Bee Balm, a few days later. It’s such a funny looking flower. I love it.
Well, the heat advisory keeps getting extended. Originally, it was through Thursday, Then, they extended it through Friday. Now, this morning, I discovered it’s been extended through Sunday. The heat index reached 99° yesterday. Unbearable. Thank goodness for a/c, but believe me, we are getting very restless around here. I go out in the morning and water everything in sight, as well as all the porch plants. Yesterday, I had to go to the post office and then went on a quick early morning grocery run. After that, it was indoors for the rest of the day. The next few days look to be extremely hot and humid with thunderstorms off and on.
Help!
After having waited for almost a year, we finally were able to purchase a new lawn mower on Wednesday. We have yet to assemble the handle, etc., as it’s still in the box in the shed. Too hot.
Anyway, we hadn’t been to Lowes in a while. We headed to the lawnmower section. I already knew what model we wanted and had calculated the cost plus sales tax. We had the cash in hand. The usual ensued; finding an employee to help us, getting one of those long, low carts, then loading the huge box onto the cart. We proceeded to the checkout area, where we discovered that. every lane had been changed over to self-checkout. The entire area. When we asked, “This is now all self-checkout, ALL of it?” the employee stationed there said “Yes.” I started grumbling (audibly) about the fact that we now have to do the work that employees once did (and how did it impact those employees?) and the woman said something like “You still get service.” What service? We provide the service.
Anyway, she said that if we dragged that cart across the store to the far end, we could check out in “lumber” and that there would be an actual human being working the cash register (do we still call them that?)
We did that, and after waiting a while, because apparently a lot of us prefer working with a human being, I promptly discovered that they were charging too much and that the box that had been pulled off the shelf was for another, more expensive model. So we explained all of that and quoted the price of the model we wanted and then we waited for a half-hour while someone found the right model and brought it to the checkout area. That would have been even more of a hassle if we were in the self-checkout area, getting ready to feed $100 bills into the machine.
We’ll be doing more business with our local True Value from now on.
As Don said, it all started with having to pump your own gas. No more oil check, no more washing the windshield – all of it gone.
Same problem with our local grocery store. Why do I have to feed the items through a scanner, try to find the vegetables in a list of vegetables, hoping I have the right version of broccoli or potatoes? Invariably something doesn’t go right and I have to wait for an attendant to help me. Why am I doing the work that a cashier used to do? There are still some cashiers there, but there’s usually only one on duty. (This is the same store that is undergoing a massive renovation dictated by “Corporate” that has been going on for a couple of months and where no one can find anything anymore, including the employees.)
I know there are varying opinions on all of this, but I am firmly in the ‘self-checkout is okay for a few items when I’m in a hurry, but that’s it’ category. We weren’t about to feed $500 in cash into a little slot when we were buying that lawnmower.
This opens up a whole can of worms, doesn’t it? Customer service – now usually done with a chat bot and/or disembodied voice. Cashiers put out of work. I know that there are times we really don’t want to engage with an employee/cashier, but I rather like it. Don and I are the kind of people who ask how the cashier is, how their day is going, talk about the weather. Always.
You can’t do that with a machine. The whole experience is depersonalized. Thankfully, we checked out with a cashier in the lumber section and were therefore able to have human interaction. We didn’t have to wait for an attendant to come help us.
On that same subject, I distrust AI and make an effort to avoid anything powered by it. I just re-watched the 60 Minutes interview with the man who developed AI in which he warns us of the ultimate danger: AI will end up smarter than us and will take over.
This is an improvement? I keep seeing Hal, the computer in 2001, A Space Odyssey, saying “NO, I can’t do that” to Keir Dullea.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
Been awhile since I have commented on your blog. Speaking of AI, I think of the movie “I, Robot”. I really don’t understand how a machine can take over but I am concern about it. I don’t like self-checkout either. Takes jobs away. And I read an article concerning self-checkout written by a lawyer. A customer may have thought all the items are checked out and next thing may be accused of shoplifting because the item may not registered. And loneliness is an issue in our country. For some people, just going to a store and interacting with other humans is the only social activity they may have. Summer is not my favorite time of the year because of the heat. We are suppose to be up in upper 80 with the heat index in the 90s.
Yes, I’ve read about shoppers being accused of shoplifting because of an error the machine makes. Scary!
Stay safe, Trina.
I’m glad that all of the stores around me still have regular checkout available as I do like it better.
I’m hoping it cools off a bit soon also so I can get back out for my walks.
Stay safe and stay cool, Claudia!
Yes, I miss my walks but it’s been too hot this week for one.
Stay safe, Ellen.
Our heat dome too — if I had aircon, I’d use it.
Don’t start me on self-check and customer service, auto-bots on the phone directing you somewhere, anywhere (except to a person). I worry about employment of checkout people and try not to use self-check at the grocery unless absolutely long lines or a very few items. Your Lowes visit helps add to that feeling. But well done on finally getting a new lawn mower. I’m sure it will be a huge help — you have a lot of territory to cover!
We went to another outdoor play last night. Fortunately, the temp dropped a bit for it and there was a gentle breeze but the cast — yikes! It was the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged, of course) with loads of physical comedy. Only three actors playing all the roles, so many fast wig/costume/scene changes and a frantic pace. I can only imagine the final days of rehearsal outdoors on set in this heat. They must shed 10 pounds a night!
Have a wonderful weekend. If the rains don’t come I may head north for a couple of days.
I did a little work on a production of that when I was at the Globe. (To tell the truth, it isn’t a favorite.) The guys in it were nice, but a little of that kind of frantic “look at me” work is more than enough.
Glad you had good weather for it, Jeanie.
Stay safe.
I’m sure our time will come here in the upper Midwest, but right now I am feeling for you dealing with the extreme heat. Believe me, I don’t take a single day of our moderate warm weather for granted either.
I’m with you on the subject of self-check out. Sometimes I go to Home Depot with Dean and it’s the same story there – totally self-check out. What kills me are the big box stores here with tons of stations for live cashiers and only one or two open. So that leaves self check for most of us. One day I grumbled to the person who stands and watches us doing our own checking that I’ve been waiting an awful long time for a paycheck since I do the store’s job for them.
Take care,
Kay
Exactly. I’ve already decided I’m going to ask for my employee discount next time. Because, after all, I’m doing the work of an employee, right?
Stay safe, Kay.
Claudia, I heard on NPR that self-check cost the retail sector $10 BILLION in losses last year. So, some retailers are re-thinking self-check. At our big grocery store, which I use mainly to buy milk (we go through a lot of its less expensive there), there a self-check with a human assigned to help anyone in need in that area. And there are four or five check-out lines but usually only two open at a time. I’m fine with self-check, as some of the cashiers are unfriendly. However, there’s one woman who helps at self-check and she always has a kind word for everyone who goes through self-check.
On the other extreme, the family-run grocery store where I buy most of my groceries have no self-check at all. Many of the cashiers know me on sight. My late husband used to “hang out” with the butchers while I shopped. At that time, they had a huge-screen TV that always had a sports game on. (They’ve since taken the TV down.) When my husband died, every one of them had kind words to say to me the next time they saw me. I wouldn’t have gotten that at the big box grocery store.
Losses as in shoplifting? I suspect it’s all too easy to sneak certain items through. There are always humans nearby in self-check to answer questions, but one person is very different than the several cashiers who used to be available and presumably, no longer have jobs.
I like Mom and Pop stores the best.
Stay safe, Wendy
dear Claudia/Don — our “heat wave” has also been extended into next week as well –SOOOOO
over this here — thankful for AC — just hoping NO BROWNOUTS happen !!! these checkout issues are a VERY BIG Pain for me/Mr — not being “tech smart” gives us a big disadvantage, therefore, HASSLE !! AI is indeed going to take over our very existence — bad news for the next generation being educated/trained for computer jobs — like 2 of our grands — they are thinking they won’t be necessary except for “repair work” scary stuff!! stay safe/healthy
This must be very disheartening for your grandchildren, Linda.
Stay safe.
I have a friend who is a steward in her Union and very upset about the jobs lost to technology. Cashiers are usually minority/ females with only basic educations. Many are single parents. How are they going to support their families? Brilliantly, she practices passive resistance by rearranging stacks of clothing in the big box stores to skew sizes and colors. Corporate must still hire live people to neaten the stock. Luddites unite!
Bravo to your friend, Eileen! That’s the way.
(Don does that with tabloids like the National Enquirer. He hides them behind other stock.)
Stay safe.
Boy, I feel your pain about store checkouts. Out of solidarity for low wage workers I never use the self-checkout line. Never. The cashiers work so hard and do a physically demanding job, along with tolerating rude customers who don’t bother to say “thank you”. My pet peeve is huge grocery stores with 14 checkout stations and only two in use! Glad you got your new lawn mower, sorry it wasn’t a good experience.
Yes, I hate that, as well. I refuse to get used to self-checkout. No way.
Stay safe!
I absolutely hate self check out. I like to chat with a real person. My grocery store redesigned the manned checkouts recently to have a bagger at the end of the checkout, plus the checker at the register. It’s nice when they have enough employees but of course usually they don’t. I don’t understand why they changed it. The cashier used to have a revolving bag holder and could load up several bags at once. Now the cashier has 1 bag stand they can fill at a time. If there is a bagger they are at the end of the lane. Usually it’s still just the cashier and now customers often help out by doing some of the bagging. I try to shop at less busy times as I found that there are more likely to be baggers when it’s less busy. The old process worked more smoothly.
Enjoy the new lawnmower.
I always end up having to bag my own groceries. Around here, a bagger is a rare sight.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
I love bee balm, but when I had it, it didn’t do well. Too much shade. Which is helpful these days with the heat…but not good if you are trying to grow more flowers.
Ah, self checkout. Love it or hate it. For a very small grocery shop , it works, and it’s quick. Until it isn’t because too many regular checkout lanes are unattended, and the lines for self-checkout become too long. Unacceptable . Then, you have the big box store, where you are doing the work of an employee, and not getting some sort of discount? And then they employ someone to check your receipt? Nope! Not a fan! I do miss conversing with the cashiers, too, and even with the baggers. I have read though, that some chains are eliminating self checkout, because of the shop lifting aspect. Serves them right as far as I’m concerned.
We are to get storms today and tomorrow….as a cold front comes through. Yay. Enjoy your day…stay cool! ;)
My future question to the attendant is going to be “When do I get my employee discount? Because I am doing the work of an employee, right?”
Stay safe, Donnamae.
Absolutely!! ;)
xo
I say Amen to all your concerns about self-checkout. Our local Value Village (a thrift store) recently went to all self-checkout with a “helper”. Yikes! The merchandise they sell is all donated items so no inventory costs. One would think they could “afford” to pay cashiers. Tuesday is Seniors day with 30% off so each sale needs a person to key in the discount code because heaven forbid they trust the shoppers to do that. When I’m asked if I want to use self-checkout and I have a choice I usually respond with “oh, no, I don’t work here”. Enjoy your new lawn mower but don’t overdo in this heat. Hugs, Elaine
Love that response!
Stay safe, Elaine.
Sounds like a good time to let the new lawn mower age in place for a bit – the grass won’t be growing in this heat anyway, or so I tell myself.
We started boycotting self check some time ago – it was seductively handy at first, and so nice to pack the bags in the cart as we shopped so nothing was crushed or upside down, but we quickly realized that the human cost was too high. Of course we aren’t turning the corporate momentum around but at least we are trying not to participate.
Hope the girls are bearing up in the heat – they can always sit around in the rude nude if they get too hot.
Ceci
Thanks so much, Ceci!
Stay safe.
We’ve had it with Lowe’s. It took 3 different extended warranty appointments over 8 months to finally get an issue with our washer addressed. Buying and getting a refrigerator delivered from them recently was a nightmare. They use third party companies now for deliveries and extended warranties. It is not benefiting their customers, employees, and the company itself. It is how Sears operated before it crashed. I miss the small, locally owned appliance stores.
I do, too, Small and locally owned always seems to be better.
Stay safe, Cheryl.