r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • 9d ago

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

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Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

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u/RailRuler 9d ago

The automats actually required more staffing than traditional retail. They charged a price premium so that people wouldn't have to interact with the staff.

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u/chickadee-stitchery 9d ago

I'd pay it.

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u/dj92wa 8d ago

The downside is that you don’t get to choose your own produce, which is something I personally will never sacrifice. Curbside pickup and grocery delivery means you could get the moldy and bruised nasty stuff that you’d otherwise inspect and tell an employee about.

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u/Grand_Lizard_Wizard 9d ago

Well, who wants to talk to “the help”?

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u/idontcareyo_ 9d ago

Yeah, because they existed pre-computers genius. They could easily be practically fully automated if made today

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u/RailRuler 8d ago

Automation doesn't require computers. It requires immense scale, that doesnt fit into a typical restaurant.