Joanne Kaufman, an arts and entertainment critic, has joined the chorus of pundits who want to see self checkouts go away at retail, according to an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal.
Kaufman said she is considering moving to Lancashier, U.K., where Booths, a U.K. supermarket chain, announced it is closing the self-checkout in most of its stores.
Kaufman said she was initially intrigued by self checkout lanes at her local Stop & Shop, but soon found that it was often necessary to get store employees involved in the checkout.
She said she often finds herself apologizing to customers in line behind her as she did when first using automated teller machines.
But while ATMs are now uniform among banks, self-checkouts "vary considerably from store chain to store chain," she stated. Some require you to clear the bagging area before continuing to scan, while others forbid bagging until all items are scanned.
Kaufman also noted being asked to add a tip at an airport convenience store kiosk.