NOW IN MY ACME!!!
Location: 481 River Rd, Edgewater, NJ
Couldn't believe my eyes! Walked into the Edgewater store yesterday and saw five brand-new self-checkouts. The store had five full-serice registers open as well bringing the total registers open to ten! You don't see that happening in many Acmes. All registers were busy with minimal lines. Should have been this way from day one.
So the three registers to the right are for small orders. There is only one bag rack and no additional space to set items. The registers to the left have two bag racks and space to set items not being bagged. The smaller registers might be a challenge if you fill up one bag. Where do you start putting the rest of your stuff? If you take the full bag off, the system will lock up. Guess you just have to cram everything onto the small platform until you pay.
The interface is totally generic and identical to what is used at other stores like Home Depot. Doesn't even have the ACME logo on screen like A&P and Pathmark did or like Stop&Shop does now. I believe the interface is what Acme used to have on their self-checkouts. Can't say for sure as I rarely shopped at Acme before they returned to my area.
I mentioned to the cashier that it was about time they brought these back. As she was walking away from another customer she said (and I'm paraphrasing) "I was just saying... all the money they wasted ripping out the other registers to put these back in. Such a waste." She then pointed to the floor under the registers on the left that still needs to be redone. For a second time. Oh well. Hey, there was TEN registers open in Edgewater yesterday! That's a big step in the right direction.
" Doesn't even have the ACME logo on screen like A&P and Pathmark did or like Stop&Shop does now. I believe the interface is what Acme used to have on their self-checkouts."
ReplyDeleteWas the Albertsons leaf somewhere in the corner on the screen? That's pretty typical unless there's different software on the newer (installed) units.
I didn't see one but I was also talking to the cashier while I was ringing myself up. I think the machines have the same interface Acme's old self-checkouts had with some minor updates like the color scheme.
DeleteHard to see, but looking at the one in the middle on the small order side, it looks like the bag is to the left of (and lower than) the scanner?
ReplyDeleteWhat was behind that to the left of the screen?
Only since we got some new ones up here in a Price Chopper converting to Market 32 and those looked very similar, but they had it set up with two bags, one where the one is here and the second up to the let of the screen and sitting on something about the height of the scanner.
Strange that they wouldn't have the same here, but maybe they really want people to use them for only very small orders, to keep those long lines for express moving?
All I remember seeing was one bag rack and no shelf space. I was kinda in a hurry and a little distracted by all the shiny newness of it all! I'll take a closer look next time.
DeleteI don't think the NCR units have double-tiered bagging scales like the Fujitsu ones do.
DeleteWilliam Graham: What was behind that to the left of the screen?
DeleteThe printer sits on a shelf directly behind the bag. Tried to get a picture yesterday but the self-checkouts were crazy busy. There's space on the platform next to the bag rack which would be useful to place items you don't want to bag. The printer shelf blocks that whole area.
I feel like Acme could've gotten away with removing self-checkouts if they'd hired enough cashiers for the manned registers. My local ShopRite, for example, opened in May of 2015, and has been doing very well in the front end, even though they never had self-checkouts; instead, they have 20 manned registers, with at least half of them open during peak business hours. It's very rare to see more than 3 customers in line at a time - The only time I saw more was on the store's first day of business.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new self-checkouts bring some peace to Acme. Perhaps the loss of so many locations due to poor management made them come to their senses and take some action. Perhaps this is a sign of hope for them!
Absolutely! Acme claimed they got rid of the self-checkouts because they wanted customers to have more interaction with employees but they didn't want to pay anyone to actually run any registers! Several Acmes in my area only have 2 to 3 registers open at any given time. I was in the Hoboken ShopRite a few Saturdays ago. 9 am and they had EIGHT registers open with hardly a customer at any one of them.
DeleteMiddletown DE has just got them this week in time for their grand reopening. Also ,they got rid of them in the first place because if theft and the fact that the registers they had were abcuent and we're broken half the time.It had nothing to do with paying someone to watch them.
DeleteGlad Acme has some self-checkouts back!
ReplyDelete