Self Checkout Registers : The End of Customer Service!

At various supermarkets, you now see more self-checkout registers.  Not only are self-checkout registers at major retail chains such as Wal-Mart, but also self-checkout registers are at small regional chains, such as Giant Eagle. Are retailers attempting to stay more competitive in the global market by using self-checkout registers?

Why Self-Checkout Registers are a Business Evil?

I hope you can remember when you once received immediate service if you called a customer service number.  You did not have to stay on hold for five to ten minutes to speak to a customer service agent.  Furthermore, you did not need to leave a call back number because your hold time will exceed twenty minutes.  Those were the golden years of customer service!  However, today, you might spend two to five minutes on the phone moving through various prompts before you can select the option of speaking to a customer service agent.  Many companies just do not realize that customers are tired of their customer service practices!

It appears Corporate America has a found a new way to frustrate customers. Many retail stores, especially supermarkets, now allow customers to use self-checkout registers.  Instead of having 10 cash registers with a cashier, some retailers have 6 cash registers with a cashier and have 4 cash registers with no cashier.  Hopefully, the customers that use self-checkout registers do not have any price questions, even after the item is scanned for purchase! Self-checkout registers’ price errors are possible.  What happens if a customer discovers they have a question about an item they failed to place in their shopping carts?  I guess a human being would be required to answer that customer’s question.  Many companies do have a customer service agent to service the self-checkout area.

Why Self-Checkout Registers are a Business Commodity?

In today’s world, business competition is fierce.  Advancements in technology, such as the internet and self-checkout registers, have allowed customers to receive faster service.  For instance, a supermarket line wait will probably be longer if the store does not have self-checkout registers.  Once individuals learn how to use the self-checkout register, the non-human cashier is often viewed as a convenience for customers in a hurry.  In addition, companies do not need to worry about employees that take extended breaks between customers if the stores have several self-checkout registers.  As a result, retailers can afford to get rid of their slow cashiers due to self-checkout registers.

Retail stores with self-checkout registers save money by having fewer employees.  Companies do not have to pay a salary and benefits to self-checkout registers.  Unlike human employees, self-checkout registers do not have sick days or have vacation days.  Also, self-checkout registers do not require a lunch or a break.  Studies have shown that self-checkout registers are reliable, in regards to scanning the correct price and giving the correct change.

Analysis

Self-checkout registers reduce the role of human customer service.  Instead of a live cashier, the self-checkout register can eliminate several human jobs by processing retail transactions without requiring breaks or requiring time off. Many companies will argue that these non-human registers are needed to stay competitive.  Furthermore, the self-checkout registers also replace slower human cashiers.  Nevertheless, the death of customer service continues.