When I mention the lack of self-checkout machines at supermarkets in Kuwait under one of my posts, a reader told me they had them at Shamiya supermarket. So I went last night to double-check and he was right, they had two of them. Turns out Mishref and Qurtoba Coop also have self-checkout machines.
I don’t shop at Coops so wouldn’t have known about this unless someone told me. Are self-checkout machines now popping up in all Coops? Cuz if that is the case it’s even weirder that a private more modern supermarket like Sultan Center or Lulu don’t have them.
40 replies on “Self Checkout at Coops”
The Shamiya self checkout is awesome, it works really well
I see the actual machine available. they used to be open for use last year, but I don’t see them open for use now.
The reason is that people skip the long lines to use it, don’t know how to use it, grab a cashier who is monitoring the self checkout machines and have him do it for them. (This is mishref coop)
These sort of nice things don’t work around here unfortunately
lol that’s hilarious
There is no future for self service check outs in a country that has almost as many porters at the airport as there are passengers deplaning from the aircraft, anytime night or day.
told ya ! Ninjas love to create commotion
I was just thinking about ur comment on the previous blog post lol
Bayan Co-Op has self-checkout carts. You scan the item as you put it into the cart.
And you pay at the cart? How do you bag the items?
Unlike my experience with self-checkouts in the UK and Canada, there isn’t a weighing station. So you just scan and whatever you do afterward is up to you.
Yeah, I was surprised last week and used the self-checkout in Shamiyah Co-Op. People tend to use it as a skip-the-line tool though — older gentleman next to me goes to the self-checkout and asks the manager to scan things for him. It was a pretty convenient and straightforward experience though!
As a man that only uses cash for 99% of my shopping, I am totally against this. Plus, id rather have the human interaction since im a regular at my local co-op and they know me by name.
Just because you’re against it doesn’t mean nobody else should have the option. Also who still uses cash? I spent 10 days in London and only time I used cash was when I needed 60p for using a public toilet.
Mate, in Kuwait cash is still legal tender here and I even bought a car with it and a watch, no issues whatsoever. If people want to use there cards for everything I have no issues, but I do want to continue using my paper money and I dont want the bank spying on my purchases.
I do personally.. I turn around 70% of my income into cash so I keep track of my spendings! It’s easier to stick with a 20 kd note (if that’s what I’m budgeting myself with) instead of tabbing my credit card for the entire day. And to each his own! But it’s kinda funny how your experience should dictate how everyone should virtually go cash-less.
You misread
On the other side of the spectrum, I RARELY carry cash (just change for tips, etc). Self-checkouts and not having to stand in line/need to wait is a HUGE plus for me. I always use self-checkouts when there’s an option to do so.
You don’t need to be “against” it. You can simply choose to stand in line for a cashier and let others do what makes them happy.
I fear the day will come when there will be no more physical money left.
This is already happening in Europe for tax purposes. You are legally required to pay electronically anything above 1,000 Eur, to avoid people paying in B or under the table, hence avoiding VAT, personal income tax, and so on. I mean, I love the convenience of paying with Apple Wallet (when is it gonna be available in Kuwait?!?!) But yeah, we gotta fight for our right to use cash!
In the UK not only is cash legal tender, but UK stamps are legal tender and anybody refusing to accept them is guilty of treason and is subject to the wrath of the uk judicial system.
Also, Can I write a Cheque without a Cheque book.
Technically, you can write a cheque on anything – it’s only an instruction from you to your bank to pay someone some money. Famously, a farmer once wrote one on the side of a cow for his poll tax, and delivered it to the council office!
Qurtoba machines are turned off
Lulu in the UAE implemented self-checkout years ago, https://gulfnews.com/uae/self-service-checkout-counters-at-lulus-wtc-outlet-from-may-1.2170047
Wonder why they haven’t implemented it here yet
Subway has a dedicated app in the UAE and it doesn’t work here in Kuwait. It seems it’s not possible here due to the lack of know how just like the nightmare of self checkout.
This is the reason why you wait in line at the government offices because a 5 minute in and out takes others 30+ minutes because they constantly need to be told what is the next step rather than use a little brain power.
And if you tell me that Subway is a different franchise owner in Kuwait to the UAE, it is still an international franchise. I used their app in freakin UK as well and it worked but it’s not available here.
Shamiya’s self-checkout works great, you don’t even have to put items in the bagging area!
Mishref coop had them for YEARS
It’s not working from YEARS
People here are too lazy to even carry their groceries back to their car let alone use a self checkout.
To be fair it’s not about laziness, to me at least. You have to realize that those grocery baggers don’t get payed enough (not coming as a surprise here) and by letting them helping you, you’re helping them. This is another reason why I always try to carry cash around.. To give back to those more less fortunate be it workers or through handing out charity. One might say, “just give them their tip without letting them carry the grocery to your car”, but the way I see it that people who are trying to make a living working these kind of jobs like to earn money and not simply given money (the exceptions being the deed of charity) although it must be nice anyways to hand them out unexpectedly! But that’s just how I approach it. Same way to those traffic light sellers.. I bet they would be more satisfied with actually selling their towels and kids toys instead of just receiving charity. Maybe they don’t mind the charity, but they’re not going about what they’re trying to do as an act of begging. My two fils I guess!
Its so cringey when people use expressions like “my two cents” in foreign countries where those expressions make no sense. But you went even further and said “my two fils”. Shit like that does not make sense in this part of the world. But im gonna go the extra MILE and say to each their own. (The extra KILOMETER if we’re converting expressions to work in other countries. Keep up the cringe.
everyone reading the blog and comments would know what the expression “my two cents” means..
You misunderstood. I know what the expression means, but it is out of place in Kuwait and converting the units to apply in Kuwait is really fucking ridiculous.
However, I really think you’re hitting it out the park lately (baseball expression used in the US that doesn’t make sense here). Like for example people in the UK wouldn’t say that even though they speak the same language as Americans. That goes for the two cents expression too.
It’s probably because most of us went to American schools and so use American expressions we either heard at school or watching on tv. It’s so normal not sure why you think it’s out of place in Kuwait, it’s just an expression and if we all know what it means what does it matter.
Im just really hungry bro
Lol
Bro is more an American thing thank British mate 😉
You realize that we’re communicating in what seems to be American English right? When you communicate through a language, you we’re speaking it through its place of origin or culture! A language isn’t only words.. It carries a whole alot with it. So your wasted enthusiasm over my usage of a Kuwaiti version of the idiom “my two cents” is completely unjustified. But hey, hope it helped you pass up some time till iftar haha
Lately people have been very anal about language for some reason, even locally about dialects and their origins and how things “should” be said and pronounced.
Yeah. I’m from the UK. Hitting it out the park is fine, there is no problem, and people DO use it. You seem triggered.
To INSERT CULTURALLY OUT OF PLACE EXPRESSION
‘Hit it out of the park’ is not only relatable to those from Uk but also India, Pakistan, etc…….it means ‘hitting a 6’
I don’t understand why grocery stores have 20 checkout cashiers and only one produce weighing stand. That’s always the bottle neck for me. American grocery stores built the fruit weighing machines into the checkout machine. Makes things go so much faster.