On Mar 11, 2011, at 11:01 AM, Roger Howard wrote: > > On Mar 11, 2011, at 7:23 AM, Arno Hautala wrote: > >> On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 04:57, Rodti MacLeary <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Is that in some way analogous to putting an 'unexpected item' in his >>> 'bagging area'? >>> >>> That's a British supermarket joke, appreciate it may have limited use here. >> >> At first I thought it was an airline joke. And, at least in New >> England, we have the same automated checkout lines. I cannot hit the >> mute button fast enough. > > We've got them here too, and they painfully demonstrate how important good UI > can be, and how bad UI in an automated system seems sure to cost more than > just doing things the old fashioned way. > > I was at a grocery store in LA last week, in a hip neighborhood with mostly > young iPhone toting customers. There were 2 regular checkstands open - this > was at about 7pm, when the store was packed - and a massive line for the 4 > automated checkouts. There were 3 checkers *and* a security guard helping out > in the automated line, and it was taking longer to get through than in the > long lines of the old-school checkout lines. I saw two people forget to take > their change; one of the machines crashed while I was in line, causing panic > amongst the people who were randomly queued up in its general direction; and > mine compulsively refused to scan a perfectly fine looking barcode, despite > about 10 attempts, but did it perfectly the second the checker came over.
For all my love of tech, I hate this kind of automation that removes the human component from various bits. It's like those stupid phone systems you talk to. At least I know how to bypass those and get straight to a person. > > I've also got a neighborhood store closer to home with a similar system, but > I see old ladies use it every day without trouble. It's simple, it will hold > your hand but also doesn't complain if, like me, you want to scan fast and > furiously. It also works. They have one person overseeing 8 lanes and the > only time she gets involved is to check ID for liquor. I guess in some places it makes sense. --Larry _______________________________________________ Osx-nutters mailing list [email protected] http://lists.tit-wank.com/mailman/listinfo/osx-nutters
