the disappearance of self checkout

what happened to the self checkout machine, anyways? it feels like every time i go into a store these days, there's either less of them or none at all. the ones that are left generally suck, and end up needing an employee to override all the mistakes it makes anyways. meanwhile, retailers have been quietly moving back to old school human cashiers for years now; most often citing concerns of theft, though new regulations now seem to be the hot new excuse these days. weren't they supposed to be great for everyone?

well, how about i tell you a little story…

when they were first implemented, the self checkout machine was sold as to be a win for both customers and store owners. as a customer, you wouldn't have to wait for a cashier, saving you time. the store owner would save money because of the reduced headcount, allowing for either higher profits or lower prices. sure, some people would lose their jobs, but who cares about that? new technology was going to revolutionize retail yet again, just like the barcode did decades before.

and at first, that all seemed to work. customers sailed through the brand new self checkout system with glee, and the store owner didn't have to pay those pesky salaries anymore. a win for everyone!

…until the store owner checked the books, that is. they were making less money than before they got the machines!

you see, when a customer waits in line, they're waiting next to candy, drinks, and magazines. they might decide to impulse buy one of those little things, and those little purchases add up over the scale of an entire store. without anyone having to wait in line, those impulse buys all just disappear. even worse, many of those customers end up forgetting to scan items; perhaps by accident, or perhaps on purpose. without an employee to notice this, they simply walk out without paying.

with profits plummeting and the self checkout machines in disrepair, the store owner sees no choice but to remove them and go back to paying humans to do the work. sure, it's possible to replace a cashier with a machine, but a human is simply better, not to mention cheaper! customers cheer at how warm and friendly the place feels with actual people to help them, the store owner sees profits return, and everyone lives happily ever after.

now, wasn't that a nice little story? i wonder if this same idea could apply to a certain other type of machine, too.