So the other day at the grocery store….
I can’t count the number of columns I’ve written with that opening line or the number of stories I’ve told. There haven’t been that many lately because we switched to home delivery during the pandemic and I haven’t had to go shopping much.
If you remember, I was away in Virginia during Covid taking care of my grandson. My wife, Priscilla, HATES grocery shopping so when we learned about home delivery she jumped at it. We use Walmart but many other stores offer it too. When I moved back home after Covid we kept up the home delivery and it’s been great! I make my list every week, then sit down with the app and order my groceries. I select a delivery time and they show up on my porch. Now if I could only hire someone to put them away…..
Sometimes I forget to order something so I make a quick run up the street to Stop and Shop and that’s what I had to do this week.
It was actually for Priscilla’s birthday. I ran in to get some flowers, a cake and some birthday candles. Yes I bought my wife a store-bought birthday cake. She’s the baker in the family and I thought it would be wrong to ask her to bake her own cake. It would have tasted better but I still thought it was wrong.
So there I was Thursday: I found everything I needed at the store and even had them personalize the cake. Next up… the self-checkout line. (Pause for dramatic music.)
I’ve had mixed emotions about self-checkout at the stores. I honestly feel like they’ve taken jobs away from people even though most of the stores insist that those people have been “reassigned.” Yeah, reassigned to what? I do have to admit that when you look at the long line at the staffed registers, the one or two that are open, it can be easier to just get in the self-checkout line.
The Stop and Shop I go to has six self-checkout machines. This week only three of them were working, I guess the other three were at lunch?
They no longer provide bags for you either. You are charged ten cents per paper bag if you don’t bring your reusable bags and even though we keep a few in the car, I don’t always remember to bring them in. This week I did so I put my reusable bag down in the bagging area and I started scanning my groceries. And that’s where the fun began.
I scanned the cake and then put it in the bag. Ok, everything seems to be going fine. Next up I scanned the first birthday candle (I bought the numbers so I had two of them). I scanned it, put it in the bag and the little voice said, “Please put item in the bagging area.” That’s what I just did. I figured that maybe because it didn’t weigh much the sensor didn’t pick it up. I removed the candle to just put it on what I thought was the sensor when the voice said, “Please return item to the bagging area.” Uh, wait a minute. If you couldn’t sense that I had already put it there, how did you know I removed it?
Once I replaced the item I was able to continue and everything else seemed to go smoothly unlike other times I have clashed with these machines. I always cringe when I’m trying to check out and I hear, “Please wait for assistance.” The little light flashes and everyone in the immediate area knows that you need help. Everybody starts looking at their watch like, “I’m never getting out of here!”
Here it comes….BACK IN MY DAY….
Back in my day you went up to the register, put your items on the moving belt, the person rang them up, maybe a little chit chat, you paid your bill and then they bagged them up and you were on your way! But no! Now we have progress.
It is a very rare event for me to get through the self-checkout line without some issue and I don’t think it’s always my fault. Sometimes? Maybe. Maybe I miss a step, but everytime? No, I can’t believe I’m THAT technically challenged. And don’t you love it when you run in to get the one ingredient you need for dinner and EVERY MACHINE IS TAKEN! And it’s taken by someone who is scanning a completely full snooping cart! How about a “10 items or less” self-checkout?
I read an interesting article about grocery shopping this week. It was a survey done by OnePoll for Kroger supermarkets. Among other things I learned that 78% of people have left the grocery store with more than they intended to buy. 78%! People! You gotta have your list and you have to stick to that list. The survey did say that 80% of people do use a list. I’m glad to be in the majority.
Also, do you have a plan when you shop or do you just go up and down every aisle? The story said 64% of people explore every aisle which always makes it awkward because you keep bumping into the same people. Do you keep saying “Hi” when you pass? A head bob? After the second or third passing I usually feel pressured to make some joke or comment. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Ha. Ha. Ha. (Rimshot)
My thanks to whomever invented online shopping and my thanks to the people that shop for my groceries and those that deliver it. There is a yearly fee, at least with the one we use, but it is definitely worth every penny.
Catch up on past Sunday Columns by clicking here.
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