Elf Sternberg

For what it's worth, my experience using these sorts of automated checkout lanes has been a bit more positive. Around here (Pittsburgh), the cheap places can't afford the technology, I think, and the places that do use them primarily are supplementing the more or less adequate number of staffed lanes, so it mostly serves as a nice alternative to waiting in the express lane. There are a few things that bug me, but they are not as egregious as the ones you or Elf are using.