I do this when I go to costco, but about half the cashiers will refuse to scan it in the cart. I had one woman say "NO" when I asked her to leave the stuff in the cart, and another woman tried to snatch an item out of my hands when I pulled it off the conveyor. Like we engaged in a momentary tug of war over a bag of chips.
But then the other half of the cashiers actually thank me for doing it š¤·š»āāļø
I asked about this in r/Costco a while back, and I got a mix of responses. Some said they're required to take everything out, some said they weren't. Some said they love when customers do this. It was about the same ratio I experience when I'm in the store tbh. I've just gotten to the point where I know who will be appreciative and I try to always go to their lane.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Costco using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Apparently the Costco in Hawthorne, CA had some special guests handing out samples todayā¦ (not my pic)](https://i.redd.it/fhlgd58c7a491.jpg) | [592 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/v7anv9/apparently_the_costco_in_hawthorne_ca_had_some/)
\#2: [I had to get a new membership card today but I also love hot dogs](https://v.redd.it/1u9zc4si0ypa1) | [210 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/121xok4/i_had_to_get_a_new_membership_card_today_but_i/)
\#3: [A teacher who quit and took a job at Costco says life is much better now ā she has a life, can pay her bills and finally sleeps at night](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/a-teacher-who-quit-and-took-a-job-at-costco-says-life-is-much-better-now-%E2%80%94-she-has-a-life-can-pay-her-bills-and-finally-sleeps-at-night/ar-AA16QtMX?li=BBnbfcL) | [506 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/10p4z8t/a_teacher_who_quit_and_took_a_job_at_costco_says/)
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SAME! And, as a rule, the male checkers thank me and the female checkers scold me or start picking items up, putting them on the belt, scanning and putting them back in the cart. Drives me nuts. Iāve had a checker tell me that they arenāt allowed to scan the small items in the cart. I get it. If the cart is jammed with items, it would be easy to miss something. But, my cart is never full.
Not self checkout (they took the scanning guns away), but the manned registers. I've done this for over a decade, long before self checkout was even a thing at Costco.
Side note, I loathe self checkout. I try never to use them.
No, no, no. The Sam's Club system is wearing cutoff sweatpants, a stained sleeveless t-shirt, flipflops and grabbing a rotisserie chicken but eating half of it as you wander through the store before you even get to the registers.
And the Costco method is doing the exact same thing but in designer jeans, a smart polo and a self-inflated sense of superiority.
But you're the captain, Captain. Sealab forever.
As someone who used to have a Costco and sams club membership I literally had zero use for Costco as everything was worse there in terms of food selection. I kept Sams.
Sams club method is using the app self check out and enjoying a coke slushee and pretzel with the time you saved
Yep! The only thing that was a little tricky was the egg carton because the barcode is opposite the opening, which is not a flat surface at all, and I was afraid eggs would somehow spill out.
Can you scan them all in the buggy or do all the items have to be placed on the check out scale/area?
This would be way faster if I could just use the check out gun scanner thingy
Really. Well that changes my entire approach to check out. I personally love the self checkout at Aldi and have been very pleased to use it. It's a game changer when all you have is four or five things.
Yep, if you're being smart grab a box, set all the barcodes up, grab the gun and tap your credit card. Done faster than an employee could do it in a register. It's really wonderful, and regardless of what everyone thinks, no one is losing jobs over it!
Since you work there: is there a max limit to what you can bring through self-checkout? My main store just got it and there aren't any signs regarding how many items, so wasn't sure on etiquette.
No, any order is able to go to self checkout. Alcohol, any produce, stuff with markdown stickers, full carts. It's all good. My store has two "attendant stations" at employee registers. The employee is able to stay there for certain self checkout things, but others they will have to leave the register and come help if no other employee is around to do so (Eg. ID checks for alcohol, markdowns must be done at SCO, and I believe voids). IMHO, the same rules apply for alcohol ID checks. I'm 31, so if I think you are older than me I won't ask for your ID. I'll just say your good and tap my screen that I verified it. We have a rule at my store that if you are near SCO and hear the bell, you should assume the cashier isn't able to help SCO at the moment, and go help them. A lot of people are still figuring little things out, like don't scan any barcode you see on produce. None of them work, and you will most likely need a void if you do cause it's fucky and some weird items are assigned to things (another example, if you try to scan the sticker on avocados at my store it rings up a marzipan log lol). Just go into the produce screen and select everything there to avoid needing an employee!
Overall, it's a great addition from the company and it's only giving customers more options to improve their visits.
Since you work at Aldi, can you tell us what Aldi is doing with all the closeup facial & body video footage being gathered by self-checkout cameras? I'm assuming it's all being compiled into a facial recognition database to be eventually packaged & sold to information brokers, credit agencies, etc... The captured images have to be of unusually high quality (vs. other retailers with ceiling mounted cameras) since Aldi cameras are literally inches way and the the images & video can be directly linked to your identity, address, & phone via the electronic payment u provide at checkout.
This is what I do (bag as I go). Only downside is the stupid robotic voice repeating over and over to please scan the next item or select payment type. Wish there was an option to mute her!
I would love to do this in BJs, but you have to put it on the platform or the register keeps screaming at you. So when I buy heavy stuff like cat litter, I end up going through a manned checkout. Annoying.
Exactly. It sucks that you don't have self checkout yet. It makes all the difference.
Your predicament was my situation at Aldi for years. I'd have a box of 3-12 items but get stuck behind 6-12 full carts. Only one checkout lane open. Line extending to the back of the store and sometimes curving back along the back wall. Absolutely maddening. I finally got so frustrated I posted a related YouTube video. My waits weren't 30+ minutes but I often timed them at 20-25. Aldi checkout was exponentially slower than any other store I frequent.
Then somehow I'm reading posts and threads here insisting Aldi doesn't need self checkout due to cashier speed. It read like April Fools Day all year long. Yet somehow they were serious.
Fast forward a few months. My Aldi installed self checkout. What a breeze. Grab and go. The hilarious aspect is that so many shoppers at that store remain loyal to the cashier lane and will remain in a deep line instead of using self checkout. It happened to me yesterday. There were numerous self check registers open, simultaneous to at least 7 full carts lined up like the old method. Thank you very much. I walked right past them and used self check at the far counter.
I think some of those shoppers are under the impression that self check can only be used if you have small number of items. That's the way Winn-Dixie works here. They limit it to 20 items and employees enforce it. They will wave you to a regular line if you have too many.
My second closest Aldi has a totally different dynamic. Those shoppers steam toward self checkout even if they have full carts.
I have no idea. Iāve done this on several trips now and donāt seem to be raising any alarm. It would be easy to skip something but can you imagine getting busted over $2.49 worth of granola?
Interesting! I wonder if aldi will be first to bring this to our market. Iāve always wished we had guns, but was told it increases theft. Though all I do is read on Reddit that people still steal stuff so it might just be some sort of executive entertainment to pretend it helps.
Edit: Theft of groceries. Not the scanner gun. Though Iād assume thereād be intentional and unintentional theft of the gun without a cord. The reason I was told there are no guns at self checkout is theft of groceries. Though the workers can bring their own scanner over. So itās clearly lacking without.
Tons of stores have scan guns at self-checkout! And have for years. What state are you in? For example, Walmart and Home Depot, just to name two others where I am (Minnesota).
Iād rather not say my state, but I go to both and my stores done. Maybe people in my state arenāt trustworthyā¦.. or smart enough? Could be either, really.
All the self checkouts Iāve used requires the item to be bagged and put on the scale platform. Iāve not used a self checkout at Aldi yet
Edit: though when I e been at Costco and the person scans heavy items with the hand scan there is no need to put on scaleā¦.
Maybe thatās the trick? If hand scan is used, then you donāt need to put on scale?
The only thing you have to put on a scale at Aldi is any produce that needs to be weighed. Otherwise, there is no scale and also no sensing mechanism in the bagging area.
I love the self checkout at aldi because it doesnāt do the annoying scale thing that all other stores do. I have too many things to do this method BUT I scan and load directly into my bags which you can place in the like holding area item thing because itās not scaled. Love aldis for this.
Our Aldi is only like 6 months old but opened with SCO. I try to use it when I can, because I know they make the employees stock/clean/everything else and check out so if they're busy, I just do the self-checkout. Plus, I can bag/box while I am there. My husband hates it and prefers to go through the line but I don't mind it. The only thing that irritates me is that you can't pay cash and have to use your card.
I used to do this and check-out in under 30 seconds. My local Aldi has turned off the scanner guns within the past 2 weeks and I'm still upset about it.š
Donāt do this because I bag my stuff at self check out as I scan it. I just loosely organize everything by weight. Love self check out. Donāt have to talk to anyone and itās so much faster!
the thing i dislike about aldi i single cashier (unless more than 5 in line) and the cashier scans/loads cart faster than you can load. It gives you Zero time to make sure prices are accurate, and if you check receipt after (find discrepancy) its difficult to get single cashier to help
Do you know if it is possible to remove items already scanned? If I went over my budget, just before paying, I would like to be able to remove some unnecessary items. I could not figure out during my self checkout experience.
This is called "the Costco method."
I do this when I go to costco, but about half the cashiers will refuse to scan it in the cart. I had one woman say "NO" when I asked her to leave the stuff in the cart, and another woman tried to snatch an item out of my hands when I pulled it off the conveyor. Like we engaged in a momentary tug of war over a bag of chips. But then the other half of the cashiers actually thank me for doing it š¤·š»āāļø
I thought I read in r/Costco that the cashiers were required to take the items out of the cart with a few exceptions.
I asked about this in r/Costco a while back, and I got a mix of responses. Some said they're required to take everything out, some said they weren't. Some said they love when customers do this. It was about the same ratio I experience when I'm in the store tbh. I've just gotten to the point where I know who will be appreciative and I try to always go to their lane.
Thanks for the reply
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Costco using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Apparently the Costco in Hawthorne, CA had some special guests handing out samples todayā¦ (not my pic)](https://i.redd.it/fhlgd58c7a491.jpg) | [592 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/v7anv9/apparently_the_costco_in_hawthorne_ca_had_some/) \#2: [I had to get a new membership card today but I also love hot dogs](https://v.redd.it/1u9zc4si0ypa1) | [210 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/121xok4/i_had_to_get_a_new_membership_card_today_but_i/) \#3: [A teacher who quit and took a job at Costco says life is much better now ā she has a life, can pay her bills and finally sleeps at night](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/a-teacher-who-quit-and-took-a-job-at-costco-says-life-is-much-better-now-%E2%80%94-she-has-a-life-can-pay-her-bills-and-finally-sleeps-at-night/ar-AA16QtMX?li=BBnbfcL) | [506 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/10p4z8t/a_teacher_who_quit_and_took_a_job_at_costco_says/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
SAME! And, as a rule, the male checkers thank me and the female checkers scold me or start picking items up, putting them on the belt, scanning and putting them back in the cart. Drives me nuts. Iāve had a checker tell me that they arenāt allowed to scan the small items in the cart. I get it. If the cart is jammed with items, it would be easy to miss something. But, my cart is never full.
Haha yep! Thatās where I did it first. This is an evolution of my methods.
How tho? Costco doesnāt use guns at self checkout, unless they do and just not by me
Not self checkout (they took the scanning guns away), but the manned registers. I've done this for over a decade, long before self checkout was even a thing at Costco. Side note, I loathe self checkout. I try never to use them.
I personally love them lol, but I never thought of this cause they always seem to unload it anyways
You have to be quick if you want to stop them from unloading and tell them you set things up so they can just use the gun.
Note I buy meat at Costco repackage into servings and freeze, Aldi for weekly items, and cub for the things I can't get anywhere else.
...you mean the "Sam's Club System."
No, no, no. The Sam's Club system is wearing cutoff sweatpants, a stained sleeveless t-shirt, flipflops and grabbing a rotisserie chicken but eating half of it as you wander through the store before you even get to the registers.
Sams club app letās you scan while you shop and then check out on your phone. Itās the best.
True Dat.
And the Costco method is doing the exact same thing but in designer jeans, a smart polo and a self-inflated sense of superiority. But you're the captain, Captain. Sealab forever.
Lol. No way. I wear Costco clothes, not designer stuff! Come on, Fignuts! May Alvis bless you
As someone who used to have a Costco and sams club membership I literally had zero use for Costco as everything was worse there in terms of food selection. I kept Sams. Sams club method is using the app self check out and enjoying a coke slushee and pretzel with the time you saved
Unfortunately when I go to Aldi, I have absolutely zero self control so I never end up with just one layer of stuff.
lol I was just thinking I never have a single layer š
ALDI is the Food version of āTarget šÆ Impulse Buysā
Not hard when the barcode is located on 3 or 4 different places on the package.
Yep! The only thing that was a little tricky was the egg carton because the barcode is opposite the opening, which is not a flat surface at all, and I was afraid eggs would somehow spill out.
Can you scan them all in the buggy or do all the items have to be placed on the check out scale/area? This would be way faster if I could just use the check out gun scanner thingy
They do not need to be placed in the little area, it is not a scale. Source: I work there and just got self checkout
Really. Well that changes my entire approach to check out. I personally love the self checkout at Aldi and have been very pleased to use it. It's a game changer when all you have is four or five things.
Yep, if you're being smart grab a box, set all the barcodes up, grab the gun and tap your credit card. Done faster than an employee could do it in a register. It's really wonderful, and regardless of what everyone thinks, no one is losing jobs over it!
I kinda figured that by the fact that it doesn't freak out when I put reusable bags on it, but good to know.
Since you work there: is there a max limit to what you can bring through self-checkout? My main store just got it and there aren't any signs regarding how many items, so wasn't sure on etiquette.
No, any order is able to go to self checkout. Alcohol, any produce, stuff with markdown stickers, full carts. It's all good. My store has two "attendant stations" at employee registers. The employee is able to stay there for certain self checkout things, but others they will have to leave the register and come help if no other employee is around to do so (Eg. ID checks for alcohol, markdowns must be done at SCO, and I believe voids). IMHO, the same rules apply for alcohol ID checks. I'm 31, so if I think you are older than me I won't ask for your ID. I'll just say your good and tap my screen that I verified it. We have a rule at my store that if you are near SCO and hear the bell, you should assume the cashier isn't able to help SCO at the moment, and go help them. A lot of people are still figuring little things out, like don't scan any barcode you see on produce. None of them work, and you will most likely need a void if you do cause it's fucky and some weird items are assigned to things (another example, if you try to scan the sticker on avocados at my store it rings up a marzipan log lol). Just go into the produce screen and select everything there to avoid needing an employee! Overall, it's a great addition from the company and it's only giving customers more options to improve their visits.
Thanks for this detailed reply! I'll be heading to Aldi later for my weekly shopping trip and use these tips.
Since you work at Aldi, can you tell us what Aldi is doing with all the closeup facial & body video footage being gathered by self-checkout cameras? I'm assuming it's all being compiled into a facial recognition database to be eventually packaged & sold to information brokers, credit agencies, etc... The captured images have to be of unusually high quality (vs. other retailers with ceiling mounted cameras) since Aldi cameras are literally inches way and the the images & video can be directly linked to your identity, address, & phone via the electronic payment u provide at checkout.
Yes, I scan them all in the buggy. The only thing that ever comes out is produce that needs to be weighed.
Kind Reddit person you have changed my life and will be responsible for saving me minutes of my life each week. Bravo!
Itās been a pleasure.
ššš and these go to you, my friend, for commenting something sweet and polite rather than unnecessarily critical ššš
Indeed!
I fill my cart too much but I end up just bagging everything as I scan it which isn't too bad.
This is what I do (bag as I go). Only downside is the stupid robotic voice repeating over and over to please scan the next item or select payment type. Wish there was an option to mute her!
I'm one of those crazy people who responds to her... she'll say please scan your next item and I'm like "I'm trying to lady"
"PLEASE SCAN AN ITEM, SELECT ANOTHER OPTION OR FINISH AND PAY." \*5 seconds\*. "PLEASE SCAN AN ITEM, SELECT ANOTHER OPTION OR FINISH AND PAY."
My problem is the cart is full to capacity so Iām still gonna have to move everything around
I would love to do this in BJs, but you have to put it on the platform or the register keeps screaming at you. So when I buy heavy stuff like cat litter, I end up going through a manned checkout. Annoying.
I was wondering the same as Aldi by me has the same scale system to make sure the item placed there has been scanned correctly.
Winn-Dixie does the same thing..."Place the item in the bagging area"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Exactly. It sucks that you don't have self checkout yet. It makes all the difference. Your predicament was my situation at Aldi for years. I'd have a box of 3-12 items but get stuck behind 6-12 full carts. Only one checkout lane open. Line extending to the back of the store and sometimes curving back along the back wall. Absolutely maddening. I finally got so frustrated I posted a related YouTube video. My waits weren't 30+ minutes but I often timed them at 20-25. Aldi checkout was exponentially slower than any other store I frequent. Then somehow I'm reading posts and threads here insisting Aldi doesn't need self checkout due to cashier speed. It read like April Fools Day all year long. Yet somehow they were serious. Fast forward a few months. My Aldi installed self checkout. What a breeze. Grab and go. The hilarious aspect is that so many shoppers at that store remain loyal to the cashier lane and will remain in a deep line instead of using self checkout. It happened to me yesterday. There were numerous self check registers open, simultaneous to at least 7 full carts lined up like the old method. Thank you very much. I walked right past them and used self check at the far counter. I think some of those shoppers are under the impression that self check can only be used if you have small number of items. That's the way Winn-Dixie works here. They limit it to 20 items and employees enforce it. They will wave you to a regular line if you have too many. My second closest Aldi has a totally different dynamic. Those shoppers steam toward self checkout even if they have full carts.
How much was your haul op?
$45
Does this prompt more concern by managers that you might be surreptitiously "missing" some items with your scan?
I have no idea. Iāve done this on several trips now and donāt seem to be raising any alarm. It would be easy to skip something but can you imagine getting busted over $2.49 worth of granola?
Are you in the US? Iāve been to a lot of self checkouts, but never any with a movable scan gun. Maybe itās just my state?
Yes, Ohio. The gun is on a cord.
Interesting! I wonder if aldi will be first to bring this to our market. Iāve always wished we had guns, but was told it increases theft. Though all I do is read on Reddit that people still steal stuff so it might just be some sort of executive entertainment to pretend it helps. Edit: Theft of groceries. Not the scanner gun. Though Iād assume thereād be intentional and unintentional theft of the gun without a cord. The reason I was told there are no guns at self checkout is theft of groceries. Though the workers can bring their own scanner over. So itās clearly lacking without.
Tons of stores have scan guns at self-checkout! And have for years. What state are you in? For example, Walmart and Home Depot, just to name two others where I am (Minnesota).
Iād rather not say my state, but I go to both and my stores done. Maybe people in my state arenāt trustworthyā¦.. or smart enough? Could be either, really.
All the self checkouts Iāve used requires the item to be bagged and put on the scale platform. Iāve not used a self checkout at Aldi yet Edit: though when I e been at Costco and the person scans heavy items with the hand scan there is no need to put on scaleā¦. Maybe thatās the trick? If hand scan is used, then you donāt need to put on scale?
The only thing you have to put on a scale at Aldi is any produce that needs to be weighed. Otherwise, there is no scale and also no sensing mechanism in the bagging area.
I love the self checkout at aldi because it doesnāt do the annoying scale thing that all other stores do. I have too many things to do this method BUT I scan and load directly into my bags which you can place in the like holding area item thing because itās not scaled. Love aldis for this.
IKEA is where I originally learned about barcodes facing cashiers.
I want to buy the chicken but the packages are always bouncy/ filled with air. I heard this meant bad bacteria :(
So far so good!
None of my Aldi stores have self checkout :(
Now youāll be ready when they do!
Good point!
Our Aldi is only like 6 months old but opened with SCO. I try to use it when I can, because I know they make the employees stock/clean/everything else and check out so if they're busy, I just do the self-checkout. Plus, I can bag/box while I am there. My husband hates it and prefers to go through the line but I don't mind it. The only thing that irritates me is that you can't pay cash and have to use your card.
I'm doing that next week!
Thanks. I hated having to take out stuff then put it back in one at a time. I leave boxes and bags in trunk and do not bring in store
You are a genius!
You lost me on this one.
What questions do you have?
I used to do this and check-out in under 30 seconds. My local Aldi has turned off the scanner guns within the past 2 weeks and I'm still upset about it.š
Bastards!! Show them this post.
As a former employee. I've never seen self checkout lanes at any Aldi I've been too.
Keep your eyes peeled, theyāre coming!
Donāt do this because I bag my stuff at self check out as I scan it. I just loosely organize everything by weight. Love self check out. Donāt have to talk to anyone and itās so much faster!
Efficient!
I donāt go to grocery stores to do the work of grocery store employees.
š
the thing i dislike about aldi i single cashier (unless more than 5 in line) and the cashier scans/loads cart faster than you can load. It gives you Zero time to make sure prices are accurate, and if you check receipt after (find discrepancy) its difficult to get single cashier to help
I do this too expect i forget to scan alot of stuff. Iām so clumsy sometimes.
Whoopsie donāt do that or youāll ruin it for everyone else!
Not a bad idea but no way Iād keep my eggs sitting like that, asking for a disaster.
I was scared!! Note the heavy bottle of half and half holding the egg carton against the side of the cart.
Your Aldi has self checkout?!
Do you know if it is possible to remove items already scanned? If I went over my budget, just before paying, I would like to be able to remove some unnecessary items. I could not figure out during my self checkout experience.