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Grocery store pickup made me realize I'm training my replacement
I stopped going inside the store about 6 months ago and started using the Walmart pickup service in Phoenix. At first I loved it, no wandering aisles, no impulse buys. But last week I pulled up and watched a row of those little robots sweeping the parking lot while a kid loaded my trunk. It hit me that I'm basically paying to automate my own shopping and soon they won't even need that kid or me to drive there. Anyone else feel weird about how convenient it is to hand your routine over to machines?
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elliotm571mo ago
That little beep from those robots hits different when you realize they're learning your patterns too, not just sweeping the lot. Keep a small cash or physical card in your wallet for tipping the loaders, it keeps the human element front and center in the whole transaction. A good habit is to force yourself inside once a month to pick up something random, just to keep the old skills sharp and remind the machines who's really in charge of the grocery list.
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blairc901mo ago
Man, I saw one of those robots at my local Fry's in Mesa the other day and it just beeped at me like I was in its way... felt like the start of a dystopian movie. I've been using the pickup service for about 4 months now and I swear I forget how to push a cart every time I actually go inside. It's wild because I used to complain about standing in line for 20 minutes and now I'm basically paying them to let me skip the whole experience. My grandma always said I was lazy but I think she'd be horrified to see me sit in my car on my phone while a robot does my dirty work. I guess I'm just training the machine to take over my life one grocery trip at a time...
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Try keeping one of those hand baskets in your trunk for the lazy days when you actually go inside. It's a game changer for the whole "I forgot how to shop" feeling. I've been doing pickup for about a year now and I swear my legs get confused when I have to walk more than 50 feet in a store. At least grandma would be proud you're not burning gas circling the lot for a spot, thats one small win. The robots beeping at you thing is creepy though, I always give them a dirty look just to remind them who's boss.
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