I tend to shop for groceries late at night, on my way home from work. I find that screaming kids, indecisive mothers and men who can't drive a trolley or understand 'parking laws' when perusing shelves tend to be absent in the wee small hours.
I can take my time checking out specials in peace and quiet, knowing that once I hit the checkout there will be no lineup amongst the magazine-reading-soccer-mums who gather at Hills District supermarkets. After a long shift at work, all I want to do is get my stuff, get through the checkout and get out without too much effort.
Not any more... welcome to the 'Self Serve Checkout System'.
These wondrous additions to the major supermarket chains have been devised to speed up the time you spend in checkout queues... by making YOU work for the groceries you've just gathered. Nifty, huh?
So, what we have here is a method for the store to save money on wages, make you deal with your own groceries, pack your own groceries, make you responsible for any input errors and force you to take payment matters into your own hands. Nice one...
Since when did I become a checkout chick? No insult intended to checkout personnel, but I've spent many years getting where I am in the industry and be buggered if I am going to take on an unpaid second job just to get my family fed. I am paying you for my groceries, what now... I have to work for them as well?
And let's consider the effect on teenagers saving up for their first car by doing some casual work in the local supermarket. In a time where the government is touting more jobs for the young ens, this really is a blow to these kids.
What about the elderly? Last thing I want to do at 75 is have to scan and pack my own groceries... seriously, what ever happened to customer service? For many elderly, that smiling, chatty 16 year old is the only conversational contact they may have had all week... do we really want to take that way?
Me? I hate the bloody things and this was compounded the other night by a chirpy 'I'm sorry madam, you HAVE to use the Self-Serve checkout'... Missy, I don't HAVE to do anything.
I had just started a tirade about it when a young bloke behind me arked up with a very loud 'Is she wearing a Woollies uniform? Does she look like a checkout chick? Does she work for you? NO... SO OPEN UP A BLOODY CHECKOUT!'
Quite swiftly we were ushered to a freshly opened checkout and we were through in minutes... legendary!
Shove your Self Serve checkouts Woollies... if I wanted to work for you, I'd apply for a job.
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