You've just gotten used to the disembodied and robotic voice that has replaced telephone operators. You've finally come to terms with the fact that you don't need to go inside your bank for transactions anymore. You have learned to cope with the reality that you haven't seen your mailman since stamps cost a quarter.
Just when you thought every aspect of your life had been mechanized to the fullest, add another item to the list. Say hello to the U-Scan automated checkout line, now operating in Charlottesville at Harris Teeter and Kroger grocery stores. The U-Scan requires minimal help from employees, and may be proof that "quaint" and "old-fashioned" might not be the best words to describe Charlottesville anymore.
The U-Scan system is similar to registers used by the cashiers in that it scans the barcode label on products, makes inventory adjustments and charges customers accordingly. A cashier is present at all times to assist customers should they have any questions and to oversee the process.
In November 2000, the Charlottesville branch of Harris Teeter implemented the U-Scan system. Since then, the southern grocery store chain has expanded the service to its North Carolina customers.
As one of the 50 largest supermarkets in the country, Harris Teeter strives to top the grocery market by offering customers high tech service. Although they have not completed installing U-Scan units in all 160 stores, they are well on their way to reaching this goal.
Further down Route 29, U-Scan also is in operation at the Kroger grocery store in the Rio Hill Shopping Center. Although Kroger has not tried to install any units in its Barracks Road store, like Harris Teeter it is experimenting with the device and now only uses two U-Scans.
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Though it may seem that the implementation of such a system would reduce grocery staffs, stores like Harris Teeter claim this is not the case. Overall, the Charlottesville Harris Teeter was able to introduce the U-Scan checkout without reducing its staff because the system still requires a cashier to be present and provide assistance.
The cashier's job also includes checking customer identification in alcohol and tobacco purchases. When a customer scans any such item into the U-Scan system, the machine waits until the cashier verifies the customer's age and programs his or her approval into the system before allowing the checkout process to continue.
In addition to reducing cashier assistance, U-Scan has the unique ability to prevent theft. The U-Scan system is based on exact weight, so when an item is scanned, the machine knows when that specific item has been placed in the bag.
This technology enables the machine to detect items that are placed in the bag, but have not scanned. Additionally, customers go through the checkout process under the watchful eye of the stationed cashier.
Perhaps most importantly, though, the U-Scan system creates assembly line-like efficiency. The supermarket has several U-Scan units in one aisle, leading to shorter lines at the other registers and a continuous, rapid flow of customers through the U-Scan line itself. This allows the customers to have complete control over their grocery checkout.
"People are starved for time today," Harris Teeter Corporate Relations Manager Jessica Walters said. "We wanted to offer [our customers] another alternative for checking out quickly."
With all the benefits U-Scan offers, one begins to wonder if stores without U-Scans are at a disadvantage.
The small grocery store chain Food of All Nations has not implemented the new technology in its stores.
"Food of All Nations has not even considered installing U-Scans at this point," said Mike Brennan, the company's Charlottesville manager. "In the future, such a system may lead to lower prices and be advantageous for the customer in that sense as well as saving them time. Right now, however, it is in its initial stages and all these benefits have not been fully realized and, as such, Food of All Nations is not at a disadvantage."
While Food of All Nations is secure with its lack of U-Scans, grocery stores using the system report that the automated checkout has been very popular with customers.
"It's a worthwhile investment; it just makes everything so much easier and quicker," first-year College student Dia Jackson said.
And rather than simply eliminating human contact in the shopping experience, customers believe that U-Scan units allow them to think through their grocery purchases more carefully.
"I'm able to bag my groceries the way I want them," said first-year College student Jessica Forman. "As I ring them up, I go through my mental checklist, and it helps me remember everything I needed."
While the automated phone messages and banking systems may leave you feeling starved for human contact, the U-Scan allows customers to benefit from timesaving technology while still partaking in local gossip or simply exchanging pleasantries with the cashier.
So though you may be reluctant to allow yet another automated device into you life, rest assured that this transition is a relatively painless one.
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