All the talk about fast food places made me think…what if it was automated. You know… you key in your own order… it is processed by robotics… a $$ amount flashes before your eyes… you put your money in the appropriate slot or run your ATM card thru its slot and voila! out pops the bag with your food in it.
Anything else you would love to see automated?
I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature!
PCW- New York had those for years, Automats, big in the 50’s or 60’s I think. I believe the last one closed down 3 or 4 years ago.
And the Internet practically automates everything. Punch in your CC#, 3 days later, X is sitting on your doorstep.
If three people say you are an ass, put on a bridle.
-Spanish Proverb
Grocery stores! I don’t know how it could be done; banks of really big vending machines, perhaps? But the notion of avoiding surly clerks (or worse, clerks who comment on one’s purchases), inept baggers, pinheaded check-writers, people who can’t count to ten items and all the other woes of grocery shopping – what a lovely thought!
Catrandom
psycat… somehow waiting 3 days for my food would negate the term fast food…I think I would even suffer the ineptness of the people serving it if that were the case. 
I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature!
"Hi, I’m Troy McClure! You may remember me from such medical films as “Alice Doesn’t Live Anymore” and “Mommy, What’s Wrong with That Man’s Face?”
Can’t think of anything else, but I’ll second the fast food vending (but, oh, would the food be as good? :rolleyes: I’m sick and tired of the surly teenagers in the fast food places who mumble, don’t smile, and don’t say thank you, kiss my ass, or anything. I just love ATM’s because they’re so convenient, but mostly because I don’t have to stand in line for the privilege of dealing with surly tellers.
LOL PCW- Yep I agree. I just meant it’s convenient. Not really instant, though.
If three people say you are an ass, put on a bridle.
-Spanish Proverb
Catrandom and Voguevixen -
Have you tried webvan.com yet? It’s an on-line grocery - you just click on what you want to buy and it is delivered right to your door. I know, I know, how much lazier can I be? It’s great, though. Besides groceries, they also feature ready-to-eat meals, side dishes by the pint, and decadent desserts. They’ll even bring you beer and wine. I’m rather fond of going through the grocery store, picking out the best produce, etc, but webvan will definitely become a weekly treat!
Oooh! Sounds perfect; almost as good as not having to go to the store at all. I want one!
SeaDiver; Webvan isn’t in L.A yet, but we have a local equivalent called PinkDot. I order online from them occasionally, but their selection isn’t that great and their prices are definitely on the high end. It is a nice decadent feeling to have people bring you your groceries, though
Catrandom
Re: Scan-it-yourself grocery store
While in Columbus, Drain Bead and myself went to Meijer, which I understand is a major emporium of everything throughout the midwest.
The store in Columbus had a manual scanning option for express customers. “Cool,” I thought, and opted to go there.
Bad mistake… The thing was set up where you had to put the ittem in the bag as you scanned it. Only, sometimes, the sensor under the bag didn’t seem to notice. Then you had to clunk the bag down, which worked sometimes, or maybe that didn’t have eny effect, and it had to be taken OUT of the bag and scanned in again.
Then, we had a coupon, which a clerk had to take and input, which also took way more time than it should have.
The whole time, I’m looking at thee impatient people behind me and saying, “This sucks… I’m sorry… Damn, this sucks…”
They simply smiled. EVERYONE had problems with it… EVERYONE took forever. I was not special, for a change, in my ineptitude.
So, having tried this little technological improvement, let me state with a degree of certainty that there are quite a few bugs that need to be worked out of it before I ever harken upon that doorstep again!
Yer pal,
Satan
Catranom -
there is definitely something decadent about having your groceries delivered! Believe me, webvan will be worth the wait. Let me just say, their prices are very reasonable. It is especially useful if your neighborhood grocery store does not have a particularly stellar seafood/steak selection (I know mine doesn’t). The delivery is free with any order over $50, and you get $15 off your first order. I pledge to you that I will support this company to the utmost of my ability, and hopefully they will be able to expand to the L.A. area.
Mrs. Pluto and I have had good experience with HomeGrocer.com (the guys with the peach truck).
Prices are fair, selection is good and the convenience is remarkable.
We just placed our second order tonight after being really pleased with the first one. They brought the groceries right in and put them on the kitchen counter. Do you know how long I have to yell at my kids to get them to do that?
Best thing about it was the produce – way fresher than I can get at my local grocer.
Worst thing was that nothing’s really on sale – so things that I always buy on sale (breakfast cereal, cheese, milk) I still buy at the IRL grocery store.
Another good thing is that there is very little impulse buying. Plus my wife will sit and shop with me – she hates going to the grocery store so I usually have to schlep along all by myself.
That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.
Americans are already a lazy crowd of people. I think we need to stop some of the automation and just just the good old hands and feet…and hey…maybe our brains even.
“Do or do not, there is no try” - Yoda
I love webvan.com. One less thing I hate to do scratched of the list. I keep asking if the delivery guy will come in and put them away for me but so far no luck. 
Sassy… I look at it this way, grocery shop or go to the park and play… I will chose play anytime!
I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature!
I read an interesting article in the paper this morning (unfortunately, it doesn’t appear on their web site so I can’t post a link to it).
A company is creating junk-food transponders for California commuters. They’ll be able to buy food without even taking their wallets out when they order at selected McDonald’s drive-throughs, in the L.A. area. Orange County’s toll-highway agency will send commuters a monthly bill that tallies Big macs and miles logged.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge…others just gargle.
Here in good ol’ Colorado, we have this. The grocery store I frequent is only about 2 years old, and it put in 4 self-serve checkouts. You walk up to one, scan the food yourself, and put it in a bag. The bags are on pressure-sensitive pads, so it can tell if you put something in that you didn’t scan. The scanner also has a scale, and a video cam. If you’re buying things like produce that don’t have UPC codes, you press the “produce” button, the clerk looks at his video display, and types in the code for Squash (or whatever).
The main problem I’ve had with these is if you’re paying with cash, it’s a hassle since you have to feed the cash into the little cash reader thingy (y’know, the same dollar-bill acceptor that vending machines have.) Fine for a coke, but when you’re paying 34.52 for groceries it takes a while. Most of the time, I pay with my debit card, so this is not a problem.
I don’t know how it’s going to work in the long run. I loved these things when they first put 'em in, cuz most people were afraid of them and they were always empty when there were loooong lines in the non-automated checkouts. Now, though, people are catching on, and quite often there’s lines at the automated ones. People tend to be slower than the checkout clerks, and they get confused, so the “quick” aspect of 'em is going away.
So, do you tip the delivery guy just like the pizza guy? What is the turnaround time between order and delivery? What are their hours. This really sounds like something I’d be interested in!
“It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.”
homegrocer.com doesn’t allow tipping. You schedule a delivery time with an hour and a half window. You can schedule delivery for the next day if you’re lucky but it’s usually two days. Once your delivery is scheduled, however, you can change your order up to 11:00 p.m. the night before.
Tipping is also agaist webvan’s policy- the delivery people are super friendly and helpful, so the company must be taking good care of them.
Dem- all you have to do is register at their website, choose a 30-minute time window for the delivery, and buy whatever you want - since you seem to be quite busy, you should check out the ready-made meals. Reasonably priced and way better than fast food.
The ready made meals are pretty good too. Much better than TV dinners but not as good as Pop Tarts
I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature!