Many supermarkets and other large retailers now offer self-checkout systems that encourage customers to scan, pay for, and bag their merchandise themselves. These systems allow the store to place employees in other areas where one-on-one attention is needed, and they reduce the need to hire more cashiers.

Imagine that you work for a company that manufactures these checkout systems. Write a set of instructions for store managers that will help them prevent the following problems that could discourage customers from using the equipment:

• Some customers are hesitant to use the self-checkout system because it’s unfamiliar or intimidating.

• Sometimes a customer scans the bar code, but the product does not appear in the register’s inventory database.

• Some customers have difficulty following the steps needed to work the self-checkout system (for example, they can’t figure out how to use the scales to weigh produce).

Consider what specific things the managers should do before the self-checkout system goes live in their stores as well as the order in which they should accomplish these things. Including graphic elements is a good idea, but images taken from elsewhere need to be clearly cited in some way. Including the web addresses of online images would work.

Your instructions should be 100% your own writing and ideas. Ideas or sections copied from other sources is considered plagiarism and will fail the assignment.

If you are completely unfamiliar with self-checkout systems, do some research—either online or at a store that has one—to gain a better understanding of the experience the customer goes through.