This week I read about a device that one can use in a store to record the purchases while they shop. One picks it up as they enter the store, scans items as they buy, and then uses it to checkout. It is to save time at the checkout.
This morning was my weekly trip for groceries. I go to the Harris Teeter at Rosedale or the one at the Target (Exit 23 versus Exit 25 of I-77). Today I chose Rosedale because of the other errands I had to run.
I thought about the device while I was there. The produce person was happy to go get me some spinach. They were restocking and the spinach was out. How would that have worked with the device?
I could have easily scanned each item as I put it in the cart, except for the produce. I buy lots of produce for one person. It is hard to scan that. Produce is one reason I HATE self-checkout. I always have problems with the scanner weighing it.
I also had my bags with me. I could have easily put the items in the bags while shopping. Then with the scanner, I could have paid at the machine and been on my way.
However, I would have missed talking with the people at the checkout. I like seeing the smiles on the faces of the people of both of the stores. I like the small talk. I also like watching people if I have to be in a line for a short time. I admit it. I also read the headlines on the magazines at the checkout if there is a line. Some are entertaining.
All of this has gotten me to thinking about why we are automating all of this. Relationships take time. Even casual ones at a store check-out take some time. However, they add a flavor to life that we do not get from machines. Automation has allowed us to exchange info easier. It has allowed us to keep up with others easier. Are we overusing automation? Is it allowing us to keep up in name only and bypass the seeing, hearing, thinking, and understanding parts of relationships?
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1 comments:
Nancy, you bring up some good points about how we're avoiding others when we use some of this automation. When the self-checkout first came out, I think my impression was that we would use it when we had just a few items. In fact, I think the initial grocery stores I used it at had it positioned, that way. With the initial frustrations at using it, I don't think it would have been practical to use for many items.
But these days, self-checkout is even used when we have many items. Some grocery stores have converted quite a number of the checkout lanes to be self-checkout lanes.
I have to admit that, regardless how many items I'm buying, I often go to the self-checkout lanes when I look at the regular lanes and see people with a whole lot more than me. We all seem to be looking for a way to save time, whether in the checkout line, the bank line or the gas station. For another example, with the automated gas pump, there's nothing they could put on-sale at the gas station that I even look at because there's no way I'll go into the station, any more.
But here's a question: in the time we try to save in these areas, do we spend them in other places? Do we spend more time with friends and family? Do we spend more time with hobbies? Do we spend more time in shops with things we really like looking at? For example, I could spend all day in a tea shop (as you probably would have guessed), talking to the shopkeeper about every single item. I wonder if we're shifting that time to spend with other people? I'm not stating that, just wondering about it.
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