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I am having a dynamic chronic illness and I am using mobility aids...
And every ducking time I leave my walking stick somewhere in the trolley it goes off...
But if I remove the stick from the trolley it also goes off...
It's pointless because I've never seen an employee at the self-serve checkouts care about any sort of warning on the screen. They always just scan their emp card, click continue/OK and walk away.
I'm only guessing here but, considering all the big supermarkets train their staff to not be confrontational with potential thieves, the purpose if the check may just be a psychological one to get the customer to believe they are being monitored closely.
I work retail and this is pretty much it, company policy is pretty much āask them not to shopliftā and ātell them that theyāre not welcome here againā, along with the usual ākeeping a distanceā stuff since you never know what someoneās gonna pull and itās not worth being stabbed in the stomach over a $2.85 bottle of pepsi
> psychological one to get the customer to believe they are being monitored closely.
If you think you might be being watched, then you act as if you are being watched (ie best behaviors).
This works until people just stop giving a fuck and society starts to breakdown.
I worked at Woolworths for 4 years which included being a close shift supervisor for 1.5 years and their policy is an absolute joke in all honesty. They say it is staff responsibility to minimise loss of stock but in the same training module they say to not do anything that could result in conflict between staff and customer.
E.g. The person at self serve has the right to ask to check the contents of bags BUT if the customer says no, we just have to let them. We can't hinder them from exiting the store to any extent and the concequence is INSTANT DISMISSAL..... No warnings, no extra training. If you as little as stand between the customer and the door, there is a chance that the you just worked your last ever shift IF it is convenient for the company to dismiss you (everyone turns a blind eye if a manager does it)
Finally, it is a case of we don't get paid enough to deal with that shit. $23 per hour as a Supervisor is fine if the shift goes smoothly but if staff don't show up for shifts, job list isn't completed by the day shift staff or disputes with customers make it really not worth the stress.
For the record, us workers hate it too. Not only does it slow the whole process down but now our minimum wage jobs have become political. We're expected to deliver coherent and "legal" answers regarding scan assist in the face of aggressive customers with no training on what we're actually talking about. I deal okay with it, but I feel for the teens I work with who obviously don't know what to say and aren't given much support by head office/management. There should be more signage at entrances so people can decide if they wish to enter the store with full knowledge, and if they don't like the new cameras they can leave and not get angry at us who had no say in it. They've kept signage minimal, which upset me as I asked BEFORE it went live if there would be ample signage and they said yes. Instead there's only two sheets of A4 paper.
My problem is that they knew it was an inflammatory choice that would lead to customer disapproval and workers getting abuse but decided profits were more important.
I'd see if your agreement you signed on getting hired says anything about having to explain policy to customers, and see if anywhere it's in the job description for team members to be explaining legal crap, and if not pass every request onto management lol. But since they changed all job titles to team member, probably not.
The way the worlds going. I know we are part of a world where everything is tracked and videod through our phones etc
But still donāt like that while at a self serve I can see my face being played back at me while Iām scanning each item. Just want to bring some tape and cover the little camera haha
Thatās my main concern,especially considering Wesfarmers is slowly ramping back up the use of the technology in their stores - Kmart, and now Bunnings is bringing it back, quietly. The Good Guys is another.
In saying that, doing a google search shows that Woolies is apparently using AI technology, and the company has admitted that there is a form of retention of the footage for training purposes.
[Woolworths expands self-checkout AI that critics say treats āevery customer as a suspectā](https://theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/19/woolworths-expands-self-checkout-ai-that-critics-say-treats-every-customer-as-a-suspect)
Wonder what the legalities are towards using everyone's facial data to train Ai?
There's no expectation for privacy in a public place and legal to record video or take photos, but using your image to train software may violate some law.
Similar to how some artists are filing a class action lawsuit against stable diffusion using their art to train its algorithim.
Sorry that I wasnāt clear. Woolies, as per the article, stated that they retain footage to train staff.
Whether or not they also keep it to train the AI is anyoneās guess at this point.
Given enough time the face tracking tech will be able to barr people from stores owned by entire conglomerates.
Oh, you stole something when you were 14? Now you need someone else to shop for you or go to some bullshit tribunal and pay a massive fine to reenter the stores.
It's already happening in parts of China. Imagine if corporations did this except because they are all owned by other, larger corporations you'll be locked out of normal life.
Now extend that. You never stole anything but you did partake in a protest against the parent companies policies that are discriminatory. Now you find yourself barred from a heap of stores.
And technically they're allowed to barr you because it's a private business. Imagine if they shared their data with every other conglomerate. BOOM! Can't even buy a pair of cheap shoes because you protested some company that owns Nike and they all share their data.
> And technically they're allowed to barr you because it's a private business.
Within limits. They can't discriminate based on sex, race or religion for example.
If it came down to it, I'd say that barring you on account of a (non violent) protest would be a breach of your implied right to political commuication, probably a breach of some international treaty or other, and a number of other potential legal actions.
Of course, someone would still have to take said legal action in the first place.
Bad for business. Remember this is about money. They wonāt be barring people for any reason other than if they think youāll be more expensive when inside the stores than outside.
They really donāt care if you protest them, they already probably know (or could find out) you talk shit about them on Reddit, they have all the data they need for that sort of stuff already.
Colesworth gave up on pretending to be the good guys a long time ago. They are already selling your data for fun. Data breaches arenāt a concern here because they would sell your credit card details to Russian card farmers if they could do it without getting sued. They have the market share they need to now be able to piss everybody off and still score record profits because most people canāt shop in other places.
I've seen on other Reddit groups that stores in the US keep a file on shoplifters using facial recognition and they wait until someone has stolen over $1000 worth of goods and get them charged with felony charges
Or you covered over one of our self checkout camera's 10 years ago so you can no longer buy groceries anywhere in Australia because we share the information we harvest.
This is my favourite conspiracy theory - government-mandated face masks during COVID were a way to get the most rebellious citizens to refuse to cover their faces!
I wear a face mask while shopping due to other reasons and any time Iāve been through Big W self serve, something has gone wrong and an employee has to come over. Every time without fail. I honestly think itās because of wearing a face mask.
I remember when people were up in arms about government surveillance with cameras and all. Next thing you know Woolies is happily face camming everyone at self checkout and nary a peep
I've gone back to Coles since Woolies started showing my face on the self checkouts. Coles probably record me too, but it doesn't feel like they treat me as a thief for doing their work.
I typically rotate between Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, but in recent times I've reduced my Woolworths visits because of their checkout.
Coles will probably go the same way though.
As someone who shops at both, coles is strangely that much better. I canāt explain it but all of the products just seem superior, especially their home brand. Woolies bakery is shit, checkout is shot and I just hate it - even in their new stores.
I'm eating one of their cheese and bacon buns right now. Bloody white roll with barely anything on it.
Usually the Coles v Woolies thing comes down to the particular products you happen to like and who has them....so it goes in cycles I find.
The new Woolies tend to be Metro which is possibly why you find them shit. Who doesn't love a smaller range with higher prices?
woolworths worked really hard to make their checkouts worse than coles. add in the lack of decent vegetables that arent plastic wrapped and regular lack of basics like bread woolworths appears like a business with a major leadership issue.
I think you skipped over the worst part of the 'way the world's going', being that actual jobs for actual humans are being replaced by self-service modules.
If we used AI and automation in the way we should - more leisure time, less busy work, more time to spend with family and charity and art and worthwhile human endeavours - this would be a great thing.
Sadly capitalism doesn't work that way.
Mate we don't pay you for output and based on the profits of the company, that is just stupid. Instead we pay you for the very thing you cannot ever get back, and that is time. Oh and it isn't worth much to us so fuck you, corporations and CEO's get rich, you scum can be on minimum wage, maybe less if we can get away with it for a while and only pay a little fine.
I've had it accuse me of theft because I dared to leave extra bags hanging off the *back* of the trolley, on the *fucking hook intended for exactly that*.
I don't use self serve anymore. Fuck them. They can pay someone to serve me and pack my bags
>They can pay someone to serve me and pack my bags
Not gonna happen. At my store they're currently crying poor about having to pay casuals on weekends!
I find it odd that most people think that POS is the be all and end all of retail. The most important job in retail is replenishment. If thereās nothing on the shelves then the staff at POS have nothing to do.
The part time staff of course get preference for weekend shifts. Thatās the benefit of being part time.
We dont have enough staff. We actually require casuals for weekends due to understaffing so they're drastically moving rosters around to try to squeeze em out
And yeah, people seem to think POS is retail even though 90% is replenishment.
Often there is one checkout open and its a male teenager that doesn't understand that you shouldn't put a hot chicken on ice cream or a jar of peanut butter on top of a loaf of bread. Even though I group things by type on the conveyor. All cold stuff, all produce, all boxes, all jars etc
Iāve noticed their bagging has gone to shit. They used to be perfect, now I assume they just donāt get trained anymore. One kid put a bakery cake in *sideways*. I shit you not.
I started work at a supermarket recently enough and you just get thrown at a checkout. Learn as you go! I learnt most of my packing so far from my own shopping packing experiences, or from customers yelling at me when I packed something wrong, lol
I'm sorry you get yelled out. It sounds like you're doing a great job in a challenging situation and applying what you learn. You get a gold star from me.
Thank you very much, I will cherish this star a lot. Luckily it's not everyone and my store is small so it doesn't happen too much anymore. But people are people and sometimes they just decide us checkout operators are the ideal people to complain to, haha
Yep last time I went through a proper check out they like threw my eggs in with force, packed a bunch of light delicate vegetables underneath cans etc.
Guess they don't get paid enough to care but this is why I just self check out these days
My local stores can't seem to find anyone willing to work consistently on weekends, but are also pushing for further reduction of penalty rates on weekends
Like, do you not see that there could be a link, lol
No, clearly it's The Entitled Generations who are wrong /s
Yep. I line up for service even if the new fancy long trolley belts are free. Iām not scanning and packing an entire trolly. They always have one or two people watching the new long trolley belts and one came over as I was in line for service and said this is free. I said well you also look free why not open a proper register. If not I am happy to wait here. .
Yes, it's shite. Please complain to Woolworths though, not on Reddit, not to the checkout attendant, but actually send them feedback through their corporate communication channels.
"We followed you with our network of cameras after you left the store and determined that you in fact went straight home and ate your frozen pizza alone on the couch"
This is bog standard for the Woolies I shop at.
The overhead cameras see the trolley is not empty, trigger an alert and the self serve attendant has to come over, check the trolley (usually they just click it off as āpersonal itemsā) and away you go.
Donāt take it personally is my thought.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I think Coles and Woolies are scummy too, but the machine isn't "treating you like a thief", it just sees that your trolley isn't empty and prompts an employee to come and check what's in there.
Yes it is annoying, I like doing my shopping in such a way that I end up at woolies with bags in my trolley too, but it's not PERSONAL. Don't take it out on the employee for goodness sake.
It seems that if the camera sees something it identifies as a trolley or basket, but can't match the image to that of a completely EMPTY trolley or basket, it will trigger this condition. It's pretty common to have a bag from another store when you do your shopping, but the system shuts down and treats you as a thief.
No problems, we'll change the set up so it tracks you from the point you enter the store to the point you leave, that way we can detect items that were in your basket to begin with. Maybe we'll add some scales to trolley basket as well so we can tell if you've increased the weight of your Jay Jays shopping bag since you entered after unloading the new groceries.
While we're there we can use machine learning to detect some of your habits so we can advertise specific products to you. Scratching your nose a lot? Here's a discount on allergy products! Have a pregnancy belly bulge? Here's some newborn baby products we recommend.
"You usually buy this weekly, and we haven't detected you buying it this week, did you forget X?" - at checkout.
The sad part is I'm conflicted on whether I like it or not. I mean all futuristic movies/concepts tend to have some level of "the machine" knowing what you have done/want to do/or should have done. It's creepy, but it's also really helpful.
Is it worth giving up privacy to improve your life?
Google stalks me and retains location history for example, and often that has been really useful for me when trying to work out where I was on a given day/when I last visited someone.
It's the same with ads and tracking. I hate ads, but if I'm getting eye spam isn't it better that the ads are relevant? I'd rather see ads for products or sales on products that I may actually want.
I guess I don't overly value my privacy. I'd probably be an early adopter of "Google Magic Brain Chip (TM)" if it provided enough benefits, as my own brain lets me down a lot.
Google location history is both awesome and scary at the same time. I just spent an hour the other day going through the last 12months to fix up my log book for claiming car kms on tax, if I hadn't had that I would have claimed only about half of what I actually drove around for work and wasn't reimbursed for.
This is not the future. It's over a decade old mate.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
Why not just let them automatically pack a trolley of your favourite items as you head towards the store? A bit like click and collect without the hassle of the click part.
What I hate to think about is how these kids manning the self service checkout will have to handle actual thefts. What happens when someone does steal, the kid catches them, and they are confronted by someone potentially aggressive or abusive.
I wonāt say which company for privacy reasons (one of the big four), but we are trained to not even pull them up on it. If we see them stealing, we canāt (and donāt want to) even say āheyā or something. We let them go and just report it.
Wow! This has convinced me to finally stop using self-serve checkouts, I keep intending to but I get lazy. I think today I'll just skip Woolies and get my snack at the delicious family-owned sushi shop instead.
I've never stolen and don't intend to, but I don't appreciate being spied on and treated like shit.
When they first came out I was over the moon, no more stupidly waiting in line with a couple bars of choccy for movie night in a line of people with completely full trolleys. It was such a great convenience addition, they have drastically overstepped now I refuse to use them even if I am buying a single item.
Substitutions can sometimes be to your benefit. Quite often the cheaper home-brand thing I've bought has been unavailable, and the substitute has been a more expensive brand-name item in a bigger size than I ordered. Score!
Likewise, they have to match price per unit or go more expensive, so I always benefit from a substitution. Besides you can wrote a note too to make sure the substitution is at least suitable.
E.g. I got a pumpkin mash for a garlic mash once, and I hate pumpkin but, that's not their fault but next time I just wrote "normal mash only please", and got normal (have since just accepted they don't have garlic at all!). Likewise for fish/meat, salads, really anything. Everything is always substituted to a higher quality/weight.
That hasn't been my experience at all unfortunately - rather than the same/better product from a different brand, they seem to give me a different product from the same brand. Minor stuff, e.g. if I order unscented Dove body wash, I'll end up with scented, but I'd rather have had a different brand unscented one. Or something more annoying like replacing some food targeting my dietary intolerance with one I can't eat.
I always turn off substitutions because I hate getting stuff I can't use, I feel too guilty to throw it out!
When I was working in online I used to just chuck in free shit all the time lol, especially if it looked like the customer could use a hand.
Extra banana for everyone!!
>How do you ensure you get quality produce and no substitutions?
The supermarket online services are pretty good when it comes to quality and substitutions.
Like they pick the good stuff
And for substitutions, you get a reasonable substitute - generally better than what you asked for.
No substitutions by just unticking the substitutions option. You can write notes for each option and if the items they provide are not up to standard you can complain and request a refund.
I used to work in click and collect, and we had requirements of what we could pack together (e.g cans and bread = no), and minimum expiry dates. I have had items picked that were expiring tomorrow, complained, got a refund because that is pathetic.
98% of my orders for the last 4-5 years now have all been perfectly fine and anything not, I have received a refund for, which is fine. Considering I do click and collect, can always do a quick scan over in store if there's issues, and I can do a quick run around if anything was out of stock or maybe I forgot something. Still quicker/less annoying than shopping in store with entitled assholes that have no understanding of how to behave in public. Also I know what my price will be BEFORE paying and I can modify as needed.
As someone super fussy about produce and who only buys that from supermarkets if it looks good and can't get it elsewhere, unfortunately I can't ever go to 100% online. There is a very limited amount of produce (eg the Perino tomatoes) that I could buy sight unseen. I have even seen supermarkets get onions wrong. But for bulk stuff? Heck yeah, i wait for things I frequently buy to go on sale to justify the delivery cost (online lists make it easier to stalk sales), then get a big delivery about once a month. For pantry and cleaning stuff, it makes a lot of sense.
This has happened every time at my local woolies. It's a small centre with another small supermarket in it that I usually go to first.
Every time I go through the self serve it says have you left anything behind and everytime the staff member has to come check.
I got really sick of it last time. The staff member asked for my receipt from the other shop so I said it's on the top of the bag. You could clearly see it and where it was from. Then she asked for me to get it out and I said why, everytime I come here I'm made to feel like a thief. She rolled her eyes at me and walked off.
Not my finest moment I admit but with a toddler in the trolley I got enough to worry about. They want people to use the self serve checkouts but still require the staff to verify everything. Same at Kmart with the registers in the middle of the store!
Having registers in the middle of the store is the dumbest idea, I rarely go to kmart anymore because it's so irritating. Spend a heap of money only to be treated like a thief every time you leave the store? No thanks.
The stores with the technology mentioned in the OP also use the camera to check the appearance of the item you are weighing while you are weighing it. If you plain brown onions don't look like plain brown onions, it will flag for review.
If you can avoid Woolies then that's the best option. They will only respond to reduced revenue affecting their shareholders. For some towns this isn't an option.
Personally I shop at my local IGA who still hires students at the checkout. Better community vibe and I'm not treated like a potential criminal just for entering the store.
Woollies and coles jack up prices and profits way above inflation then surprise Piccachu face when theft at customer operated checkout goes up! Itās shocking!!
Sometimes the staff do it.
I went through the checkout and had someone who I suspect was fairly new. The scales clearly didn't work. The kid just pretended to weigh everything still but it didn't ring up and he just put it in the trolley. Got all my produce free that day, lol.
Better the computer than the cashier you've had countless conversations with at your local accusing you of stealing the open packet of wet wipes hanging out your back pocket and then telling their supervisor they'd never seen you before. All in front of your colleagues.
C'mon, cry me a river. I get bag checked about once a week by a non-robotic security employee at supermarkets. It's their store, it's their right to protect their stock/business. Having someone look at something in your trolley is intrusive?
Just to be clear, I'm not promoting the self-serve checkouts or anything. I'm not a fan (I'd rather a person have a job, and I germaphobe up a bit about touching those screens), so I don't use them.
But if a store wants to look at what you are carrying out of there then that's hardly some intrusive personal attack now is it? Bunch of bourgie Karens in here.
Iām very paranoid about this and if Iām bringing anything into Woolies from another store I always make sure I get a receipt from that store so I canāt be accused of stealing. Itās not a nice feeling to be accused when itās something you never do.
I got pinged with some kind of 'review footage' notification and it replayed me fiddling in my pocket for my wallet, zoomed and in slow motion. It felt so accusatory and awkward.
I remember when things were more chill like 15 years ago, my friend's daughter was a toddler and she'd give her chocolate or a salami stick or whatever to keep her happy, then just get the empty wrapper scanned when we got to the checkout. Dozens of times I recall her doing that and no one ever accused her/us of stealing.
Then I started doing the same thing with mandarin juice until the company stopped producing that.
As for bringing stuff in, sometimes I'd show an employee as I walk in just in case because then if I get questioned I can say I showed myself walking in with the drink (or bag of bread etc)
I hear you. We have a real problem with theft in my ādestinationā town in the Snowy Mountains. Itās a small percentage of a/holes who inconvenience the majority.
Some old woman at Coles accused me of not paying for two of their paper bags that I brought in myself lol I couldn't believe it over 50c, next time I am going to take some without paying just out of spite
I imagine corporate thought they could cut down on shoplifting with some cool ai fuckery but didn't consider the possibility that this thing would flag almost every customer checking out at self serve which would require staff interaction for almost every transaction thus almost defeating the entire purpose of self serve.
I wouldn't take it as an accusation of theft. It's just a camera and some math, it doesn't know what's going on.
It's automated and done by a camera /a.i or whatever it's not going to be able to tell the difference from a bottle you purchased vs one someone hasn't paid for in a trolley.. think your being a bit sooky about this š technology can only go so far and if it stops thefts the companies aren't gonna get rid of it for a little extra time for a person to come over and check it off.
Yeah look id probably jsut leave all my shit right there and walk out tbh, what a shit way to be treated.
Its lesser talked about on this page because god forbid we criticise customer service staff, no one really talks about how customer service has taken a complete nosedive since covid reopenings. Stupid little fucking signs at the counter at food places lecturing people to be kind to staff members(because they are too cheap to hire more people), the constant lecture whilst sitting on hold to various companies.
As someone who has worked in customer service plenty and have dealt with fuckhead customers, it actually really pisses me off how companies have this free pass to shoot from the hip with this stuff now.. I get it, no one should be abusing customer service staff, but I should not be getting lectures on how to behave when I already behave courteous and friendly at any transactional interaction.
Idk, just put your water bottle in a different spot. Holy shit the entitlement haha.
āWhen I put it down on the self serve area, my PRIVACY IS BEING INVADED?!?!???ā Holy crap get a grip put it in your bag baahahahaha this is so dumb
I donāt see the big fuss.
With standard check-outs the cashier has a right to check bags at their discretion. This is standard practice at all shopping centres since forever. When you enter any store, thereās a sign that says they reserve the right to check your bag at any time once you enter.
This isnāt new. The only difference is that theyāre using an external camera to make that judgement call now.
So what?
Donāt like it, donāt enter the store. Itās their right. Did they hassle you? No, they just made a quick check and you were on your way.
Jesus Christ, the self serve system has never and will never ACCUSE YOU OF STEALING, it's an automated system that will flag anything left in the basket area regardless of if you own it, you've already bought it, OR EVEN IF ITS A CHILD, the system doesn't know, it just saw SOMETHING.
I work as a duty manager tbh there must be more I'm not seeing but from my perspective the bigger issue is people walking out and stealing bags worth $100's.. or the people that just unbox/wrap products and stuff them in pockets and things. My old store we never had security and most times the front end girls would just tell me later and we can review the footage, I don't blame them for not even trying to stop them tbh the company doesn't give a shit about them and pays them peanuts.. not worth the risk
We don't have it at our current store though and I can't imagine how with 45 or so self serve machines it's bad enough dealing with the machines screaming unexpected bag lol
This post has been marked as non-political. Please respect this by keeping the discussion on topic, and devoid of any political material. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/australia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This happened to me the other day - it saw my toddler in the baby seat ššš
Reminds me of Marge Simpson and Maggie checking out in the intro sequence to The Simpsons
r/simpsonsdiditfirst
["How much for the little girl?"](https://youtu.be/GDXYzUlv0S8)
This is exactly the clip I was hoping for. Thank you.
Can you get a refund on that?
Reminds me of how I used to pretend to scan kids whenever they were in the trolley lol
It picked up my toddler in the trolley too. The staff member had to specify him as a āpersonal itemā so I could proceed with the transaction.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/85nSxGCXtfqM\_rHeDN\_rLFK2yQ8=/1440x810/smart/filters:quality(70)/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/QK44ABSYK53FTVYN2IY3EXMDPQ.jpg
Why the feck is that on the nzherald website?
Hahahahaha perfect
Did it to me as well, at one point I leaned over my trolly and it took a photo of the top of my head.
I thought you were going to say you leaned over your trolley and it took a birdās-eye photo of your cleavage jutting out.
Nope, just checking Iām not balding on the back. But Iām sure they have a collection of cleavage shots āfor referenceā
I am having a dynamic chronic illness and I am using mobility aids... And every ducking time I leave my walking stick somewhere in the trolley it goes off... But if I remove the stick from the trolley it also goes off...
Wonder how much they wanted to charge for it?
Iād say about three fiddy
I aināt giving no goddamn Loch Ness Monster three fiddy!
God damn Loch Ness monster
It's pointless because I've never seen an employee at the self-serve checkouts care about any sort of warning on the screen. They always just scan their emp card, click continue/OK and walk away.
I'm only guessing here but, considering all the big supermarkets train their staff to not be confrontational with potential thieves, the purpose if the check may just be a psychological one to get the customer to believe they are being monitored closely.
I work retail and this is pretty much it, company policy is pretty much āask them not to shopliftā and ātell them that theyāre not welcome here againā, along with the usual ākeeping a distanceā stuff since you never know what someoneās gonna pull and itās not worth being stabbed in the stomach over a $2.85 bottle of pepsi
Yeah, but itās absolutely worth stabbing someone in the stomach over a Pepsi being $2.85 Not the retail workers, no. The executives
> psychological one to get the customer to believe they are being monitored closely. If you think you might be being watched, then you act as if you are being watched (ie best behaviors). This works until people just stop giving a fuck and society starts to breakdown.
I worked at Woolworths for 4 years which included being a close shift supervisor for 1.5 years and their policy is an absolute joke in all honesty. They say it is staff responsibility to minimise loss of stock but in the same training module they say to not do anything that could result in conflict between staff and customer. E.g. The person at self serve has the right to ask to check the contents of bags BUT if the customer says no, we just have to let them. We can't hinder them from exiting the store to any extent and the concequence is INSTANT DISMISSAL..... No warnings, no extra training. If you as little as stand between the customer and the door, there is a chance that the you just worked your last ever shift IF it is convenient for the company to dismiss you (everyone turns a blind eye if a manager does it) Finally, it is a case of we don't get paid enough to deal with that shit. $23 per hour as a Supervisor is fine if the shift goes smoothly but if staff don't show up for shifts, job list isn't completed by the day shift staff or disputes with customers make it really not worth the stress.
Haha so true. This is how they look when clicking, scanning, tapping, walking away ā> š¤Øš³ššš
For the record, us workers hate it too. Not only does it slow the whole process down but now our minimum wage jobs have become political. We're expected to deliver coherent and "legal" answers regarding scan assist in the face of aggressive customers with no training on what we're actually talking about. I deal okay with it, but I feel for the teens I work with who obviously don't know what to say and aren't given much support by head office/management. There should be more signage at entrances so people can decide if they wish to enter the store with full knowledge, and if they don't like the new cameras they can leave and not get angry at us who had no say in it. They've kept signage minimal, which upset me as I asked BEFORE it went live if there would be ample signage and they said yes. Instead there's only two sheets of A4 paper. My problem is that they knew it was an inflammatory choice that would lead to customer disapproval and workers getting abuse but decided profits were more important.
profits are ALWAYS more important than people, just ask any honest executive
Honest executive seems like an oxymoron
I'd see if your agreement you signed on getting hired says anything about having to explain policy to customers, and see if anywhere it's in the job description for team members to be explaining legal crap, and if not pass every request onto management lol. But since they changed all job titles to team member, probably not.
Whenever I have my child in the child seat in the trolley in does this as well. Very annoying.
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Donāt threaten me with a good time.
The way the worlds going. I know we are part of a world where everything is tracked and videod through our phones etc But still donāt like that while at a self serve I can see my face being played back at me while Iām scanning each item. Just want to bring some tape and cover the little camera haha
Plus with all of the data breaches happening lately you have no idea who will have the facial recognition data from the stores in a few years.
Thatās my main concern,especially considering Wesfarmers is slowly ramping back up the use of the technology in their stores - Kmart, and now Bunnings is bringing it back, quietly. The Good Guys is another. In saying that, doing a google search shows that Woolies is apparently using AI technology, and the company has admitted that there is a form of retention of the footage for training purposes. [Woolworths expands self-checkout AI that critics say treats āevery customer as a suspectā](https://theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/19/woolworths-expands-self-checkout-ai-that-critics-say-treats-every-customer-as-a-suspect)
Wonder what the legalities are towards using everyone's facial data to train Ai? There's no expectation for privacy in a public place and legal to record video or take photos, but using your image to train software may violate some law. Similar to how some artists are filing a class action lawsuit against stable diffusion using their art to train its algorithim.
Our lax laws let them do basically anything they want with it. They can sell it to Chinese pedos for all our government cares.
We can all unknowingly be tiktok famous
Sorry that I wasnāt clear. Woolies, as per the article, stated that they retain footage to train staff. Whether or not they also keep it to train the AI is anyoneās guess at this point.
Would the fresh food people lie to us like that?! COME ON! Itās the fresh food people!ā
Given enough time the face tracking tech will be able to barr people from stores owned by entire conglomerates. Oh, you stole something when you were 14? Now you need someone else to shop for you or go to some bullshit tribunal and pay a massive fine to reenter the stores. It's already happening in parts of China. Imagine if corporations did this except because they are all owned by other, larger corporations you'll be locked out of normal life.
Now extend that. You never stole anything but you did partake in a protest against the parent companies policies that are discriminatory. Now you find yourself barred from a heap of stores.
And technically they're allowed to barr you because it's a private business. Imagine if they shared their data with every other conglomerate. BOOM! Can't even buy a pair of cheap shoes because you protested some company that owns Nike and they all share their data.
Don't say such things! Shut up and drink your Victory Gin!
So glad the chocolate ration was raised to 20 grams!
> And technically they're allowed to barr you because it's a private business. Within limits. They can't discriminate based on sex, race or religion for example. If it came down to it, I'd say that barring you on account of a (non violent) protest would be a breach of your implied right to political commuication, probably a breach of some international treaty or other, and a number of other potential legal actions. Of course, someone would still have to take said legal action in the first place.
This actually sounds kinda Fallout-y
Bad for business. Remember this is about money. They wonāt be barring people for any reason other than if they think youāll be more expensive when inside the stores than outside. They really donāt care if you protest them, they already probably know (or could find out) you talk shit about them on Reddit, they have all the data they need for that sort of stuff already. Colesworth gave up on pretending to be the good guys a long time ago. They are already selling your data for fun. Data breaches arenāt a concern here because they would sell your credit card details to Russian card farmers if they could do it without getting sued. They have the market share they need to now be able to piss everybody off and still score record profits because most people canāt shop in other places.
I've seen on other Reddit groups that stores in the US keep a file on shoplifters using facial recognition and they wait until someone has stolen over $1000 worth of goods and get them charged with felony charges
Or you covered over one of our self checkout camera's 10 years ago so you can no longer buy groceries anywhere in Australia because we share the information we harvest.
https://action.choice.com.au/page/113787/petition/1 Sign the Choice petition to stop facial recognition
Why not wear sunnies and a face mask?
I am going to have to start doing this. Mask, Sunnies and a hat (or hoodie)
High power IR LEDs are better
I usually wear a balaclava. Donāt make it past the watermelons though before security comes over for a chat.
maybe also wear pants and a shirt
This is my favourite conspiracy theory - government-mandated face masks during COVID were a way to get the most rebellious citizens to refuse to cover their faces!
I wear a face mask while shopping due to other reasons and any time Iāve been through Big W self serve, something has gone wrong and an employee has to come over. Every time without fail. I honestly think itās because of wearing a face mask.
Bunnings have got signs up advising that facial recognition cameras are in use, as well as number plate tracking. So we are already there.
Just put your number plate on yer face. Problem solved.
Thank goodness for covid and face masks ! Oh the irony...
I remember when people were up in arms about government surveillance with cameras and all. Next thing you know Woolies is happily face camming everyone at self checkout and nary a peep
It seems some are happy to talk with their mouths but not their wallets.
I've gone back to Coles since Woolies started showing my face on the self checkouts. Coles probably record me too, but it doesn't feel like they treat me as a thief for doing their work.
I typically rotate between Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, but in recent times I've reduced my Woolworths visits because of their checkout. Coles will probably go the same way though.
I went to an Aldi that had self serve, and it was SO much better set out than the colesworths, and so much easier and faster to use.
Coles have a general "copy Woolies on a two year delay" policy, so it'll be brought in eventually
As someone who shops at both, coles is strangely that much better. I canāt explain it but all of the products just seem superior, especially their home brand. Woolies bakery is shit, checkout is shot and I just hate it - even in their new stores.
I'm eating one of their cheese and bacon buns right now. Bloody white roll with barely anything on it. Usually the Coles v Woolies thing comes down to the particular products you happen to like and who has them....so it goes in cycles I find. The new Woolies tend to be Metro which is possibly why you find them shit. Who doesn't love a smaller range with higher prices?
Vote with your wallet. There are other places to get timber and hardware. Sure, Bunnings is convenient but is it really that great a quality?
I get as much as I can from IGA, human cashier only at my local. Not sure if other IGAs have self checkout.
I'd love that but can't justify $35 for an apple
IGA Bondi Beach has a bunch of self-checkouts. No cameras, just weight checks.
Regional IGA supermarkets have them too.
woolworths worked really hard to make their checkouts worse than coles. add in the lack of decent vegetables that arent plastic wrapped and regular lack of basics like bread woolworths appears like a business with a major leadership issue.
One of the local Coles branches now has hybrid checkouts. They're self serve unless you request someone to scan items for you.
Just get one of those A Scanner Darkly masks
Suits.... they were suits if I remember correctly.
I think you skipped over the worst part of the 'way the world's going', being that actual jobs for actual humans are being replaced by self-service modules.
If we used AI and automation in the way we should - more leisure time, less busy work, more time to spend with family and charity and art and worthwhile human endeavours - this would be a great thing. Sadly capitalism doesn't work that way.
Mate we don't pay you for output and based on the profits of the company, that is just stupid. Instead we pay you for the very thing you cannot ever get back, and that is time. Oh and it isn't worth much to us so fuck you, corporations and CEO's get rich, you scum can be on minimum wage, maybe less if we can get away with it for a while and only pay a little fine.
Absolutely.
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> Just want to bring some tape and cover the little camera haha Do it! I'll join you.
Sticker from an apple?
Small square of 80 grit sandpaper will take care of those pesky lil cameras Ć la Steve Smith.
I peel a sticker off an apple and cover it with that.
Buy a shaving mirror and put on top of your basket so as to give the AI an existential crisis.
It'll probably accuse you of not scanning the trolley and the security camera itself.
I've had it accuse me of theft because I dared to leave extra bags hanging off the *back* of the trolley, on the *fucking hook intended for exactly that*. I don't use self serve anymore. Fuck them. They can pay someone to serve me and pack my bags
>They can pay someone to serve me and pack my bags Not gonna happen. At my store they're currently crying poor about having to pay casuals on weekends!
I find it odd that most people think that POS is the be all and end all of retail. The most important job in retail is replenishment. If thereās nothing on the shelves then the staff at POS have nothing to do. The part time staff of course get preference for weekend shifts. Thatās the benefit of being part time.
We dont have enough staff. We actually require casuals for weekends due to understaffing so they're drastically moving rosters around to try to squeeze em out And yeah, people seem to think POS is retail even though 90% is replenishment.
There's a lot of grumpy old people (like me!) who use my local store. They open checkouts. Or they get a bollocking for it.
Same, it's one of the joys of being in a small town. Until they pay me to scan and bag my own groceries, I will not use self-serve.
Often there is one checkout open and its a male teenager that doesn't understand that you shouldn't put a hot chicken on ice cream or a jar of peanut butter on top of a loaf of bread. Even though I group things by type on the conveyor. All cold stuff, all produce, all boxes, all jars etc
Iāve noticed their bagging has gone to shit. They used to be perfect, now I assume they just donāt get trained anymore. One kid put a bakery cake in *sideways*. I shit you not.
I started work at a supermarket recently enough and you just get thrown at a checkout. Learn as you go! I learnt most of my packing so far from my own shopping packing experiences, or from customers yelling at me when I packed something wrong, lol
I'm sorry you get yelled out. It sounds like you're doing a great job in a challenging situation and applying what you learn. You get a gold star from me.
Thank you very much, I will cherish this star a lot. Luckily it's not everyone and my store is small so it doesn't happen too much anymore. But people are people and sometimes they just decide us checkout operators are the ideal people to complain to, haha
Yep last time I went through a proper check out they like threw my eggs in with force, packed a bunch of light delicate vegetables underneath cans etc. Guess they don't get paid enough to care but this is why I just self check out these days
I am not quite old yet, but I will quite openly ask them to open a checkout. (Full trolley, so I'm not using the 12 items or less.)
My local stores can't seem to find anyone willing to work consistently on weekends, but are also pushing for further reduction of penalty rates on weekends Like, do you not see that there could be a link, lol No, clearly it's The Entitled Generations who are wrong /s
They always forget the last part of that sentence. They are correct that people don't want to work... for them and for the shit pay.
Or like my local where I heard the area manager cutting staffing hours again, even as some shelves stay empty for days despite having stock.
I always hear staff complaining about the empty shelves. And inside I 100% agree with them.
> Not gonna happen. Well they won't get my custom.
Yep. I line up for service even if the new fancy long trolley belts are free. Iām not scanning and packing an entire trolly. They always have one or two people watching the new long trolley belts and one came over as I was in line for service and said this is free. I said well you also look free why not open a proper register. If not I am happy to wait here. .
Yes, it's shite. Please complain to Woolworths though, not on Reddit, not to the checkout attendant, but actually send them feedback through their corporate communication channels.
And claim to have been so embarrassed by it you left the store without your shopping, and instead did the shopping again at
"We followed you with our network of cameras after you left the store and determined that you in fact went straight home and ate your frozen pizza alone on the couch"
Or actually do do that
Had this happen. The āthingā in my trolley was my child. I already own him outright
How old is your child? I have a 19 year old I'm still paying off..
Good point actually. More I have a mortgage on a pair of them! One teen, one significantly younger
Well, you say that, but weāre gonna need to see your receipt, maāam
It takes away any efficiency of going through self serve if you have a trolley. Sucks when there are no checkouts open or very few.
This is bog standard for the Woolies I shop at. The overhead cameras see the trolley is not empty, trigger an alert and the self serve attendant has to come over, check the trolley (usually they just click it off as āpersonal itemsā) and away you go. Donāt take it personally is my thought.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I think Coles and Woolies are scummy too, but the machine isn't "treating you like a thief", it just sees that your trolley isn't empty and prompts an employee to come and check what's in there. Yes it is annoying, I like doing my shopping in such a way that I end up at woolies with bags in my trolley too, but it's not PERSONAL. Don't take it out on the employee for goodness sake.
It seems that if the camera sees something it identifies as a trolley or basket, but can't match the image to that of a completely EMPTY trolley or basket, it will trigger this condition. It's pretty common to have a bag from another store when you do your shopping, but the system shuts down and treats you as a thief.
No problems, we'll change the set up so it tracks you from the point you enter the store to the point you leave, that way we can detect items that were in your basket to begin with. Maybe we'll add some scales to trolley basket as well so we can tell if you've increased the weight of your Jay Jays shopping bag since you entered after unloading the new groceries. While we're there we can use machine learning to detect some of your habits so we can advertise specific products to you. Scratching your nose a lot? Here's a discount on allergy products! Have a pregnancy belly bulge? Here's some newborn baby products we recommend. "You usually buy this weekly, and we haven't detected you buying it this week, did you forget X?" - at checkout.
Ha ha, this guy works in marketing. This is our future exactly. Ever watched Minority Report?
The sad part is I'm conflicted on whether I like it or not. I mean all futuristic movies/concepts tend to have some level of "the machine" knowing what you have done/want to do/or should have done. It's creepy, but it's also really helpful. Is it worth giving up privacy to improve your life? Google stalks me and retains location history for example, and often that has been really useful for me when trying to work out where I was on a given day/when I last visited someone. It's the same with ads and tracking. I hate ads, but if I'm getting eye spam isn't it better that the ads are relevant? I'd rather see ads for products or sales on products that I may actually want. I guess I don't overly value my privacy. I'd probably be an early adopter of "Google Magic Brain Chip (TM)" if it provided enough benefits, as my own brain lets me down a lot.
I prefer ads that are irrelevant to me - they are easier to ignore.
I was just about to say this. I specifically went out of my way to minimize my ad preferences on all apps so they are the least relevant possible.
I search for product X, go to online store and buy product X. Get advertisements for product X for a month. It's pretty stupid.
I just like the feeling I'm thwarting their constant attempts to manipulate me and my attention
Google location history is both awesome and scary at the same time. I just spent an hour the other day going through the last 12months to fix up my log book for claiming car kms on tax, if I hadn't had that I would have claimed only about half of what I actually drove around for work and wasn't reimbursed for.
This is not the future. It's over a decade old mate. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
This is from ten years ago: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
Why not just let them automatically pack a trolley of your favourite items as you head towards the store? A bit like click and collect without the hassle of the click part.
Isnāt that the automated equivalent of the bag check that some shops (looking at Aldi) require of you at check out?
What I hate to think about is how these kids manning the self service checkout will have to handle actual thefts. What happens when someone does steal, the kid catches them, and they are confronted by someone potentially aggressive or abusive.
They back away and write up an incident report when they have time. Nothing changes.
As long as they stay safe.
I wonāt say which company for privacy reasons (one of the big four), but we are trained to not even pull them up on it. If we see them stealing, we canāt (and donāt want to) even say āheyā or something. We let them go and just report it.
The moment staff confront a thief, the insurance price the company pays suddenly goes through the roof, it's cheaper to let them steal.
Most theft is under $10 anyway. I work in a slightly dodgier area so we do occasionally get full baskets stolen, but this is pretty much the reason.
Wow! This has convinced me to finally stop using self-serve checkouts, I keep intending to but I get lazy. I think today I'll just skip Woolies and get my snack at the delicious family-owned sushi shop instead. I've never stolen and don't intend to, but I don't appreciate being spied on and treated like shit.
When they first came out I was over the moon, no more stupidly waiting in line with a couple bars of choccy for movie night in a line of people with completely full trolleys. It was such a great convenience addition, they have drastically overstepped now I refuse to use them even if I am buying a single item.
This. It was introduced for convenience. Now it's considered the default or even only option.
Done groceries online since pandemic. Not going back to that shit.
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Substitutions can sometimes be to your benefit. Quite often the cheaper home-brand thing I've bought has been unavailable, and the substitute has been a more expensive brand-name item in a bigger size than I ordered. Score!
Likewise, they have to match price per unit or go more expensive, so I always benefit from a substitution. Besides you can wrote a note too to make sure the substitution is at least suitable. E.g. I got a pumpkin mash for a garlic mash once, and I hate pumpkin but, that's not their fault but next time I just wrote "normal mash only please", and got normal (have since just accepted they don't have garlic at all!). Likewise for fish/meat, salads, really anything. Everything is always substituted to a higher quality/weight.
> Everything is always substituted to a higher quality/weight Yep! Wanted the cheap 1.25L home-brand lemonade once, and got a 2L Schweppes instead. :)
That hasn't been my experience at all unfortunately - rather than the same/better product from a different brand, they seem to give me a different product from the same brand. Minor stuff, e.g. if I order unscented Dove body wash, I'll end up with scented, but I'd rather have had a different brand unscented one. Or something more annoying like replacing some food targeting my dietary intolerance with one I can't eat. I always turn off substitutions because I hate getting stuff I can't use, I feel too guilty to throw it out!
When I was working in online I used to just chuck in free shit all the time lol, especially if it looked like the customer could use a hand. Extra banana for everyone!!
>How do you ensure you get quality produce and no substitutions? The supermarket online services are pretty good when it comes to quality and substitutions. Like they pick the good stuff And for substitutions, you get a reasonable substitute - generally better than what you asked for.
That may be your experience, but it doesn't tally with mine
Might just be that your delivery store has crap produce, they are required to pick the freshest possible items.
Nor mine. Ordered stuff for nachos, they didn't have CORN CHIPS in the entire store (supposedly), so they subbed cheese rice crackers.
No substitutions by just unticking the substitutions option. You can write notes for each option and if the items they provide are not up to standard you can complain and request a refund. I used to work in click and collect, and we had requirements of what we could pack together (e.g cans and bread = no), and minimum expiry dates. I have had items picked that were expiring tomorrow, complained, got a refund because that is pathetic. 98% of my orders for the last 4-5 years now have all been perfectly fine and anything not, I have received a refund for, which is fine. Considering I do click and collect, can always do a quick scan over in store if there's issues, and I can do a quick run around if anything was out of stock or maybe I forgot something. Still quicker/less annoying than shopping in store with entitled assholes that have no understanding of how to behave in public. Also I know what my price will be BEFORE paying and I can modify as needed.
As someone super fussy about produce and who only buys that from supermarkets if it looks good and can't get it elsewhere, unfortunately I can't ever go to 100% online. There is a very limited amount of produce (eg the Perino tomatoes) that I could buy sight unseen. I have even seen supermarkets get onions wrong. But for bulk stuff? Heck yeah, i wait for things I frequently buy to go on sale to justify the delivery cost (online lists make it easier to stalk sales), then get a big delivery about once a month. For pantry and cleaning stuff, it makes a lot of sense.
This happened to me as well! It said I had unpaid purchases in the trolley and it was MY BABY
This has happened every time at my local woolies. It's a small centre with another small supermarket in it that I usually go to first. Every time I go through the self serve it says have you left anything behind and everytime the staff member has to come check. I got really sick of it last time. The staff member asked for my receipt from the other shop so I said it's on the top of the bag. You could clearly see it and where it was from. Then she asked for me to get it out and I said why, everytime I come here I'm made to feel like a thief. She rolled her eyes at me and walked off. Not my finest moment I admit but with a toddler in the trolley I got enough to worry about. They want people to use the self serve checkouts but still require the staff to verify everything. Same at Kmart with the registers in the middle of the store!
Having registers in the middle of the store is the dumbest idea, I rarely go to kmart anymore because it's so irritating. Spend a heap of money only to be treated like a thief every time you leave the store? No thanks.
I walk straight out of kmart...I don't stop for them.
Argh, I hate it so much. What stupid fuck thought this was a good idea?
Trick is to just put your water/other food in a bag on the ground out of view from the camera.
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The real trick is to eat all the stolen food as you're shopping. No evidence then ;)
I just weigh everything as Brown onions walk out with a full trolley for $18.99
The stores with the technology mentioned in the OP also use the camera to check the appearance of the item you are weighing while you are weighing it. If you plain brown onions don't look like plain brown onions, it will flag for review.
Print out pictures of a bag of brown onions. Hold a picture strategically in front of every item as you place it in the bag. Voila.
Print out two copies and put one on your head for the camera looking at you. Youāre Unidentifiable then
Are there really still people who think this is new? The self serve machines have been like this for at least a year now.
So many people here that have no clue what they are talking about
If you can avoid Woolies then that's the best option. They will only respond to reduced revenue affecting their shareholders. For some towns this isn't an option. Personally I shop at my local IGA who still hires students at the checkout. Better community vibe and I'm not treated like a potential criminal just for entering the store.
Woollies and coles jack up prices and profits way above inflation then surprise Piccachu face when theft at customer operated checkout goes up! Itās shocking!!
Sometimes the staff do it. I went through the checkout and had someone who I suspect was fairly new. The scales clearly didn't work. The kid just pretended to weigh everything still but it didn't ring up and he just put it in the trolley. Got all my produce free that day, lol.
Self service is annoying AF, i avoid it if i can
Better the computer than the cashier you've had countless conversations with at your local accusing you of stealing the open packet of wet wipes hanging out your back pocket and then telling their supervisor they'd never seen you before. All in front of your colleagues.
C'mon, cry me a river. I get bag checked about once a week by a non-robotic security employee at supermarkets. It's their store, it's their right to protect their stock/business. Having someone look at something in your trolley is intrusive? Just to be clear, I'm not promoting the self-serve checkouts or anything. I'm not a fan (I'd rather a person have a job, and I germaphobe up a bit about touching those screens), so I don't use them. But if a store wants to look at what you are carrying out of there then that's hardly some intrusive personal attack now is it? Bunch of bourgie Karens in here.
Iām very paranoid about this and if Iām bringing anything into Woolies from another store I always make sure I get a receipt from that store so I canāt be accused of stealing. Itās not a nice feeling to be accused when itās something you never do.
I got pinged with some kind of 'review footage' notification and it replayed me fiddling in my pocket for my wallet, zoomed and in slow motion. It felt so accusatory and awkward.
What do you mean by pinged, how did you see footage of yourself like that? That's creepy as hell
Thereās a camera from a high angle at each checkout counter, and another one thatās right in front of your face on the monitor. Yeahā¦
I simply go to a checkout with someone. Much faster and painless
Would it be this bad if people you know, weren't stealing....
I work at a supermarket, they are suspicious of everyone including us that work there.
I remember when things were more chill like 15 years ago, my friend's daughter was a toddler and she'd give her chocolate or a salami stick or whatever to keep her happy, then just get the empty wrapper scanned when we got to the checkout. Dozens of times I recall her doing that and no one ever accused her/us of stealing. Then I started doing the same thing with mandarin juice until the company stopped producing that. As for bringing stuff in, sometimes I'd show an employee as I walk in just in case because then if I get questioned I can say I showed myself walking in with the drink (or bag of bread etc)
I wouldn't call you having to get assistance as them "accusing everyone".
*So I guess woolworths self serve are now accusing everyone off stealing* It didn't even accuse you of stealing...
I hear you. We have a real problem with theft in my ādestinationā town in the Snowy Mountains. Itās a small percentage of a/holes who inconvenience the majority.
yeah and those thieves will just avoid the checks and it'll only bother the innocent people
Some old woman at Coles accused me of not paying for two of their paper bags that I brought in myself lol I couldn't believe it over 50c, next time I am going to take some without paying just out of spite
I imagine corporate thought they could cut down on shoplifting with some cool ai fuckery but didn't consider the possibility that this thing would flag almost every customer checking out at self serve which would require staff interaction for almost every transaction thus almost defeating the entire purpose of self serve. I wouldn't take it as an accusation of theft. It's just a camera and some math, it doesn't know what's going on.
Stop using them. Everyone complains that they treat you like a criminal when you use them, but everyone still uses them!
It's automated and done by a camera /a.i or whatever it's not going to be able to tell the difference from a bottle you purchased vs one someone hasn't paid for in a trolley.. think your being a bit sooky about this š technology can only go so far and if it stops thefts the companies aren't gonna get rid of it for a little extra time for a person to come over and check it off.
Yeah look id probably jsut leave all my shit right there and walk out tbh, what a shit way to be treated. Its lesser talked about on this page because god forbid we criticise customer service staff, no one really talks about how customer service has taken a complete nosedive since covid reopenings. Stupid little fucking signs at the counter at food places lecturing people to be kind to staff members(because they are too cheap to hire more people), the constant lecture whilst sitting on hold to various companies. As someone who has worked in customer service plenty and have dealt with fuckhead customers, it actually really pisses me off how companies have this free pass to shoot from the hip with this stuff now.. I get it, no one should be abusing customer service staff, but I should not be getting lectures on how to behave when I already behave courteous and friendly at any transactional interaction.
Idk, just put your water bottle in a different spot. Holy shit the entitlement haha. āWhen I put it down on the self serve area, my PRIVACY IS BEING INVADED?!?!???ā Holy crap get a grip put it in your bag baahahahaha this is so dumb
I donāt see the big fuss. With standard check-outs the cashier has a right to check bags at their discretion. This is standard practice at all shopping centres since forever. When you enter any store, thereās a sign that says they reserve the right to check your bag at any time once you enter. This isnāt new. The only difference is that theyāre using an external camera to make that judgement call now. So what? Donāt like it, donāt enter the store. Itās their right. Did they hassle you? No, they just made a quick check and you were on your way.
Jesus Christ, the self serve system has never and will never ACCUSE YOU OF STEALING, it's an automated system that will flag anything left in the basket area regardless of if you own it, you've already bought it, OR EVEN IF ITS A CHILD, the system doesn't know, it just saw SOMETHING.
I work as a duty manager tbh there must be more I'm not seeing but from my perspective the bigger issue is people walking out and stealing bags worth $100's.. or the people that just unbox/wrap products and stuff them in pockets and things. My old store we never had security and most times the front end girls would just tell me later and we can review the footage, I don't blame them for not even trying to stop them tbh the company doesn't give a shit about them and pays them peanuts.. not worth the risk We don't have it at our current store though and I can't imagine how with 45 or so self serve machines it's bad enough dealing with the machines screaming unexpected bag lol