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Self-Check-Out Kiosks: Friend Or Foe?. Have You Ever Been

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Self-Check-Out Kiosks: Friend or Foe? Have you ever been in a rush to get in and out of a store? Did you contemplate using the self-check-out kiosk? Before deciding to use self-check-out kiosks there may be a few factors to consider. Self-check-out kiosks are marketed to both customer and retailer as a means of more efficient service. However, they actually can be frustrating for customers, give poor customer service, eliminate employment positions, and create opportunity for multi-level theft. For a 2008 project called the Human-use Experience: Supermarket Self-Checkout Kiosk, a MIT student evaluated the self-check-out kiosk in a local supermarket. The process was something like this: The student continued to explain that when it…show more content…
Many retail stores have eliminated human cashiers for the most part, leaving customers no other option but to use self-check-out kiosks. This was the case at an IKEA outlet, where the president of an international consulting firm, who has tested kiosks worldwide, was a customer (Gagliordi). In the article, “IKEA checks out of self-service” at retailcustomerexperience.com, Francie Mendelson, president of Summit Research Associates, was quoted as saying, “There was no explanation on how to use them. I was aiming the scan gun at the bar codes and it just wasn’t working. An employee came by and said I needed to hold the scanner about six inches from the barcode. I asked her, 'How was I supposed to know that? There is nothing on the screen to indicate that this is how the thing works. ' She shot me an angry look and walked away” (Gagliordi). The self-check-out kiosk at this IKEA store clearly aggravated the seasoned veteran user, so perhaps it could be concluded that customer service by way of computer is not a good option. The kiosks not only cause frustration, but also create backed up lines in the smaller areas they are positioned in (Gagliordi). After a rash of customer complaints, U.S. IKEA stores removed the self-check-outs (Gagliordi). IKEA is not the only retail store that has put human cashiers back to work. In a 2014 Wall Street Journal article, "Returning to Wal-Mart: Human Cashiers," the superstore addresses their biggest customer complaint; long
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