These days, self-serve is becoming the norm. Even the airlines are doing it. Southwest has kiosks where you print your boarding passes and the tags for your checked bags. My last trip, I had to print a boarding pass for the originating flight and one for the connecting flight. It was early in the morning and I wasn't awake I guess because I only received a boarding pass for the originating flight. Didn't realize it till I was at the gate for the connecting flight. Luckily, a Southwest gate agent, taking pity on a not-too-bright little old lady, printed the pass for me.
I have no problem with self-serve at the supermarket -- when those things work. Unfortunately, at my local store, those scanners more often than not break down. Usually, it doesn't recognize something I scanned and will not let me go on to something else -- I have to wait till some slack jawed teenager comes over to fix things. Last time I waited so long with no one to come to my aid and the other checkouts were crowded -- I just left my intended purchasers at the register and walked out.
Unfortunately, in my little town, there is no competition other than an Aldi in a really seedy neighborhood, plus the store itself has the ambiance of an old warehouse. During the worst weather over the last couple of weeks, I took advantage of a grocery delivery service from a supermarket further away. Didn't have to go out to do the shopping and I didn't have to contend with recalcitrant self-serve checkouts or some lazy, incompetent cashier.
