• Zink@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 months ago

    They let me avoid human interaction if I choose, AND they’ve hurt these big retailers while showing them the value of giving people more shifts/hours?

    Spectacular success if you ask me! It would be fun to have worked on this tech and then see it helping others by failing or being sabotaged, lol. That’s not a feeling you usually expect when you launch a product.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 months ago

      They let me avoid human interaction if I choose

      Not even that, really. There’s always a cashier or two who needs to hover over my shoulder to check an eye or protect against shoplifting or help with a malfunctioning device. The change is in their role. Cashiers are no longer helpfully bagging your groceries, they’re just functioning as underpaid rent-a-cops.

      It would be fun to have worked on this tech and then see it helping others by failing or being sabotaged, lol.

      The original check-out lanes were already incredibly efficient. Self-checkout is comparatively clunky and time-consuming, which is why you’re encouraged to use lanes for more than 15 items.

      I wouldn’t call it particularly helpful, even from a labor standpoint. Everyone is functionally more miserable than they were ten years ago. What we’ve got with this technology is a sunk cost that businesses are loathe to write off as a failure.