Should grocery stores switch to a single-line checkout system?

I don't gamble, usually. It's actually fun to guess at human behaviour and pick which line will be the most interesting to watch. An exception may be when in the middle of everything the cashier needs to swap bins and reset the cash register or wait for a price check. Be ready for surprises in the short line with cashless types buying candy, smokes or alcohol with a debit card. The older person counting out exact change is a reminder of who we will be one day.

Sounds good to me. If it works for WalMart it'll work elsewhere. Grocery Stores will still need a separate cashier (hopefully) to handle bottle returns, if applicable, and grandma's deciding on their scratch cards, lottery tickets and smokes. A lot of stores are now using self scanning cashes and that also helps speed up things.

I am not exactly sure what you mean by single feed. One cashier handling all the customers or a single feed to multiple cashiers (this is what banks and airports normally use). Personally if wait times at a grocery store started to rival those at some banks or at most airports I could see a drop in some purchases. Imagine waiting in line for an hour, like I did at LAX to clear security, while your ice cream slowly melts....

The truth is though that only a few of the checkouts are in use at any time so many stores could reduce their number of cash registers without affecting staff levels or customer service. I feel that they are mainly there for appearance whether it be at Walmart (which seems to have more chasiers open when there are less customers and less open when the store is busy) or your local grocery store (large chans mind you, small corner stores generally only have one or two checkouts at most.)

i was in a store at christmas that used single line to feed multiple cashiers and for my money it worked very well

Excellent idea! I do like the WalMart system and would like to see it in grocery stores, with that second line for fewer items. However, some stores are offering self-checkout and that's great also, because there seem to be fewer people using those so it's a shorter line up. It's absolutely frustrating when you're in a hurry and you pick the slowest line!

You don't live in Regina Sk. Those lines don't work like that here.

They sometimes only have 1 or 2 tills open and the single line queue system takes visibly longer, hwoever you're trapped in the hamster maze of wasit high nylon guide rails and can't escape over to the regular tills.

Walmart is a neccessary evil at this point but I sure don't like the experience.

I think I could argue that the single line is actually less efficient versus multiple lines.

One issue I see in the multiple line system is there is a noticeable time lag between the time a line opens up and the time a new customer is at that line. In a multiple line situation, that wonderful queing engine, the human brain, takes car of that. Hence the lag time between customers is near 0 as when a line is short, another customer fills in.

One issue I see with the Walmart system and this ties in above is there is no "staging" area for new customers. There is no place for the next customer in line to get their items ready for processing while the current customer is being processed. I believe this makes it less efficient.

What it does do is allow Walmart to easily identify the performers and under performers as it takes out variability in what customers come to your till.

I agree with John. If everyone is in a single queue waiting for an open checkout lane, then time is lost in a couple of places. First, the teller is waiting until while the next person walks to the open checkout. ( I can hear them now calling "Next in line please", while some distracted person at the front to the queue is staring off elsewhere). Then, the teller has to wait for the customer to unload the cart. The present system has the cart mostly unloaded as the previous customer is rung through.
At least with multiple limes I have a CHANCE of getting into a the fast lane.... with only one line I will ALWAYS be stuck behind the idiot!

In a parallel article, Harper would have us perceive an oft repeated socialist mistake as an obvious truth.

I hate single line feed. I feel like I'm being herded. It removes my freedom of choice. It is efficient, and it does move more quickly than you'd think, but I'd rather take my chances. As for self check, great when you're in a hurry, but remember, you're not getting paid for it!

I live in a small town, so I have to go out of town for shopping all the time. I can't really choose which hours to shop at. The single line seems to make sense. People can get stalled behind a problem at a cashier, you know, a price check or something. It holds up the whole line. It works at some of the Winners stores, banks and government offices. Why not at the grocery stores. As long as there is a separate express lane or 2 or 3? I can understand about the cart unloading thing, but maybe the cashiers could have a way of getting the next in line to come up to the till when the conveyor thing is open? Like a light comes on when it's empty of items or such thing? I'm sure the other people in line will wake people up if they don't move! We do it to those at a traffic light!

My supermarket uses a combination of both systems: the self scan area always has only one line for all 8 checkouts. The normal cash registers have one line each EXCEPT on our super discount day (first tuesday of the month) when it is crazy busy. On that day alone, we have a one line system with additional staff to ensure that people go to the first available cashier (often we give customers cookies as they wait). This has made it considerably less stressful for staff on that busy day, and I think that it moves customers more quickly, but it would not work at slower times because of the additional staff necessary, particularly when it is commonsensical as to which line to get into for service.

I completely agree with Jim and John. It depends though if single line means only one cashier or if it means one line feeding to multiple cashiers. Single lines are fine at the bank since I can't remember a time where there was more than 10 people waiting, if that. But at my local Superstore, which is always packed, a single line would stretch the length of the store and down an aisle, not very good. Imagine that huge line and only one cashier, not very efficient. Multiple cashiers would help, but still, the store is large, people would be daydreaming not realizing it was their turn, wasting time getting to the check-out for their turn, and so on. I would rather take my chances at the grocery store and find the line-up that I think looks best or shortest. Price-checks, slow/stupid customers, etc are definitely annoying for people in line, but it's just as annoying for the cashiers, and I used to be a cashier so I know how they feel. So if I end up in a line that gets slowed down by a price-check or slow person, I'm ok just waiting it out, no need to get angry since I've been on both sides of the cash register.

And for the record, I've never been in one of those Wal-mart super-lines that seems to be miraculously fast even though it doesn't seem like it should be. Seems like a myth to me.

If anybody goes on a shoppingspree and spends extended time to check and selects whatever they want and then complaints the waitingtime at the checkout counter , either single or multi , should bring patience with them .Since everyone believes their right then to fastest checkout .I wonder why ? Missing their favored TV show ? Only GOD knows .When home and having put their stuff away most people don`t know of what to do next . So be patient and don`t complain on the website .Why create a hype when none exists .

supplement :Sorry ,didn`t read most of earlier comments .I do believe most persons who wrote a comment don`t know the difference between singlle and multilane checkout .They should check it out before commenting .it might be confusing at first .Being a Northern Ontarian in Toronto at the Unionstation buying a ticket for the GO train despite a big lineup at single line i had my ticket in about 2minutes after lining up .There again one has to be patient in these endevours .No matter what everyone gets home .One should not complain before one knows of what is going on .

Seriously people, one lane versus multiple lanes. Who really cares, there are so many variables that can slow down either system. What you should really care about are these self check lines. Are you kidding? I shop at a store and you want me to check out my own items? What kind of customer service is that? Not to mention if it catches on it'll only take away jobs that would be otherwise filled by living human beings. Everyone hates standing in a line up longer than they need to, but try to understand why the 'slow' line you chose might not be moving quickly. Maybe the employee on your checkout is new and is simply still learning the ropes. Maybe the person having debit card problems is going through tough times. Show a little compassion, so what if it takes one lousy more minute is all i'm saying.

Armlecker, for some of us time is money. Every hour I spend waiting somewhere, I lose $250 of income. When I get home, I don't sit on my ass wondering what to do next. I work!

Also, please learn how to use punctuation. Reading your posts are more painful than waiting in lines

to me, it seems improbable that anyone making thousands of dollars a day ($250 an hour, right?) would find themselves grocery shopping in the first place. also, i have yet to wait an hour in a grocery store line up......ever.

the single lane for multiple-cashiers-scenario would undoubtedly work as well as it does in airports. which is to say, poorly. the waiting involved for such a simple process is, quite frankly, ridiculous (and one of the reasons air travel can feel like torture). ever notice the vast acreage required for said efficient system?

the introduction of self-check-out is an interesting development. impatient (intolerant) people providing a service for the store....without a corresponding discount. (remember this, the cost of labour is factored into the retail price of groceries. by checking yourself out, someone is laughing all the way to the bank). hmmm. the price of food continues to go up, while service levels and employment opportunities dwindle.

perhaps i will end this sentence with a....wait for it.....period.