|
Source: (consider it)
|
Thread: Hell: Unexpected item in bagging area
|
Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
The only people with whom I'm upset and angry are those who use the same term to describe my kids as that used to describe Northern Irish terrorists.
Since I don't call the IRA, UVF et al paramilitaries (I prefer 'murdering thugs'), I guess I'm in the clear.
You may not be aware of this, but in the UK the most common use of the word "paramilitary" will be in reference to the murdering thugs in Northern Ireland.
--------------------
Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
|
Posted
Until a usage is thoroughly displaced, its proper usage should not be discarded.
We have many words which context determines meaning. In Doc Tor's case, no context is needed as he has given explanation.
ETA: Doc Tor is in the UK.
[ 17. March 2014, 20:00: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
--------------------
I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
|
Posted
But, leo didn't give any context. Just a statement that uniformed youth organisations are paramilitaries. Which, when the most common use of the word where he is is in reference to criminal thugs in Northern Ireland, is a deeply offensive thing to say to anyone involved in those organisations. And, as it was leo - who seems to go out of his way to either cause offence or be offended - was it an unreasonable interpretation?
I still hold that in most of the UK "paramilitary" is a word that is so associated with criminal thugs in Northern Ireland it has lost any other meaning. At best, "paramilitary" could be applied to armed police units or armed militia. Which, of course, still wouldn't apply to Scouts - unless they've been armed with something more than a penknife recently without me noticing.
--------------------
Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
|
Posted
Ah, but they can do with that pen knife.
As far as leo, I think you have the right of it.
--------------------
I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Oh bugger it.
One, it upset you initially because Leo said it.
Two, because he might have meant it that way does not mean anyone else here does.
Three,
Uniforms? Check
Learn to obey? Check
Chain of command? Check
Swear oaths of allegiance? Check
This is not saying the scouts are used now in such a militaristic fashion, but as it has been pointed out, they have been. And that is why Baden Powell set them up.
And I'm with Matt. Have you seen a school lately? Your checklist works fine with some of them, too.
--------------------
Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
|
Posted
I'm not speaking for leo - AFAICT we disagree on lots of things, and if he refers to the Scouts and Guides as paramilitaries because he believes them to be on a par with the IRA, then he's a grade one muppet.
However, you - and I'm referring to those who seem to have their big girl panties in the wash - have to be both wilfully blind and stupid not to see that (especially) Scouts have a considerable tradition that is quasi-militaristic, a ceremonial function at state occasions that lends support to our military forces, in times of war operates as an arm of the state, and is seen as a particularly tempting recruiting ground for our armed services.
If none of that gives you any pause for thought, fair enough. It certainly flags up one or two issues for me, and I make sure that I talk them over with my son. For sure, there are one or two Scout leaders in my district who seem to think that Scouting is the Army but with different badges.
--------------------
Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
|
Posted
Uniformed youth organisations are quasi-militaristic. Yes, of course they can be. Probably depends a lot on the local leadership how much a particular group goes for parades with flags and the like, or just mucking about in the woods trying to light a fire with two sticks.
But, even at the most extreme they fall a long way short of a paramilitary organisation - no official role supporting the military (yes, lots of Scouts have done that in time of war, but correct me if I'm wrong was that ever done at the insistence and under the command of the military or on a purely voluntary basis?), no weapons training, no learning to drive tanks or fly drones (well, except for the X-box, but it could be argued Scouting gets kids away from those). The gap between Scouts and armed police units, militia, and other paramilitaries is greater than the difference between them and regular military (with, Territorials or National Guard somewhere between).
--------------------
Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Oh bugger it.
One, it upset you initially because Leo said it.
Two, because he might have meant it that way does not mean anyone else here does.
Three,
Uniforms? Check
Learn to obey? Check
Chain of command? Check
Swear oaths of allegiance? Check
This is not saying the scouts are used now in such a militaristic fashion, but as it has been pointed out, they have been. And that is why Baden Powell set them up.
And I'm with Matt. Have you seen a school lately? Your checklist works fine with some of them, too.
Hell, that list describes a dairy with a delivery fleet.
--------------------
This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
|
Posted
Of course there is considerable difference between Scouting and the armed forces - because Scouting is an organisation aimed at children.
Master Tor fires .22 rifles at camp, along with the others, so the 'no weapons training' isn't strictly true. And I'll point you again to quote:
there were 53,000 Scouts trained to undertake over hundred and seventy National War Service jobs by the end of 1940
which didn't just happen by accident. 'Purely voluntary' covers a multitude of sins, especially when your Scout leader is telling you to do your bit.
No, they don't drive tanks or fly drones, but neither do the regular police: if that's the best illustration you can find to highlight the difference, then perhaps I have a point.
--------------------
Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Anglican't
Shipmate
# 15292
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
Hands up who's had to routinely bounce the suspension on their car to check for tilt-switch bombs?
I've probably fundamentally misunderstood here, so please do clarify: if a bomb is on a tilt switch, wouldn't bouncing the car lead to it going off?
----
Separately, didn't the AA used to wear militaristic uniforms and salute cars bearing the AA badge? Did they stop being a paramilitary organisation when they switched to fluorescent jackets?
Posts: 3613 | From: London, England | Registered: Nov 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
Hands up who's had to routinely bounce the suspension on their car to check for tilt-switch bombs?
I've probably fundamentally misunderstood here, so please do clarify: if a bomb is on a tilt switch, wouldn't bouncing the car lead to it going off?
Yes. Which is entirely the point. The bombs were placed under the driver's seat - by rocking the suspension at the rear of the car, the explosion wouldn't kill you. In theory.
You only did that after a visual inspection of the underside of the car, which had the unfortunate side effect of shouting to everyone passing that you were looking for a bomb. At least it led to one memorable encounter in a German multi-storey, where the driver of the car next to us asked if we didn't mind waiting a moment so he could get his vehicle out first...
----
quote:
Separately, didn't the AA used to wear militaristic uniforms and salute cars bearing the AA badge? Did they stop being a paramilitary organisation when they switched to fluorescent jackets?
Modelling your organisation on military lines was quite the vogue for a while, but the saluting thing was (so I read on the AA website) also to warn drivers of speed traps.
But the point of the 'paramilitary' label is to indicate the closeness of the organisation to the state apparatus. The AA never had that history.
--------------------
Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
|
Posted
quote:
the reality is usually that everyone's slouching a bit, nobody's uniforms match, the youth in charge really wishes the obnoxious kid in the third row would just shut up already, nobody really cares if anyone else is gay, and everyone's fingering their matches.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) Were you in my Scout troop?
Certainly we always hoped that, if asked to present themselves neatly and pressed for local or national events, that it did happen. But we settled for clean hands and faces and at least a necker to identify them as Scouts. And we didn't do drill, except if we've been asked to parade. It never took. We look for for willingness to help: community service, first aid training (oops, that means they have to obey orders! ![[Disappointed]](graemlins/disappointed.gif) )
On my honour, I promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and the Queen
To help other people at all times
And to live in the spirit of the Scout Law
which is:
A scout is kind and cheerful
Considerate and clean
And wise in the use of all resources
None of which is anything that we wouldn't wish for people of all ages.
Paramilitaristic? ![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
[ 18. March 2014, 02:51: Message edited by: PeteC ]
--------------------
Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
|
Posted
My favourite supermarket has a self service option. They also have baggers who pack better and more efficiently that I can and will chase me out of the shop if I leave my wallet behind ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
The only things I pack are 2 litre bottles of milk - anything that heavy goes in the backpack, and meat which also goes in the backpack where little claws can't get it if I get sidetracked before I put it away.
![[Axe murder]](graemlins/lovedrops.gif) New World.
--------------------
Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
|
Posted
I should have signed the above (nail my colours to the mast)
PeteC
Cub and Sea Scout 1955-1963
Adult leader (Cubs and Scouts), Group Committee member, Member of the Baden Powell Guild 1984 and continuing
--------------------
Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
|
Posted
You were a Sea Scout? Rock on! I was a Sea Scout all through high school. I loved it. Best thing I did during that otherwise dark and dreary four years.
--------------------
This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Huia:
My favourite supermarket has a self service option. They also have baggers who pack better and more efficiently that I can and will chase me out of the shop if I leave my wallet behind
The only things I pack are 2 litre bottles of milk - anything that heavy goes in the backpack, and meat which also goes in the backpack where little claws can't get it if I get sidetracked before I put it away.
New World.
The "Getting Back on Track" Award goes to Huia, Christchurch, NZ
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
A lonely little post cries in the wilderness.
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Huia:
The only things I pack are 2 litre bottles of milk - anything that heavy goes in the backpack, and meat which also goes in the backpack where little claws can't get it if I get sidetracked before I put it away.
I'm having a vision of a supermarket where the predators hang around just by the checkouts ready to spring into action at the sight of a pound of sausages or packet of mince, tails twitching, barely kept at bay by baggers (whose role is to bag and trap the predators not the shopping).
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
|
Posted
Now, if they could just adapt the ultra-sensitive pressure pads on the wretched automated tills to detect the pawprint of all these hyenas circling Huia's supermarket - I'm seeing steel mesh and a robotic arm involved somehow.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
I'm seeing the makings of a short story in this. How the luckless shopper braves the dangers of the car park, gathers items from the shelves at great personal cost to themselves into a perilous electric trolley with dodgy wiring, and makes it to the checkout, only to fall victim to the merciless band of feline scavengers (perhaps accompanied by Morlocks?) in the bagging area. The punchline would be, of course, "Unexpected item in bagging area".
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
You were a Sea Scout? Rock on! I was a Sea Scout all through high school. I loved it. Best thing I did during that otherwise dark and dreary four years.
(Master Tor is a Sea Scout. He loves it too...)
--------------------
Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
Hands up who's had to routinely bounce the suspension on their car to check for tilt-switch bombs?
Hand up. Or rather, someone else used to check for me.
I don't consider the Scouts and Guides to be paramilitary though. If they ever were, they certainly haven't been for a very long time. ("A Brownie Guide thinks of others before herself and does a good deed every day." Nah.)
--------------------
The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Now, if they could just adapt the ultra-sensitive pressure pads on the wretched automated tills to detect the pawprint of all these hyenas circling Huia's supermarket.
Er - do they have hyenas in NZ? (Apart from at the zoo, that is?)
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
|
Posted
Hyenas. Wolverines. Feral cats. Whatever. They probably arrived in crates of bananas, escaped and have since taken to breeding in the back storage. Of course, they take the odd shelf-stacker - but they were only there for work 'experience' because they were on benefits. So Ministers aren't that unhappy. Employers feel they keep staff on their toes, and, by and large, they improve throughput at the tills - people pay much more briskly where there's red eyes and a slavering jaw inches from their ankles.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Tortuf
Ship's fisherman
# 3784
|
Posted
How fondly I remember my days as a youth in the Boy Scouts. We would spend our days working as bag boys at the local supermarket; slyly working at making the local populace more and more decadent as the days went on. Soon, we had the women (only women shopped for groceries - no man would ever be caught dead in a grocery store, unless employed there) demanding that we pre peel their grapes for them so they didn't have to do so when they got home. Oh yes, it was a wonderful time.
And, of course, we wore our uniforms. They had to be neatly pressed and sparkling clean. Every single thing had to be exactly in place or our Colonel. . . err, I mean Scoutmaster, would have our hides. When we took breaks we were able to practice our drop and shoot drills in the rifle range out back of the store. Safety was, of course, a prime objective. I cannot remember more than one or two accidental casualties in the years we used that range.
Sadly, now our rifle range has been replaced by a self checkout machine factory.
Posts: 6963 | From: The Venice of the South | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Beethoven
Ship's deaf genius
# 114
|
Posted
(Trying to tie the dual strands of this thread together, but I was never very good at knotting, even as a Guide...)
I occasionally have to call in at the nearby supermarket on the way to Brownies. I have once recently used the self-checkout purely because everyone else there clearly loathed them as much as I do, so there were queues at the real tills and no-one waiting for the Machines of Doom. Since I didn't have anything too light, crumpled, or adult, I made it through unscathed - even paying by cash! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif) That'll never happen again, then!
And thinking back to last night's chaos, if my Brownies are paramilitaristic, the rest of the world is safe from any kind of organised take-over, believe me!
--------------------
Who wants to be a rock anyway?
toujours gai!
Posts: 1309 | From: Here (and occasionally there) | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Now, if they could just adapt the ultra-sensitive pressure pads on the wretched automated tills to detect the pawprint of all these hyenas circling Huia's supermarket.
Er - do they have hyenas in NZ? (Apart from at the zoo, that is?)
New Zealand is distinctly lacking in native mammals. Hence all the weird and wonderful birds that occupied the ecological niches instead.
Somehow the prospect of being ripped apart by circling keas doesn't strike the same fear. Except, maybe, for native New Zealanders who've encountered keas. I don't know. But anything that will happily chew up the rubber from a car's side mirror should be eyed with a degree of caution.
--------------------
Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Employers feel they keep staff on their toes, and, by and large, they improve throughput at the tills - people pay much more briskly where there's red eyes and a slavering jaw inches from their ankles.
True, and the feral animals can be equally frightening.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
I'd like to see a kea or five take on an automatic checkout machine. I'd buy tickets to that.
Now THAT is a Youtube video I'd love to see!
--------------------
"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
Yesterday I went merrily round with my little zapper selecting the fortunately few items I was to buy before arriving at the till to find the computer system was down and, after checking the other till, everthing had to be scanned normally. Keeps the staff on their toes. Today, as a consequence, the computer went into a paddy about my attempting to get a zapper, because it hadn't been signed off properly yesterday, and I had to get the thing reregistered. Why do I do this
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
...
Whussa "zapper"?
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
...
Whussa "zapper"?
Colloquial name for a hand held scanner that some stores now offer. You pick one up as you enter the store, registering it with your store loyalty card so they know who's got it. Then as you collect items off the shelf, you 'zap' them with the scanner, which displays a running total of what you have spent (useful when you are working to a fixed budget, or you have a coupon for '£4 off when you spend £30' so want to just spend enough to get the discount). You can pack the items directly into your own shopping bags in your trolley (that's what we Brits call a shopping cart) which saves time. When you finish shopping, you just have to pay (and scan any coupons you are using). They do random bag checks to make sure you have scanned everything in your bags, but doesn't happen often, its definitely worth using the zapper, it save a lot of time and aggro, and its kinda fun.
--------------------
Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4413 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
|
Posted
They are, however, incredibly annoying to other shoppers because there are people wandering around the store beeping all over the place.
--------------------
The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
Also you have to have a loyalty card or you can't use them. Almost every shop now seems to have some kind of loyalty card system so the handheld scanners are no use without them.
I don't know whether many people do use them - the Fast Track checkouts are usually deserted with everyone queueing for the normal checkouts or the Unexpected Items ones.
Actually, it might be quite fun if while you were doing your shopping it all worked perfectly but at the end, the machine would give you an unexpected item purely at random.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
|
Posted
I'm intrigued at the idea of the machine giving you a random item. I have this image of it sprouting robotic arms and reaching down an aisle to see what it'll grab.
--------------------
Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
|
Posted
No the claws belong to Georgie-Porgy my fluffy butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth cat who attacks the shopping bags if I'm distracted before unpacking them.
I have to travel a couple of hours west to see kea - but its worth it. They're awesome. It's a wonder some haven't been hired to demolish earthquake munted buildings in Christchurch. We did actually have a girnormous bird called Haast's Eagle that could have a carried away all the shopping bags and possibly me too, but it's extinct.
Huia
[ 18. March 2014, 19:52: Message edited by: Huia ]
--------------------
Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Rev per Minute
Shipmate
# 69
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Huia:
I have to travel a couple of hours west to see kea - but its worth it. They're awesome. It's a wonder some haven't been hired to demolish earthquake munted buildings in Christchurch. We did actually have a girnormous bird called Haast's Eagle that could have a carried away all the shopping bags and possibly me too, but it's extinct.
Huia
Not entirely extinct - it seems to have evolved into the lesser-tackled All Black rugby player.
--------------------
"Allons-y!" "Geronimo!" "Oh, for God's sake!" The Day of the Doctor
At the end of the day, we face our Maker alongside Jesus. RIP ken
Posts: 2696 | From: my desk (if I can find the keyboard under this mess) | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Zacchaeus
Shipmate
# 14454
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
...
Whussa "zapper"?
Colloquial name for a hand held scanner that some stores now offer. You pick one up as you enter the store, registering it with your store loyalty card so they know who's got it. Then as you collect items off the shelf, you 'zap' them with the scanner, which displays a running total of what you have spent (useful when you are working to a fixed budget, or you have a coupon for '£4 off when you spend £30' so want to just spend enough to get the discount). You can pack the items directly into your own shopping bags in your trolley (that's what we Brits call a shopping cart) which saves time. When you finish shopping, you just have to pay (and scan any coupons you are using). They do random bag checks to make sure you have scanned everything in your bags, but doesn't happen often, its definitely worth using the zapper, it save a lot of time and aggro, and its kinda fun.
This Brit has only ever used a shopping trolley never a cart....
Posts: 1905 | From: the back of beyond | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
Also you have to have a loyalty card or you can't use them.
Not so - I just scan my debit card at W**tr*se.
But the process only saves time if you remember to put stuff straight into bags, in the trolley.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zacchaeus:
This Brit has only ever used a shopping trolley never a cart....
They are the same thing. The only difference is at the end of the shopping, one of them is pushed to a queue and the other, a line.
--------------------
I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
|
Posted
Look, clearly the British have got this whole supermarket shopping business COMPLETELY arsed up:
1. The notion of handheld scanners and attempting to scan while collecting items instead of after finishing the collecting. There is clearly no time saving involved, it just means you spend more time wandering the aisles instead of at the checkout.
2. The notion of a machine that wants you to weigh everything. Including all the things that aren't actually sold by weight. Who the fuck cares if a greeting card registers on the scales?
3. The stupid phrase that heads this thread.
--------------------
Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
quote:
Originally posted by Zacchaeus:
This Brit has only ever used a shopping trolley never a cart....
They are the same thing. The only difference is at the end of the shopping, one of them is pushed to a queue and the other, a line.
Ah, pond wars. How I miss them.
--------------------
This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
|
Posted
orfeo, there's an optional scale for weighing things sold by weight in the scanning area of the self-service checkout. There's also a scale in the bagging area to check things are scanned before going into the bagging area. And very light things don't always register, like greeting cards.
--------------------
Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
|
Posted
Re the phrase in the OP title: American self-checkouts do that, too.
I've had minor versions of the various problems mentioned. I can usually reset the "unexpected item" status by lifting whatever is in the bagging area, and putting it back down. (Easier if you put items straight into bags.) But I've occasionally had to summon the attendant (usually one for all 6 or so checkout stations) for assorted problems.
These days, I mostly shop at Trader Joe's.
Good food, few or no icky additives, many of their own brand items, and prices are generally lower than the average supermarket. (Say, Safeway.) No self-checkouts. Lots of friendly human clerks, who are fun to chat with. TJ's can help your budget, while simultaneously improving your health and standard of living. NOTE: TJ's is insanely popular, so it's important to take note of busy and slow times.
Oh, and another option: some supermarkets have home delivery. Cost depends on how much you spend, but there's often a way to get cheaper or free delivery. If you need to stock up on heavy items but don't have a car, it can be a lifesaver.
FWIW. YMMV.
Re keas: I've read that if you park your car in an area where they live, you have to make sure all the windows are completely closed. Otherwise, they'll get in and shred the interior of your car.
--------------------
Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
I'm intrigued at the idea of the machine giving you a random item. I have this image of it sprouting robotic arms and reaching down an aisle to see what it'll grab.
Knowing my luck it'll probably be a dented tin of dogfood close to its expiry date.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Look, clearly the British have got this whole supermarket shopping business COMPLETELY arsed up:
1. The notion of handheld scanners and attempting to scan while collecting items instead of after finishing the collecting. There is clearly no time saving involved, it just means you spend more time wandering the aisles instead of at the checkout.
I vehemently disagree. There is most definitely a time saving. You only have to move the items ONCE from the shelf straight into your bags. In the process of picking up the item off the shelf, you just beep it with the scanner. The biggest time saver is when you have all your items - instead of standing in a line/queue waiting for a staffed checkout or a self service checkout to become free, you can walk straight up to the designated area for self scan (where I have NEVER seen a queue), beep the screen to transfer your shopping, then just pay and go. I reckon that saved me at least 10 minutes yesterday evening.
British supermarkets seem intent on providing ever more new ways of doing the shopping. Not only do we have staffed checkouts, self service checkouts, and scan-as-you-go available in store, you can also of course order online for home delivery, but the other new kid on the block is 'click and collect' where you order online, but instead of sitting around at home during the 2 hour delivery window they give you, you can drive to the store and collect your shopping, that someone has prepared for you, directly from a booth in the car park.
I guess this is supposed to be the ultimate time saver, if you know you will be passing the store on the way home, but don't actually have the time to go inside and select your items. seems a bit weird though, to go to all the trouble of ordering online, then having to visit the store anyway to get the stuff.
--------------------
Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4413 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
seems a bit weird though, to go to all the trouble of ordering online, then having to visit the store anyway to get the stuff.
It beats both alternatives:
1) Wait at home for the delivery, which then arrives right at the end of the specified time window (never right at the start, because that would then allow you to use the rest of that time productively), if not some time after
2) Get home to find the "we tried to deliver your item but you weren't in, please collect at your nearest depot" (where, of course, "nearest depot" is 50+ miles away).
The whole reason to shop online is because you can fit the shopping into odd times in a busy day. It's somewhat negated if you then have to suspend your hectic life to sit around for a delivery. Stopping briefly at your local store to pick up a few bags of groceries on the way home from work is much easier, especially if you couple that to filling the tank with a small fortunes worth of petrol.
--------------------
Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Niteowl
Hopeless Insomniac
# 15841
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
seems a bit weird though, to go to all the trouble of ordering online, then having to visit the store anyway to get the stuff.
It beats both alternatives:
1) Wait at home for the delivery, which then arrives right at the end of the specified time window (never right at the start, because that would then allow you to use the rest of that time productively), if not some time after
2) Get home to find the "we tried to deliver your item but you weren't in, please collect at your nearest depot" (where, of course, "nearest depot" is 50+ miles away).
The whole reason to shop online is because you can fit the shopping into odd times in a busy day. It's somewhat negated if you then have to suspend your hectic life to sit around for a delivery. Stopping briefly at your local store to pick up a few bags of groceries on the way home from work is much easier, especially if you couple that to filling the tank with a small fortunes worth of petrol.
There is one store here that takes online orders and delivers. The delivery fee is based on the window of time for delivery - 1 hour window is full price, 2 hour window is 3/4 price and 4 hour window is half off. Quite flexible for anyone with a tight schedule. I've used their service and they've never been late.
--------------------
"love all, trust few, do wrong to no one"
Wm. Shakespeare
Posts: 2437 | From: U.S. | Registered: Aug 2010
| IP: Logged
|
|
Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
|
Posted
Click and collect is available at some tube stations - you can order online and collect from the tube station on the way home, never having to go near the supermarket. It's how another supermarket chain is getting a foothold here, where there's a Tesco and M&S in town, ASDA click and collect available at the tube station.
[ 19. March 2014, 11:55: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
--------------------
Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view
