Stop & Shop Self Checkout tells customer: “Move your yams”

Everett (@everett.toy) is breaking TikTok after showing off some of the curious pronunciation and diction mannerisms of a robotic self-checkout machine’s voice at Stop & Shop, a retailer that is no stranger to implementing work of robotic assistance in its stores.

One of his most recent posts shows him shopping for yams. Viewers rave about the “aggressive” way the grocery store’s self-service system calls out products.

“Okay, the self-checkout voice that says ‘YAM’ is pretty aggressive,” Everett writes in a text overlay on TikTok, which shows him processing the sale of a yam on the self-checkout machine . He leaves it on the automatic register scale until a robotic voice shouts, “Move your…YAMS.”

The TikToker, laughing, grabs the vegetable and places it in a bag on a rack next to the register. A quick scroll through the comments section of her clip reveals that there is what appears to be a growing subset of people who are excited about the way self-checkout machines verbally identify different products. “Organic bananas” are a favorite that Everett previously shared in another viral video.

“These are not organic bananas,” one commenter wrote.

“I’ve been waiting for this since the organic banana post and it did NOT disappoint! “” another person remarked.

@everett.toy In response to @brittanyzajac11 @Braijan is that how yours says it?? Also can anyone tell me the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? #fyp #funny #humor #groceryshopping #selfcheckout #yams #sweetpotatoes #organicbananas ♬ original sound – Everett

In Everett’s article on organic bananas, the difference in inflection between the words “organic” and “bananas” makes it sound like an AI-generated statement combining two words that clearly weren’t recorded taking into account the other word. Plus, the term “bananas” almost sounds like a question. Just listen to the original video that garnered 6.8 million views for yourself:

@everett.toy And yes, I’ll pay more for organic just to hear him say it #fyp #funny #humor #groceryshopping ♬ original sound – Everett

People love the “organic bananas” post so much that someone even gave Everett’s post the remix treatment, turning a simple example of self-checkout fun into what many think is an absolute piece awesome.

@zeo_choons In response to @filmnerd24 #organicbananas #selfcheckout #selfcheckoutproblems #selfcheckoutvoice #krogerselfcheckout #techhouse ♬ original sound – Zeo

Everett also seems to have a soft spot for the way the machine announces that someone is buying bok choy, which he shows in another video.

Most social media content regarding self-checkout kiosks is about the five-finger discount or simple complaints about them.

A Walmart customer recently claimed that an employee at the popular retailer ignored her review, typing a 5-star rating on the screen without giving her the opportunity to give her own rating. And then there’s this clip of a frustrated CVS shopper scrambling at a self-checkout machine, which was very relatable to many shoppers.

Everett’s post, however, adds a new vertical to self-checkout-themed content: the vocal styles of the robots that power them. The Daily Dot contacted Stop & Shop via email, and a company representative responded with the following statement:

“We think it’s crazy that this TikTok is getting so much popularity! It’s not every day that our self-checkouts go viral, but we’re here for it. At Stop & Shop, our goal is to ensure our customers have the best possible experience when shopping in our stores, and we’re happy to see them finding a little more fun in the self-checkout aisle.

The Daily Dot reached out to Everett via TikTok comment for more information.

The internet is chaotic, but we’ll break it down for you in a daily email. Subscribe to the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the Internet delivered straight to your inbox.