Re: B&Q self checkout machines

[js.b1]

I never had any trouble with them, until someone posted an

> earlier winge here, since when they've been a disaster for me. > They don't work with capping and conduit either.

Same here :-)

The scales need a high level C-shaped hoop, say at 1.5m. That way the bulk of the weight of long yet light items is maintained downwards onto the scale, not "lost" by falling onto the framework... or distributing themselves all over the floor.

One bloke running round all 4 machines continually overriding > incorrect weight errors.

M&S and Asda machines work ok on light items like diet hot-choc (22g?) if you drop them into a bag, but not if you drop them onto a loose bag which cushions their impact (not registered).

The B&Q units appear more industrial. I wonder if their scales are capable of weighing heavier items at the expense of precision - such as every 50g instead of every 1g like supermarkets. That might not help discrimination of light objects.

The most laughable part of B&Q is "take your items ... ... ... ... ... do not forget your receipt". I can not help thinking it would be more logical to say "please wait for your receipt before taking your items".

Ah, usability... that post production & commissioning process :-)

[Dave Liquorice]

Quite agree. After the dreadful experiences of trying to use the ones in Tesco I just refuse to use them anywhere. They are just so slow, I'd rather spend the time in a checkout queue relaxed and day dreaming than getting annoyed at a machine that can't keep up or just takes too long to respond to each item scanned.

[Neil]

10 % oh if only it were that simple. The B&Q trade discount system appears to have been designed by the team that previously worked out the old British Rail fare structure. Bletchley Park would have been stumped by this and Alan Turing likely have opened a bicycle repair shop in frustration.

The basic premise is that under no circumstances should the customer be able to work out what the discount will be. This is backed up by staff who don't know either. Helpfully the till receipt is programmed to display discount as

0% - whatever the discount subsequently turns out to be. Not only does it vary from line to line but also product to product and from month to month. Added to this is the volume discount (the only transparent part of the system and mischeviously included to give the false impression that someday all will explained). A 'teaser' system also operates whereby specific products will be stickered to the effect that 'cost with trade card is'. Fate dictates that your needs will never coincide with one of these items.

Its like a Kafka play

Neil

[The Medway Handyman]

Its not so much the machines as the complete planks who try to use them causing huge clues. The ones in our local Morrisons work almost 100% properly, its the thicko's who use them.

[The Medway Handyman]

Applause!

[Clint Sharp]

In message , geraldthehamster writes

Nope, that won't work. Best thing to do is make sure they don't work by damaging the bar code or leaning on the scale

[mark]

Wish I had a clue sometimes :-)

mark

[Clint Sharp]

In message , js.b1 writes

Try a bag of Seabrook's crisps, screws up every time or maybe the machine's trying to tell me something....

[tim....]

I don't agree.

The ones in Tesco don't work well, and as someone who's day job is similar products, I can see exactly what is wrong with them (rather than with me!)

tim

[Neil]

Thank you. I needed cheering up following a visit by the armed wing of the same outfit "The Provisional B&Q" otherwise known as their 'Delivery Service' (is that ever a misnomer) this afternoon. Whilst it always a pleasure to renew ones aquaintance with the taciturn neanderthal that drives their HIAB I had foolishly anticipated that the words "First drop of the day" carefully scribed onto the whiteboard at the tradedesk would have resulted in his cheery visage arriving at my jobsite rather earlier than

3.40.

Still at least it did eventually arrive. Their previous best effort was to order the goods, arrange delivery, take payment and then do bugger all. I gave up trying to talk to them on the phone and went down to the shed for a face to face. The conversation went roughly as follows

Me "hello Fiona can you tell me whats going on with my delivery" Fi " lets have a look at your sales advice - ok I know why its not been delivered its because its not been scheduled" Me " whys that then ?" Fi " because you didnt pay for delivery" Me " its a trade account - I don't pay for delivery" Fi " are you sure, because it says here that you paid by credit card" Me " well my receipt says B&Q Trade Card" Fi " how did that happen then ?"

I lost the will to live at that point and somehow they contrived, quite by accident to deliver everything to the right address later that day. But just to prove who held the reins of power they did deliver scant instead of CLS. And the wrong size.

Neil

[Tony Bryer]

When I lived in the UK the ones at Tesco Teddington reduced me to anger more than once - often late at night there would be no manned tills. Here the ones in my local Safeway work fine and are a good way of reducing a large ex-ATM note to smaller notes or getting rid of loads of coin, in either case without the embarrassment of tending same to a hard pressed checkout operator.

[Owain]

Tesco tills object if you put your own bag on the 'bagging scale' but if you scan your tin of something, put it in your own bag, then put that on the bagging scale, it's (usually) within tolerance.

I quite like self-scan as it means nobody can see me buying anything embarrassing, but what's the B&Q equivalent of Value Condoms?

Owain

[Lino expert]

8> I quite like self-scan as it means nobody can see me buying anything

White spirit - you can put your tool in it, but you'll likely get a nasty rash.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd rather have a decent self service unit than the usual checkout assistant who would rather be anywhere but there.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Both the Tesco and Sainsbury ones round here are fine.

[Tim W]

geraldthehamster wibbled on Monday 26 October 2009 18:42

Did they *ever* put sufficient staff on the tills?

[Tim W]

Dave Liquorice wibbled on Monday 26 October 2009 19:09

Wing Yip (Chinese Supermarket) in Croydon (well, more Waddon) have the correct idea. You potter round and fill your trolley.

You queue up behind at most one person, choosing from the dozen or so staffed tills.

Then you stand back while one bloke unloads everything, the girl rings it up and another girl packs it for you. By the time you've typed you PIN on the card machine, your trolley is reloaded with bagged goods ready to push to the car.

Given tehy are subject to the same minimum wage laws Tescos etc are, why can't they all do that?

[dennis]

They wait until the item is on the scales before they allow the next one to be scanned. It can be a real pain.

Q someone that doesn't know the bit the bags are on is a big set of scales saying they don't have to weigh everything. 8-)

[ericp]

he wasn't old when he went in. It was trying to find someone to help him with the slabs.

He will be dead by the time he loads them in his Clio and trys to get it home. :)

[Dave Liquorice]

This requirement to "weigh" items that don't need weighing (tins of beans etc) might be where the instructions are failing. I scan an item, it beeps to acknowledge the scan (eventually, the scanners seem very slow and unreliable, yes I have tried just zooming the object through, going through slowly, pausing in front of the window all to no apparent effect on the reliabilty). Then I put the tin of beans or what ever (that doesn't need weighing) on the conveyor. The scales, IIRC, are built around the scanner like on the manned checkouts not a seperate platform.

Different design of self op checkout. They do have the small ones that have a basket trough, scanner, bagging area but on the big ones designed to take trolly loads the "bagging area" is more like 8 foot from the the scanner.