The Usefulness of Walmart's New Automated Checkout Stations

Are you someone who wants to do everything by yourself? If you are, then you'll love the new automated checkout system that is available at some Walmart stores. In this article, I will describe what these new automated checkout systems are like.

How it works.

The new self checkout stations at Walmart are albeit complicated at first, but once you become accustomed to them you'll love them. At the Walmart store that I go to, there are four self checkout lanes. Basically, you just pull up your cart and unload your items. There is a place to put your groceries or other items, a scanner, a touch screen computer, plastic bags, and a credit card scanner.

You simply scan all of your items like the cashier would normally do, place them in a plastic bag, and load the bags back into your shopping cart. You can use the self checkout lanes for a few items or a lot of items. There is no limit. You can also scan in coupon codes, if you like. There is also a human cashier who watches over the four automated checkout systems. So if you encounter any problems, ask the human cashier for assistance.

When you've finished scanning your items and loading them into your cart, you pay your bill. On the touch screen you will select your payment option. As I said earlier you can select credit cards as one way to pay, or you can select other options. These include debit cards, cash, or check. After this, the machine will dispense your receipt and money if you selected to pay with cash. And then, you're done.

Positive aspects of the automated checkout system.

One positive aspect of the automated checkout system is the fact that it's faster than a normal checkout system with a human cashier. The main reason for this is because many people are intimidated by the automated process, so they avoid it. Some individuals really dislike change, and others just can not stand computers. This works to your advantage. Also, those people who love to chat up the human cashier don't have anyone to talk to. So that also speeds things up albeit.

Another positive aspect to using the automated cashier system is ease of use. Okay, at first it may be somewhat confusing. However, once you've done the automated process a few times you'll get the hang of it. It's not that difficult.

Negative aspects of the automated checkout system.

Unfortunately, the automated checkout system is not perfect. But what is? Anyway, as with any computer, there will be the occasional glitch. From what I've seen these glitches are usually odd error messages that appear on the computer screen, or the machine runs out of paper.

This means you don't get a receipt until the paper is refilled. Another problem is that the human cashiers don't always know what they're doing. And since there is just one human cashier presiding over four stations, he or she can become overwhelmed fairly easily. This can be quite vexing for both you and the cashier.

So the next time you pay a visit to Walmart, check and see if they have the automated checkout system in place. If they do, go ahead and try it out. You might just never use a human cashier again.