Time was that when you entered a grocery store you approached a
counter. A clerk, usually a young man, greeted you and asked what you like today. As you read your list,
said clerk went about the store gathering your needed items. He totaled your
purchases, placed your money in a cash register and gave you the change, a
receipt and a thank you. He placed your
purchases in paper bags.
You then headed for the meat counter. If you wanted a half a
pound of hamburger, that's the exact amount the clerk gave you. If you wanted a
roast of a certain weight, and none that size was in the counter, he asked the
butcher to cut one of approximately the required size, And after all this the
grocer made a profit.
The stores expanded. You did the gathering of your groceries
using a wicker basket, then with a cart. Meat came pre-packaged. If only pounds of
hamburger were in the self-serve display, or none at all, pity. Take it or
leave whatever an anonymous person offers you. On the decreasing number
of cases where a meat counter exists, the prohibitive prices invite you to
return to the prepackaged section.
You placed your purchases in your cart and joined the
line at the checkout. The cashier rang up the cost while an
assistant, both traditionally young women, placed your purchases in paper, later in plastic, bags and still
later, imitation cloth bags. The grocer made a still greater profit.
The cashier's assistant has disappeared. You package your purchases
not with bags supplied by the grocer, but your own. Or the cashier will sell
you one or two on which the grocer makes an indecently high profit. If you
place the bags you brought on the conveyor belt, the cashier throws them to the
far end of the belt to let you know that’s your job.
The system will next require you to register by inserting your
credit card in a device at the entrance. There will be a charge for that
service. Cashiers obsolete. As soon as you place your purchase in the cart, it is registered and charged against your credit card. The grocer's profit will be immoral.
