SELF-SERVE checkouts are now an established fixture in supermarkets – but do you think they are good or evil?

Some people will no doubt say they love them, based on how they can at times have shorter queues and be quicker to get through than conventional staffed tills. Plus it might be considered an added bonus not to have to make awkward small talk with a checkout assistant on a quick visit to the shops.

Other people will curse self-serve systems and say they are the work of the devil. This may well be you if you‘ve ever got stuck behind people incapable of using the computerised tills or if you’ve ever suffered any of the infuriating ‘wrong weight’ or ‘item not recognised’ messages as you try to scan your items. Plus there is the issue of self-serve checkouts potentially costing people their jobs.

What’s your view on these do-it-yourself supermarket tills? Do you think they’re a brilliant time-saving innovation or a frustrating hassle? Scan your own comments in below and wait for the beep ...

News Shopper: Burning Questions

The Burning Questions feature aims to settle some of life’s perennial arguments and crack some of those tricky questions with readers’ collective knowledge.

If there is an issue you’re always squabbling about with workmates or friends or something that makes you go hmmm, email me with your suggestions for future burning questions to ask.