Hey Wal-Mart, Check Yourself Out

There has been a disturbing trend developing in retail establishments over the past few years:  the self check out line.  These seemed to start out at places like Kroger and other grocery stores.  But not long thereafter, they showed up at Home Depot, Lowes and Wal-Mart.

I have to admit.  I am not a fan.  I say leave the checkout to the professionals, to those young folks (and not so young folks) who do it every day for a living.  It just takes a lot longer for an individual to check themselves out.  I realize that self-checkout probably saves the retail store some money because they don’t have to employ as many cashiers.  But until they start giving me a discount to check out my own merchandise, I will make sure a professional cashier takes care of my purchases.

And don’t even think about trying to do self checkout with fruits and vegetables.  Good grief!!  You either have to look up the magic code to punch in or select from a bunch of pictures.  By the time you do all that, you could be home eating your salad and fruit medley. 

The one thing that really baffles me about the self checkout option is when the lanes are NOT open.  There is a relatively new Wal-Mart on Howell Mill Road near my office that must have 50 checkout lanes.  They must have built this place expecting all of Atlanta to show up and purchase their electronics, clothes, shoes and groceries at one time.  Anyway, this particular Wal-Mart has about 10 or more self checkout lines.  And they NEVER seem to be open.  Admittedly, when I go to purchase a single item, I will often use the self checkout option.  And for my trips to this particular Wal-Mart, it is usually just that…I usually go to purchase one single item.   So it is very frustrating to see they have these self checkout lanes available but not open.  I just don’t get it.   And to add to the frustration, they usually only have 5 of the 50 cashier lanes open.  So there’s ALWAYS a line. 

Attention Wal-Mart on Howell Mill Road:  If you plan on offering self-checkout as an option for your customers, then make sure these lanes stay OPEN.  

6 Feet Under...Or 6 Feet Blunder??

6 Feet Under is a restaurant with a location just off Howell Mill Road on 11th Street in Atlanta.  Their original location is in Grant Park near the Oakland Cemetery.  After yesterday's experience at 6 Feet Under on 11th Street, I feel like its time to publish a new post. I am putting them on the banned list....at least temporarily.

As you might expect, we had fallen into a bit of a rut eating lunch at the same 4 establishments on a regular basis. So we decided to shake it up yesterday and visit 6 Feet Under in Atlanta on 11th Street. We had eaten lunch there previously and it was OK, not great but not bad. But there are a few things about this place that really get under my skin.

Valet parking. Really?? REALLY?? This is basically a glorified fish house with good beer on tap. So why the valet parking? Its not like the friggin' Ritz Carlton. Thankfully I did not drive so it was a minor annoyance. But it is an inherent flaw in this place. I think we can park our own cars.

The other problem with this place is the service. SLOW. VERY SLOW. Yesterday, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd was our server. He was even sporting a Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt. He seemed like a nice enough guy and was fairly attentive. But maybe it was the bong hits between trips to the table that slowed him down. When he finally brought our bill and we paid him, it took forever for him to return with change and receipts. I'm pretty sure I heard "Wish You Were Here" on their soundsystem while we were waiting. And to top it all off, he screwed up the bill and charged me for Carl's lunch and charged Carl for my lunch. Not that it is the end of the world. Carl and I worked it out. But still, dude needs to get it right the first time.

The food is the only thing preventing this place from taking a spot on the permanent banned list. My catfish tacos were good. John had a salad that looked fresh and inviting. And Carl's Shrimp PoBoy looked delicious. At least they have this going for them.

I guess the rest of the world must have plenty of time for lunch. This place is always busy, both at lunch and at dinner. But when you only have an hour to spare for lunch, there's just no way they can get it done that quickly. Maybe we caught them on a bad day but I don't think so. Our previous trip here was also slow. Perhaps its something in the name. Or maybe the ghost of Syd Barret haunts the place. I am not sure. But at least for now, 6 Feet Under on 11th Street is BANNED.