New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[V12man]

Ah, but it is the UK.  They have cameras everywhere.

True - we also have cameras at every till.... look around - still would not work....

[DIPSLICK]

HERE CAMERAS ARE USED BY AFFIRMITIVE SHOPPERS FOR SELFIES

[gummibear]

I was in the UK 10 days ago - not only did I have to scan and pack my own stuff at the superette, there was nobody at the tills to check what you did.... can't see that working here yet...

We still have that at a few shops.I recon their losses must be sky high at stock take.

 

They do a random check to see that you have scanned all the goods and the rest is based on trust.

[dev null]

I know NCR has a self service checkout system where it checks that the weight of the bag containing your stuff matches the combined weight of the items that you scanned through.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Moridin

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I know NCR has a self service checkout system where it checks that the weight of the bag containing your stuff matches the combined weight of the items that you scanned through.

Yeah, very common here in Toronto as well, all the supermarkets have self service lanes with the weighed bag, I cant remember when last I used a cashier lane, I just go straight to the self service lane, swipe my card and I am gone. No signing necessary here.

[dev null]

Yeah, very common here in Toronto as well, all the supermarkets have self service lanes with the weighed bag, I cant remember when last I used a cashier lane, I just go straight to the self service lane, swipe my card and I am gone. No signing necessary here.

 

 

Problem in SA is not that we are too backwards to use such a system.  The problem are the unions.  One self service lane means 2 employees less.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Moridin

[Boerklong]

Problem in SA is not that we are too backwards to use such a system. The problem are the unions. One self service lane means 2 employees less.

Dont forget the guy with the supermarket bib that pushes your trolley...

[DIPSLICK]

Problem in SA is not that we are too backwards to use such a system.  The problem are the unions.  One self service lane means 2 employees less.

  

Dont forget the guy with the supermarket bib that pushes your trolley...

THEN THERE IS THAT small ISSUE OF DISHONESTY

[intern]

Snuck out for a nice road bike ride yesterday; this is a pic overlooking the Kaipara Harbour after going up Pinchgut Road which is a short but pretty hard climb. Thought I was being clever going out at 11h30...overcast, then the sun came out after I was already home!

[intern]

PS I've had that same S-Works SL2 since 2007, it's still a great bike.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Problem in SA is not that we are too backwards to use such a system.  The problem are the unions.  One self service lane means 2 employees less.

Yeah, no doubt, I remember many years ago Pick & Pay started self service gas stations at their stores, the idea was so they could effectively sell gas cheaper by a few cents. I think the public supported it, but of course in two blinks of an eye they were forced to stop due to threats of strikes etc as the theory was they were eliminating jobs.

[SwissVan]

Yeah, no doubt, I remember many years ago Pick & Pay started self service gas stations at their stores, the idea was so they could effectively sell gas cheaper by a few cents. I think the public supported it, but of course in two blinks of an eye they were forced to stop due to threats of strikes etc as the theory was they were eliminating jobs.

 

 

Yeah i remember that, think the initial petrol station was at the Boksburg pick n pay before the east rand mall was built...they also got flack for selling fuel cheaper than the other petrol stations.

 

The concerns of eliminating jobs is a valid one in SA, there must be 10'000nds of people employed in positions such as pump jockeys, till packers etc... who would be unemployed adding to the already ridiculous high unemployment figures.

 

I often wonder about the wisdom of 1st world country companies employing these "machines" instead of hands on humans... end result despite what they say will be more people unemployed...and i think we are just at the beginning of a technology revolution when it comes to shopping...the age of machines taking over is approaching.... while it makes sense for companies from cost saving and efficiency point of view i wonder about the end result...more people living longer and fewer jobs 

[DIPSLICK]

Is that you Sarah

[intern]

Yeah i remember that, think the initial petrol station was at the Boksburg pick n pay before the east rand mall was built...they also got flack for selling fuel cheaper than the other petrol stations.

 

The concerns of eliminating jobs is a valid one in SA, there must be 10'000nds of people employed in positions such as pump jockeys, till packers etc... who would be unemployed adding to the already ridiculous high unemployment figures.

 

I often wonder about the wisdom of 1st world country companies employing these "machines" instead of hands on humans... end result despite what they say will be more people unemployed...and i think we are just at the beginning of a technology revolution when it comes to shopping...the age of machines taking over is approaching.... while it makes sense for companies from cost saving and efficiency point of view i wonder about the end result...more people living longer and fewer jobs 

That's a persistent and pernicious fallacy Swiss. Advancement certainly does eliminate a lot of jobs...but remember, every advancement is done for the benefit of people. Full employment is not a desirable thing; to use a bit of reductio ad absurdum, in the stone age we had full employment where people were banging rocks together and scraping around in the mud like the peasants in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Sure, everyone was working, but it wasn't very nice.

Also, crucially, as advancements happen, jobs don't disappear, they change. Think about the modern landscape...when I started work about 24 years ago, I had no idea what 'IT' was and I don't think I was alone. Today, there are an absolute multitude of jobs available which simply didn't exist then - just scan the classifieds.

Fundamentally, the idea that 'machines', mechanisation, automation and efficiency are a bad thing is a deeply flawed one. The logic is precisely the same as that applied by the Luddites in the 19th century when they set about destroying stocking frames and other machinery.

As noted by economist Henry Hazlitt, the introduction of machinery to stocking production caused an increase in the number of people employed in this industry by 4400%, while dramatically lowering the price of the finished good for any person who wished to purchase it.

That right there is the benefit of automation and the benefits it brings not just to those running the machines, but society as a whole.

[Guest notmyname]

Mechanisation in good old SA. Lol! We have these fancy fully automated speed cameras so two fat cops can sleep in the car while the ma-chin does the work.

[SwissVan]

That's a persistent and pernicious fallacy Swiss. Advancement certainly does eliminate a lot of jobs...but remember, every advancement is done for the benefit of people. Full employment is not a desirable thing; to use a bit of reductio ad absurdum, in the stone age we had full employment where people were banging rocks together and scraping around in the mud like the peasants in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Sure, everyone was working, but it wasn't very nice.

Also, crucially, as advancements happen, jobs don't disappear, they change. Think about the modern landscape...when I started work about 24 years ago, I had no idea what 'IT' was and I don't think I was alone. Today, there are an absolute multitude of jobs available which simply didn't exist then - just scan the classifieds.

Fundamentally, the idea that 'machines', mechanisation, automation and efficiency are a bad thing is a deeply flawed one. The logic is precisely the same as that applied by the Luddites in the 19th century when they set about destroying stocking frames and other machinery.

As noted by economist Henry Hazlitt, the introduction of machinery to stocking production caused an increase in the number of people employed in this industry by 4400%, while dramatically lowering the price of the finished good for any person who wished to purchase it.

That right there is the benefit of automation and the benefits it brings not just to those running the machines, but society as a whole.

 

I never said machines, automation or modern tech was a bad thing and yep i admit i had to use my google machine to find out what " pernicious " meant

That's definitely a benefit for stone age peasants like me...LOL

 

For those other stone agers like me:

pernicious:

having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

 

As for Mr Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993) of 4400%  fame (those machines could not have been very efficient...). Unfortunately he passed away long before smart phones proliferated planet earth like they do now, in other words the technology when he did his study was vastly different to that of today and tomorrow.  

 

Don't get me wrong, technology in the workplace certainly has its benefits... but i don't think we have experienced the full effect of technology replacing humans in the work place yet.