I noticed they were missing a couple days ago, but then I noticed nothing was being done about putting them back so I had to ask. As it turns out, Albertsons is eliminating the convenient self-check out lanes at their local stores.

After asking about it, it turns out they're using Safeway's sale systems. If that's confusing to you that Albertsons is using something from Safeway, you're not alone. Albertsons purchased Safeway early last year. There's been a slow migration, as it seems, and one is that, since our local Safeway stores didn't have a self-checkout lane, neither will Albertsons. In order to continue to use those it would've been a million dollar investment so they opted to go back to doing things the old fashioned way.

This doesn't seem to be a trend as Fred Meyer and Walmart still have theirs without any plans on eliminating them.

This also doesn't mean it's happening everywhere. There are plenty of Safeway stores outside of Yakima that have self-check lanes so this may not effect them, but it certainly seems to affect the stores in our town.

The bad news is I used these often as I usually just pick up a few items. If I have a cart full of stuff I'll still take it through the check stand. Now I have to stand in line just to buy a few things.

The good news is with more cashiers needed it may open up to new job possibilities. I always have to applaud any new jobs coming to Yakima.

What do you think? Good idea for Bad idea? Tell us in the comments.

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