Many times I go into the BIG grocery store for one or two items. There were two or three cashiers there who had lanes labeled "15 items or less." That was very convenient. No longer.
Now they have fewer cashiers and more of the self service lanes where you scan your items, throw your money in a slot, bag your items and get your change if everything works right.
So today Lee needed Zyrtec. We drive to the BIG store, I find the correct size to go with my coupon, go the frozen bread aisle and pick up a box of garlic knots for a spaghetti meal later and head to the check out area.
OMGOSH!
Memorial Day Sunday week-end afternoon at about 3:30. What are all these people buying humongous carts full of groceries. oh. Maybe for a picnic tomorrow. I look for a lane that looks like it might have a fewer than $500 worth of groceries.
Nope. I do not want to use those self service lines. I do not work there. So I see three employees standing and talking in the aisle near the cashiers and I ask if one of them would help me check out. I explained I had a coupon and I didn't know how to use it at that machine. (Scan it?) So this nice young man scanned my knots and my Zyrtec. I handed him the money. "Oh. This machine does not take cash."
WHAT? Another employee (a woman!) said she would take care of it. Another machine, another scan and I'm done.
Or not. I start out the automatic sliding doors and this horrible klaxon sound starts going off. I'm the only one in the door way so I stop in my tracks. Sure enough, here comes a young female employee and I said, "An employee checked me out!" She looked in the bag and says, "It's probably the Zyrtec." The loud horn stopped. I laughed told her that this was embarrassing and that I'm probably on camera. She laughed and said I was fine.
I didn't feel fine. I just knew this was another weird day but I did laugh when I told Lee. Next time he can go get his own Zyrtec.
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I like the self checkouts...one less germy person handeling our groceries. I hate that alarm...for us it is always printer cartridges that set it off:)
ReplyDeleteI had never heard this at the store before! Do they come and check your receipt and your bags? Often Facebook will have a photo of persons who are wanted for an "incident." I wonder if the alarm went off when they exited?
DeleteYes they come running and check your receipt and bags it is embarrassing :(
DeleteThe self service lanes are cheaper than hiring people. I think it's sad. But it's hard to get good employees these days. At least that's what my husband tells me and he's involved in hiring. He said people don't want to work.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes use the self service lines, but not if I have produce or something that has to be weighed. I don't know how to do that.
And that sound is terrible. It did that to me with dog food and it WAS embarrassing.
Blessings,
Betsy
I guess it's not as uncommon as I thought to set off the alarm! As I said above, I had never heard that Klaxon before - and we are in that store a lot!
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