Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Self Check Out Rant

I arrived at Lowe's today to purchase some supplies for my paint company as usual. What I didn't know is that besides paying for them, I'd have to work for them. Lowe's has put in self checkout lines. There was one regular teller, 13 empty teller stations, and 4 self checkout lines. I guess the way to get you to use these new lines is to have one teller with a line so long you are forced to use the other self lines.

As part of the shopping experience I kind of enjoy the teller scanning my stuff and telling me what I owe them. I figure it as part of being in business, it's surely written into the cost already. I feel that if you use the self checkout lines then maybe your overall purchase should be reduced in price a little. They are saving money, after all. This is another way for a company to increase profit-margins.

My point is, self-help is really just help. Self checkout is really just a checkout. The only difference is, it's you doing the chore.

To reinforce this point, a self-adhesive bandage doesn't magically stick itself to you, you still have to adhere it. Be leery of anything with self before it, because it is yourSELF who will be doing what that happens to be.

Maybe I can start doing self-bidding at my company, where a client will bid their own house. Better yet, self-painting, where a client will pay me to paint their house, but do it themselves. You get my point, self-anything is bad for the consumer. For it is the consumer who will buy and do the work in all cases.

One more economic point, self checkout lines also put people out of work. Machines taking jobs from people who need them. This is technologies downfall. One of few I can think of.
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