It probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that retail and grocery chains rely more than ever on self-checkout. The robotic registers are now an omnipresent feature of nearly every checkout area as corporations seek to reach more profitable bottom lines by sacrificing human workers.
But one TikToker says if he’s going to act like an employee to check out his groceries he should have an employee-sized sized workspace.
Josh (@aesop080) is one of the latest people on TikTok to complain about the state of the modern checkout line. His video, posted on Oct. 16, has picked up 116,200 votes as of Monday. Over 500 people have commented on the video, many sharing similar frustrations.
The video shows the result of Josh’s grocery run—several fully stuffed bags resting precariously on the counter of a self-checkout station.
The screen text reads, “If we have to self-checkout everything can we get a bigger workspace? I’m tired of trying to stack a week’s worth of groceries into a space the size of a cookie sheet.”
@aesop080 ♬ Ms. Jackson – Outkast
According to CNN, a 2021 survey found that “of 1,000 shoppers, 67% said they’d experienced a failure at the self-checkout lane.” Customer dissatisfaction has led to hundreds if not thousands of TikToks made by customers fed up with the supposed convenience of the robotic registers.
Despite the high level of customer satisfaction—not to mention high levels of store loss due to unchecked items—the registers’ use continues to grow due to companies’ bottom lines. According to CNN, self-service registers have “reduced cashier costs by as much as 66%.”
But that doesn’t mean consumers are happy about it.
“Gotta love when self-checkout asks you to rate your experience after doing all the shopping and checking out yourself lol,” Kittynicole (@kittynicole2437) wrote in the comments.
“I like to roll up to customer service to ask them to open a lane when none are. if they refuse, I just leave my cart with them and walk out,” another frustrated customer commented.
“The paid employees get a whole lane, the unpaid employees do the same job in 2 square feet of space!” another added.
However, at least one commenter pointed out that Josh was probably overlooking the fact that most self-checkout lanes in grocery stores are reserved for customers with fewer than fifteen to twenty items.
“Ok hear me out. Self-checkout is for basket groceries or a handful of items. Not full shopping carts,” Bowie Jeffries (@bowiejeffries) pointed out.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Josh via TikTok for further comment.
