Most people know the theory that when change occurs in a steady and continuous process those involved have no idea that change is, in fact, taking place. It happens in politics, in the culture of society and, even with the proverbial frog placed in a pan of cold water on the stove, with the frog so oblivious to the change in temperature, it just sits in the water to its death.
This type of change has been going on in the retail trade for many years and when it first started, I, for one, did not sense what was going on, but now I realize that the whole idea of commerce between the supplier and the customer is to shift work from one to the other.
As I now recall, it all started when I was about ten years old (long time ago) when our family would go to the grocery store with our list of needs and present the list to the the shopkeeper and he (women did not work in those jobs then) would hustle about the store and fetch things on the list. Then in 1945, Mr. Eberhard decided to modernize his store and he provided each customer with a shopping cart with the instructions to fill the cart yourself. Work was transferred from the store to the customer at the same price for the goods.
Fast forward 65 years to yesterday when we went to the local grocery store to learn that the old way of featuring certain products with printed discount coupons hanging on the shelf by the product---coupons that would then be redeemed at the cash register--were eliminated. In its place was the requirement that the customer now has to scan a unicode where so indicated as sale products with a smart phone, collect these scans and then be able to display these scans at the checkout to receive the discounted price. Net result, store now diminishes their work load of making and posting pads of coupons and increases the customers work load with all the required scans. All made possible by the digital age. Now isn't that wonderful?
There's more. I was telling this to a friend and he related stories of the same process used at some restaurants. At these certain eateries, if you care to see a menu, you must get your phone out and scan the unicode at the table in order to see a menu and that menu is now on your cell phone screen---that is if you can read it.
Not to be outdone, some stores have gone back to the days when you present the list of your needs to the store owner who then fills your order. Its called online shopping, so that you pick up your order by parking in a special parking lot space and the employee brings the order to your car, even loading it into your trunk, all the while you are sitting in the car with the air conditioner running. Work flow in the reversed direction----but with a twist, now you pay extra for this as a service.
Being the contrarian I am, now is the time to be creative and see if we can turn the process of work load shifting back to the supplier. Good luck, Charlie Brown.
This type of change has been going on in the retail trade for many years and when it first started, I, for one, did not sense what was going on, but now I realize that the whole idea of commerce between the supplier and the customer is to shift work from one to the other.
As I now recall, it all started when I was about ten years old (long time ago) when our family would go to the grocery store with our list of needs and present the list to the the shopkeeper and he (women did not work in those jobs then) would hustle about the store and fetch things on the list. Then in 1945, Mr. Eberhard decided to modernize his store and he provided each customer with a shopping cart with the instructions to fill the cart yourself. Work was transferred from the store to the customer at the same price for the goods.
Fast forward 65 years to yesterday when we went to the local grocery store to learn that the old way of featuring certain products with printed discount coupons hanging on the shelf by the product---coupons that would then be redeemed at the cash register--were eliminated. In its place was the requirement that the customer now has to scan a unicode where so indicated as sale products with a smart phone, collect these scans and then be able to display these scans at the checkout to receive the discounted price. Net result, store now diminishes their work load of making and posting pads of coupons and increases the customers work load with all the required scans. All made possible by the digital age. Now isn't that wonderful?
There's more. I was telling this to a friend and he related stories of the same process used at some restaurants. At these certain eateries, if you care to see a menu, you must get your phone out and scan the unicode at the table in order to see a menu and that menu is now on your cell phone screen---that is if you can read it.
Not to be outdone, some stores have gone back to the days when you present the list of your needs to the store owner who then fills your order. Its called online shopping, so that you pick up your order by parking in a special parking lot space and the employee brings the order to your car, even loading it into your trunk, all the while you are sitting in the car with the air conditioner running. Work flow in the reversed direction----but with a twist, now you pay extra for this as a service.
Being the contrarian I am, now is the time to be creative and see if we can turn the process of work load shifting back to the supplier. Good luck, Charlie Brown.
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