Self-service or self-serving?

According to a survey by The Grocer magazine, the average queue times for staffed tills in supermarkets have lengthened since automated tills were introduced, the Independent writes.

The supermarkets insist that queue times overall have come down since shoppers with fewer items now opt for the self-service tills.

But if the new technology has resulted in longer waits it shouldn't be surprising. This would be the latest in a long line of supposedly time-saving innovations that have ended up eating up a greater chunk of the day than the technology they preceded.

Self-service technology has arrived for the first time in a Hounslow library in London, reveals The Hounslow Chronicle.

Heston Library has taken the plunge with the new system, which allows customers to borrow and return books without having to queue at reception desks.

The fully refurbished library in Heston opened to the public at the beginning of month, giving customers the chance to be fully in control of their borrowing.

The Australian Government Mobile Office is rolling in to Wellington to offer easy access to a wide range of government payments and services, says The Wellington Times.

Since taking to the road late last year the mobile office, designed to improve access to government services for rural communities, has visited about 250 towns and travelled more than 42 000km, with its staff seeing more than 13 500 customers.

Mobile Office team leader Andrew Gregory said the mobile office was particularly useful for people who didn't have easy access to a Centrelink or Medicare Australia office, bringing together many payments and services.