Giant Eagle Scan Pay & Go

The app offers little instruction about how to use it in the store. And what signage there is in the store is inadequate. The first department you enter in the store is Produce and this department is the most problematic for app usage. Apparently there are weighing stations in the department but they are hard to find and not clearly identified as being there for the Scan Pay & Go app. The Produce department doesn’t post the PLU numbers on the pricing signs for unmarked produce (I’m looking at you, green onions) and there is no signage on the shelf directing an app user toward the nearest station. Given the above problem, I expected instructions to be present in the app. They are not. There is no produce lookup in it and no suggestion to go find a weighing station somewhere else in the Produce section. The app is a bare bones scanning tool with no sophisticated functionality. Also, users can’t pay via the app. I’m still going to have to get in a designated checkout line to pay, thereby eliminating the convenience of having the app in the first place.

After using this app 3 times now without a hitch, I’m not sure where these bad reviews are coming from. I love that I can scan my produce as I pick it out then take it all with me to weigh at the convenient stations in the produce section. I feel that the app is easy to understand and navigate. All it took is for me to scan my Advantage Card once and it has saved that for all of my trips. Connecting to the in store WiFi is easy and does not seem to pose a security threat to me because all you are passing to and from the network are barcodes and produce weights. Your credit card is still processed at the checkout terminal after you have scanned the terminal barcode and your phone uploads your items to the system and closes the app out. I have also never waited in line to use the checkout lane. This may be because there are 2 terminals in the store I shop at but I also think it is because the checkout process is so fast. I also love how I can bag my items the way I want them bagged in the store. I also love using my phone instead of the store provided scanners because I am kinda a germaphobe and like using my phone instead (mostly because other people don’t touch it). Overall, I love the app and the freedom it provides me. If I could give it 6 stars I would.

The problem is they did not fully implement this. I go through the store, I get to check out, and there’s only one scan pay and go register. I actually found a quicker to go through this self checkout line than to wait in line at the Scan Pay & Go, which is supposed to be faster. Either get some more check out stations, or better yet make it so that you can check out direct from the phone So you don’t even have to stop at a silly checkout station. Update: I have used this app some more and while I did have one visit where it definitely saved me time, it’s still a rickety experience. There’s a whole chance of audit, like extra bag search at the airport. This is where you get flagged, you have to wait for “assistance” and they go through your order to make sure you’re not stealing. Which I could understand if you flag me once, maybe twice to ensure I know how to use the system without committing a misdemeanor. But I have been flagged three times now in a short span of use. Maybe consider linking audits to giant eagle accounts so the system knows who has been checked as a good user? Frustrating to just stand there watching folks use the self checkout while you wait for someone to make sure your two frozen pizzas are, in fact, two frozen pizzas.