It was not possible to unload the store assistants
Over the past decade, residents of large cities have been able to get used to the «invasion of robots» — at least in the role of cashiers. In June of this year, the last and most elite of the federal grocery retail chains announced the launch of the corresponding program. Both customers and employees have ambivalent feelings towards self-checkouts. Will the new concept of paying live cashiers “kill” — MK found out.
When there are only three checkouts in the store, along which there are long queues and cashiers do not physically have time to serve visitors at rush hour, you will involuntarily exclaim “Glory to the robots!” If there is a compartment with self-checkouts nearby. Domestic retailers launched a pilot project with such cash desks back in 2013 — in order, as they noted then, to optimize human labor and facilitate the shopping process for visitors.
Years passed, and although initially the “robocash” did not meet with special enthusiasm from buyers, by the beginning of the 2020s it became clear that they made life much easier for many people. No need, for example, to stand in a long queue to buy yourself a package of ice cream. However, new technologies are not always clear from the start. Therefore, almost everywhere where self-service checkouts operate, consultants and store security guards look after them and help customers.
Of course, the technology of self-service checkouts was easier mastered by the younger generation. Still, it's new, and children and teenagers quickly cope with electronics. Older shoppers, on the other hand, sometimes find it easier to stand in line (and pay cash at the same time) than to communicate with a «robot».
— I don't know I, how to handle these devices, it will be faster for me to stand in line. If I go punching myself, I’ll definitely get confused, I’ll break something else. I tried once, the girl helped me, but then it turned out that you can’t pay in cash there. In general, I'd rather stand in line the old fashioned way, why take away work from sellers? — said the customer of one of the retail stores.
“The place is more nervous than at a regular checkout, but this work is usually paid at the same rates,” Oksana, a consultant at the checkout counters of a chain supermarket in north-west Moscow, told MK. — Lots of features. Help to scan the product if it doesn't work the first time. Remind about the QR code for milk, many are not used to scanning it. In addition, the scanner built into the cash register cannot cope with QR codes, you need to use a remote one. Cancellation of goods. Proof of age when selling alcohol. Well, along the way, I check if everyone scans goods correctly.
I really need to tell you more about QR codes. In recent years, the “Honest Sign” has begun to be glued on the packages of some categories of goods — this is actually a QR code with a unique product identifier that needs to be scanned along with a barcode. Previously, this was only found in alcoholic products, but now they can be found on water bottles and dairy products.
This to some extent made it difficult to buy at self-service checkouts. Not everyone watches the monitor during the purchase, however, if you buy cheese and do not scan the “Honest Sign”, an error window will pop up. Often they do not notice this and continue to check the rest of the products, although the process has already been stopped, new products are not loaded into the receipt.
Among the usual mistakes of buyers is re-sorting: according to Oksana, it often happens in favor of the store, and not the buyer, in these cases the employee also corrects this. For example, some buyers sell an ordinary tandyr flatbread worth about 40 rubles for the price of flatbread with cheese for 60 rubles.
—There was a story about six months ago when an old woman who bought a sweet potato turned to me, says the consultant. — It was the last one on the shelf — and moreover, the sweet potato was not even in the system, we could not carry it through the checkout. I ended up decorating it as a potato, my grandmother bought it for 20 rubles.
Shops struggle with theft when buying at self-service checkouts in their own way. «Robots» are always under the supervision of workers who make sure that all goods are entered into the check. Sometimes these are frank security officers sitting in the self-service cash register and quietly watching the flow, but more often they are consultants (employees). If a customer «forgot» to buy something, they will come up and point out the mistake.
“I have never stolen, I’m afraid for my karma, but there are enough friends who can take something away for little things,” says Anna, a student at one of Moscow universities. “They even have their own list of stores where security, let’s say, doesn’t pay attention to self-checkouts. They just fit, quickly break through, and the workers do not have time to notice that instead of one product, two goods got into the package at once. I sinned in that I used to put a couple of Moroccan ones in a bag with Abkhazian tangerines. However, the other day I bought cucumbers, a window “Ask to confirm the goods” was displayed at the checkout. The guard came up, saw that I was really buying cucumbers, and not some kind of mango at their price, and approved everything.
“If the buyer simply puts unscanned goods into the bag, the consultant calls the security guard immediately upon instructions,” added consultant Oksana from SZAO. Some, but not all, supermarkets have an artificial intelligence camera system that alerts them to unscanned goods put into a bag without going through the checkout. But more common violations — when the buyer enters the code of a cheaper product, but at the same time takes an expensive one (this applies primarily to vegetables, fruits and pastries) — the consultant's area of responsibility.
— My task is to politely correct the mistake, let's say that it was done by accident, — said the interlocutor of «MK». — There is no pretext for protest and discussion, it's just that if I see that a person takes, say, Baku tomatoes at the price of the cheapest greenhouse ones, I correct the situation. If an argument starts, then I call security.
“Equipment of retail outlets with self-service checkouts is primarily focused on the convenience of customers and does not set as its main task the reduction of staff costs,” Igor Karavaev, chairman of the board of the Association of Retail Companies, explained to MK. “This tool rather makes it possible to flexibly regulate the workload of employees, develop a multifunctional approach, increasing labor productivity and the efficiency of the outlet.
According to the expert, self-service checkouts, allowing customers to independently scan and pay for selected goods, thereby reduce the load on cash registers and help distribute flows during peak hours. And this reduces the waiting time and increases the comfort of customers. Their use, emphasizes the chairman of the board of AKORT, is especially relevant for customers with a small basket and without alcoholic beverages or tobacco, the sale of which must be confirmed by a store employee.
— On average, it takes no more than 2 minutes for one customer to make a purchase at a self-service checkout, — added Igor Karavaev. — Moreover, this time is reduced as you adapt to the device, which usually occurs within the first month of using the terminal. Now in retail chains — members of AKORT, from 15 to 65% of traffic inside retail outlets with established CSR accounts for them. At the same time, the issue of equipping retail outlets with such devices and their number depends on the patency and demand for technology in a particular store.
Thus, the «rebellion of the machines» is progressing successfully, but so far does not threaten store employees. As in the case of artificial intelligence in other areas: cars drive by themselves, the essay is written by itself, the picture is drawn by itself. But people are needed to maintain these machines. So, of course, times are changing, no one knows what will happen tomorrow. But we can watch this and keep up with the times, follow innovations and, as a result, make our lives easier with new technologies.