[frosted-flakes]

HD has really good self checkouts though. They don't require any interaction with the touch screen except hitting "Done", nor do they have over-sensitive anti-theft scale systems.

It's just a wireless barcode scanner on a table with a receipt printer and a payment terminal. The screen shows everything you've scanned with pictures! and legible product descriptions, which makes it really easy to make sure you scanned everything correctly.

[seany]

When they were first rolled out you had to weigh everything or get a person to come over _per item_ ... It was total Insanity.

[UltraSane]

Target and Aldi don't use a scale. Costco does, but I bet it works better for Costco because they carry much less items so weights are more unique?

HyVee actually removed all self-checkouts. This sucks because they had awesome self-checkouts with conveyor belts.

[kube-system]

I bet it works better for Costco because they don't stock any items with weights low enough not to be registered by the scale.

Also, the last time I went to my local Costco, you were no longer permitted to check yourself out at the self-checkouts. They didn't remove them, but they had started using them as cashier-staffed checkouts.

[UltraSane]

Mine still lets you scan your own items. I bet they only have employees scan items at stores with higher loss rates.

[kotaKat]

That was the old NCR Fastlane implementation, done wrong. They left the item security feature enabled and left the bag scales turned on. This also happened at IKEA US (which lead to them being pulled out for a long while).

A lot of retailers have dumped NCR and gone in-house for their self checkout software packages now and made it so much better. Home Depot took their custom point-of-sale and built their own self checkout frontend on top of it to allow all checkout lanes to “convert” to self checkout.

Target also did the same, dumping NCR’s software and rolling in-house software on top of the hardware to make it Not Suck.

[slipperydippery]

They do indeed often have zero ordinary cashiers.

... except at the "PRO" checkouts. Which are actually just ordinary check-out lanes. Anybody can go through them. The signs mean nothing whatsoever.

I never go through their self-checkouts unless I've only got one or two pre-packaged items. I usually park on the "PRO" side, enter through those doors, check out on that side, and leave through those doors.