I’ve heard lots of people complain about the new self service checkouts at supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, but personally I love them. They make shopping much quicker and easier, which is what we all want. they have their problems, but I think the system has already improved since it was first introduced (maybe just because I’ve got more used to using the system).

Yes, self service checkouts are a great way for the supermarkets to save money, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If used properly, the checkouts can make the whole shopping process quicker, but they can be very frustrating at times. For example, they are really only useful if you have a small shop because of the tiny baggage area that all the items have to be placed. If you’ve been on a big shop then it’s probably best not to use a self service checkout. For small shops though they really speed things up.

A confusing thing about the checkouts is that you have to put everything onto the scales. If you don’t have everything on the scales, then the computer will put up an error and you’ll need to be helped by an assistant. From my experience, the assistants are well trained and will deal with any problems quickly, so this isn’t usually a major concern. It can be annoying that you have to get permission to buy things like paracetomol, but that’s an unavoidable side effect of not being served by a real person.

Overall, I think the self service checkouts are a great idea and work really well once you get the hand of them. They do take a bit of getting used to(my parents still aren’t able to use them properly, even though all the instructions are clearly displayed on the screen), but after a few times they become second nature. If you have a small shop, make sure you try them out if you haven’t already. You’ll be surprised at how convenient they can be.