Please Scan Your First Item!

I was going to insert a photo of a supermarket self service machine [here] however 1. I do not have such a photo of my own and 2. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the licenses on supposedly 'free' images online.

So I thought knickers to it. If you do not know what a self service machine looks like in a super market it is basically a machine with a scanner, some scales, a computer screen and then a bagging area (which is also some scales).

And they talk to you.

They say such things as:

'Please scan your first item.'

'Please place the item in the bagging area'

'Insert cash or select payment type.'

'Please take your card.'

...just to name a few.

Now one of the annoying things it says is:

'Unexpected item in the bagging area.'

Which usually occurs when you have just scanned something, it has registered on the screen (so the machine knows what it is) and then instructed you to put in the bagging area.

And then you have to wait for an actual human being to come and sort it out.

Now that is quite annoying but the phrase I hate the most with these machines is after you've paid.

So the machine tells you take your card or your change and about 10 seconds later while you are still putting said card or change away the machine says:

'Please take your items.'

Hang on a second, give me a chance to get myself sorted. These machines seem to think that after the instruction to take your card or change you just throw everything in your bag or pocket and immediately walk off, shopping in hand.

I do actually find that more annoying that the 'unexpected item' declaration.. as that doesn't happen every time you use one of these machines (just almost every time).

Here endeth the rant!