About 12 days ago, as I entered the Raritan Stop & Shop on Orlando Drive, off Route 206, I noticed two employees greeting customers and encouraging them to learn how to use a new electronic shopping aid. The employees were very friendly and, since I had seen the same device at a Giant food Store in Potomac, MD, I decided to try it.
I liked it so much, that I’ll be using it each time that I visit that Stop & Shop. The gizmo is efficient and easy to use. It saves time at checkout and allows you to track what you are purchasing as you navigate the aisles.
It works like this: After you walk into the store with your shopping cart, pass your bar-coded customer savings card under the electronic reader near the entrance and, in a few seconds, a portable scanner (one of many in a rack) will start to flash. Put it in your cart’s custom holder, and you are on your way.
The product reader has a sharp color screen as big as an IPhone. (When you select it, you should also put as many bags as you may need in your cart.) Then, just shop the same way you always did, with this exception:
Each time you purchase an article, use the gizmo to swipe the product’s bar code, and place the item in one of your cart’s bags. Easy! If you change your mind about any item, just press the ‘remove’ button on the magic gizmo, swipe the item you don’t want, and return it to its shelf. It is idiot proof – I should know!
For items which need to be weighed, as in the produce section, there are new electronic scales which will punch out a descriptive self-stick label. If, for example, your purchase was a bag of grapes, affix it to that, scan it, and keep shopping.
The beauty of the scanner is that it not only shows the description and price for each item, but also displays a running total. The gizmo will occasionally flash a cents-off or dollar-off special on items just for you! That’s right, just for you! These discounts are not in the circular, nor marked-down on the shelf. They are simply an incentive for you to use this handy-dandy device.
Once your shopping is done, each item should have been scanned, bagged and in your cart. Push the cart to the nearest checkout (a clerk will help you with any questions).
You are on the honor system. As you go through the checkout, use your reader to swipe a large bar code above the conveyor belt near the cash register. Your tab will scroll down within seconds on the cash register’s screen. Hand over your scanner to the clerk, pay your bill; don’t forget your receipts and checkout tape, and you are on your way home.
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