Views on self-checkout, from a couple of selves

Re “Store wars” (Business, March 21), the point-counterpoint on self-checkout: I usually see eye to eye with Kara Baskin (“Frustrating, inefficient, and embarrassing: Why self-checkout is terrible”). However, I could not disagree with her more vehemently over her stance on self-checkout, particularly when it comes to shopping at Target.

I visited my Target store recently seeking towels to zhuzh up a bathroom. As often happens, I picked up a number of additional things. As I approached the front of the store, I was gobsmacked to see a new sign indicating the self-checkout I’d counted on was now 10 items or less. A friendly staff member directed me to a staffed register with my “10ish items” (her words). I couldn’t focus on my transaction. All I could think was that my life had changed from that point forward.

That day’s purchase was relatively small, but what about the future? If I buy more than 10 items at Target, which, let’s face it, happens more often than I’d like to admit, I’ll now have to face a cashier.

When I used the self-checkout and no one was there to see it, did I make a sound? Yes: a sigh of contentment.

BRENDA SCOTT

So Hiawatha Bray likes to use self-checkout because it is a toy he knows how to play with (“The backlash against self-checkout is nothing personal. Or is it?”), and Kara Baskin hates to use it because it is a toy she finds difficult to play with.

May I offer a third view of this question? There is a positive value to going out into the world and kibitzing with people you don’t know. It’s inherently pleasant, it can make their day better, and it reminds us that we live among other human beings and share a society.

I could probably master the self-checkout system, but I don’t want to. People are infinitely more interesting.

TERRY THEISE

Roslindale