Some things in life seem highly appealing to begin with, only to lose their sheen once you actually experience them for yourself. And for the longest time, that was exactly how I felt about using the self-checkout machines at the grocery store!
The idea of quickly scanning and bagging my own items was very appealing at first. But when I actually attempted it, I found the self-checkout machine to be a lot more finicky than I had expected it to be, and it seemed to be fond of repeatedly alerting the attendant for unknowable reasons!
But I didn’t let that less-than-ideal first experience stop me from trying again. After a few more attempts, I had picked up a few tips and tricks that made it much easier and less anxiety-inducing to go through self-checkout!
In today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing 7 of those useful self-checkout tips for those who could use a bit of coaching on the subject themselves! By the end of this post, you’ll be armed with all the knowledge you need to breeze through the self-checkout lane like a total pro. :-)
7 Tips for Using the Self-Checkout Lane Like a Pro
1. Set Expectations
Want to use your own reusable shopping bags in the self-checkout lane? Be sure to communicate that to the checkout machine before you start scanning your items.
Look for a button on the checkout screen that says “I brought my own bags” (or something similar.) Hitting that button before you start scanning will let the machine know to expect the additional weight from your bags in the bagging area. (If the machine doesn’t know to expect that weight, it will likely alert the attendant and slow you down.)
2. Know When to Avoid It
Depending on the situation, self-checkout isn’t always the best option! For instance, you may want to avoid self-checkout when…
- You’re alone and have a full shopping cart. It will take a while to scan and bag all those groceries on your own, so why not save yourself some time and effort by having a cashier scan them for you?
- You have several coupons you want to use. Self-checkout machines often require an attendant to verify your coupons or enter them into the system for you. Even if you’re just buying a few things, that process may cancel out any time you might have saved by choosing self-checkout anyway.
3. Use the PLU Code
The most time-consuming part of using self-checkout is scanning your produce items, because most don’t have scannable bar codes. To scan produce items using self-checkout, you can look up items up by name, photo, or by entering its 4- or 5- digit price look-up (PLU) code.
Entering the PLU code is a big time-saver, and it’s usually displayed right on the produce sticker, label, or wrapping. (Experienced cashiers may have hundreds of PLU codes memorized, enabling them to blaze through produce items with ease!)
4. Don’t Skip Steps
When you’re scanning a large item, like a bag of pet food or a big box of soda, you may not want or need to put it in a bag. But that doesn’t mean you can just put it right back in your cart after scanning it, because the machine’s scale will expect the added weight.
Instead, you can do one of two things. The first option is to scan the item and set it in the bagging area without actually putting it in a bag. The second is to hit the “Skip Bagging” button and then put it back in your cart. Either option will help you avoid triggering the machine to call for an attendant!
5. Team Up
One of the best ways to breeze through self-checkout is to team up with a partner! It works best when one person is charge of unloading the cart and handing stuff off, and the other person takes the items, scans them, and puts them in the bagging area.
These roles keep both people out of each other’s way, and it makes it less likely that you bag things out of order and confuse the machine. With a little bit of teamwork and practice, you and your partner will be self-checkout professionals in no time!
6. Scan in Order
Scanning items in a certain order can make things go a lot more smoothly, both while you’re checking out and later on when you unload your groceries at home. So when it’s your turn at the self-checkout stand, scan your items in order of how you plan to bag them.
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For each new bag, start by scanning a few larger or heavier items, then scan a few smaller, lighter items to add on top. You may also want to group similar items together in one bag, such as frozen foods or produce. A little planning can go a long way here! :-)
7. Be Ready to Pay
When you’re on your way to the self-checkout lane, take an extra 30 seconds to make sure you know where your wallet is before you get there. No matter how quickly you scan and bag your items, stopping to dig around in your purse for your debit card is going to slow you down big time (not to mention the people standing in line behind you!)
Do you prefer to use self-checkout, or do you normally go to a cashier?
NEW! Can you guess the 5-letter word related to today’s post?
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Jill just a “heads up” on using the self checkout lane. One of our friends ran into the problem where the person that used the self checkout lane before them scanned items through but never paid for them and and the cost is now our their bill. They are long gone with their items in tow. This is something that self scanners need to be vigilant of.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for sharing this warning with us, Elizabeth. You should always check your receipt!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Our local grocery is notorious for being understaffed, so we try to shop there before 8 am. Sometimes the lines are still long, and if we don’t have much, we just do self checkout. But one day they only had one regular cashier and two self checkout kiosks, and the lines for both were going down the aisles!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Bring back human cashiers!
I never use self-checkout. I am not an employee of the store and if they cannot provide cashiers without long lines, I will shop elsewhere. A friend was recently arrested for shoplifting because something didn’t scan. She didn’t realize it, bagged it, and continued checking out. As she left the store, she was arrested. The found one item in her bag that was not on her receipt. It was an accident–the beep she heard was from a nearby machine as she scanned the item–and she was eventually released without charges. She spent a weekend in jail, though! She is now sueing the company and I hope she owns it when she gets done with them!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” and “Dash Cart” technologies hope to replace all or nearly all regular and self-checkout scanning. Like self-driving cars, there have been setbacks, but if there is a way to automate, someone will do it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am still using self checkout because I do like to handle my own groceries and pack things so that they are balanced and easy to transport. I also make sure that my egg carton is flat at the bottom of the bag! Never had an egg break, either. I can also make sure that frozen items are together and produce is not sitting on top of the ice cream. I do like controlling the pace of my checkout and not being concerned that others are in a rush waiting for me to complete my purchases. (AT this time there is never a line at the self check section as there was in 2020.)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I usually use the self checkout if it’s a small run in and out order. If I’m at Sams, then I do all of it on my mobile, it makes it so convenient. Military commissary shopping is done with a check out person because it is always a full basket. It’s more what is needed at the time of the shopping trip.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I signed up for Walmart+ and get 90% of my groceries delivered. The prices online can be less than if you shopped in the store. I not only have a personal shopper, but I also have a delivery driver. That’s a twofer folks LOL
Also, you personally using self check out DOES NOT take away jobs from people. The store already made that decision and standing in line waiting to check out with a cashier will not change that.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the scan and go at Sam’s Club, but other than that I always use a cashier.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I almost ALWAYS use self-checkout. I’m in a college town and young people cant be bothered to scan or bag correctly, and go un-trained. I guess it’s difficult when taking care of customers interrupts screen time. And yes, kids DO stop to read messages during checkout.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’d rather do it myself and pack bags correctly so nothing is damaged.
It is getting more difficult in our area (Okla) to find human checkers. I do not like checking myself out they will stop everyone from going out of the store until they match purchases with receipt. This is usually one person and they expect everyone to wait in line for this. Customer service is something that will eventually be no more.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I LOVE self-checkout! I can take my time and make sure that the items that are on sale are actually rung up with the sale price. I can’t tell you how many times that the regular price comes up instead of the sale price! If you’re in a cashier line, they ring it up way too quickly to notice if the wrong price comes up. And regarding all the people who said they won’t use the line because of peoples’ jobs- self-checkout is definitely not going away! I can remember when we had gas station workers actually pump your gas for you. Try finding that service now. Lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The cashier at Walmart taught me that the bar codes on boxes are on the bottom and other shaped containers have the bar codes on the side.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I work in retail. I rarely use the self -checkout because it requires using my debit card. We actually have a few customers who use the self – checked out with big cart loads. Your not taking anyone’s job away by using it. The control freaks are who drive us nuts. Not letting me bag in certain ways. I’ve worked retail too many years and I know what works. If someone is a total control freak – go ahead and use the self-checkout., It’s one more headache not to have to deal with for me and my co-workers.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I take advantage of self check out whenever I’m at Walmart. I make comparatively smaller purchases there so I find it a lot more convenient. I buy all my groceries elsewhere.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I avoid Walmart like the plague, they treat their employees as if they were slaves.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I can’t get to the big stores, due to transportation. So I shop my local IGA. And I only can get there about once a month if I’m felling good enough to drive. The on e thing I’ve always had problems with is Organizing my grocery cart. I’m not buying the cart folders. And I don’t have the option of someone to go with me, in the store.. Any handy tips?? Thanks in advance.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Why don’t you try the service where you call in your order and one of the employees does the shopping for you?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I hate self check out. The stores act as if (especially Walmart) like they are doing you a favor to self check out. After I have shopped thru the entire store and am willing to spend money there, they think it’s a favor offering me the opportunity to check my goods out myself?! Seriously, I expect SERVICE. Open more of those closed registers by putting checkers there. Don’t put underaged people checking out there as you have to wait for a supervisor to come and check out alcohol or cigarettes, even if it is not you buying it but is the person in front of you. Cashiers used to be taught how to bag groceries, etc. Frozen with frozen, cleaners separate from food, etc. I would gladly pay a little more for service. If they want me to check my own purchases out myself, they better be paying me like they do the checkers or offering me a discount. Otherwise, open up those closed registers!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think we should encourage underage people to get jobs even if it is just a cashier. When I have to wait I’m just glad that not all the youth are “above having a job”.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I will not use self checkout because not only does it replace peoples’ jobs with machines that require this amount of catering to, but also because the stores do not share the savings with their customers; self-checkout is maximizing profits for the store, not serving customers
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I REFUSE TO USE SELF-CHECKOUT, BECAUSE IT TAKES JOBS AWAY FROM PEOPLE!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I feel the same way about self checkout
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I completely agree, I will never use self checkout, as it is how stores eliminate jobs!
I am retired, in no hurry so I would rather wait in line, plus most check out clerks are pleasant and enjoy a cheery, “Hello,” and a “Thank you,” if they bag your groceries. Sometimes stores hire people to bag your groceries, please, thank them.
If I bag my own, a savvy clerk will thank you and it will be appreciated by the folks waiting in line behind you.
I usually start bagging my groceries but frankly at my age I am slow, so I apologize to the folks behind me.
I prefer self-checkout simply because I can bag my groceries the way I want them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Even at Sam’s Club, when they had no self-checkout, I would put the groceries on the conveyor the way I wanted them to go back into the cart so it would be more efficient to load my car. But the clerk still chose the way to pack the cart again. I guess I’m too much of a control freak!
Yes, you are. LOL, When you get home you can put the items where you want them to be in your pantry or closets.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just assumed everyone already did all of these things… I avoid cashiers like the plague. I’ll shop at stores that have self-checkouts out of preference. Last time I bought groceries (self-checkout lines were full) the cashier tried to overcharge me three times–scanned one bag of greens three times, bread twice, and then after I caught her doing those, she scanned a jar of sauce twice! I had to go through the service line to get a refund because I didn’t catch it until I checked my receipt. Then she dropped melons on top of my peaches and the jars on top of my chips. Yeah. I don’t want that stress. I’d rather do it myself and not deal with that sort of nastiness. I also get to decide exactly how I want to bag things. For me, self-checkout is never a time saver, but a sanity saver.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Maybe you should shop at a different store.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I never use the self checkout. It takes jobs away from people.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love self-checkout, and my kids love to use it b/c they can scan things and put the money in, etc! I would much rather scan things myself and see that they are rung up right (sometimes the cashiers are going too fast and I’m still trying to make sure I wasn’t overcharged for my peaches and miss the next 4 items) and bag them the way I want them. And it’s happened more than once that I’ve thought I got 5 items that are on the “buy 5, get $5 back” or similar type of sale, only to find that one was the wrong size and not included on the sale…much easier to run back and get one more thing when you’re at a self scan than with a cashier.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Most stickers on produce these days have a bar code. Instead of entered the PLU number you can just scan the sticker and place item on scale or enter quantity. I’ve found this to be a game changer at the self check out. Also the PLU for bananas is the same in EVERY store, 4011!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I prefer to use the cashier checkout. Partly because it creates a job for somebody and partly because I’m disabled and can use all the help I can get. If I have a larger order, I will ask for someone to take it to the car for me and put it in the back. I tip well of course.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been doing self check for years and know the routine, however barcode reading is sometimes an issue. Machine can’t read or some other issue. Most of the stores I go to you have to wait & beg for help when it happens. But mostly it is faster.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Also, since the pandemic I no longer carry my purse. One less thing to clean up. many stores no longer clean carts as they did in beginning!!!
I have my hand sanitizer holder and made credit card holder with a snap & on my belt they go.No fumbling around at checkout. Easy to get to. less stuff to carry. I can even put a few bills in case I want to pay with cash.
It works for Dr appointments too. Insurance cards, ID fit into little flat pouch.
Trying to stay safe & travel light. Less to sanitize.
What a good idea! Where do I buy the little pouch?
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