guess that all these people countrywide are now unemployed as there are very few jobs about,Automated cash points at the Bank and a whole lot more,Does better technology mean fewer people employed ?, yet the retirement age is going up ?

[AsteroidX]

Bring it on. I havent n worked for 5 years because of  our Tyrranical Govt.. Let them turn it over to the machines.

[Rlyeh]

Machines don't complain or ask for raises.

[Sean93]

Rlyeh, on 23 December 2012 - 11:00 AM, said:

Machines don't complain or ask for raises.

You sure about that? because every time I go shopping, all that machine lady says is "Unexpected item in bagging area" and "Please insert cash"...

Never gives me a break that woman...machine.

Edited by Sean93, 23 December 2012 - 11:17 AM.

[Rlyeh]

Sean93, on 23 December 2012 - 11:16 AM, said:

You sure about that? because every time I go shopping, all that machine lady says is "Unexpected item in bagging area" and "Please insert cash"...

Never gives me a break that woman...machine.

I meant to the boss.

[Coffey]

Well there is the plus side, it produces more Jobs in the IT sector.

Norwich train station has those ticket machines etc and there still needs to be a few people working around them because they mess up a lot and people can't use them properly. It's rather amusing watching people mess up while i wait for my housemate. lol

[G Donnelly]

spud the mackem, on 23 December 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

We now have 8 checkout points in our Supermarket, which means that 8 People are no longer required, there is also 4 in the library.There used to be 4 very charming ladies there,now there is only one,as a supervisor.The Railway Station is the same,put your ticket into a machine to exit the platform.I guess that all these people countrywide are now unemployed as there are very few jobs about,Automated cash points at the Bank and a whole lot more,Does better technology mean fewer people employed ?, yet the retirement age is going up ?

Tbh I never thought of it that way before.
Mainly because the numbers of checkout ladies havn't really changed since self-service.
I have to confess I use self-service a lot because it makes the supermarket experience more smooth and quick.
Tbh the supermarket in Middleton town centre actually came as a godsend for some of our townsfolk.
I honestly don't think they would be seeing it in the same light too.
However I'm sure there's supermarkets out there that have been trading for yonks.
I reckon something like that would stand out like a sore thumb especially if your a regular customer.
There's something else that has struck me about self-service when your supervising it.
Unlike your garden and variety checkout ladies you need to know the basics of machine maintenance.
I don't think the machines are going to take over just yet.

Edited by Medium Brown, 23 December 2012 - 06:16 PM.

[G Donnelly]

Sean93, on 23 December 2012 - 11:16 AM, said:

You sure about that? because every time I go shopping, all that machine lady says is "Unexpected item in bagging area" and "Please insert cash"...

Never gives me a break that woman...machine.

The "unexpected item in bagging area" is an absolute enigma.
It just goes to show how sensitive these machines are.
I get the impression they are telling us off for ignoring the checkout ladies.
Other signs of this are in your GPS system and when you neglect to put your seatbelt on.

[spud the mackem]

Well it would be great if people stopped using these machines and it would make the Authorities sit and wonder why, I would rather be stand in a queue and wait until some nice person served me with a smile at the checkout, than have some pygmy lady sitting inside a machine (not meant literally)saying insert your card or pay cash.But maybe as I dont work I have the time to do this.Just a thought do you say thankyou to the machine when you're finished ha ha .Have you ever stood at one of these machines when it "crashed", you cant take your goods and you dont get your money back ????,which means delay while the staff call the Management then you have to explain what happened.

[G Donnelly]

spud the mackem, on 23 December 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

Well it would be great if people stopped using these machines and it would make the Authorities sit and wonder why, I would rather be stand in a queue and wait until some nice person served me with a smile at the checkout, than have some pygmy lady sitting inside a machine (not meant literally)saying insert your card or pay cash.But maybe as I dont work I have the time to do this.Just a thought do you say thankyou to the machine when you're finished ha ha .Have you ever stood at one of these machines when it "crashed", you cant take your goods and you dont get your money back ????,which means delay while the staff call the Management then you have to explain what happened.

My actions do have a distinctive anti-social feel about it.
And I do purposefully try and get ten or less items so I avoid the checkout ladies.
However if everybody stopped using them the only one to suffer will be the one supervising.
It might just though encourage me to stop me being lazy and open more checkout-lines in the process.
I get the feeling though that being a checkout lady or man is one of the most desirable jobs in the supermarket.
Well it's certainly more appealing than stacking shelves or trolly duty which get their share of criticism.
However I've known some checkout staff to have the temperament of a dried prune.
But I'll say the majority have a very sunny and optimistic outlook on things.
I've to say it's pretty embarrassing doing a bit of a grovel when the self-service goes on the fritz.
Even when you want the supervisor to untag the DVD's and the booze.

Edited by Medium Brown, 26 December 2012 - 04:32 PM.

[VvROMULUSvV]

Personally, I've never liked the checkout staff looking at the stuff I'm buying. I tend to buy either a whole bunch of unrelated items that probably make the go 'hmmm..' or I buy exactly everything I need to cook a meal and they'll say 'Oh.. making chicken curry tonight?' Mind your own business!

As for banks, I love the ATM. I had to go to a teller a few weeks ago to get a bank cheque made out. The guy started telling me off for not reading my Internet banking messages! Again, mind your own business!

Look, I know people are always complaining that 'people don't talk any more  or that 'you don't get personalised service..' what bunch of crap. Remember manned service stations? How lazy can you be not to pump your own fuel? People in general are idiots and service people are either overly intrusive or clearly hate their job.

Bring on the Jetsons lifestyle for me! Now..where can I get one of those loverbots I keep seeing in the movies?

[G Donnelly]

VvROMULUSvV, on 28 December 2012 - 09:33 AM, said:

Personally, I've never liked the checkout staff looking at the stuff I'm buying. I tend to buy either a whole bunch of unrelated items that probably make the go 'hmmm..' or I buy exactly everything I need to cook a meal and they'll say 'Oh.. making chicken curry tonight?' Mind your own business!

As for banks, I love the ATM. I had to go to a teller a few weeks ago to get a bank cheque made out. The guy started telling me off for not reading my Internet banking messages! Again, mind your own business!

Look, I know people are always complaining that 'people don't talk any more  or that 'you don't get personalised service..' what bunch of crap. Remember manned service stations? How lazy can you be not to pump your own fuel? People in general are idiots and service people are either overly intrusive or clearly hate their job.

Bring on the Jetsons lifestyle for me! Now..where can I get one of those loverbots I keep seeing in the movies?

Tbh I've havn't even noticed how inquisitive they are when it comes to my purchases.
But I'm pretty self-conscious when it comes to items like disposable razors.
This is an other reason why I prefer cut and run shopping at the self-service.
I love ATM's as well because where else can you get cash and avoid lengthy queues.
If you want my honest opinion this is all occurring because people are constantly on the go.
We have time for conversations when we are not as rushed off our feet as in the shops.
People do have a knack of playing the " anti-social" card but life isn't as simple as it used to be.

Edited by Medium Brown, 28 December 2012 - 03:22 PM.

[AquilaChrysaetos]

When artificial intelligence grows to the same level or higher than human intelligence (which at some point it will) we will no longer have a need to work any job, machines will just do it all for us. We'll all grow incredibly fat, incredibly lazy, incredibly apathetical, and incredibly worthless while robots slowly begin to run our lives.

Essentially the pixar movie WALL-E personified.

[G Donnelly]

I'm such a cop-out because here's an other reason.
I really do hate the jingle-jangle of empty change in my pocket.
So every chance I use them in the self-service and get funny looks.
It's just that I  find one and two pennies completely useless.
They should be invalid  so things get priced more realistically.
It's so I can converse with the checkout staff for once.

Edited by Medium Brown, 02 January 2013 - 08:46 AM.

[G Donnelly]

You know one of those mini Tesco's?
Well due to the lack of self-service I do have to encounter the checkout staff.
And one of the things they always say while ringing my purchases up is enquiring about whether you have a club card.
It dosn't matter what the temperament of the checkout staff is they still ask like they are working from a pre-rehearsed script.
The whole purpose of these club cards is to save you money but it's not foolproof.
Btw I have one of these club cards but I don't let on to the checkout staff.
I'll probably got a few points on it but they won't even get me a packet of crisps.