"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...

Wonder how they are going to police the
self- service checkouts?

Richard

Unfortunately any topic peripherally related to supermarkets
will eventually turn into a rant.

I can only comment on Sainsbury on this, thus far. But
they'll be hard to beat.

On the premise that this measure has been known about
for months at least.

On the self service tills there are no notices etc. but
piles of bags stacked discreetly at the side beneath
either the input or output platform.

I brought my own crumpled up orange Sainsbury jobbies.

When starting to scan everything is as normal.

Only when choosing to pay is a message flashed up -
a) "Have You Scanned Your Bags"

With [Yes] or [No] buttons. Nothing else.

Now presumably what this garbled message is intended
to say - and be fair they've only had around 6 months
to get this right - is "have you scanned any new Sainsbury
bags you bought today".

Now not only is this ambiguous but the thought immediately
sprung to mind

a) if the punter had scanned their bags the machine would
already know. So obviously they haven't.

b) As any bags will by now will be full of shopping wouldn't
it be better to ask the punter to scan the bag "before"
they start.

Blah blah "Bags are available under the platform
at 5p each. Please scan any new bag before starting"
blah blah. Easy peasy


But after all six months is a very short time to be
working theses things out. Maybe the fact that I worked
it out 5 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes
quicker than the combined brains of Sainsbury management
makes me a business genius of some kind.

To say nothing of the question

"Have You Scanned Your Bags"

Being the first time round, for the punter, me included
there is no way of knowing what will happen if you answer
wrong. If you truthfully answer {No] - you haven't you've
used scrunched up bags - but on the assumption the machine
really means "have you scanned any new Sainsbury
bags you bought today" presumably you will be charged 5p
minimum by the machine.

For this reason its necessary to ask for assistance.
The answer is indeed "no". Which therefore all seems
a bit pointless.

Although given all the holds there were obviously going
to be with this at the tills, with most customers needing
assistance, it goes without saying the knuckle
dragging managers who decided to close half of the
tills on that very day, were nowhere to be seen.


michael adams

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