Finally, it's here! Everybody who knows me, knows that nothing drives me more crazy than a slow cashier and someone who doesn't bag my groceries 'the right way'. I refuse to shop at some stores because of it. Self scanning let's me go at the pace I need to go at and then use the self check out lane without having to balance a weeks worth of groceries on a little 2x2 foot platform. It's fast, efficient and for the win....my kid begs to go grocery shopping with me and behaves the entire time if he can use the scanner. It was a winner in Holland, it's a winner here now too.
Thank you QFC of Issaquah for implementing self scan shopping at your store. I've tried it three times now and like it more each time I come in. There are still some things I think can be improved to make the customer experience better but this is a huge step in the right direction to 'in and out' shopping. Please bring it to all your stores!!!
Scanners in Issaquah, WA (left picture) At this QFC, you take a scanner from the rack, scan or enter your membership number, and then you are ready to shop. Any coupons or discounts you have digitally linked to your membership card will be taken off when you scan the item.
Scanners in the Netherlands (right picture) At Dutch stores, you push a button on the touch screen and it indicates which scanner you must take from the wall. That means you have to search the three panels for the blinking light. They aren't linked to a personal account, the Dutch don't do coupons :)
Here's how we compare to the Dutch way...
Step 1: Get a scanner at the door
In both countries, you take the item you want to buy off the shelf, scan it with your hand scanner, and then place it into your cart. The scanners in Holland have less buttons and are therefore a little easier to operate. It's easy to figure out how to remove items you accidentally scanned and scroll through the list to check that you didn't miss anything. The QFC scanners have buttons all over and I haven't been brave enough to look for those functions yet.
Pro tip: have your shopping bag or InstaCrates Collapsible Storage Containers open in your cart and bag your items as you shop.
Step 2: Start Shopping and Scanning
The one big difference I've found between the two stores is how produce is handled.
In Holland you'd take all your produce to the scale and:
Use a computer screen to find the name of the item.
Place the item on the scale.
Accept the price on the screen and print a barcode sticker.
Put the sticker on the bag or item, scan the sticker, and put the item in your cart.
Repeat steps 2-5 for all your other items sold by weight.
Here at QFC you walk around the produce section and:
Scan the barcode on the shelf for each thing you take.
Find a scale and scan the barcode on the scale.
The scanner tells you what item to put on the scale (for example, red onion).
The scale transmits the weight and price of that item to the scanner. You accept the price on the scanner and put the item in your cart.
The scale tells you the next item to put on and you only repeat step 4.
I like the QFC better because I don't need to place every single type of produce in a separate bag and print stickers and search computer screens for oddly named items or worry if you picked the organic carrots or regular carrots from the screen. It reduces waste because I don't need to print anything and there's no printer to jam up and break. It's faster as well because you don't have to search for every single item on a computer screen. This is especially important when there are people waiting their turn. The scanner tells you what item to put on first. You accept the price with the scanner.The scanner tells you the next item to put on the scale.
Step 3: Check Out
Here is another area where it's slightly different between the two countries and in Holland it also differs between stores if I remember correctly. In the last few years, we've only self scanned at the Plus because that's nearest to where we often stay. When we lived there, we also shopped at the Albert Heijn. It's been so long, it's probably changed some.
In Holland you would hang up your hand scanner at a rack near the cash register and you process your transaction on the screen. A store employee might take your receipt and quickly run down it to make sure it matches up or an alert might pop up on their dashboard that they should check your cart because you bought some high ticket items like diapers. Or maybe you just look shady and they want to make sure you didn't add extra items in your bags. I'm not sure how the Plus does it because every time I used it this summer, something was broken or they had closed the self check out registers (wtf?) and you had to go to the customer service desk to pay. It was so bad at one store it was faster to go to a regular line, unload the cart onto the band, and check out like normal.
But QFC wasn't much better the first time I tried. The scanner didn't recognize or scan some items, it got the price wrong on another, and I didn't have time to mess around with it so quit and joined the regular check out lines. The second and third time we tried, it was a smooth process from beginning to check out. You scan the barcode on the bottom of the screen, it brings up your items and all the discounts and then you process your transaction on the screen. We've haven't been asked to check our bags yet. I haven't bought alcohol at this store either, but I'm willing to bet that's when you need an employee to interact. I'll take one for the team next time and buy a six pack to find out :)
Would I Keep Shopping Like This?
Heck yeah! I didn't have to small talk with anyone as they scanned my groceries and I could box up my items as I shopped so it saved time and energy from transferring them from the cart to the band, to a bag, and back into the cart. I did, however, have to explain my InstaCrates Collapsible Storage Container and where I got it to a curious employee so I didn't completely avoid human interaction this time.
I also got $5 off for using the self scan and they offer a free shopping bag for your first time using it. That's like getting all our cereal for free today.
Where I think they can improve:
The scanners aren't that accurate. If you don't hold them just right, they won't scan which is frustrating for an 8 year old and a mom trying to help someone who doesn't want help.
When the scanner wouldn't scan my membership card I tried to enter it with the buttons on the scanner as instructed but it wouldn't work; the space to enter the numbers wasn't long enough for the entire thing and it didn't tell me how to submit it. Do I press Ok? The green button? Scan?
All the buttons on the scanner make it intimidating and I was worried about making a mistake and then having to find someone to help me fix it.
After scanning, you still have to use the same check out lanes as everyone else. Granted, the self check out lanes usually have people who are buying one or two items, I would have liked to see a dedicated lane to use.
The kiddo was right on the money with his suggestion to link a payment method to the membership card so it automatically takes your money when you are done scanning. Amazon To Go store, we're coming to visit you next!
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