Amazon Ditches 'Just Walk Out' Checkouts at Its Grocery Stores
gizmodo.com
Amazon Fresh is moving away from a feature of its grocery stores where customers could skip checkout altogether.

(via https://hachyderm.io/@jbcrawford/112202942593125987, archive: https://archive.is/VnqRZ)

surprise, Amazon’s godawful surveillance grocery stores were just exploiting hidden labor and calling it innovation, and even that was too expensive

even worse, the few times I’ve seen one of these fucking things in the wild, it still had 1-2 employees hovering near the entrance to make sure nobody did the utterly obvious (fuck with the payment system and get free shit), a job that’s also known as a fucking cashier, but with much worse pay, much harder labor (physically stopping shoplifters), and no counter to lean on or opportunity to even sit down

  • Cyrus Draegur@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    8 months ago

    the only “self-check-out” system I have ever liked is:

    1. I have the store app on my phone.
    2. I scan the items with my phone app as I grab them off the shelves.
    3. I then tell the app, “ok, i’m ready to pay for these”
    4. it runs the charge digitally.

    no waiting in a queue,
    no ‘place the item back in the bagging area’,
    no stuffing bills into slots,
    no ‘follow the instructions on the pin pad’.
    I’m already done!

    • David Gerard@awful.systemsMEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Self-checkouts in the UK have a vital use case much in demand from the populace: they save the British from ever having to talk to another person. Probably for the best for everyone really.

  • lettruthout@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    “Though it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labeling videos to ensure accurate checkouts. The cashiers were simply moved off-site, and they watched you as you shopped.”

    • self@awful.systemsOPEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      the secret sauce is always hiding labor exploitation behind a thick layer of bad ideas

    • Hello_there@fedia.io
      1·
      8 months ago

      Lol. This is some.wizard in oz don’t look behind the curtain level of shenanigans. I remember the news articles when it released all said it was automation.

      • jonne@infosec.pubEnglish
        2·
        8 months ago

        Pretty much every startup operates like that, they hope to figure out the AI stuff later on and basically never do.

  • Pistcow@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    8 months ago

    I never had an issue with the one near me. Saw maybe 5 staff in the building. Is a bit more expensive than a traditional grocery store.

    Honestly, grocery stores have turned to ass due to the fact they’re taking out the automated checker while only having 1-2 live cashier. Fuck ifi want to spend 20-30 minutes waiting in a line.

  • Optional@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    8 months ago

    It’d be swell if someone could go ahead and make an equal alternative to amazon. Y’know, doesn’t have to be perfect, just - y’know better people and such.

    • alekwithak@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      8 months ago

      Better people wouldn’t be able to compete with the cutthroat business practices that put Amazon on top in the first place.