TOPS in Central Silom has just installed self-checkout counters. Of course you still have to pay for bread separately and have fruit and vegetables weighed and priced by staff. Discount vouchers will not work without staff assistance. Today, the scanner would not recognise any of the barcodes for our weighed fruit - and of course the staff member looking after self-checkout was busy putting the entire shop through for a Thai who was just using self-checkout as a normal checkout. Then there is no go back option if you make a mistake such as selecting pay by card instead of cash. It's a step in the right direction when the checkouts are heaving just before closing, but hardly 4.0.....

Why would a supermarket instal self checkout in Thailand when labour costs are so very low! There's a case for self check out in the West, maybe, because staffing costs are so expensive, but in Thailand!

TOPS in All Seasons Place has had self check out for at least a couple of years.  They are rarely busy and most people just put a few items through. They break down from time to time but when working they are quick and efficient.

 

Moving in the right direction, nothing to whinge/complain about.

"there is no go back option if you make a mistake such as selecting pay by card instead of cash."

Maybe think before you enter? 

31 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

TOPS in All Seasons Place has had self check out for at least a couple of years.  They are rarely busy and most people just put a few items through. They break down from time to time but when working they are quick and efficient.

 

Moving in the right direction, nothing to whinge/complain about.

AIS has had self service machines in place for two years but they still have staff assigned to each machine to provide change and instruct people how to use it. In these examples it's a technology looking for an application to use it, the payback must be horrendously long and neither makes business sense.

3 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

AIS has had self service machines in place for two years but they still have staff assigned to each machine to provide change and instruct people how to use it. In these examples it's a technology looking for an application to use it, the payback must be horrendously long and neither makes business sense.

With all due respect, i presume those making the business decisions know what they are doing.

 

With salaries on the increase, HR costs etc etc i am sure having self service perhaps has negligent benefit at the current time, but they perhaps are getting ahead of the game going forward when it does make business decision, if in fact it does not now.

 

I presume the AIS ladies by the machine, are just as much about customer service as anything else. As you will gather from reading TVF everyday there are a sizeable portion of farangs alone who would appear to have difficulty with menial tasks without someone holding their hand. Some things like AIS service centers are cost centers for the company and not meant to be saving money or trying to save money.

1 minute ago, smutcakes said:

With all due respect, i presume those making the business decisions know what they are doing.

 

With salaries on the increase, HR costs etc etc i am sure having self service perhaps has negligent benefit at the current time, but they perhaps are getting ahead of the game going forward when it does make business decision, if in fact it does not now.

 

I presume the AIS ladies by the machine, are just as much about customer service as anything else. As you will gather from reading TVF everyday there are a sizeable portion of farangs alone who would appear to have difficulty with menial tasks without someone holding their hand. Some things like AIS service centers are cost centers for the company and not meant to be saving money or trying to save money.

Maybe, maybe not, I wouldn't presume anything here to be honest!

 

And staffing costs are largely flat here plus the sorts of roles we're talking about are bottom end positions. The last time I used one of the AIS machines I asked the kid for change, I wanted to make five twenty baht transactions so as to extend the expiry date of my pay as you go account. He didn't have five twenties and kept trying to tell me to make one, one hundred baht transaction instead, he simply didn't get the idea that was not what I wanted to do.

7 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Maybe, maybe not, I wouldn't presume anything here to be honest!

 

And staffing costs are largely flat here plus the sorts of roles we're talking about are bottom end positions. The last time I used one of the AIS machines I asked the kid for change, I wanted to make five twenty baht transactions so as to extend the expiry date of my pay as you go account. He didn't have five twenties and kept trying to tell me to make one, one hundred baht transaction instead, he simply didn't get the idea that was not what I wanted to do.

I thought the machines gave change?

1 minute ago, smutcakes said:

I thought the machines gave change?

Coins, not notes.

10 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Coins, not notes.

Well ok, its not possible to account for everything. As you say they are bottom end positions. I dout many employers want them handling cash. From my perspective at least, requiring notes as change over coins would just never be an issue. I know the TOPS self service give notes and coins. Anyway we are veering way off topic.

38 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

As you will gather from reading TVF everyday there are a sizeable portion of farangs alone who would appear to have difficulty with menial tasks without someone holding their hand.

555 Where can I buy shoe laces in Tak?

My point was that I use self-check out all the time on my trips back to the UK without any issues. This was our fourth time using self-check out in TOPS this week, and my university educated Thai wife was equally stuck and had a go at the staff. These particular machines in fact do not have a go back option as this needed an override by the staff member. I was quite pleased to see self-checkout installed as the queues in this particular TOPS can be quite bad at times, but security concerns seem (no self-weighing, poor positioning of machines in center of shop rather than near exits) has reduced their advantage - they are much slower than using a normal checkout unless avoiding queues.

It would appear that there was no pilot testing of the procedure. It looks like it was just installed and problems dealt with as they arise. This is common here. Perhaps you and your wife were the pilot project!

 

I thought TOPS had significant foreign management though.

6 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Why would a supermarket instal self checkout in Thailand when labour costs are so very low! There's a case for self check out in the West, maybe, because staffing costs are so expensive, but in Thailand!

 

because labor costs are rising and will continue to rise.

I use these self-checkout counters at TOPS Silom every day since they have been installed. I avoid long queues (especially around 18:00) due to several normal check out counters having been removed. It is also a great way to get some change, scan a 10 Baht article and pay with a 1000 Baht note, collect your change, coins and notes, without the bad look of the cashier.

These self service facilities have been around for years in Australia but I absolutely refuse to use them.  All they do is put kids out if work and maximise business profits.  If it costing me a miniscule amount in extra pricing I'm happy to pay to give kids a job.

52 minutes ago, Metapod said:

 

because labor costs are rising and will continue to rise.

Probably more to keeping their 'trained up' staff.

I refuse to use them in Australia, because it's just getting you to help them, get rid of staff

I don't care if it works properly or not I refuse to use them

47 minutes ago, eddysmit said:

Probably more to keeping their 'trained up' staff.

I did edit that post, it should read 'Probably more to do with keeping their 'trained' up staff'.

What a great way for a company to give goods away free. Knowing Thailand, why would anyone pay if they don't have to.

21 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

AIS has had self service machines in place for two years but they still have staff assigned to each machine to provide change and instruct people how to use it. In these examples it's a technology looking for an application to use it, the payback must be horrendously long and neither makes business sense.

same with eticketing machines at Major Cineplex, staff have to be on hand to do the process for you, and then give change, pointless

On 22/11/2017 at 5:38 AM, Metapod said:

 

because labor costs are rising and will continue to rise.

Strange that labor costs are always too expensive but dividends never high enough for gorging shareholders...

Surely not the best way to a pacific and stable society

To the OP, I used the self service in TOPS this morning, and there was a 'back' option if you pressed cash instead of card or vice versa.

 

The back button is on the bottom left of the screen. There is a little red help question mark on the bottom right of the screen.

Top's check out process epitomises why this country will remain rooted in the 4th world.

Till operators scanning one item, then putting it in a plastic bag. Repeat. Slowly.

Thai-chinese old biddies with a bill of a few thousand baht, fumbling for their 10 baht discount coupons.

*They need some college interns packing bags and "coupons lanes", so those tight-fisted fools can wait in line twenty mins.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Jin Nan said:

Top's check out process epitomises why this country will remain rooted in the 4th world.

Till operators scanning one item, then putting it in a plastic bag. Repeat. Slowly.

Thai-chinese old biddies with a bill of a few thousand baht, fumbling for their 10 baht discount coupons.

*They need some college interns packing bags and "coupons lanes", so those tight-fisted fools can wait in line twenty mins.

The first part of your post suggests that you don't know what you're talking about, the rest of it confirms that whatever you say should be disregarded.

You give business decision-makers too much credit. Too many are idiots who make corporate changes to show the CEO or Shareholders they are doing something. Seen it dozens of times in my 40 years in Business.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

What is it with TOPS and the seperate bread pricing? Its a waste of time, usually there is a queue of people, each with some special request, like individually wrapping each donut, or slicing their bread, or to heat the bread or something. Oh and then there is always a lady who forgets she needs to pay until the last moment and then has to search for her purse and count out the exact change. Ive stood there for 20 minutes and Im not a patient man, I start to lose it, to mutter to myself and maybe decide to give up on bread for that day or maybe make my own. Its easier to just make your own bread than buy it from TOPS. Im sick of them.

Seems like there's a lot of impatient, over-agitated people in this thread....

 

My advice is... just accept that the Thai way most often will be slow, non-functional, counterproductive, malfunctioning and/or nonsensical, and life will become much more tolerant and less stressing...

On 11/22/2017 at 5:21 AM, simoh1490 said:

Why would a supermarket instal self checkout in Thailand when labour costs are so very low! There's a case for self check out in the West, maybe, because staffing costs are so expensive, but in Thailand!

 

Thailand is also expensive in real terms when you consider the alternatives that are coming (i.e. no holidays, no meal breaks, no sick pay etc)

 

Tesco trials cashier-free supermarkets powered by artificial intelligence

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/08/10/jobs-overtaken-robots-pictures/tesco-cashier-scanning-groceries/