I used to think the self-checkout was a trap for the impatient.

I'd always pick the human cashier, convinced the machine would yell at me about an unexpected item. Then, at the Fred Meyer in Ballard, a woman in front of me with a full cart scanned and bagged everything in about 90 seconds while I was stuck behind someone writing a check. Do you think the machines have gotten better, or did I just pick the wrong lines?

3 comments

3 Comments

samthompson1mo ago

Patking nailed it, that luck thing is huge... I had a similar moment at the grocery store where I watched a guy with a full cart just breeze through a self-checkout while I was stuck behind someone arguing about a coupon. It's like you never really know which line is cursed until you're already in it.

kai6573mo ago

It's definitely a line luck thing.

patking3mo ago

Gotta disagree on that one. Seen too many people crush it with bad lines and others fail with perfect ones. The real skill is knowing how to work with what you get, not just getting lucky. A good player makes their own luck most of the time.