Canada

I've stopped shopping at Loblaw's as they have make it increasingly clear that they don't care at all about their customers. I used to actually be a big fan, they had good selection and their house bands were actually pretty good. But I'm tired of continuously being treated like a criminal as they continue to cut costs and raise prices. Their self-checkout stands must be the most user-hostile thing ever. I actually enjoy using self checkouts when they don't suck. Have you used self-checkout at IKEA? Absolutely pleasurable. You just grab the scanner and go beep-beep-beep and you are done in like 3 seconds. But Loblaw's is like beep, place item in bagging area, wait for the bagging scale to stabilize, beep, wait for scale, beep, out of space try to put something on the floor, YOU HAVE ANGERED THE SCALE!!! LOCKING WHOLE UNIT UNTIL ATTENDANT COMES!!!, a minute the attendant—who is clearly also tired of these hostile machines—unlocks it without even looking at the error or what you have "stolen", then I can continue scanning hoping that I don't anger it again. When I am done it asks how many bags I used, they don't even have bags anymore. Then it asks if I want to make a charitable donation in their name, go away and donate yourself and I'll donate on my own. Finally I can pay. And now I have the pleasure being locked in until I scan my receipt.

Also who is this stopping? If I want to steal something I'm not going to sticker-swap or try to sneak it on the scale. I'm just going to leave it in the bag and never scan it. What happens if I didn't buy anything, am I going to be allowed out? Are they going to demand to pat me down? They don't have the right to do that.

I'm tired of this shit, I've recently been shopping at Farm Boy and they have a nice human who quickly scans my stuff and I am on my way. It isn't even any more expensive for most things. (though they do frequently lack bulk options which can result in a higher price.) I have the luxury of being able to pretty freely choose where I shop, and I appreciate that no everyone has that privilege, but I've started shopping mostly based on how they treat me. Loblaws and Canadian Tire can fuck right off, they treat me like a criminal. Shoppers and Amazon are bad, but not awful. IKEA and Farm Boy treat me like an actual human who's time and experience is valued, so they get my money.