The advance of technology helps facilitate our lives a great deal, but do we pay a high price when it comes to relying on the machines way more than we should?
In order to speed up the process of running errands and shopping for groceries, Walmart introduced self-checkouts. What they didn’t expect, however, is to face backlash because of this decision that many of the customers consider controversial.
The self-service machines aren’t something new. In fact, they were first introduced in the 1980s to lower labor expenses.
But this service faced plenty of obstacles and customers complain to the added responsibilities.
For example, certain items may have multiple barcodes, whereas the produce, including the meat, fruit, and vegetable, typically needs to be weighed and manually entered into the system using a code, which might be time consuming for the ordinary shoppers. Other times shoppers won’t hear the “beep” confirming an item has been scanned properly.
Another issue is the increase of theft. Walmart announced that thefts at its stores has reached an all-time high.
The machines not only fall short at their purpose of making shopping easier at times, but they also make it harder for the employees they were meant to help.
Christopher Andrews, a sociologist and author of The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy, says the system “doesn’t work well for anyone.”
He continued: “Everyone feels like they have to have it. Companies are thinking: ‘If we can just get more people on this, maybe we can start reducing some overheads.’”
What’s most, most of the customers have reported that they miss the human interaction while shopping.
Randy Parraz from Making Change at Walmart perfectly summed up customer sentiments by saying, “You can’t convince customers to do the job of a cashier just because you don’t want to pay for the work.”
Walmart decided to listen to what their customers had to say and instead of further expanding automation, the retail giant will hire additional cashiers to provide their customers with a pleasant shopping experience and service.
What Walmart and the rest of the retailers, among which Costco and Wegmans, learned is that efficiency is important but maintaining a balance with positive experiences remains crucial.
This Retired Icon Was One of the Sexiest Women of the 20th Century, Secretly Married, & Disappeared for Years
On her 89th birthday, French legend Brigitte Bardot was spotted for the first time in a long time.
The celebrity has been with her loving husband for 31 years, and he never leaves her side.
News outlets claim that the movie star, who experienced a health crisis earlier this year, got married in secret to her husband.
As the entertainment industry’s “it” girl for eternity, Brigitte Bardot, a French superstar, led a colorful existence. Her famous roles in multiple silver screen productions have earned her recognition and admiration.
The French blonde beauty topped the list of the prettiest female stars of the 20th century thanks to Playboy, which is well-known for its features and displays of gorgeous famous ladies. She is even considered the greatest “It” girl of all time by other media sources.
Brigitte ranks fourth on Playboy’s list of the sexiest female stars, but aside from her attractive appearance, she’s also well-known for her pouty lips. She was also named the most watched star in her native nation due to her seductive charisma and sexy confidence.
Brigitte has established a reputation as a passionate animal rights activist in addition to her achievements as an actor and general performer. Regarding her personal life, the well-liked celebrity, also known by her stage as BB, has been married to Bernard d’Ormale for 31 years and has a single child.
Few friends joined the couple for their special day as they secretly tied the wedding in August 1992, according to media agencies. Since then, the couple has been happy together. When Brigitte and Bernard got married unexpectedly and covertly, acquaintances of the “Contempt” star said to a news outlet that she was happiest than she had been in a long time.
Remarkably, Brigitte’s acquaintances had doubted that she would marry again after her previous spouse died. This was before the two got married. Nevertheless, the couple was married in a charming little wooden chapel in Norway and shared Brigitte’s opulent ten-bedroom house in Saint-Tropez.
Bernard has been Brigitte’s support system since their first meeting, notably throughout her health crises. Brigitte’s hero instantly calmed the extremely alarmed people when it was initially revealed in French media that their much-loved star had supposedly overdosed on sedatives in 1992 while at home by explaining:
Brigitte was so exhausted that she overindulged in medicine in an attempt to fall asleep.She was OK after a few hours and did not have her stomach pumped.
Brigitte’s condition was further verified by a representative of the clinic where she was brought, confirming Bernard’s claim. But Brigitte had to deal with another health issue years after her sedative fright.
Bernard verified that Brigitte had trouble breathing earlier this year. Fortunately, emergency responders saw to it right away, giving her oxygen and staying with her to make sure she was okay.
Bernard attributed his wife’s respiratory issues on aging and weather-related factors, mentioning a severe heatwave that was at the time affecting most of Europe. It seemed that their La Madrague home’s air conditioning system was not operating at its best.
A news outlet had claimed that Brigitte had remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) despite assurances to the public to the contrary. But the “A Very Private Affair” star corrected the record in a handwritten note:
“I would like to reassure everyone.” I am doing excellently. I was sick, and the press made a big deal out of it.
The beloved figure was recently observed out and about in an unusual appearance. Earlier this year, the icon suffered respiratory issues. Brigitte was photographed by paparazzi enjoying a drive in the South of France on her 89th birthday.
From her La Madrague house to her La Garigue residence, the actress was spotted traveling in a tiny white van. Only a few stray strands of her renowned blond hair framed her face because it was fastened back. She was also wearing large sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun.
A few months after emergency personnel arrived at Brigitte’s house to help her with her respiratory problems and several years after she was last spotted in public, the uncommon outing occurs.
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