I like the concept of self-scanning but it just often doesn’t work well. Self-checkout and even more specifically self-scan sucks for three reasons:
1) Too many products don’t have anything to scan. I can hardly think of a time that I went to a hardware store without someone having to look up the price of a part because of no barcodes. Think screws, paver stones, etc.–none of those have barcodes where I live. Even fruit commonly doesn’t have anything to scan. The bunch of bananas might have a sticker, but what about the one you picked off the bunch? It may or may not have a sticker.
2) Too many products are priced by weight. Until self-scanners have a better weighing system, I’m going to the checker with a proper scale. I don’t know about you, but my phone doesn’t yet weigh apples or bananas properly.
3) The service people at the counter often apply coupons that I have no idea about. Nice to do less work and save money at the same time.