Walmart alters course: Drops self-checkout expansion amidst customer concerns

The advance of Technology helps facilitate our lives a great deal, but do we pay a high price when it comes to relying on the machines way more than we should?

In order to speed up the process of running errands and shopping for groceries, Walmart introduced self-checkouts. What they didn’t expect, however, is to face backlash because of this decision that many of the customers consider controversial.

The self-service machines aren’t something new. In fact, they were first introduced in the 1980s to lower labor expenses.

But this service faced plenty of obstacles and customers complain to the added responsibilities.

For example, certain items may have multiple barcodes, whereas the produce, including the meat, fruit, and vegetable, typically needs to be weighed and manually entered into the system using a code, which might be time consuming for the ordinary shoppers. Other times shoppers won’t hear the “beep” confirming an item has been scanned properly.

Another issue is the increase of theft. Walmart announced that thefts at its stores has reached an all-time high.

The machines not only fall short at their purpose of making shopping easier at times, but they also make it harder for the employees they were meant to help.

Christopher Andrews, a sociologist and author of The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy, says the system “doesn’t work well for anyone.”

He continued: “Everyone feels like they have to have it. Companies are thinking: ‘If we can just get more people on this, maybe we can start reducing some overheads.’”

What’s most, most of the customers have reported that they miss the human interaction while shopping.

Randy Parraz from Making Change at Walmart perfectly summed up customer sentiments by saying, “You can’t convince customers to do the job of a cashier just because you don’t want to pay for the work.”

Walmart decided to listen to what their customers had to say and instead of further expanding automation, the retail giant will hire additional cashiers to provide their customers with a pleasant shopping experience and service.

What Walmart and the rest of the retailers, among which Costco and Wegmans, learned is that efficiency is important but maintaining a balance with positive experiences remains crucial.

“Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Drop Huge Super Bowl Surprise: Here’s What They’re Planning!

Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Super Bowl wedding proposaI prop bet appears on online sportsbook. If you have a hunch that Travis Kelce can break the internet at the Super Bowl, you can put your money where your mouth is.

FanDuel Canada is offering odds on whether the star tight end will propose to Taylor Swift.

Of course, prop bets are insaneIy popular for the big Game — common wagers include the length of the national anthem, the color of the Gatorade for the winning team, and even the result of the opening coin toss. At FanDuel Canada we are constantly looking for new ways to engage our customers with new and unique markets, the FanDuel Canada Trading Team said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The Super Bowl has a great History of these types of bets and we’re excited to be able to Iink pop culture and sport through our Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift offerings.

The odds opened up at +140 for yes (a $100 bet wins $190), while no began at -170 (must bet $170 to win $100). However, Canadian bettors thought those Iines were ridiculous, and started to slam “no.”

Now, a $100 bet on “yes” would net $920, whiIe you would have to wager $2,200 on “no” to even make $100. Just note, though, that the fine print states that the proposal must take place on the field after the Game.