Scan, Bag, Go? I Don't Know...

All you need is a good read.
"Equal And Opposite Reactions"
 by Patti Liszkay
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Scan, Bag, Go? I Don't Know...

    The other day I walked into the Kroger's at the Hunter's Ridge shopping center in Gahanna, Ohio,

...to be greeted by this just inside the main entrance.

    It looked like some high-tech shopping gadgetry not intended for the likes of techno-challenged individuals of a certain age such as moi, and my initial intimidation caused me to quickly pass by the kiosk, which I imagined most folks were doing, considering that most of the gadgets were sitting in their holders unused.
      But then I thought, heck, if this is the wave of the future I might as well start surfing now.
       So I turned around and headed back to the kiosk,

...snagged myself a scanner, which is what the gadgets were,

...and a few of the plastic bags provided (these days I usually bring my own recycled bags to the supermarket, but alas, this trip I left my bags on the front seat of my car and had not the patience to go and retrieve them, of which I'm not particularly proud),

...then I followed the start-up instructions on the scanner,

...which were in fact not at all difficult follow,

 ...and commenced my maiden voyage on the Kroger Scan, Bag, Go.
      How the operation works is that one points the scanner at the bar code of the item one wishes to purchase and presses the scan button, which causes the price of the item to appear on the screen and apparently in the memory of the scanner.

    Should one change one's mind about an already-scanned item one has the option of erasing the item from the scanner's list.
      Now, the produce section is a weence more involved, though, I thought, quite ingenious.
      First one scans the bar code on the fruit or vegetable.  
      Next one brings the item over to the weigh station and places it on the scale.
      Then one scans the bar code on the scale, and the scanner puts all the info together and the name, weight, and price of your purchase pops up on the scanner screen and is added to the shopping list stored in your scanner,

...which will let you know when all the info has been digested, at which time you will be directed to put your produce into your cart and move on with your shopping.

    

    Now, the idea is that you bag your items as you go along.

    Then when you get to the self-check out,

...all you have to do is scan the bar code at the bottom of the machine and all your items pop up on the machine for your review.

    Then you just pay and, your groceries being already bagged, you're ready to go. And that's how Scan, Bag, Go works.
      So, was it faster and more convenient?
      I'm not really sure.
      First of all there was the issue of the scanner, which you have to carry around in your hand,    

...or else set in the child seat of your cart while taking care that it doesn't fall through one of the spaces or slats.

    As for the scanning, I had a hard time getting the scanner to work by pointing it at an item on the shelf.

   I generally had to hold the item in my hand while I scanned it,

...or else put it into my cart and reach into my cart to scan it,

...though I eventually figured out that it was easiest to scan the item if I first  set it on the child seat.

     Then there was having to stop and bag each item as it was scanned. That felt like kind of a hassle.
       Not to mention that the whole process was complicated by the fact that my daughter called me while I was doing my Scan, Bag, Go-ing, so trying to scan and bag things with one hand while trying to hold my phone in the other hand was a real juggling act and, I'm sure, slowed the process down by many percentage points. In fact I had to put down my phone often just to get the scanning and bagging done, so I can say with assurance that the Scan, Bag, Go model is incompatible with the talking-on-the-phone-while-shopping model. Unless maybe one has a Bluetooth. 

   However, all that being said, the payoff came at the checkout when I had only to scan the bar code on the check-out machine and insert my credit card, then I was done.

    However, I did have one moment of dismay.
       After I'd removed my credit card from the machine and returned it to my purse I turned back to my cart to get my scanner and return it to the scanner-return rack at the end of the pay area.
       My scanner wasn't in my cart. I looked under my cart and all around on the floor. I looked in my purse and in all my bags. I'd had that thing literally seconds ago. I had a scary moment of wondering if I was having an initial episode of some category of dementia. I didn't really know what to do. Finally I approached the cashier who was monitoring the pay area and, embarrassed, told her that I'd somehow lost my scanner.
       "Oh, no, I grabbed it from your cart and took care of it," she said cheerfully.
       I'll withhold my verdict on this new shopping technology until a future occasion.