Supermarket Strike Averted as Unions and National Chains Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Comments

Shop guilt free. But don't use the damn automated check-out aisles. They're a miserable experience and bad for labor.

captdrastic on October 21, 2013 at 5:54 PM

@1 I can see your 2nd point but not your first. Its so convenient to use and go much faster. But they need an age limit on them older people seemed confused by them.

Seattle14 on October 21, 2013 at 6:00 PM

@2: Oh really?

Phoebe in Wallingford on October 21, 2013 at 6:05 PM

Confused by them?

Not really but we don't trust them, just like we don't trust the privacy-destroying NSA or FB

Will in Seattle on October 21, 2013 at 6:08 PM

@ 3 I meant that in jest, you can't do that legally. But it does seem people who are older seem to take a lot longer at them.

Seattle14 on October 21, 2013 at 6:12 PM

@5: No problem. I find them more of an annoyance anyway and go to a cashier.

Phoebe in Wallingford on October 21, 2013 at 6:17 PM

I'm 30, and my problem with the self-check outs is that they are too damned slow and finicky when I use them. I used to work at Trader Joe's, so I want to be moving about 5 times as fast as they'll let me. They're also insanely difficult to deal with when bringing your own bags.

Hanoumatoi on October 21, 2013 at 6:39 PM

I'd ban old people, people who feed change in, ten cents at a time, for a $40 grocery bill, and people who let their small children do the whole checkout. *That* takes a hundred times longer than when old people do it.

originalcinner on October 21, 2013 at 6:56 PM

@2
What are you talking about? They're slow and clunky as shit. They're designed to be slow, as anyone who has used a real register could tell you.

emor on October 21, 2013 at 7:00 PM

@9: *virtual fistbump*

Hanoumatoi on October 21, 2013 at 7:05 PM

I hope using the self checkout at a union store is as close as I ever get to experiencing what a scab must feel like.

TomJohnsonJr on October 21, 2013 at 7:07 PM

I'm still gonna shop at Central Co-op and PCC, but I'm glad the strike is over.

rtm on October 21, 2013 at 7:14 PM

I use the automatic checkout not to avoid the checkers but to avoid the sad specimens of humanity I invariably get stuck behind -- the ones with 50 expired coupons, the ones who want to argue that the special price on Super Clean should be honored for Ultra Clean as well, the ones with 33 items in the express lane, the ones who need to dash back out for "one more item", the ones who want a refund on the thing they already ate 3/4 of, the ones who want to chat for ten minutes, the ones who need to know if these have weeblax brinkles in them.

Automatic scanners are fast if you know how to use them. Just don't try to take booze through them.

I heard a funny story the other day about a guy in England who got busted because he had been buying all of his groceries with the weight code for "bulk potatoes" for a year. 17p a pound....

Fnarf on October 21, 2013 at 7:36 PM

Good. I buy my guilt-free Stoli at a Kroger store and then drink to the ass-pirates!

on October 21, 2013 at 8:04 PM

@ 9 I'm just saying I've used it for a few years now, it seems to move faster.

Seattle14 on October 21, 2013 at 8:06 PM

I loathe automated checkout machines. But then, I'm a neo-Luddite and proud of it (but, unfortunately, has been in high tech for almost 30 years - most recently in healthcare IT.)

Dr. Z on October 21, 2013 at 8:06 PM

@ 10 I was thinking over 40 =)

Seattle14 on October 21, 2013 at 8:06 PM

Happy a strike has been averted. The only thing I hate about automated check-out is when I get that "attendant has been notified to assist you" message for no apparent reason, and I have to wait for an employee to reset the machine. I never understand why that happens.

Gern Blanston on October 21, 2013 at 8:19 PM

I like the automated checkout machines - it always seems like I get at least a few free items.

on October 21, 2013 at 9:03 PM

Does this mean they'll be making a living wage and McGinn won't oppose anything they try to do via "community benefit" notions ?

ChefJoe on October 21, 2013 at 10:18 PM

I am an old person and cannot stand self-checkout, but I'd never get in your way because after one or two tries, I never used them again.
Ditto for self-pump-gas, but that's hardly ever an option.
Ditto for self-serve buffet "restaurants" (especially if they have "tip jars")
I long for the old days when one was waited on properly.

crone on October 21, 2013 at 10:22 PM

Oh give it up Seattle 14, we got what you meant and it was not funny.

sarah70 on October 21, 2013 at 10:41 PM

Just in time..finished project...potato chips...mmm....QFC open all night...yum...

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on October 21, 2013 at 10:42 PM

@24...

And you really care, "asshole who hates unions and would cross any picket line"

Rujax! on October 21, 2013 at 10:46 PM

@9: That's basically the only time I've felt comfortable using them; back in college when I had to pay for my microwave burritos with spare change at 3:30 am, after my shift at the factory ended. I wouldn't hold anyone else up, and the machine wouldn't get justifiably annoyed at having some jerkoff pay with nickels.

Ben on October 21, 2013 at 11:37 PM

@ 23 Why so grumpy?

Seattle14 on October 21, 2013 at 11:50 PM

I have no problem with the self checkouts. Once I got familiarized with them, it became a great way of getting out of the store faster. I get my movie tickets using online or in theater automated services. I don't use a stand alone calculator or dedicated music player. I don't buy CDs. For everyday photography, I use my phone, not a separate camera. I have no home phone. Ready or not, technology is coming. You can go with it, or stay behind wishing it was the 1990s again.

Rob in Baltimore on October 22, 2013 at 5:35 AM

Once you understand how the self checkout machines operate, they are very fast and easy to use. If it moves too slow for you or is always stopping you to get an attendant to come over, you are using it incorrectly.

Theodore Gorath on October 22, 2013 at 5:46 AM

I went to the Mill Creek QFC yesterday at noon, hoping to stock up while it was still acceptable to do so. The place was busier than I've ever seen it, and it seemed like the entire store's staff was there. Generally, I can't find more than 3 staffers in the store, but there were at least 2 dozen roaming about. The tension in the air was palpable. Glad to hear things were worked out. Folks are on edge enough these days.

Sir Vic on October 22, 2013 at 6:13 AM

#25

At any time you may add the link supporting the quote you attribute to me.

Or, in 24 hours, I will send your post the editors of SLOG as an example of a posting violation.

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on October 22, 2013 at 7:39 AM

When I go to the QFC (as I said, we are Red Apple people) I always use the self-checkout, although it can be vexing. Just yesterday I popped into QFC to get a few things, and - horrors - didn't have a bag. When I purchased a bag and put it in the bagging area, the machine had a total meltdown and summoned an attendant.

I'm glad the strike was averted.

Catalina Vel-DuRay on October 22, 2013 at 7:40 AM

#25

Oh, heck...why should I wait for you to wake up, get your coffee.

I just reported you right now!

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on October 22, 2013 at 7:41 AM

John Bailo is the dumbest motherfucker on the planet.

Feel free to report me immediately you big baby. I love it when old white dudes complain about being persecuted. It's really adorable.

Theodore Gorath on October 22, 2013 at 8:01 AM

I nearly always find the self checkout to be quicker than an attended line, as long as the self checkout is vacant when I approach it. I rarely see an attended check stand where there is not a line. If I have to wait on people, then it becomes a tossup, since I always seem to get behind someone who wants to fondle each item after scanning and before bagging. That upsets the self check, because you only get a limited time for the scale to see the weight of the item after scanning. For some reason, these people can never figure this out.

WestSeven on October 22, 2013 at 8:23 AM

@ 19 +1.

@ 28, in the 90s "I don't buy vinyl" was the epithet, along with "you just wish it was the 70s." And if you're a poor photographer, it's best not to have a separate camera - it's like soccer mom having a Maserati.

Matt from Denver on October 22, 2013 at 8:31 AM

And that self service gas! I remember when you'd pull in and a chipper lad would run to your Oldsmobile with a hearty "What'll it be, Chief? Fill 'er up with high test?" Now they have these computers with their screens and buttons all over the place and nobody to salute you as you motor away. Oregon's authentic artisanal handcrafted gas service is the last remnant of real America.

And get off my lawn.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn on October 22, 2013 at 9:03 AM

@18 Fuck you. 40 isn't old.

Hawke on October 22, 2013 at 9:16 AM

@PaulConstant "Happy the grocery strike has been averted, but what am I supposed to do with all the toilet paper I bought yesterday?"

Butt Update #2?

on October 22, 2013 at 9:51 AM

I have absolutely no issues with self-checkouts. I just prefer going through a checker line. At some point we'll be able to live most of our lives without actually having to interact with other human beings. I'll enjoy the personal touch while I can.

Hernandez on October 22, 2013 at 10:12 AM

I use an automated checkout based on principal - - It makes me feel a little better knowing that I might be making a difference in showing lazy, slow union workers that 1) I don't need them 2) that I refuse to cave to their demands that we OWE them a paycheck just because they're part of a union 3) I hate waiting in a line where idle BS chit chat takes up the same, if not more, time than going through a self-checkout.

Unions SUCK! Do a Google search on "How unions killed Michigan"

For union workers: Do some research on where your union dues go to. (hint: Union bosses' HUGE paychecks and the Democrat party; your ongoing, FORCED dues is NOT an investment. As a matter of fact it's one of the worst reasons your paycheck isn't higher)

jacktee1234 on December 25, 2013 at 12:04 PM

Supermarket Strike Averted as Unions and National Chains Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

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