If I'm paying the same costs for things... Why wouldn't I want someone who's better at scanning the shit than I am to do the job? Why do I want to fumble with knowing the vegetable codes? Or waiting 8 minutes for an employee to come over when the scanner freaks out because the 3 oz item isn't in the bag... even though it's definitely in the fucking bag. I also have to wonder if theft goes up considerable with more self-checkouts in play. That means that costs can actually go up over time... no?

They can be an okay experience... But a lot of times they're not.