Joe asks 'Is it me or what?'

Spot the Difference

Two news stories this week with a common theme.

A drunken student in Edinburgh is convicted for a racist breach of the peace after accusing someone of being a terrorist and putting his hands down his trousers before wiping them on the Israeli flag. He gets a criminal conviction and 150 hours community service (just time to paint a minister’s flat with two coats).

In the second a group of about 60 so called Muslims burn the US flag at a 9/11 memorial service in Grosvenor Square, London. Some of these are the same ones who burned poppies on Armistice Day. They claim Obama is a terrorist. They also chant that their dead are in paradise, their deceased foes in hell (no evidence produced to back either claim). Result: police protection as they are exercising their right to free speech.

Testing, Testing…

Do the people who design self-service checkout facilities at supermarkets ever actually try and use them?

WH Smiths is the latest chain to try them and they are the usual mess. They seem to treat you as a hardened criminal, the slightest thing locks the machine and you need to call an assistant. This takes ages and then they usually can’t fix it without getting a special key or the manager. The first time I tried the Smiths’ one it didn’t like the items I’d tried to buy and refused to do anything. The assistant came and disappeared to find the manual and I gave up some ten minutes later.

I’ve almost given up shopping in Tesco’s because the machine won’t let you use your own bag without kicking up a fuss and the dreaded warning, unexpected item in bagging area. If I was trying to steal I wouldn’t put it in the bagging area, I’d put it straight into my bag. So much for going green.

Then there’s the change, some comes out of the machine on the right, notes appear on the left and the receipt from yet a third area, couldn’t they have all the output in one place?

The trouble is it’s not the fault of the assistants so, as usual, there’s no one to complain to (and they don’t care as these machines are costing them their jobs so they want them to fail). If anyone from the higher-ups at these chains reads this (unlikely, I know) then please try to get these things improved. We all know there are there to save you paying staff but if they put people off going that it’s not worth it.