I LOVE the grocery store. I love all that food stacked up together. I love that I can choose anything I want and take it home with me. I love knowing that the food I select will become soup or pie or a soothing, just-got-home-from-work-and-I'm-exhausted toast snack.
However, I have distinct preferences in grocery stores. There is my preferred grocery store and my unpreferred grocery store in town. One of the reasons I dislike The Bad Store is because the employees force shoppers to use the self-check units. I don't want to check out my own groceries! You'd think I would, because I also don't want to talk to anyone in the store ("yep, I'm having a super day" "they're parsnips" "no, I understand that the plastic bag is free, but I don't want it"), but I'd rather talk to grocery store employees than do my own checking out. I always think, "Why am I checking out my own groceries without getting a discount when the store is PAYING that guy in the apron to check out groceries in the manned line?" I spent the good part of one summer when I was living with my parents trying to convince my mother that the self check unit was not her friend. She was resistant to my teaching.
At The Good Store, there are no self check units. And the customer service is way better*. And they have paper bags. And they have plastic bag recycling. And their chocolate-covered cinnamon bears cost considerably less than they do at The Bad Store. And they contribute to the Summer Reading Program. I like all these things.
*The customer service was way better, until my experience shopping last week. I couldn't find polenta. I asked two people shelving grocery items for help, and they each sent me to a different aisle. I did not find polenta in either suggested location. I went to checkout and the cashier asked me (as I knew she would), Did you find everything okay? And I said NO. Because I assumed, you know, that they ask because they care and have some sort of special customer care procedure that would involve retrieving the item for me or checking to see if they carry the item or giving me the number for a local support group of other people who can't locate grocery store items. Something helpful.
Cashier: What were you looking for?
MBC: Polenta.
Cashier: Huh. I've never even heard of that.
MBC: It's a lot like cornmeal. It usually comes in a round plastic container. Sometimes it's shelved near pre-cooked, packaged polenta.
Cashier: Have you found it here before?
MBC: Yes, but I can't remember where I found it.
Cashier: Huh. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before.
And that was it. That was my experience at The Good Store. I can only imagine that at The Bad Store I would have had the same conversation and then the cashier would have licked my fruit , kicked me in the shin, and sent me off to check out my own groceries.
8 comments:
i hope the good store is macey's, because i love that place more than anything in the world.
i've always seen polenta near the pasta and pasta sauce. did you look REALLY hard, mbc?
Definitely near the pasta-at least it was the only time I've ever gone looking for it. And I too have a deep and abiding love for Macey's. Too bad there aren't any near my house now. Sigh.
I think that you and I are on some kind of weird brain link thingy. Yesterday I mentioned Donald Davis in my blog and get over to yours to see that you have also mentioned Donald. Then this morning I was thinking of writing about my grocery shopping mastery that took place on Saturday only to find that you have done a post on grocery stores--I think I'll put mine off for a couple of days.
I agree--near the pasta.
What I miss most about Macey's: if ever you were forced to wait on somebody in front of you for a price check or something else time-consuming, once said offender was done and walked off, everyone in line who had to wait was given a full-sized Hershey's Bar. Do they still do that?
Of course the good store is Macey's. And they DO still give you a candy bar if there's a slow person who holds up the line. Although, last time my treat for being inconvenienced was white chocolate reese's cups, which is kind of gaggy. And for a REALLY good store, I prefer Fresh Market, but we don't have them in Utah.
Yankee Girl--Sorry about throwing you off your game. I'll try to think of something really obscure to post about tomorrow.
I came over from Lori Cruze. I got a kick out of this post because I have the exact opposite theory about self-check out.
If you come over, it may make you laugh.
http://imsofunny.blogspot.com/2005/08/self-check-out.html
P.S. I love your Emily Dickinson quote.
Alice--Your self checkout story is a good one!
I actually do prefer self check for libraries, airports, trains, the metro, etc. I just really, really don't want to check out my own groceries.
A blog I read had a post about how awful self check-out machines are at grocery stores. Maybe you could use it as defense in your argument with your mom?
http://dooce.com/2007/11/27/outsourced-caring
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