What is the deal with self-checkout? It’s supposed to be faster, right? You scan your items, bag them, and you’re on your merry way. But then you get the dreaded ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ message. Unexpected? It’s the item I just scanned! Or my favorite, ‘please wait for assistance.’ So, it’s ‘self-checkout’ until it’s not. It’s like a magician who asks you to pull a rabbit out of a hat, but then needs a volunteer from the audience to actually do it. What’s the point of the magic then?