Why shop in a giant supermarket?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Remember the days when shopping in a supermarket
\nwas considered prestigious? How proudly the customers walked
\nthrough the aisles and then up to the cashier and from there a
\nporter would help them to carry their shopping to the car.<\/p>\n
There were only a few of those supermarkets then, shopping was
\nreally pleasant. It was a pleasure to see merchandise on the
\nshelves and to be able to inspect them without having to climb
\nover sacks of rice or sugar or boxes of onions, soap powder etc.
\nI may have been one of the first to abandon the toko where I used
\nto shop regularly.<\/p>\n
The present situation is very different. The number of these
\nkind of shops has grown hand-in-hand with their size. And what is
\nmore, the number of clients of each shop has also increased.<\/p>\n
Let me tell you what I experience every time I go shopping in
\nmy usual supermarket, where they advertise that the client is
\nking. First, I have to hunt for a good shopping trolley.<\/p>\n
Usually, the old ones have very obstinate wheels, so the
\ntrolleys either stall from time-to-time, or pull you to the left
\nor to the right, so you have to hold them back to go straight.<\/p>\n
Once I found a new one loaded with empty boxes. So I moved the
\nboxes to an old trolley, but was stopped by the supervisor. It
\nwas only after some arguing that I could walk away with the
\ntrolley. But getting a new trolley is not my only problem.
\nUsually, I have to navigate through the aisles where many boxes
\nfilled with merchandise are placed in the middle, leaving little
\nroom to pass.<\/p>\n
Where no boxes are placed, people just park their trolleys
\nhaphazardly and I have to push them away. Sometimes there are a
\nnumber of extra salespeople trying to promote some new brand of
\ncoffee, tea or soup. When they are around, the best advice is not
\nto get your favorite brand from the shelves. They are sure to
\npersuade you to use their brand, which, according to them, is
\nbetter, lasts longer and is healthier for you. Never is your
\nchoice the best. Or they may stand there spying you, wondering
\nwhether you are not a shoplifter.<\/p>\n
Fed up with this situation I tried online shopping. That did
\nnot work either. How is it possible that people are able to do
\ntheir shopping by ticking names on a list? I have to see whether
\nthe boxes or cans are in perfect shape. I have to enjoy the
\norange color of the oranges and I have to be seduced by the
\nredness and the roundness of the apples in order to buy them.
\nThey may promise to give you a monthly present or a birthday
\npresent, but no, online shopping is not for me.<\/p>\n
Recently, I suddenly got an urge to go to my old pasar
\n(market) again, which I had abandoned some 30 years ago. The road
\nwas in bad shape and muddy and puddles had formed in the holes.
\nBut I braved them all and finally reach my old toko.<\/p>\n
I had the right to be surprised to meet Meta in the shop. Meta
\nis not only a career woman, she is also one of the top executives
\nin her company. But it seems that she still has time to go
\nshopping in the market between her travels to foreign countries.<\/p>\n
\"I can go to supermarkets anywhere in the world,\" she told me,
\n\"but there are only a few places where I can shop with friendly
\npeople around me.\"<\/p>\n
I agreed when I saw how she did her shopping. Sitting in a
\nplastic chair, she gave her orders: 2 bottles of soy sauce, 10
\nkilos of sugar, 2 tins of oil and so on. The boys ran for the
\norders.<\/p>\n
At most, they would ask her: \"Don't you want to try Bimoli
\ncooking oil, they give 10 percent off this month.\" Or they may
\nsay: \"There is a new brand of sesame oil, from China\" no more,
\njust suggestions.<\/p>\n
When they are out of stock for some products, they would run
\nto the next door shop or the one opposite to get her the same
\nproduct for the same price. Sometimes Meta would scold them:
\n\"What? this soap for Rp 3,000, my maid only pays Rp 2,500 in the
\nwarong\" and sure enough she gets it for that price.<\/p>\n
When she had finished, the boys packed everything in boxes
\nwhile the boss did some sums on his abacus and then mentioned a
\nsum. Meta looked shocked and protested, saying that it was too
\nexpensive. And again, the boss gave her some discount for paying
\ncash.<\/p>\n
Yes, Meta is certainly a shopping wizard. She knows where to
\nshop and still be treated like a queen. And now she is not the
\nonly one anymore. I, too, have returned to shopping the old-
\nfashioned way and I come home without stressing about defective
\nshopping trolleys, impertinent supervisors and shoppers without
\nregard for others.<\/p>\n
-- Myra Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-shop-in-a-giant-supermarket-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }