Jim has a fun ranting post covering his experience with people using the U-Scan equipment in grocery stores. Now granted, some people like the "watermelon" man just need assistance. This should have been handled by the cashier that oversees that area, but you can't really expect great customer service from someone that hates their job and is making a dollar an hour over the minimum wage.

On the other hand I would guess that experiences like the slow lady is more of a usability and interface design issue. These u-scan machines have really gained popularity over the last few years and most people have had a chance to use them. The problem lies is that there's a few different manufacturers of the machines and their software. I've noticed that our local Meijer has gone through several iterations, and they are getting better. Larger buttons and fonts, friendly voices and multiple bar code readers make it quick and easy to understand, but there are still some little things missing.

A good example, from Jim's post, of a simple oversight was the woman's difficulty paying. Why should someone be continually prompted for a method of payment when the machine can sense that the customer is trying to shove money into it or if they have already swiped their credit card? This is something that should automatically happen. There's numerous examples of simple things like this that should just "happen" auto-magically. When I walk up to the machine I shouldn't have to push a button to start, just let me start scanning items.

I'm sure as the companys that design and develop this software continue to study and upgrade these systems the process will become friendlier. In the meantime there's no substitute to a friendly and helpful cashier that can aid confused customers that are struggling to find their way through these "automated" systems.