5 ideas for grocery store fun
I love the grocery store!
I really do. I’ve contemplated starting a grocery store-specific blog for some time, and I still might. grocerystoreblog.com is available. Don’t snatch it up, jerk.
Why do I like the grocery store? Well, I like to think of myself as a pretty observant person, and there are lots of interesting things to observe in the supermarket! Really! It’s the same reason I “like” the El.
I know you think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. Here are some ideas/observations from tonight’s trip.
- Listen to the music. It’s fantastic! Heard “I’ve Been Thinking About You” by Londonbeat while in the checkout line. Where else can I get a high quality timewarp like that?!
- Shop late at night. I go between 10 and 11. This makes the trip (a) more efficient and (b) potentially more exciting, as other weird people shop then. If you’ve got a 24 hour store nearby (mine’s not), I suggest 3:00 am.
- In each major shopping trip, pick out an item you’ve never had before. I’m not talking about a different brand; I’m talking about an entirely foreign fruit (or just something foreign). For example, I bought some funky kind of beets a couple of weeks ago. They weren’t good at all, but it makes things a lot more exciting.
- Unless there’s a huge discrepancy between the lines, resist the urge to go for the self checkout lane. I’m as independent as the next fella–actually, almost certainly more so–and I like to feel like my personal efficiency will help me along in life. Here’s the problem: I’m not a professional checker. The ones who aren’t high (like my checkout girl tonight) are a heckuva lot faster at scanning than I am. The self checkout systems are flawed, and research has shown that they do not save shoppers time.
- Go the “wrong” way. All grocery stores have a defined path they’d like you to take. Go in the reverse direction. But go fast, because your ice cream’s gonna melt!
Got another idea? Speak up!
November 6th, 2006 at 8:10 am
I’m gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you on one thing. Self-checkout lanes most certainly save me time. If you’ve ever been inside a Wal-Mart (God forbid) you’ll know that these things are a godsend.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:00 am
My responses:
1) uh….
2) Shopping late at night is also nice, because shopping during the day with so many people is kinda stressful (for me anyways)
3) I make it point every time to pick up something new. We are so fortunate to have such immense selection that we shouldn’t let it go by.
4) Yes! those self-checkout lames (yes they are a lame and not a lane) are an interesting social study done by the grocery store. It’s for those people who think they can do eveythingn better and faster. Right. Try doing checkout for 4 hours straight. Then you’ll be an expert. I’ll continue to go to the experts. Man, I could write a whole series of posts about the grocery checkout lane. There’s so much goldin them hills!
5) Heh. THe wrong way. Yeah, i think my gf did that once when we went grocery shopping. It was very odd. But interesting. I think it would be less frustrating if you decided to do it on your own.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Go to Wal-Mart at any time of the day. Just stroll around and people watch.
I don’t think the self checkout lanes were ever meant to save people time. They were just supposed to save on labor costs. They are flawed in a number of ways. There are too many screens, too many errors, and usually too many constraints to keep someone who knows what they’re doing from moving quickly.
They need to recognize customers, which they should be able to do based on the discount cards almost everyone uses. This would allow predefined time delays to be adjusted accordingly. It would help get rid of some of the useless menus. I’m always frustrated that it takes the computer so long to recognize a positive scan. I can get an item across the scanner and almost into the bag before I get the affirming beep. This means I usually swipe, stop, wait, then place in the bag when I should be able to completely get rid of the stop and wait portions.
And if you’re going to use the self checkout lanes, you need to know when it is in your best interest. The main factors are the length of the lines in the regular lanes (L1), length of lines in the self checkout lanes (L2), what items you have (A for alcohol and/or W for foods that need to be weighed), and how many items you have (N).
When the L1/L2 ratio is high, things favor the self checkout lanes so long as N
November 6th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
continuing on (it seems WP didn’t like my “less than” signs)…
When the L1/L2 ratio is high, things favor the self checkout lanes so long as N is less than 10 and W and A both = 0. N less than 6 is probably best.
And let’s not forget the check factor. If the people in the regular lines are likely to use checks, then any other option becomes preferable.
November 6th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
Chad: Thankfully, I’ve only been to Wal-mart about 3 times in my life.
nobrainer: Yes. The check factor…
November 7th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
i like the backwards idea…but icy cream is pretty important to me..so i dont want it too soft…also tino burrrrritas are in danger of melting under this preposition! Riding the carts is fun
November 7th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Self-checkout not only saves labor costs but also REDUCES theft/pilferage. Apparently, clerks are responsible for more merchandise theft than the occasional self-checkout exploit.
Not sure if anyone else has been to Bloom’s grocery, but they have (I think) an RFID tag on all products… and they scan themselves when you put them into your cart. Not only that, but well-placed kiosks read what’s in your cart and make recipe and wine suggestions. That’s progress.
November 7th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
That is progress! Here in Chicago we have Jewel. In some stores you’re lucky if they mop the floor (although I love my neighborhood Jewel).