CELPIP Listening Part 6 · Viewpoints · set 2 of 10

Are Self-Checkout Lanes Going Too Far?

A CELPIP Listening Part 6 practice set (Viewpoints): the transcript, 6 questions and the answer key with an explanation for each answer. No sign-up needed. This page prints the transcript and has no audio; on the real test you hear the recording once and cannot replay it.

The task

You will hear a guest columnist on a podcast give her view on self-checkout machines in grocery stores. Listen once, then answer the questions.

You hear the audio only once.
The speaker presents a point of view: follow the argument and the position, not only the facts.

Questions: 6
Time: 4 minutes
Practice set: 2 of 10

Transcript

The test plays this once, as audio. For real practice, answer the questions first, then check the transcript.

When my local grocery store in Saskatoon redid its front end last spring, it went from eight staffed lanes to two, plus twelve self-checkout machines. I've been thinking about it ever since, because I've heard people on both sides get quite heated. The store's argument is simple. Customers with a few items get out faster, and the company saves on labour at a time when its margins are thin. And to be fair, a lot of shoppers like it. My neighbour, who's in her twenties, says she'd rather scan her own milk and bread than make small talk. For a quick trip, the machines often are faster. But I think the change has gone too far, and here's why. First, the work hasn't disappeared. It's been moved onto us. I'm now the cashier and the bagger, and I'm not being paid for either job. When the machine says there's an unexpected item in the bagging area for the third time, I'm waiting for the one employee who's watching all twelve stations. Second, not everyone can use them easily. My father is eighty-one and has trouble with touch screens. He now waits in one of the two staffed lines, which on a Saturday can be ten people long. A service that works well for some customers and badly for others isn't really an improvement. Third, the stores themselves are discovering problems. Several chains have reported more losses from items that aren't scanned, whether by mistake or on purpose, and some have started limiting self-checkout to fifteen items or fewer. I'll admit I use the machines myself when I'm buying one or two things. I'm not asking anyone to rip them out. What I'd like to see is a balance: keep self-checkout for small baskets, but bring back enough staffed lanes that no one is forced to use a machine they find difficult. Maybe even a staffed lane reserved for seniors in the morning. A grocery store isn't just a warehouse. For some people, the chat with the cashier is the only conversation they'll have that day. That's worth something, even if it doesn't show up on a spreadsheet.

Questions and answer key

1What is the speaker's main point?
1. ASelf-checkout machines should be taken out of grocery stores altogether.
2. ✓Stores should keep self-checkout but bring back more staffed lanes.
3. CShoppers should be more patient when using self-checkout.
4. DSelf-checkout is faster and should replace most cashiers.
Answer: B
She wants 'a balance: keep self-checkout for small baskets, but bring back enough staffed lanes'. Removing the machines is wrong because she says 'I'm not asking anyone to rip them out.'
2How did the speaker's store change its checkout area?
1. AIt replaced all of its staffed lanes with twelve self-checkout machines.
2. BIt added two machines beside its eight staffed lanes.
3. CIt limited self-checkout to fifteen items or fewer.
4. ✓It cut staffed lanes from eight to two and added machines.
Answer: D
The store 'went from eight staffed lanes to two, plus twelve self-checkout machines.' Not all staffed lanes were replaced, since two remain; the fifteen-item limit refers to other chains.
3What does the speaker's neighbour prefer about self-checkout?
1. ✓Avoiding conversation with a cashier
2. BPaying lower prices for milk and bread
3. CBeing able to shop late in the evening
4. DScanning large orders without help
Answer: A
The neighbour says 'she'd rather scan her own milk and bread than make small talk.' Milk and bread are mentioned, but not lower prices.
4Why does the speaker mention her father?
1. ATo show that seniors do most of their shopping on Saturdays
2. BTo explain why she now does her shopping at a different grocery store
3. ✓To illustrate that the change does not serve all customers equally
4. DTo argue that older people should learn new technology
Answer: C
Her father 'has trouble with touch screens', which supports her point that a service that 'works well for some customers and badly for others isn't really an improvement.' Saturday is mentioned only to describe the long lineup.
5According to the speaker, what have some grocery chains done because of losses?
1. AHired more security guards at the exits
2. ✓Limited self-checkout to smaller orders
3. CRemoved the sensors in the bagging area
4. DClosed their self-checkouts on weekends
Answer: B
Because of unscanned items, 'some have started limiting self-checkout to fifteen items or fewer.' The bagging area is mentioned only as a source of error messages, not as something removed.
6What does the speaker suggest with her final comment about the cashier?
1. ACashiers should be paid more than other store staff.
2. BStores should start measuring how often customers have conversations with staff.
3. CMost shoppers find small talk with cashiers annoying.
4. ✓A store's social value is not captured by its financial figures.
Answer: D
She says the chat with the cashier is 'worth something, even if it doesn't show up on a spreadsheet', meaning its value isn't counted in financial terms. The small-talk option reflects only the neighbour's view, not hers.

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