Walmart, Costco and other companies rethink self-checkout

[M.W.]

Rampant theft

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/13/business/self-checkout-stores-shopping/index.html

Do not know why they want to come back down on self-checkout. It's fantastic! It's quick and easy and you have full control and be able to monitor the price lot better. And if there are any problems, there are still people there to help you. Don't know what's the downside for us. It seems the biggest problem is actually the security problem in that people are actually cheating or downright not paying for items scanned which is causing the stores losing money with these self-checkout systems. Wow people are creative! LOL I guess we are getting poorer. There is a theory that observes that the poorer we are, the more creative people get in "saving money".

 

[TheDawn]

I can't stand self-checkout, and I avoid it unless I only have a couple items and the regular lines are really busy.

I live in southwest Michigan, and I often travel the Indiana Toll Road.

A few years ago, one of the shops at one of the rest stops went cashier-less. It was grab-and-go food. Plastic wrapped deli sandwiches, chips, bottled drinks, etc.

It didn't fly. There were other options in the rest stop like Burger King, or Starbucks, or maybe it was a Popeye's Chicken or something.

I think the place was shut down within a year. Unlike most of the supermarkets, the self-checkout system did not allow the customer to pay cash. You had to have a credit or debit card. And though many in this community may find it hard to believe, that is an obstacle for some. There are people who travel the highways in this country who are "unbanked." Or they have a checking account, but they are living paycheck to paycheck and the funds in their checking account have to stay there so they can write a check to the landlord. And FYI their landlord does not accept electronic payments, and the landlord lives 60 miles from the house they are renting, so the only reasonable way to pay their rent is to mail a paper check.

Self-checkout machines that do not accept cash obviously are not suitable in this area. It's not that self-checkout does not work it's just that self-checkout machines for this area need to be equipped with cash as a payment option. All of Walmart stores pretty much have self-checkout machines that do allow customers to pay cash. So it's just the manufacturer of self-checkout machines do not know its customers.

And there are other folks who may have a checking account with some disposable income. But they don't have a credit card, and they really don't want to use their debit card for a bunch of little charges like $4.50 for a sandwich, because it makes it too hard to keep track of their balance. Or they've had one too many bad experiences with vending machines where they have been charged twice for the same product after swiping their card. Yes, that actually happens, and it is a huge pain in the ass trying to get a refund or disputing the charge with your bank. And if it's $2.00 for a bottle of water and you were charged twice, you may forget about it or not bother because it's too much trouble. And then you just tell yourself you won't use a f**king debit card at a vending machine ever again.

Until you have to because there is no other option.

Debit cards suck I agree. It's a major security risk and very prone to fraud for which you have no recourse. I don't use debit cards ever unless it's the only option and it's with the government or with reputable merchants that I know. Many government organizations do not accept credit cards either.

I recently stayed at a Sonesta hotel, where the guest laundry was cashless.

But I couldn't swipe my card in the laundry machines. I had to download an app on my tablet, and then load money into the app, and then the tablet connects to the machine through the wi-fi network in the laundry room, and when I ran the washer, it deducted $3.00 from my balance.

So in order to use the laundry facility, not only did I have to have a credit or debit card, I also had to have a smartphone or a tablet.

And it gets worse. The minimum load in the app was $10.00.

Each time you run a washer or dryer, the cost was $3.00.

Do I need to spell out the rest of the scam?

You can't get a refund of unused funds in the app, or if you can, they are counting on lots of "customers" who won't bother to do so.

But wait, you can use it the next time you stay at a hotel that uses that particular app in their guest laundry. While the vendor earns interest on that balance and you don't. Interest on a dollar? For the vendor it adds up. Like tiny balances on gift cards that never get spent. There's a name for it in the industry. It's called breakage.

There are a few cities that have made it illegal for retail stores to refuse to accept cash.

Guest laundry at hotels is a ripoff. What do you need to do laundry at the hotel for? You are there for a short stay and have fun many times. I remember back in the days when a full load of laundry only cost 50 cents!! Yes, two freaking quarters! $3.00 just to do a load of laundry is ridiculous. They should go to jail for charging you that price. Next time just bring more clothes to change and use vacuum bags to space and do NOT ever do laundry at hotels.

 

[TheDawn]

Rampant theft

It's a shame. Always a few bad apples spoil the fun for the rest of us. Now those retailers have to invest more money into security measures and that's more $$ added onto their prices and guess who pays those higher prices? People who have been using the self-checkout honestly.

In today's world, cheaters always win and honesty never pays.

 

[M.W.]

I feel honesty especially nowadays wins. Makes me sleep tight at night, makes one stand out, and you usually start on the winning side of most arguments with the facts and truth on your side...

But yes, the fact that many crimes don't catch the attention of law enforcement anymore is one of the major contributing factors for the downfall of western society.

It's a shame. Always a few bad apples spoil the fun for the rest of us. Now those retailers have to invest more money into security measures and that's more $$ added onto their prices and guess who pays those higher prices? People who have been using the self-checkout honestly.

In today's world, cheaters always win and honesty never pays.

 

[Monobrowtrading]

I feel honesty especially nowadays wins. Makes me sleep tight at night, makes one stand out, and you usually start on the winning side of most arguments with the facts and truth on your side...

But yes, the fact that many crimes don't catch the attention of law enforcement anymore is one of the major contributing factors for the downfall of western society.

You 2 spunkmeisters should take each other shopping @ Target and lunch, you’ll figure it all out.

 

[vanzandt]

I recently stayed at a Sonesta hotel, where the guest laundry was cashless.

But I couldn't swipe my card in the laundry machines. I had to download an app on my tablet, and then load money into the app, and then the tablet connects to the machine through the wi-fi network in the laundry room, and when I ran the washer, it deducted $3.00 from my balance.

So in order to use the laundry facility, not only did I have to have a credit or debit card, I also had to have a smartphone or a tablet.

And it gets worse. The minimum load in the app was $10.00.

Each time you run a washer or dryer, the cost was $3.00.

Do I need to spell out the rest of the scam?

You can't get a refund of unused funds in the app, or if you can, they are counting on lots of "customers" who won't bother to do so.

But wait, you can use it the next time you stay at a hotel that uses that particular app in their guest laundry. While the vendor earns interest on that balance and you don't. Interest on a dollar? For the vendor it adds up. Like tiny balances on gift cards that never get spent. There's a name for it in the industry. It's called breakage.

There are a few cities that have made it illegal for retail stores to refuse to accept cash.

Hahahahah. That's one of those crazy Stoney stocks.
Cantaloupe.
CTLP---> $6.63

__________________________________________

Cantaloupe, Inc., a digital payments and software services company, provides technology solutions for the unattended retail market.

The company offers integrated solutions for payments processing, logistics, and back-office management. It also provides ePort, an integrated payment device that is deployed in self-service, unattended market applications, such as vending, micro-markets, amusement, arcade, commercial laundry, air/vacuum, car wash, and others, which facilitates digital payments; and integrated software services for payment or asset tracking devices.

 

[TheDawn]

But yes, the fact that many crimes don't catch the attention of law enforcement anymore is one of the major contributing factors for the downfall of western society.

downfall of any society.

 

[TheDawn]

Hahahahah. That's one of those crazy Stoney stocks.
Cantaloupe.
CTLP---> $6.63

__________________________________________

Cantaloupe, Inc., a digital payments and software services company, provides technology solutions for the unattended retail market.

The company offers integrated solutions for payments processing, logistics, and back-office management. It also provides ePort, an integrated payment device that is deployed in self-service, unattended market applications, such as vending, micro-markets, amusement, arcade, commercial laundry, air/vacuum, car wash, and others, which facilitates digital payments; and integrated software services for payment or asset tracking devices.

I usually walk away whenever I see something that requires me to download an app to use. If I have the means to pay for something, I should be allowed to pay it in the most direct way without having to go through ten thousand steps to pay. Each additional step and/or additional "service" added between the payor and the payee is one extra cost cuz that's one more mouth inserted itself to extort $$. Especially when it comes to something as simple and basic like doing the freaking laundry, there should be no need for any extra payment service. Public laundry used to be operated by just inserting quarters!! And if you really want, all you have to do is open up the panel on the side and pull out some wires and the machine will run. To hell with some freaking apps! LOL

 

[BMK]

Hahahahah. That's one of those crazy Stoney stocks.
Cantaloupe.
CTLP---> $6.63

Actually, the laundry facility was run by a company called ClearToken. And their website does indeed have a form to request a refund of unused funds. But I'm pretty sure their business model is based on a certain percentage of users who completely forget about small unused balances.

I have used vending machines operated by Cantaloupe. What I find most annoying and offensive is that they post charges to your credit card bill that contain no relevant information that would enable you to recognize the charge and remember that you used your card at a soda machine in the hallway of a hotel. It might have actually had the name Cantaloupe on the card statement, but that name did not appear anywhere on the machine (or if it was there, it was in microscopic print). So how could I possibly recognize the charge? And of course the machine doesn't spit out a paper receipt; that's something people under 25 have never even heard of.

And of course the location information on your credit card statement is that of Cantaloupe's corporate office, so it bears no relationship to the location where you used your card.

So you begin to suspect that it is a fraudulent transaction, and you waste time calling some toll-free number where you get put on hold...

It is possible that the recorded message you hear before you get put on hold says something about vending machines, so you might hear that and just say, oh, yeah, I remember that, and hang up.

But it still seems like the data that appears on the card statement should say something meaningful, like, you know, the words vending machine, to help you identify the charge. They don't do that, and it's f**king ridiculous.

 

[murray t turtle]

%%
Close call, which is exactly better. Average checker does NOT realize how easy apples bruize, thus she really makes bad apples when she slams apples in a bag .
I usually see which one is less busy, even if that AI cash machine has me marked, can maybe penny theft from me, maybe not LOL.
BUT that WMT ,AI cash machine is amazing accurate mostly ;
one time it kicked back[legal LOL]\
a quarter i accidently put in it /it was a silver quarter/my bad. ANY cahsier would have taken that
But a cashier can help more than any AI machine; she asked, with a slight froWn, you got a lot of smoked sardines huh?? Yes Maybe the most hated fish........