I was reading Time Magazine (now that I get People at home, I have to get something else at the grocery store) and they had "10 Ideas that are Changing the World". I love these issues because it's fun to guess if they're right or not.
Idea #2 is that more and more, we will be moving to a "self-service" world where we check out our own goods, etc. It first started in 1916 when the Piggly Wiggly became the first grocery store where you got your own goods instead of telling the shopkeeper what you wanted.
The author lamented at the end of the piece that we were having to do more of the work without getting paid, and wasn't that awful? Wouldn't that take up so much more of our time?
Au contraire, Ms. Kiviat. How nice would it be to order a meal from a computer at your table instead of having an obnoxious server interrupting your conversation every 5 minutes? How awesome is the idea of scanning and bagging your groceries as you move through the store, instead of filling your cart, unloading it, then bagging it all up again after waiting in line for 20 minutes because the lady in front of you has 35 coupons and wants to write a check?
I am the person who uses the self-check lanes whenever possible. I hate checkers who comment on my purchases or leaf through my magazines while I'm paying. I hate being bugged by a server 5 times before you're ready, having to specifically request ordering a children's meal with the drinks because they can't wait for the rest of the meal, and never being able to find a server when you are finally ready. I cringe when the server actually sits down with you like they're family (j'accuse, Outback!). I don't know you and I have personal space issues, freak show! Get out of my booth!
Even my fave downtown store has about 30 employees loitering around during lunchtime asking anyone and everyone if they can help them find something. Please, I know where to find everything in that store, from argyle socks to zebra bedding. Your constant approaches are costing me time! Save it for someone who looks lost.
Or better yet, put up kiosks where I can type in an item and it tells me where to find it and how to get there.
I should call them with that idea...
(And yes, I know my French is deplorable.)
4 comments:
I also hate it when you use the self check out lane and then people stop by and start bagging your groceries! If I wanted YOU to bag them (quite horribly), I wouldn't be at the SELF-SERVICE check out, would I?
Amen sister- I can do things like that faster/better myself. Now if people were actually trained in customer service anymore, I might feel differently (like when I go to Byerly's or something, I don't mind letting them pack my bags because they do a good job- also, they unload the cart for me, I love that!) But good service at a restaurant or at a store usually comes at a premium that I am not always willing to pay.
Hey!
I just saw you walking from the parking ramp downtown.
Similarly, you may have seen a crazy long-haired blond guy peering groggily out a bus window. That was me.
How weird is that?
That my hair is still blond, that is, even though I'm well into my 30s. Very weird.
As for servers, I'm happy to be rid of them as they are yet another small stumbling block on our slow lurch towards becoming mere faceless components in a massive, sentient Gestalt entity.
Humans! Who needs 'em? Let the stripping of individual nuance and the demise of genuine social interaction begin!
Funny! You must have seen the crabby look on my face because they turned off my parking card for the second time this month. I missed you on the bus, but I was probably muttering to myself and staring at the pavement.
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