“Do we need anything at the store?” I ask my wife as we drive home. It’s become my new mantra, but she sees right through my newfound interest in shopping. She knows I just want to feed my newest addiction: the U-Scan checkout line.
They were installed less than two weeks ago at my local Fred Meyer store and I have been there no less than a half-dozen times since. Sometimes I don’t really need anything. I go for the thrill.
For those who have not had the pleasure, let me describe how it works:
While customers are lined up 10-deep waiting to get through the other lines, you zip right up to one of the four U-Scan stations with little or no waiting. You set your 15 items or less on one side of the scanner, then touch a video screen to let it know you’d like to begin scanning your items. A computerized voice greets you and instructs you about what to do next.
You place each item over the scanner and wait for it to register, then place the item in a bag. The bags sit on top of a scale, so that what goes into the bag matches the weight of what was scanned (this stops people from cheating). After you’re done scanning your items, you can pay by debit, credit or cash. Meanwhile, a cashier watches the action from the end of the U-Scan lane, making sure everyone knows what they’re doing and verifying IDs on alcohol purchases.
That’s it. No waiting for the person with a wad of coupons in one hand and a checkbook in the other to stop disputing the price of everything and get the line moving faster than a glacier. If you have been to Fred Meyer, you know what I’m talking about.
My first time through, I made some rookie mistakes. I tried to scan everything by rubbing the barcode against the scanner while the proper technique is to let the barcode hover about an inch above the glass. I also got caught up in the excitement and picked up two things to scan at the same time, which tripped up the scales. Pick up item, scan, place in bag, repeat. You do not deviate from the pattern. If you make a mistake or can’t get something to scan, the computerized voice will get impatient with you.
As you go through the U-Scan lane, you may notice an inquisitive stare from the customers waiting in the “express” line next door. They don’t like the long wait in their line, but something prevents them from making the leap over to the U-Scan lane. I do not understand these people. Are they afraid of technology? Do they lack the expertise to bag their groceries? Do computerized voices freak them out?
We’re hardly the last place to get U-Scan technology, and stores across the country have had some difficulty getting customers to adapt to the automated checkout. While I may not understand people’s hesitation, I completely support it. There is a limited number of U-Scans, and I don’t want all those people clogging them up.
But the U-Scan experience does come with a price, and that price is guilt. My wife works in the grocery industry, and she tempers my excitement by saying, “Remember, people’s jobs are being replaced by machines.” It doesn’t stop her from joining me in the self-checkout lane, but it does make her worry.
The thought probably crosses a lot of people’s minds. Stores don’t install U-Scans because they’re cool. They do it to save money on employees. If one cashier can do the work of three or four, it can save a store thousands of dollars a year — and put people out of work.
But that’s the way progress works. Stagecoach drivers gave way to automobiles. Computers took the place of file clerks. The added efficiency makes the economy stronger and creates better jobs.
That’s what I tell myself as I blaze through the U-Scan lane. That and “When can I come back?”
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