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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I only use the self check out as an express lane when I have a few items and get in the regular lines if I have more. One thing I’ve noticed is that coupons over $1 need approval. In this time of pandemic I’ve begun using my phone to pay wherever I can to less the surfaces I have to touch. Just be sure to have it pulled up on your phone before you start so you don’t hold the line up when ready to pay. Things like Walmart Pay work at the self scans too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I live in Maryland and my mail grocery store (Giant Food) allows shoppers who have loyalty cards to check out a handheld scanner and use it as you shop to scan your groceries and bag as you go. They call the program “Scan It” and I love it. I can put all my cold items in one bag as I go. I never squish my bread or chips and when I get to the end of my shopping trip one quick click on the scanner allows me to transfer my list to the check out so I can just pay and go with my groceries already all packed up. I wish other stores would do this.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lynne, what an awesome idea. I haven’t seen that where I am but I will keep an eye out for it. I would positively LOVE being able to scan and bag as I go! Once we are past COVID restrictions, maybe some stores in my area will do it. Thanks for your comment on this.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Our Smith’s (Kroger) used to do this- Scan, Bag, Go. They discontinued it due to struggles with computers not working, problems with theft, etc. I was so sad. I loved it so much and was so grateful they had it as long as they did. I loved out so much that I would only go to Smith’s that had this service.
Hand held scanners are a shoplifter’s “paradise.”
Can do the same at Sams Club. Particularly useful now that the hoarders seem to be lined up at the checkouts every time I’m there.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I dislike the hand-held scanners, as I have seen people take some small items and “forget?” to scan them. It is a bonus for dishonest shoppers. Plus, I l like to chat, albeit briefly, with the check-out person.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If, like me, you find the voice on the scanner to be rather annoying, just look at the bottom edge of the screen for the volume button. Just touch it a couple times to mute it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great tip… Thanks for sharing! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Julie, I want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog and how much I have learned. I admire your hard work and that you like the challenge of finding better, more efficient and greener ways of living. I respect how you shared your story and the courage you showed in the challenges you have overcome.
I would like to add to your blog about self checkouts from another perspective.
I often hear the comments that electronics and technology have taken over our lives. I am in somewhat agreement, yet I do encourage and understand all the benefits we as a society have achieved from the courage and wisdom of those who, like you, make the way for new ideas and products. There was a time a person died from an abscessed tooth and is was more than common for women to die in child birth, and technology and knowledge has changed the world so much for the better.
I think technology is wonderful,when used in keeping with,and remembering the human face of such advances. Many, many, lives have been saved, children are learning that would otherwise not learn, people with no voice are able to communicate through touch boards and these forms of technology create a better live and world for humankind.
But as humans, we have a responsibility to ensure we leave the world a better place for others. Selfcheck is simply corporate for the sake of profit. It is guised in the illusion of creating more time for the consumer, but in reality it is taking the livelihood of many. I have heard, from large stores, that they are hiring more people for selfcheck, and that may be so at the beginning, but as soon as the turn over is complete, that will not be the case.
In many stores the marketing ploy is to have few cashiers, so the lines are long, and then a cashier comes up and says “I can help you use the self checkout.” You are, perhaps, in a hurry, or have a fussy toddler, and viola, it has worked, as the store purposely has decreased te cashiers for this very reason, and you are now part of the corporate greed takeover.
Self checkout needs no holidays, no benefits, no raises, there is only profit. The stores don’t, as of yet, offer a discount for you working for them. and there are so few cashiers, people are forced to use the self check out. The marketing is all very subliminal. I watch the cashiers say to customers “You can use the cheself check out’ I think how difficult that must be, that you are told to help eliminate your own job. Retail workers are already one of the most overworked and underpaid sectors of the workforce, and selfcheck will only exacerbate the situation.
We are seeing malls close, as online shopping surges, we are seeing many jobs that were once part of our society eliminated, think self serve gas stations, but the price of gas is not reflected in lack of attendants and money saved, but the profits are.
We need, as a society, to distinguish when technology is so very beneficial, and when it crosses the line and becomes harmful.
We do, as consumers, have the power. Corporations will NEVER, EVER, stop trying to increase profits or exploit humans, but we have the power to not buy things such as sweat shop products, cheap plastic toys that are part of the food industry, or self check out. If we continue to let humankind ravage the ability of people to work, there will be a greater void between the rich and the poor.
I see you as a leader in innovative ways of being more efficient and productive, but this post,does not speak to that.
I also have affiliates and have to, on occasions, decide that I will not be part of any corporation whose sole purpose is to increase profits at the expense of those who are already on the margins,especially in these difficult times.
Keep up the great work.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Joan
Joan, I worked in retail for 16 years and can assure you that self-checkout is not taking anyone’s jobs. We were all worried about that as employees when it first came out too. However, with the successful introduction of self checkout, online ordering was introduced at your retail and grocery stores. Remember the good old days when you could order your groceries from the store and they would deliver them for you? Well, those days have returned. I’m sure you have noticed in your local store there are more store associates on the sales floor pushing big racks/carts around with items on it. Those people are paid by the company as basically personal shoppers. They shop for you, package up your groceries and deliver them either to your home or to your car when you come to pick them up. They are paid directly by the store and receive benefits because they are employees of the store (unlike instacart). If the checkout lines get too long up front then those employees are also register trained and will come off the floor to ring people up as well.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Where I shop there is always one or more cashiers monitoring the self check out. They are just able to “check out” more than one person at a time.
Candy, thank you for sharing this information.
Wow! Well said Joan. Thank you
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the self checkout all the time for the few things I need when shopping. It is handy for me and don’t feel I am taking away anyone’s job. I’ve worked as a cashier before in a grocery store so it usually goes very fast for me. If I am going for a full cart full of regular groceries then I use a cashier because it is faster and more convenient, or if a store has no self service, and some don’t. I scan all of the store ads and do my shopping by what is on sale and most stores are in fairly close proximity so I don’t feel like it’s a waste of time or money to shop different stores. All in all I really like the self checkouts. By the way Jillee, can you give a taste test on the caulipower pizza you purchased? Trying to find a brand that the daughter might like for a snack.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Self checkouts increase the bottom line of the company offering them. Why would you want to work for any company without getting paid or contributing to the loss of someones job just to increase their profits? When the company offers checkouts that limit the items such as an express lane of 15 items or less the lines move quickly if only a few items are needed. If these self checkouts are avoided and lines form at the cashiers the company would need to open more cashiers to serve the customers. I feel we pay enough money to purchase our groceries without having to work for the company for free to get them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Go to your local stores’ website and order your groceries online. Then they will shop for you, bag them up and bring them to your car. Surely you will feel as if you are getting your money’s worth if they do all the work for you then.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This works so well at my Walmart store, that I haven’t been in the store for almost a year. They will substitute that’s your choice. You get the lower price if they do and you can refuse it too. The produce is always the best that they have. It’s an absolutely great experience.
Not everyone owns a computer, add to that, I like to see for myself what I am purchasing as I will pick the freshest items displayed. I am fortunate to still be able to drive and load my own groceries into the car. I do very much appreciated when a store has hired teens or retirees to bag groceries for customers.
Great ideas, thank you! Our local stores no longer allow bringing your own bags due to Covid. Also, because I am now retired and have more time than I used to, I like to think I am helping keep someone on the job by standing in line a bit longer and allowing a cashier to check out my groceries.
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