Eh, you have one cashier watching like 7 checkouts. Security would be a thing regardless, because they'd otherwise be watching to make sure nobody walks out with an item or steals from the register.

I'm not really convinced they do a lot of maintenance on those things, for how well they function, but I also wouldn't be surprised if that's the machine at its best.

Wouldn't know how much they really cost per machine in order to account for that, either, but the Walmart near me only ever has one person watching the self-checkout, doesn't even always have anyone on an available lane, and they've had those things forever.

That one, at least, didn't buy more tech for covid. They just fired some people and redirected the customers. They're saving more than enough in wages.

The fact that, from experience, my average customers per hour divided by pay (and thus, the rightful customer discount for doing my job) still adds up to a matter of cents probably says more about how much I was being paid.