NO LINES HERE; SELF-SERVE CHECKOUT MACHINES PUT TO TEST.Byline: Jennifer Brown Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Julie Lawson's two young children love to go grocery shopping since their suburban Philadelphia supermarket installed automatic check-out machines. Six-year-old Bud and 4-year-old Julia slide Pop-Tarts and tomatoes and milk cartons across a scanner, listen for the computer voice to announce the price then put their goodies good·y 1 Informal interj. Used to express delight. n. also good·ie pl. good·ies Something attractive or delectable, especially something sweet to eat. into bags. All without the help of an employee. ``When you have to drag these two around on errands, it's great to be able to do your own thing at your own pace,'' Lawson said at the SuperFresh in Richboro. ``They love it so much, they do not let me use the regular line.'' Self-serve checkouts are the latest in a tidal wave tidal wave, term properly applied to the crest of a tide as it moves around the earth. The wavelike upstream rush of water caused by the incoming tide in some locations is known as a tidal bore. of automation that has already overtaken banking, investing and pumping gas Pumping GAS was a two-hour programming block on the Nickelodeon spin-off network, Nick GAS. "Pumping GAS" was commercial-free, with only a thirty-second "pit stop" every now and then. . Auto-checkout machines are in about 300 supermarkets around the country, most installed in the past few months. In addition, they are being tested in Wal-Mart and other department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. . ``It allows shoppers to take control of the check-out process,'' said Michelle Logan, spokeswoman for Productivity Solutions Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., the leading maker of automatic checkers checkers, game for two players, known in England as draughts. It is played on a square board, divided into 64 alternately colored—usually red and black or white and black—square spaces, identical with a chessboard. . Self-checkout works like a regular cashier CASHIER. An officer of a moneyed institution, who is entitled by virtue of his office to take care of the cash or money of such institution. 2. The cashier of a bank is usually entrusted with all the funds of the bank, its notes, bills, and other choses in , with a few anti-theft additions. The customer slides each item over a laser scanner, puts it on a conveyer belt - which weighs each one - then lets each roll under a camera that measures it. The weighing and measuring prevents theft by comparing each item to computer information about everything in the store. The final bagging area also includes a scale, where the total weight must match the sum of the items purchased. Customers then get a receipt and pay a human cashier, though some of the newer auto-checkouts include a machine to take cash or use a credit card. The system isn't foolproof. On a recent visit to a SuperFresh, customers had problems scanning a gallon gallon: see English units of measurement. of milk, a single bread roll (she looked in a check-out manual to find the cost), a 12-roll pack of paper towels (too big to fit under conveyer belt) and six ears of corn. ``She didn't say there were six ears there, and the computer knows how much an average ear weighs so it was confused,'' employee Bill Hunter For other persons of the same name, see William Hunter. William Dickenson ("Wild Bill") Hunter CM (May 5, 1920 - December 16, 2002) was a Canadian hockey owner, general manager and coach. said, after rushing to the aid of the customer. Overall, shoppers were pleased. ``I always use this. I'm always in a hurry and don't want to waste time waiting in line,'' said shopper Alex Mathews of Richboro. Marybeth Malloy of Churchville said the self-serve aisles may not be faster, since she's a slow scanner, but she said it feels faster. ``I hate standing in the line. This way, it at least feels like I'm doing something.'' The Richboro store hasn't reduced employee hours because of the new machines, instead keeping more lanes open, said store manager Charles Swartz. The union representing store workers said they had been notified before the change, but they didn't object, saying it makes workers' jobs easier. ``I find the day goes faster,'' said Hunter, who preferred supervising four self-checkout aisles to working at a regular cash register. Eventually, the machines will be used to make up shifts that are hard to staff or to fill vacancies at understaffed stores, said Andy Carrano, spokesman for Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., SuperFresh's parent company. A&P said the self-checkout aisles account for about 30 percent of business at the 50 test stores. Customers should get used to dealing with a computer instead of a person, said economist Jeremy Rifkin Jeremy Rifkin (born 1943, Denver, Colorado), the founder and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends (FOET), is an American economist, writer, and public speaker. He is an activist who seeks to shape public policy in the United States and globally. . ``The bottom line here is that the cheapest worker in the world will not be as cheap as the technology coming online to replace them,'' said Rifkin, who predicts automation will replace a majority of the 3.5 million supermarket workers nationwide by 2020. Still, some people aren't ready to give up human cashiers. ``I'm a people person. I still enjoy when people check me out and help me,'' said Susan Wexler of Richboro. Nonetheless, she was using the auto-checkout because, ``It's faster than waiting in long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. when they have only one cashier open.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) A shopper takes advantage of the self-checkout cashier line at a grocery store in Cherry Hill Cherry Hill, township (1990 pop. 69,319), Camden co., W central N.J.; name was changed from Delaware township to Cherry Hill in 1961. Largely residential, Cherry Hill has been marked by great development and housing growth, especially since the 1970s. , N.J. (2) This kind of self-checkout computer is in place at about 300 grocery stores around the nation. Dan Loh/Associated Press |
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