Maybe whoever dreamed up the self-check aisles figured the cost of stolen merchandise would be less than paying a clerk (hourly rate, benefits, etc.) to man the register. At my nearby Home Depot there are six self-check registers and one person to oversee them.
Like almost everyone else in this forum, I use both self-check and full-service checkout aisles. We use our credit card for almost all our purchases because it accrues airline miles. But we pay the balance in full each month. (And we pay attention to what we're spending!)
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Sandy Nachlinger, author of BLUEBONNETS FOR ELLY; co-author with Sandra Allen of I.O.U. SEX
http://sandranachlinger.blogspot.com