department stores...

[Viola]

Wanamaker's was the department store icon in Philadelphia; a "little" branch was near my house growing up and it was three stories (no fountains or anything like the one downtown though) and I've been told it was one of the oldest department stores in the country. Bought out now.

Philadelphians still talk about "meet me at the Eagle" - a giant bronze eagle that John Wanamaker felt gave his store presence.

Better prices than Bloomingdales, too. RIP Wanamaker's, still around until 1995and I seem to remember being very very sad as a little girl.

Wikipedia:

He opened his first store in 1861, called "Oak Hall", at Sixth and Market Streets in Philadelphia, on the site of George Washington's Presidential home. Oak Hall grew substantially based on Wanamaker's then-revolutionary principle: "One price and goods returnable".

I don't shop Macy's or Bloomingdales, but Sears and Penney's are more my range.

 

[Paisley]

Shopping malls here have about a 25-year life span. When Cinderella City was built in the late 60s, it was one of the largest malls in the country. It was the place to be. By the late 90s, it was deserted. Now there's a Wal-Mart, other retail, government offices, a library, condos and a train station there. The city did a good job redeveloping the area.

Downtown Denver attracts a lot of shoppers, but a department store there would be in competition with Sears and another mall a few miles away. Besides, I think part of the appeal of any downtown is getting away from the suburban scene that department stores and shopping malls represent--at least, that's part of its appeal for me.

 

[tuppence]

Are you getting lots of self serve checkouts

I was just wondering if what people thought of the self service check outs.
I have started to see a few around in Australia, and I get angry at the people using them. It's supposed to make shopping faster, but that's what they said about barcodes. Barcodes didn't make anything faster, because the stores then just reduced staff.

We have shopping centres in Australia that should get there own post(zip) code. There are 3 within a 10 minute drive of me and they all have exactly the same shops. I only thrift shop because for the cost of a full outfit there, you may be able to buy half a cheap chinese made shirt at one of the lower cost chain stores.

 

[davestlouis]

I'm terribly offended by slef-serve check-outs. The hgh-end supermarkets around here are called Dierberg's...family owned, wood trim on the shelves, shiny terrazzo flooring, etc. I flat out refuse to go to the self serve check-out, and told a manager if I wanted to bag my own groceries I'd go to Sav-A-Lot, the el-cheapo food store. The damn scanners never work quite right either and it takes forever to check out more than 2-3 items.

 

[Paisley]

Yes, the major grocery stores here have self-service checkout. One has six self-service checkouts, but it doesn't seem to be any faster than the express lane that's staffed by one checker.

A few years ago, a friend and I drove to a city about 20 or 30 miles away. The shopping centers along the highway were so much alike that I kept saying, "Didn't we just pass this place?"

 

[Doggy Darb]

I was just wondering if what people thought of the self service check outs.
I have started to see a few around in Australia, and I get angry at the people using them. It's supposed to make shopping faster, but that's what they said about barcodes. Barcodes didn't make anything faster, because the stores then just reduced staff.

Everyone I see has at least one person per two stations. I think they are nonsense. They've been around 10 years and people still cannot figure out how to use it quickly. Reading what to do and when, executing the instructions and paying will always be slower than when you have a clerk to assist to in handling the merchandise and conducting the exchange of currency for goods. There is also an element of customer service and human contact that cannot be replaced by a touch screen. I am the customer, serve me. I am not in their store to work.

Also, we need a soapbox Smilie!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I was just wondering if what people thought of the self service check outs.
I have started to see a few around in Australia, and I get angry at the people using them. It's supposed to make shopping faster, but that's what they said about barcodes. Barcodes didn't make anything faster, because the stores then just reduced staff.

The one time I used one of those, if I'd had a sledgehammer handy I'd have stove it into rubble. Whoever programmed the nagging, annoying voice that says SCAN THE NEXT ITEM SCAN THE NEXT ITEM ITEM IN BAGGING AREA REMOVE ITEM REMOVE ITEM and nags you to INSERT CASH INSERT CASH needs to be forced to try to run a bag of ice cubes thru the scanner on one of these things for eternity.

 

[davestlouis]

Lizzie, you amuse me to no end! You're going to be a smidge curmudgeonly when you get old, I fear.

 

[Foofoogal]

This is funny as I would much rather check myself out. The only glitch seems to be produce if they do not have the bar code.
Used to do this at Krogers but now I don't have any where we live.
Miss that store.

 

[lolly_loisides]

I was just wondering if what people thought of the self service check outs.

I HATE technological "advances" that put people out of work. I refuse to use them, same thing for ticket machines at the train station, I won't use them. Given the option I always choose to be served by a person rather than a machine.

 

[Doggy Darb]

Who delivered the Sears catalog items to far-rural areas? Some of those items were huge. Nevermind, I just reread your post...the railroad was right there, I suppose they would have shipped bulky items.

I will begin by saying that I am about to go way fftopic:.

The railroad used to deliver everything as far as the station or supply. There would usually be at least one freight house in every town. If there was a flagstop station, there was a freight house. All your smaller items would end up there. Things like reel mowers are a good example of that.

There was a middle range of goods like farm equipment that would be shipped to the station's freight house. There was a problem with this, the railroad did not have a storage yard nor did it have interest in keeping valuables around to be damaged. What they would do in this instance is quite interesting and not a formally recognized procedure. The station master would contact the local grain and supply, hardware, or some other business that had a spur. They would arrange for your merchandise to be delivered to the hardware. You would, in turn, pay the hardware a small fee for this service, but this was generally accepted as part of business. Chances are you knew the station master, who was doing this as a favor to you, and you knew the owner of the hardware, who was doing this as a favor to you, and the station master was the nephew of the hardware owner, who was doing this as a favor to him, so everyone understood that life would be easier if your tractor arrived without a big fiasco. Everybody wins. Your tractor got delivered, the station's siding was not block, and the hardware got a little more loyalty and some money.

If you had a particularly large item, say a house, they would deliver it to a team track. This is a bulk transfer area were you could bring a truck up to the car and unload it. Sometimes it was the station siding. The station master coordinated the movement to the team track as it was standard procedure with bulk goods. Sears would be the one to contract the unloading and trucking or teaming (if we go back in time far enough) to your home-site. It was important for them to make sure that the pick-up was scheduled properly. The Sears contractor would deliver it on a schedule as you completed the construction of the home. First, you would receive block and mortar to build the foundation, then lumber for framing and so on. You would be responsible for keeping up the construction schedule, and Sears would make sure you received what you needed at the appropriate time.

The world used to work in ways that we have a hard time understanding. They were much more efficient in many ways for a few reasons. First of all reasons, the resource level was much lower so they needed to be much more creative. Secondly, the familiarity and community aspect greased the wheels of commerce considerably. People compromised a lot because of the personal relationships that merchant and customer shared. Thirdly, people recognized that there was a right way and a wrong way to handle every situation. This was encouraged by the second reason, but there was more of a general sense of ethics when it came to small town business.

 

[Tomasso]

Philadelphians still talk about "meet me at the Eagle" - a giant bronze eagle that John Wanamaker felt gave his store presence.

Chicagoans still "meet under the clock" at Marshall Fields; ignoring that it's now Macys.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Within a few miles radius of where I live are the following:


2 Sam's Clubs
2 Costco's
2 Kohl's
2 Kmarts (down from 3)
2 Sears
3 CVS
3 Walmarts
6 Targets
7 Walgreens (at least)

Think they're a bit saturated????

The one time I used one of those, if I'd had a sledgehammer handy I'd have stove it into rubble. Whoever programmed the nagging, annoying voice that says SCAN THE NEXT ITEM SCAN THE NEXT ITEM ITEM IN BAGGING AREA REMOVE ITEM REMOVE ITEM and nags you to INSERT CASH INSERT CASH needs to be forced to try to run a bag of ice cubes thru the scanner on one of these things for eternity.

And the machines won't take anything less than a crisp, newly minted bill! :rage:

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

In germany we have the same. They build this big malls in every city even if they contain the same stores that already exist downtown. Next thing that happens is that the stores downtown have to close and cheap 1€ item stores move in instead.

So yeah. Great advantage. A cheap lookin ghost-downtown with a big and cold mall somewhere. People running around like ants there. Very confortable to go shopping. I always feel like in the movie "Dawn of the dead"

 

[Puzzicato]

I don't mind self-service checkouts, mostly. It doesn't judge me when I am buying icecream for lunch.

BUT: If you buy booze you have to wait for a gormless youth, whose mother I am old enough to be, to come and approve you. If you buy an apple you have to wait for another gormless youth to get the barcode for a single piece of fresh produce. If you bring your own shopping bag, and try to pack into it, the stupid machine screams "UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA". Those things make me reach for the sledgehammer.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"" There seems to be the great divide between the posh shop here in Australia, "David Jones" and the lowly K Mart, the "In between department store "Myer" is "struggling"

"I do like Target, for its "home wares" whoever is the buyer has my kind of taste, lots of Black and chrome!"

If you are interested in the Ultimate Department store checkout BIG BIBA the Art Deco "Diamond" of a store in London in the early 1970's Sadly now the boring Kensington Marks & Spencers

You can visit see the famous Rainbow room and the roof gardens : http://www.roofgardens.virgin.com/

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Those self-checkout scanners never work for me. The last three or four times I have used one I have ended up breaking it to the point that it requires repairs by a technican. And I have no idea what I am doing to cause it. [huh]

 

[tuppence]

Well Thanks guys, your responces made me smile. I think I might start a secret sabotage self service checkouts group, if all you have to do is leave items there that it can't recognize

Lo llie hope you don't need to use the Myki system on Melbournes public transport. Grrrrr

 

[JimWagner]

...you have to wait for a gormless youth,

Wow, I learned a new word today. Can't wait to spring that one on someome :eusa_clap

 

[Puzzicato]

Wow, I learned a new word today. Can't wait to spring that one on someome :eusa_clap

It's a great word - very British.