I am one of the thousands of shoppers who
wait in line at the supermarket to check out my
groceries.
Last Saturday, I needed a few items and while
I waited, I came to some conclusions.
Firstly, it takes me 10 minutes to pick out
my purchases and 20 minutes to go through the checkout.
Secondly, even if every checkout is open, there are long
lineups. Thirdly, I quickly realized many people can't count to
eight.
As I edged forward in my line, I overheard a
cashier asking a customer if she would like to sign a petition
against the deregulation of store hours.
This peaked my interest and I strained to
hear what the customer would reply.
The customer hesitated for a moment, perhaps
reflecting on the past 20 minutes she had spent cooling her
heels, eagerly anticipating the drive home
with her groceries, unloading the vehicle,
putting the food away and then preparing dinner.
"Well," the customer responded hesitantly, "I
personally would appreciate a few extra hours of shopping,
especially for groceries".
I looked at the faces of the shoppers lined
up. It was approaching 5 pm and the look and attitude the
cashier gave the customer shocked me.
"Oh, that's fine," said the cashier, "why
should you care about the quality of life for me and my
family?" Sufficiently rebuked and thoroughly guilt-ridden, the
customer replied, "OK, I guess I can sign."
This blew my mind! How many signatures had
one cashier collected that day, using intimidation, times the
number of cashiers working?
How many shoppers had stuck to their guns and
refused to sign? Where was the petition to sign for those
customers in favour of deregulation? What percentage of the
total number of shoppers signed the available petition? Will
our city councillors get just one side of the story?
I think there is a part of this whole issue
many employees are missing. Absolutely no business is going to
stay open if there is no one shopping.
Stores may try lengthening their hours, but
if no one shops, then stores will not remain open, and suffer
the high costs of opening with no revenue.
We have sufficient young people who need
employment, whether part time or on a regular basis, to ease
the burden extra shopping hours might place on existing
employees.
It is long past the time when store hours
should be decided by municipal government.
Please, let the customers decide when they
want to shop, not city officials, and not the employees.
And, by the way, who decided the number of
items that could go through the express lane? And why eight?
Why not 10 or an even dozen?
That would be closer to my needs. Hmmm. Maybe
I'll start a petition.
Doreen Dewar
Sudbury