TM's dashboard

There are several reasons that self-checkout machines are often non-operational.
- They break down often. The mechanisms that make change, process credit card payments, and weigh merchandise often fail and require repair. Many employees are not able to fix these problems themselves, requiring management or other personnel to get involved.
- Many customers are dishonest when using self checkouts - they find ways to avoid scanning items, and avoid paying for them. If the employee working the self-checkouts is busy helping customers and fixing the machines, they cannot monitor these dishonest customers.
- Many customers are unable to use the self-checkout machines correctly, and they generate many complaints to management.

I'm not saying it's right, but in my experience these are the reasons that self checkouts are often closed. I don't work for WalMart personally, but I've been in the retail business for several years, and have a good understanding of how these machines work. As the technology progresses, hopefully the machines will be upgraded so that they can be easier to use and more available.