It sounds like you found a clever way to cope with the situation. At the Walmart that is closest to me, they do speak English, however, try finding an associate when you want one. They are generally nowhere to be found. Oh well, I usually manage to find what I want anyway. This is something that plagues a few people I think.
I love the one stop shopping at Walmart and the very reasonable prices on most things. Here in Louisiana we don't have a problem with anyone speaking English, about the only problem I notice some shoppers have is waiting their turn to check out. It seems so many people now days do not like to wait for anything...even their turn in getting to the register. And this is not just a problem for them at Walmart...they don't like to wait in line period. So boy would these same people be really unhappy if they reached the Cashier only to have her speak a language they couldn't understand! Some of them would probably just leave their cart of stuff and walk out the store.
Walmart generally seems to have enough registers open so that doesn't happen. Of course I always get stuck behind the person who requires a price check on like 5 different items.. Oh wait thats me! Noo, not really but little interrupptions in the line seem to happen frequently and it is not something anyone wants to encounter. It just makes the whole line move slower.
We have one Walmart here in Louisiana that has so much traffic all the time that even with almost all the cash registers open there is constant lines. This Walmart I avoid as much as I can because of the traffic inside and outside. It isn't the one closest to my home anyway...but it is the one closest to my daughter's home and if I am helping out with my grandchildren and need a few things on the way home...I will make a stop at this one. Otherwise I avoid it like the plague!
I was watching the morning news a few days ago, and they were warning the public that thieves have come up with a device that clips onto the self checkout registers within less that three seconds, and it gathering all a customer's information. They named Walmart and other larger stores as have the problem. So it might be worth our time to stand in the long lines after all.
True enough, our self checkouts never have any line at all. I simply don't use them because when I try, I wind up needing help from an employee, anyway!
I see very few people using the self-checkout lanes around here either. I tried them once and had one item that wouldn't scan so I don't bother with them anymore.
That's what happened to me when I tried to use them Frank, something would not work right and an employee had to basically check everything out for me anyway. I never tried them again.
I had the same experience, and unless all of the other checkout lines are full, and there is an employee there to check me through the self-checkout station, I never use them either. I also read another warning to add to the one that @Ina I. Wonder mentioned. It warned that you should always be careful when using a credit or debit card; because even when you say you do not want cash back, the checker can add it on the total (and pocket the money), and if you don't check out your receipt right away, you might not even notice that they had done that. I never ask for cash back, or very seldom anyway; but I do ALWAYS stop and go over my grocery receipt before I leave the store. The other day, we had gone to Kroger and picked up a few groceries; but the total seemed like it waas really high from what we expected it to be. When we checked the receipt, the $3.50 chicken had been rang up at over $35 instead ! ! Apparently, the cashier had punched in one too many numbers when ringing it up. The customer service people returned everything, but it definitely brought out how important it is to always check out one's receipts.
It is always good to check not only receipts, but Bank and Credit Card statements, etc. Anything you get a receipt or statement for should always be checked for accuracy always. People, computers, etc. make mistakes all the time and no one wants to pay extra for mistakes.
You are right, and I usually do that. I do it especially if the total seems off to me. I would say 99.9 percent of the errors I have found were in the store's favor. Rarely do you find cashiers making a mistake to your benefit, unless they just forgot to ring up an item or something. Usually when I bring something to their attention though,,it is always something like.."oh no one removed the sale tag from last week" or That was for the 24 oz size, not the 14 oz size or something like that. However, often I end up getting the sale price anyway...that makes me happy.
Were a little at the other end of the spectrum. Sometimes you hear over the PA system, " Will a Spanish speaking associate please come to such and such department."