Walmart Scanning App

[Dutch_12078]

The Walmart a few miles from our NY cottage closed a couple of years ago when a new Super Walmart was built about 5 miles away. When the new store advertised for the additional employees needed to go from a 14 hour a day standard Wally to a 24 hour Super Wally, more than 400 people applied for just 84 openings. Apparently there are still plenty of people willing to work for relatively low wages.

[pjstough]

30 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

The Walmart a few miles from our NY cottage closed a couple of years ago when a new Super Walmart was built about 5 miles away. When the new store advertised for the additional employees needed to go from a 14 hour a day standard Wally to a 24 hour Super Wally, more than 400 people applied for just 84 openings. Apparently there are still plenty of people willing to work for relatively low wages.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  That is truly a shame that in a country as wealthy as the USA, that so many people will work for such low wages.

 

 

[RV_]

I don't think naysayers on wireless and self pay are necessarily older or less tech savvy. Many of the more tech savvy avoid jumping in with both feet with our personal data or are now rethinking their FaceCrook and Fritter accounts. I actually did get one of each and locked them down, no friends, and don't want any there. I did one test tweet, and ignore the new tweets of the one or three folks I decided to follow. Honestly, I have no time for a phone in my face all day, derive no sense of importance from them. I do like my Android smart watches because they allow me to take and make calls without pulling out my phone, one takes pictures and videos of surreptitiously. My serious smart watches are Martian brand M-Voice analog face smartwatches https://www.martianwatches.com/mvoice-3/ but I have bought two of the new $12.99 cheapies and am shocked at how fun they are. Here is the one I like most of the two cheapies: https://www.amazon.com/GZDL-Bluetooth-Smartwatch-Support-Android/dp/B01FX74I7K/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1522002676&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dz09+smart+watch&psc=1

They have SD card slots inside and even can be a phone with their Sim Card slots. Fun toys only. Note, the instructions are horrible so watch You tube videos:

Right now the Android Play store is going through Apps for privacy issues and customer data safety issues. Because I have no friends that may have taken the Cambridge Analytica quiz and take none myself, nor my SH, so we weren't tagged with data losses from a friend of a friend on FaceCrook.

Sometimes the most tech oriented wait a bit to see the rewards and pitfalls first.

We keep our Apps to a minimum.

[Dutch_12078]

4 hours ago, pjstough said:

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  That is truly a shame that in a country as wealthy as the USA, that so many people will work for such low wages.

 

 

What I found really surprising according to one news article, was that quite a few of the applicants already had jobs elsewhere. It wasn't clear though, whether they were looking for part-time second jobs versus a full time job change.

[Velos]

I have been trying to find out more info about the Walmart app but not a lot is out there in regards to what Walmart will do once I authorize their access to my phone with their app.  

"With the Scan & Go app, one of the world’s biggest companies will be able to track customer purchases in ways they haven’t been able to do before. It’s going to link that customer to where they go online, all the ads they see. It’s a much more complete package. It’s valuable and powerful,” Pracejus said"  For the complete article: https://globalnews.ca/news/3858448/new-technology-speeds-up-shopping-signals-battle-between-worlds-biggest-companies/

Macy's announced it will be going to self checkout and it is "expected to be available nationwide in all of Macy's full-line stores by the end of this year" : https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/19/macy-let-shoppers-use-mobile-app-skip-sales-clerk/437318002/

According to the first article all retailers will have some type of self check out in the next 5-10 years if they want to stay in business.  These apps sure provide a big convenience as mentioned by many posters.  With each passing day there are more and more people in the world that don't know what it is like to live without a cell phone and fewer and fewer that knew a day without cell phones.  

 

As an aside for all the retail jobs fading away there are 3 million good jobs that nobody wants according to Mike Rowe: http://profoundlydisconnected.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[oldbutspry]

10 hours ago, pjstough said:

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  That is truly a shame that in a country as wealthy as the USA, that so many people will work for such low wages.

 

 

Why so low?  Fifteen dollars an hour is only a quarter a minute.  Personally, I think if someone doesn't provide 50 dollars of value an hour then they shouldn't be allowed to work.

I don't trust the new payment methods.  Everything is secure until someone finds out it isn't.  I don't even like using debit cards anymore because they don't have the protections credit cards have.

[sandsys]

57 minutes ago, oldbutspry said:

Personally, I think if someone doesn't provide 50 dollars of value an hour then they shouldn't be allowed to work.

I remember when I took home $50 a week. And I was glad to have the work.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, Velos said:

According to the first article all retailers will have some type of self check out in the next 5-10 years if they want to stay in business.  These apps sure provide a big convenience as mentioned by many posters.  With each passing day there are more and more people in the world that don't know what it is like to live without a cell phone and fewer and fewer that knew a day without cell phones.  

You are so correct! I was speaking with my 12-year-old grandson and mentioned that I never owned a computer until I was 40+ and his comment was "how did you learn anything?" Neither he nor his younger sister has any grasp of living without at least adults having cell phones and both of them now have one. But they also do not have the fear of them which older adults have and they seem to grasp many of the intricacies of their use more quickly than we do.

7 hours ago, oldbutspry said:

I don't trust the new payment methods.  Everything is secure until someone finds out it isn't.  I don't even like using debit cards anymore because they don't have the protections credit cards have.

I remember my parents laughing about older neighbors who would never trust paying by check, but who only used cash. They in turn were very slow to put any faith in the use of credit cards and never really trusted them. They thought that we were living very dangerously when they learned that we traveled mostly with credit cards and debit cards and were absolutely convinced that a check was the only secure way to pay your bills! 

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I continue to be amused by young "checkers" who marvel at how easy it is for me to pay by simply putting the phone on the checkout terminal.  

 

You may have found young people who are the exception as most of those I know (and we work with youth a lot as volunteers) have more grasp of modern electronic communication devices than do their grandparents. It just may be that there is a reason those you spoke with are in low paying positions? It also may be that they just haven't yet reached a point in life to have bank accounts and credit cards and so have no reason to have learned about these apps. I doubt my younger grandchildren know of them either, but I know that the older ones are using them.

 

• e

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, oldbutspry said:

I don't trust the new payment methods.  Everything is secure until someone finds out it isn't.

I have a neighbor who feels that same way who wear a money belt when they travel to prevent theft by pickpockets. There have always been thieves and there always will be. 

[Chalkie]

On 3/24/2018 at 9:34 AM, docj said:

I almost always have my phone on LTE with WiFi set to OFF.  The Sam's Club app works fine using LTE.

I am generally the same,  I have just found that the app has an easier time finding the correct store if it connects to that store's wifi.

[chirakawa]

Unless you pay cash for everything, vendors are already tracking your purchases and preferences.

[sandsys]

42 minutes ago, chirakawa said:

Unless you pay cash for everything, vendors are already tracking your purchases and preferences.

Yes. Have you never received coupons on your grocery receipt for things you sometimes buy?

Linda 

[Chalkie]

25 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Yes. Have you never received coupons on your grocery receipt for things you sometimes buy?

Linda 

Exactly! If you use a rewards card from a grocer, a pet store, sporting goods store or lots of other places they are tracking your purchases. For example, the pet store where we buy our fur baby's food every now and then gives us a coupon for a deep discount on the food we buy. It is limited in time but we almost always buy an extra bag. Saves us money and I will not complain. 

 

[chirakawa]

1 hour ago, Chalkie said:

Exactly! If you use a rewards card from a grocer, a pet store, sporting goods store or lots of other places they are tracking your purchases. For example, the pet store where we buy our fur baby's food every now and then gives us a coupon for a deep discount on the food we buy. It is limited in time but we almost always buy an extra bag. Saves us money and I will not complain. 

 

You don't have to have a rewards card.  If you use a credit card, debit card, or write a check, they track exactly who you are and what you buy.  They use this data for their own marketing purposes and some of them share this data with their partners.

I'm not saying there's anything nefarious about it, only that it does take place and has been for many years. 

[wildmandmc]

I live in SWFlorida . Area where the 'snowbirds flock". The local Mc D has the Kiosk. what a major pain in butt. takes longer to order food with it. It's actually the best way to rid the place of jobs/positions. The remaining jobs turn the employee's into robots.  

As for apps. as an IT guy. they are design to help an monitor. Key word is Monitor. The big companys know that most of customers are buying product x, well we can up price by 10 cents an make even more money. Stuff that don't really sell reduce by 10 cents an it still stays on shelf. turns into a lose lose situations for US. only app i use is Zedge. one for changing default sounds/ringtones for  calls, mesgs. 

[SWharton]

I dislike the McDonald kiosk. Not in concept but in application.  I find the screen is too big, about half the size would be fine. I find also, it is faster to order from  a human than the kiosk. I only use them when forced to.

[chirakawa]

2 hours ago, wildmandmc said:

only app i use is Zedge. one for changing default sounds/ringtones for  calls, mesgs. 

Really?  You must not have a smartphone.  Every smartphone comes with lot's of apps already installed.  It wouldn't work without apps.  And, they all monitor your activity.

[Kirk W]

The monitoring of activity isn't all bad. It is the knowledge of your spending patterns that allow the credit card folks to know when someone is using your card that you did not authorize to do so. That is also what triggers the advertising and special offers that they send to their customers. In the case of the Walmart Savings Catcher it even would allow the customer to reorder the same items as last purchased. Sales organizations have collected data about customers for many years so there is nothing new about that but the collection process is much refined and more effective than before the electronic data developed as it has in recent years. There have always been thieves out there and there always will be. Technology is changing the world and crooks are just as impacted as other parts of society. When the automobile was introduced to the world there were many who refused to ride in one, predicting that they would prove to be dangerous. Those people were right! Consider how many people are injured or die each year because of the common use of automobiles. We were much safer when everyone just road a horse!  

[remoandiris]

5 hours ago, SWharton said:

I dislike the McDonald kiosk. Not in concept but in application.  I find the screen is too big, about half the size would be fine. I find also, it is faster to order from  a human than the kiosk. I only use them when forced to.

+1!!

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, rm.w/aview said:

So now I have this image of rush hour in every metropolis done on horseback except the car poolers, or now the wagon train poolers

Wait for the self driving horse from Uber!

[pjstough]

17 minutes ago, rm.w/aview said:

 The value of a persons hour is a conscious decision made by the employer. Someone may well provide your minimum of 50 dollars of value an hour without just compensation. Your saying that unless a person can make over $100K/yr they shouldn't be allowed to work? (40 hr/wk X 52 weeks = 2080... X $50/hr = $104K). I'm not understanding your viewpoint as presented. 

The quote about $50.00 per hour was not mine. I probably should have said feel so desperate to work for such low wages. "The value of a persons hour is a conscious decision made by the employer. "  That is true, however, it is based primarily on the supply and demand for labor.  The closer the balance of the supply and demand for labor, the higher the wages, and vice versa.

[sandsys]

10 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Wait for the self driving horse from Uber!

Turn a good horse towards home and it no longer needs a driver. 

Linda Sand

[chirakawa]

If we all were riding horses, the deaths from sanitation failure would far exceed the automobile deaths each year..

[Chalkie]

On 3/25/2018 at 9:58 PM, Velos said:

I have been trying to find out more info about the Walmart app but not a lot is out there in regards to what Walmart will do once I authorize their access to my phone with their app. 

I don't know what the Walmart app will want, the Sam's Club app only wants access to the camera (for scanning) and location (to determine which club). Since they are in reality the same company I would suspect that there will be no difference. Beyond that, they will use your shopping data just as every other seems to be using it today.

[Kirk W]

On 3/23/2018 at 5:51 PM, Velos said:

Does that mean it is going to access my images or just the programs for images, video or audio? 

While one would have to examine the programs that Walmart is using to be certain, I would be highly surprised if they wanted more than access to the camera and related information since most of what is on your phone would be of no interest to them. 

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As part of the test, some Walmart stores have been outfitted with Scan & Go kiosks where customers can pick up easy-to-use handheld devices. This allows them to try out the service before downloading it to their phones.