I prefer self-checkout and use it pretty much every time I see an opportunity to do so. Living in the Netherlands, somehow self-checkout in Dutch supermarkets is very different from the ones I encounter in France or UK. Every time in France or UK I have issues with it primarily because the self-checkout tills have a very cumbersome and poorly working area where I have to put the checked products. Either they're doing a weight check or something, but it just doesn't work 75% of the time, which is extremely frustrating. Dutch supermarkets went with cheaper tills without this weight-check tech, and it just works every time.
Interestingly, Marks & Spencer don't have scales for your shopping (unlike all other self-checkouts). I wonder if there's cultural and demographic reasons for this. M&S is a very upmarket supermarket, so a potential thief (typically quite poor) is going to stand out like a sore thumb and end up with a security guard stuck to their waist.
The larger supermarket chains (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons) have low-cost lines to cater for the wider market. That means it's harder to distinguish between a thief and a genuine customer, as they'll come from the same socioeconomic backgrounds i.e. they'll dress the same way.
I wonder if there's crossover with what you see in the Netherlands?
