Monday 21 March 2011

'UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA.'


UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA.'
Words just designed to make you want to throw down your un-bought shopping and punch somebody. Oh, it's a supermarket and somebody is unexpectedly trying to buy something. How could they have expected that? It would be unreasonable to apportion blame for that. I wonder when it might be expected? As the phrase blares out over and over from each and every self service area, I start to wonder how many times it will take for them to become aware of it and expect something...?
Maybe one day, just maybe, they might, just tiny teeny weeny might expect something random like that to happen. But it may be a while.
I love it that they follow up with 'PLEASE WAIT FOR ASSISTANCE'
Ah! Now I understand! That's why there are no staff at the checkout! They're all busy being surprised by hundreds of unexpected items and shoppers in the bagging area!
'Bagging area.'
Where did that come from? 'bagging area'
It should be called 'pointless hell designed by supermarkets to make your life just a little bit more crap area.' Maybe it's a bit long but there are products called things like I really can't quite believe that it's not imitation hydrogenized fat, so why not?
It's the area you can never checkout from.
It's the area where people mill about mindlessly putting things in bags, then removing them before shuffling guiltily to the next bagging area and doing it all again. Can it become addictive? I think we should be told.
After repeating the process several times, go and wait in the long queue of ex-bagging area-ites.

Bright orange uniforms are used for the subliminal fear. The idea of having being transported to Guantanamo Bay, is quickly suppressed, but the sneaking suspicion remains, thus keeping complaints to a minimum. I suppose I could just let it go.....?

4 comments:

Ted Blackman said...

You're missing the whole point: Self-checkout is just the supermarket's sneaky way of getting you to do all the work, so they can justify laying off cashiers. Next they'll have discounts given for stocking their items on the shelves for them.
Don't even get me started on the 'club card' that allows you to pay retail. No club card?? Pay ABOVE retail.

Glyn Goodwin said...

No no no, you're missing the whole point, they are trying to lay them off to make life a little bit crappier, but in fact they need to employ more, because the system irritates so many people and is so rubbish. I don't know anything about your club card system, but it sounds like a whole pile of pants to me. (That's English usage, not troosers...!)
BTW like your blog!

Owlsight said...

I refuse to ever use self checkout. I, like Ted, feel that it leads to laying off cashiers. I stand in the regular line at my local Giant even when there is only 1 or 2 regular cashiers open and 6 self checkouts. I hate them sooooo much. I will sometimes just bring my stuff to the customer service desk to get checked out. There was a time that interaction was part of customer service. I'm only 30 and people say I just sound like an old man, but I feel that these self checkouts really suck.

-Pat

WWW.TheCrayonWar.com

Sophie Crichton said...

Completely agree. Why?