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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Business
Gene Marks

Self-checkout is turning us into thieves – but it’s not our fault

‘The strange thing about self-checkout is that for all its humiliations, people like it.’
‘The strange thing about self-checkout is that for all its humiliations, people like it.’ Photograph: Elena Perova/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Do you hate self-checkout kiosks? Do you find them to be difficult, time-consuming and frustrating? Well, you’re wrong. It’s not the self-service kiosks that are the problem. It’s you.

For starters, you’re clearly unable to follow directions. When you buy an apple, you put the apple in the bag which needs to be on the designated place to the side of the kiosk where there’s a scale underneath so the machine can verify the weight of the apple otherwise you cannot proceed to the next item. Do you not see that? Can you not follow these instructions? Every apple counts, dammit. What is wrong with you?

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