Dear Reader Column 02-28-2020

Dear Reader,

I don't need a second job, but lately a lot of companies seem to think I want to work for them, and they expect me to work for free. When I went to checkout at a big box hardware store, where I frequently shop, I noticed that now there was only one checkout with a human being greeting people and ringing up their purchases. The line was very long. An employee saw me sizing up my options: waiting in the long line, or using one of the six new self-checkout machines.

"We offer self-check now," the employee told me, "it's easier and saves you time." I wasn't gruff sounding in my reply, I merely stated how I felt. "Oh, really, it doesn't feel that way to me. Now I'm expected to spend money in this store, and become an employee, scanning, bagging and doing my own credit card transaction, and of course, to give myself great customer service, I would add, 'Thanks and have a great day, Suzanne. Come back soon.'"

A friend of mine, who works in retail, brought up the self-check issue the other day, too. "I'm ringing up purchases all day long," she said, "that's my job. So when I go to the supermarket why would I want to go 'back to work' scanning and bagging my own purchases?"

I always try to look for something positive in a negative, so here's a thought, since now I'm an "employee" when I shop at the big box hardware store, I wonder if my "new" job offers benefits? And more importantly, will I be invited to the company Christmas party?

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

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Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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Comments

[Linda Freedman]

A mother summed up my feelings about self-check outs when her preschool aged daughter asked her why she didn’t use the self check-out.

“When you use a regular check-out, a person has a job. When you use a self check-out, a person doesn’t have a job.”