Mouthing Off | Self-checkout machines or human cashiers? Pros and cons of doing it yourself and why we shouldn’t say goodbye to real people
- Self-checkouts and self-ordering machines are everywhere in Hong Kong nowadays, from ParknShop and Watsons to McDonald’s and Fairwood
- I prefer real human interaction but don’t want self-checkouts to ever disappear completely. I just wish shops wouldn’t push them on us so hard
You either love them or hate them.
Self-checkout stations are now in every kind of grocery store and supermarket. Instead of having a real-life cashier tally your purchases, companies now encourage you to go the DIY method, scan the bar code of your goods and ring up the total without anyone’s help.
Some appreciate the convenience, efficiency and not having to wait in a slow line behind someone with an overfilled cart. After so much quarantine and self-isolation, a lot of people seem to like not having actual human interactions.
It’s easy to understand why companies like this trend, too. They can hire less people.
But many of us do enjoy the service of a clerk working the register and bagging everything afterwards. We don’t mind engaging face to face, saying “hi” and occasionally having the local staffer ask, “How do you cook with this Western vegetable fennel?”
