Today, a new item joins Mark's list of things he hates and doesn't understand the point of (but may just hate because he's a klutz and can't work out how to use them properly).
There's a self-service Tesco's just down the road from us, and while not the nearest supermarket (there are two nearer Tesco's and two nearer Sainsbury's, not that competition is fierce or anything), I occasionally go there and every now and again for novelty I queue up for the self-service aisles because, you know, you get to serve yourself, in a supermarket! And then you remember that self-service in supermarkets is the dumbest idea in a long period of time. You put your basket down, press a button, take an item out, swipe it, faff around for a shopping bag, put it in the shopping bag, then get another item, swipe it, swipe it again because it doesn't work, swipe it again, look around embarrassingly at everyone queuing behind you, swipe it a fourth time, put in the shopping bag, get out another item... and then eventually you get to paid, and you have to fiddle around for your wallet, play around with money (or your card) and then stick it in the machine, take your receipt, find your wallet, put it away, and then try and leave before the person queuing up behind you gets impatient and starts giving you the 'I went for drinks after work because the boss called them and I really want that trip to France and he spent all evening talking to Susan and didn't even buy a round and now I'm really hungry and have forty minutes on the Northern Line before I'm home' look. Self-service tills equals not really that sensible. It strikes me as an idea dreamt up by people who get other people to shop for them, or whose shopping consists of picking up a bottle of wine, something in a plastic container with a polythene cover and a box of mars bar ice-cream every evening.
My new policy, from now on is to give my shopping basket to the helpful people who are professionally trained in how to handle these sorts of things and let them deal with it.
I have never had any problems and every scans first time. Wahahahahahahaha! In. Your. Face.
I have never had any problems and everything scans first time. Wahahahahahahaha! In. Your. Face.
I don't know about Tesco, but at the Co-op they are very useful if you're buying a small number of items (say, one). Also on your reciept it says things like "You were served by Hermione Granger".
That's not a receipt, that's an extract from the new book. "And Hermoine wakes up to find it's all a dream, she never did go to Hogwarts, instead she took drugs and got pregnant at 15, and now she works in Co-op".
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Benjamin
It works fine for me - only problem I have is how the machine gets very pinickety about the "bagging area" - I normally put stuff in my rucksack and it doesn't like me doing that.
Maybe my 3 months working as a checkout assistant makes me more of a natural though.