this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
164 points (97.7% liked)

Canada

7230 readers
745 users here now

What's going on Canada?

Related Communities

🍁 Meta

🗺️ Provinces / Territories

🏙️ Cities / Local Communities

Sorted alphabetically by city name.

🏒 SportsHockey

Football (NFL): incomplete

Football (CFL): incomplete

Baseball

Basketball

Soccer

💻 Schools / Universities

Sorted by province, then by total full-time enrolment.

💵 Finance, Shopping, Sales

🗣️ Politics

🍁 Social / Culture

Rules

Reminder that the rules for lemmy.ca also apply here. See the sidebar on the homepage: lemmy.ca

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
164
Shoppers upset over lack of cashiers as self-checkout use soars | CBC News (www.cbc.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
119 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

On the flip side, the only reason you have to go through the check out process at all is because you accepted the job as warehouse worker and picked the items off the shelf yourself. Historically, business would have someone do that work for you too.

Imagine the things you could do while the employee is in the back pulling the items you need. What is it about working in a warehouse that you like, that you don't like about being a cashier?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

oh man. I miss service merchandise so much. It was way ahead of its time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yeah, absolutely. I don't subscribe to this "free work" analogy for me doing something for myself, just wanted to highlight that for some people in some situations, there is more value in using the cashier even if it takes longer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Sure, but the question asks what value a cashier brings that a picker doesn't bring?

Perhaps the value is in simply not having to accept change? All of us here likely grew up when walking in the warehouse was already commonplace. While there are still some stores out there that keep the warehouse off-limits to the customer, it's not a common practice anymore. If we were, instead, in the transition towards pushing the warehouse work off onto the customer, rather than the cashier work, maybe we'd be hearing the same thing?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Sure, but the question asks what value a cashier brings that a picker doesn’t bring?

I can't think of any. But I don't see how that changes anything.

Imagine the things you could do while the employee is in the back pulling the items you need.

I don't have to imagine, I'm a happy customer of grocery delivery so I make use of warehouse pickers too.

In any case, the main point is that for some people in some situations, there is more value in using the cashier even if it takes longer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But I don’t see how that changes anything.

It changes my understanding. If I can't learn from discussion, what's the point?

for some people in some situations, there is more value in using the cashier even if it takes longer.

Right, but what's the value which isn't also found in the picker? If you want to sit back and relax while the work gets done, as posited earlier, why is that not true for the entire process?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Right, but what’s the value which isn’t also found in the picker?

I can't think of any. Again.

If you want to sit back and relax while the work gets done, as posited earlier, why is that not true for the entire process?

I'm not saying it's not true. If the local supermarket decides to provide that service at no extra cost, I'll use it. And even when it's not free, sometimes I use it (grocery delivery).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I can’t think of any. Again.

But, again, I ask... It doesn't have to come from you. This service is a multi-user system.

If the local supermarket decides to provide that service at no extra cost, I’ll use it.

Even if the experience is worse?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Even if the experience is worse?

It depends. Worse in what way? I'm sure there would be scenarios that it would work out fine.