I despise the self-service lines, I'd rather see a human being with a job than save a few pennies.

Me, too. Kmart tried them and closed them before the year was over. That's when I was in New York. I see the Kmarts here don't have them, either. Every time I tried to use one, I got ripped off. It gave me a total And I put the correct amount of money in, and it said to add another dollar.

It demanded I put in more money. I told the clerk and she just shrugged her shoulders, so my shopping around for the best value got axed by the machine that made me pay more.

If all the markets in the chain steal a buck from everyone, they'd make a million, easy.

Uh - I have only used these once in a while .... but if it didn't agree w/ itself - is there no way to get money back and then go through regular checker?? If that isn't available, then I fail to understand why anyone would use them.

When I moved to the US from Canada, I noticed there were a lot more of these self-serve checkouts. Very rare in Vancouver, BC Canada, though I see some places adding them in (Extra Foods in Park Royal in West Vancouver).

I don't like them. I have a hearing problem, and can't always hear the scanner beep as things go across the window, and have to constantly be looking at the screen to see if the item scanned properly, and then the computerized voice just irritates me like mad, because I hear only about half of it. It sounds like a nattering idiot to me, and doesn't always correspond with what's on the screen.

Plus, if you're staring at the screen to ensure the item(s) scanned properly, then you're not looking at where the bar-code is on the product... and blindly hoping you've got the item in question in the right position while you're checking the screen.

They really need to have on-screen instructions as well, with an option to disable that awful voice. By the time I get through one of these episodes (yes, it feels like some kind of episode), I'm ready to strangle the thing to get the computerized voice to shut up, since I can't hear most of it properly anyway.

Don't even get me started on the automated phone stuff. It's like, "Press 1 for gibberish, Press gibberish for customer service, gibberish gibberish shipping, press gibberish for gibberish...."

Ok - now I've gone off topic....sorry 'bout that

The grocery store I shop at has self-serve checkouts, and I don't like them.

If you use cash, they are very convenient. If you pay with a check or credit card, a light comes on and you have to stand there and wait for the customer service person to come over and verify your signature, etc.

4 self-serve checkouts, 1 employee watching all 4. It usually ends up taking just as long as it would to go through the regular line.

Hee hee, I notice. Not only shopping carts but what others are eating who are "dieting". I think "If you really want to lose weight don't have that big ol whole wheat bagel and fruit salad every morning." OK, so I'm judgemental, what can I say?

I do that too-especially when it's people who go on and on about the FAT content of everything-ie "If I'm craving sweets, I just have some Twizzlers, they're low fat!"

Um, yeah, that really looks like it's working.

I never say it out loud, but I do think it.

Have you seen the new ads for Three Muskateers? A fat free treat! Implying they're good for you.

First of all, I'm no saint either. I do check out other people's carts when I'm bored but not to critisize. I often feel sorry for very overweight people starving on a low carb diet. I wish I could help them by suggesting a LC WOE. Of course I don't, unless they ask. I have some very thin friends who eat alot of things I can't without gaining weight, so I know that everyone is different.

My mother did Weight Watchers most of her life and maintained her weight. She loved it and it worked for her. I must have tried it 30 times and it made me miserable and hungry. She understood that my path was different from her's. It did make for some interesting meals when she stayed with us.

I know! Ridiculous.

My 6 year old has even commented on that one. She said "you're right mommy, commercials do lie. Candy bars can't float in the air."

looking at other ppl has always been my downfall. although i like to i try really hard not to even look at what other ppl eat/buy. when i see a skinny girl eating bad stuff....i think to myself "why cant i have it"..then i say "if i control the protion i can have it"...and then i am in the middle of a weekend carb binge.

i am not like everyone else. what is good for them is NOT good for me. I'v got to keep my blinders on in the grocery store or im afaraid of what my mind will convince my body to do....my mind plays against me most of the time. I've just got to keep control

This is a bit of a shift, but for years in her childhood my daughter took ballet. The sewing moms made all the costumes and I helped them with simple tasks. We made heavier children look good, we were careful with how the costumes looked under the lights.

That has lead to obsessive clothing watching. I am amazed how people look from the back. A wrap around mirror ought to be in every home.

And "ITS AT ITS WORST IN CHURCH". The dreaded communion line!!!!!!

I would be happy to graduate to grocery cart watching!