A checkout system includes a checkout station having a housing, an attendant work station, a customer unloading station and an exceptions processing subsystem. A point-of-sale system has a microprocessor and memory operatively associated with one another to identify products being purchased, payments tendered therefor and to store transaction information locally at the checkout station or remotely from the checkout station. The microprocessor has programming configured to allow an item to be scanned by a product identification scanner and in communication with the exceptions processing subsystem. The attendant work station may include an exceptions handling display: Check out methods and apparatus are also disclosed.