Orb K used to have an open floor plan, where you could easily spot a penny, while waiting in line for one of three cashiers. Sometime during The Virus debacle, they made a maze customers had to navigate to pay for their merchandise. I'm pretty sure this configuration did not confuse The Virus.
The maze is composed of four racks of last-minute items that I never see anyone pick up before paying. Candy bars, gum, mints. Perhaps a savory item, though I have not noticed chips while whiling away time in this maze. NOW they have put a stand-up rack in the path between the door and the entrance to the maze. I am NOT pleased. My knees do not need extra steps from door to counter.
When I see that nobody is waiting to pay, I sometimes go directly to the counter. That seems to be frowned upon. As if me navigating that maze will cause me to buy something besides the scratchers I intend to purchase.
Anyhoo... on Sunday, I dutifully entered the maze, because I saw one cashier working, and one customer being waited on. I was next, standing in the exit of the maze.
Welp! To my chagrin, I spied a man holding a can of Pringles and a soda, standing on the far right, not in the maze. Huh. Was he there when I walked through the maze? I didn't recall noticing him until I was waiting.
When the customer finished his transaction, I glanced at The Man to see if he was moving up to pay. He motioned me ahead.
"You go ahead. I was just too lazy to go through the maze."
"I don't know who was first. You can go."
"No. That's okay. You go ahead."
So I did. Not sure what the two customers behind me in the maze thought of this. I cashed in my scratcher winner, and asked for more, and paid with exact change.
"You had that planned out well." Said The Man.
"Yeah. I'm not a beginner!"
He moved in after me to take his turn. I don't know why that maze has to take up all that room. No other convenience store forces me through a maze. Most people have sense enough to wait behind the people in front of them. A maze will not keep a line-jumper from jumping.
I'm still not sure what purpose that stand-up rack has. I'm tempted to roll it out of my way.
4 comments:
I would think that maze could be removed after all this time. it's just an unnecessary inconvenience now.
River,
Yes. Orb K is an INconvenience store! I don't know what the maze was supposed to do anyway. It actually crammed people closer together. They could put those shelves in a more convenient configuration, and still have room for a line. It's like they want to make it hard for you to pay!
So, the rack is empty of merchandise? And it is on wheels? I would move it, just because I wanted to. I might even roll it arouns the store like I was using it to help me walk if I took a notion. Sometimes it is fun to be old!!
Kathy,
The rack on wheels right inside the door has chips on it right now. The Big Grab size that makes you feel like a pig if you eat the whole thing, but not big enough to share around with multiple servings as a side. It's on the way to the maze entrance, not on the way to the soda machine, which would at least make marketing sense. People heading to pay for gas or get Skoal or cigarettes at the counter are not likely chip-buyers, methinks. When heading for the maze entrance after filling a soda, that chip rack is out of the way. Nobody's going to risk a person getting in front of them to walk over and look at some chips.
Heh, heh! I would like to see you wheeling that rack around the store! Perhaps tossing bags of chips to random people, yelling "CATCH!"
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