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I think the self-service lines vs. serviced lines is a bad example. When I'm in a serviced line, I'm basically left to do nothing, while the cashier scans my i

by ap22213 15y ago

I think the self-service lines vs. serviced lines is a bad example. When I'm in a serviced line, I'm basically left to do nothing, while the cashier scans my items. The cashier is unnecessary, because I'm already there. There are two people to do the job of one person. Now, interestingly, I really shouldn't be there. The cost of shopping for groceries on a whole is _very_ expensive, time wise. I would rather sit at home (or do something else productive) than walk around the grocery store and wait in lines for 45-75 minutes. However, I still don't use grocery services, and I know very few people per capita willing to let others shop for their groceries, even though many of them bring home over $75 an hour. Why is this?

econ101 15y ago
I think an economist would tell you it is human irrationality. However, I think there are a few factors - a big one is that a change is as good as a rest. Doing 40 hours development and 10 hours running errands is a nicer balance than 50 hours development, and probably with similar productivity. There's an overhead to hiring help too - setup and management. You're also becoming more removed from everyday life. That might be a benefit or a drawback. That said, I recently hired a servant to take care of all those things that I don't like to do (I live in a low-wage country). Shopping, Cleaning, Laundry etc. About $400 a month, although it could be a lot less. Wouldn't go back.
jlees 15y ago
Grocery bagging specifically is an interesting point culturally. Bagging helpers do exist in the UK, but 99% of the time you will bag your own groceries as the cashier scans them. It gives you something to do while waiting, and enables you to pre-organise the bags any way you like. There is something of a time loss if you can't keep up with the cashier, but that's not often much of a problem. The few times I or my husband have started bagging stuff in grocery stores here in California, though, we've gotten strange looks - and often, at Trader Joe's, where the cashier often bags after scanning everything - words of thanks.

by ap22213 15y ago

econ101 15y ago

I think an economist would tell you it is human irrationality. However, I think there are a few factors - a big one is that a change is as good as a rest. Doing 40 hours development and 10 hours running errands is a nicer balance than 50 hours development, and probably with similar productivity. There's an overhead to hiring help too - setup and management. You're also becoming more removed from everyday life. That might be a benefit or a drawback. That said, I recently hired a servant to take care of all those things that I don't like to do (I live in a low-wage country). Shopping, Cleaning, Laundry etc. About $400 a month, although it could be a lot less. Wouldn't go back.

jlees 15y ago

Grocery bagging specifically is an interesting point culturally. Bagging helpers do exist in the UK, but 99% of the time you will bag your own groceries as the cashier scans them. It gives you something to do while waiting, and enables you to pre-organise the bags any way you like. There is something of a time loss if you can't keep up with the cashier, but that's not often much of a problem. The few times I or my husband have started bagging stuff in grocery stores here in California, though, we've gotten strange looks - and often, at Trader Joe's, where the cashier often bags after scanning everything - words of thanks.