> precisely the way I want everything bagged (no crushed bread, no meat juice dripping on the candy)
I'm not sure what stores you go to, but just about every (bagger/cashier who bags) that I have ever interacted with has done their job quite well, and much faster than I would.
They have incentive to do so, because when they fuck up, or are too slow, they get chewed out by their manager. They also have 8 hours a day to practice.
Combined with the shit-show[1] of the self-service checkout station UIs (I haven't memorized every one of the 50+ produce codes - the cashiers have), and there is no universe where I get a better service in the self-serve checkout aisle.
Unfortunately, most of the full-service aisles have been eliminated, because it's cheaper to make customers waste their time struggling with the machines, than to employ cashiers. To the grocery, my time is free.
[1] To add insult to injury, the bagging area for the self-service machines is tiny - you can barely fit two shopping bags on it, so you end up playing a game of Tetris, as you try to scan your items. F* everything about self-service checkout machines. I still use them, because, thanks to the shortages, the full-service aisle lines are always too long.
You mention a variety of solvable (and in Wegmans' case, solved) issues.
The system I'm talking about is scan-as-you-go. No issue with the size of the bagging area. You're just putting things into your reusable bags directly in the cart.
Produce codes are simple - every produce display is labeled with a four or five digit code, and there are scales with label printers scattered throughout. These scales also display a bar code for use with the scanning app so you can forgo the label entirely. Even the folks going to a human cashier use these.
I've also been fairly impressed with their self-service UI when my phone's been too low on battery. Several years ago when they tried it out the UI was abysmal - it's clear they've made serious improvements in that realm and I've found it fast and user-friendly.
I like being able to decide how I organize my stuff. I can forgo bags for cases of soda, I can make the bags heavier than a cashier might, I can load them up based on how I'm going to unload at home.
Wegmans has kept the human cashiers, incidentally, with no noticeable increase in lines. Self-service is thus far an option, but one I prefer.
I'm not sure what stores you go to, but just about every (bagger/cashier who bags) that I have ever interacted with has done their job quite well, and much faster than I would.
They have incentive to do so, because when they fuck up, or are too slow, they get chewed out by their manager. They also have 8 hours a day to practice.
Combined with the shit-show[1] of the self-service checkout station UIs (I haven't memorized every one of the 50+ produce codes - the cashiers have), and there is no universe where I get a better service in the self-serve checkout aisle.
Unfortunately, most of the full-service aisles have been eliminated, because it's cheaper to make customers waste their time struggling with the machines, than to employ cashiers. To the grocery, my time is free.
[1] To add insult to injury, the bagging area for the self-service machines is tiny - you can barely fit two shopping bags on it, so you end up playing a game of Tetris, as you try to scan your items. F* everything about self-service checkout machines. I still use them, because, thanks to the shortages, the full-service aisle lines are always too long.