Tuesday SOLSC - 7/16/13 - One of Those Mundane (Dreaded) Tasks
I am fortunate because my hubby always goes shopping with me (I'm still trying to get him to go by himself, but no luck). We have two hometown grocery stores and WALMART. I usually try to steer clear of WALMART, but we needed a few things that I couldn't get at the grocery store. So off to WALMART we went, with our list (and with hope that we would find what we wanted). We went up and down the aisles picking up this and that - most everything on our list. I have come to expect that if I once found a product I liked at WALMART, I would never find it again. But, I was lucky and we found everything we needed.
And then came the check out. Just recently they have installed the "self check out" machines. We looked at the lines of people waiting to be checked out, looked at each other, shrugged and said "why not try it out". We started to scan our items, one, then two, then "Wait for the Attendant". He came over, cleared whatever and we continued on. One, then two, then "do you want to bag this item?" (You can only hit "done", no yes or no). Another "Wait for the Attendant". Then we had to weigh the grapes, again "wait for the attendant", "do you want to bag this item" "hold on, you put something in your bag that you shouldn't". It seemed to go on forever, our frustration grew and then finally after many interruptions, we finished. Now to pay for the groceries. Hubby scans his card, another glitch - it didn't want to take his card. Again we tried, this time it worked. We got the receipt, groceries bagged and in the cart and out the door.
The last words from hubby were "Never again - we're shopping at Harps's!" I'll second that. I think the self checkout may be good for a few items, but not a whole cart full. We have lots of elderly people here and I can't imagine that they will even venture into this area and I will definitely wait in line (if I go back to WALMART).
I agree Judy "self check outs" can be frustrating so that's one reason I don't use them and the second more important reason . . . I don't like that a machine is taking a job away from a human. Sometimes less expensive is not always worth the trip ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the self checkout IF and ONLY IF there is 1) no produce 2) less than 10 items 3) no one behind me. Then, I reminisce for a moment of my days, long ago, as the check out girl in Woolworth Department store as I imagine my life standing still over time....
ReplyDeleteWalmart shopping...now that is a topic I could write many slices about as I have a like/dislike relationship with that store. Every self checkout seems to be a bit different.The way I use them though almost always elicitsthe "Wait for the attendant" so you are not alone. Actually this slice does seem to cover your OLW as you are probably grateful you won't have to do that again! :)
ReplyDeleteUgh...very frustrating, especially when you both thought it would "speed up the process." That didn't happen! Sorry to live through your pain, but we all learned a lesson too! That we are also grateful for too!
ReplyDeleteTake comfort in the fact that you were not alone! At least you could voice your frustrations to someone else who understood:)I just came from the store and I did NOT choose the self checkout:)
ReplyDeleteNot a huge fan of self scan either but learning to like when I don't have a lot. Walmart never has enough checkers and I look for the ones I know can bag quickly -- even if their line is longer.
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