I Was Thinking... Do It Yourself

The ability to do it yourself often is a badge of pride for many people. If you can do it yourself, you can eliminate the need to call in somebody else and can save yourself money. And if you don’t know how to do it, there is probably a YouTube video that can give you step by step instructions. While this ability may serve you well in many instances, it has also become a sly plot of many businesses for you to do their work for them.

If you are as old as I am, you may remember service stations. Today we call them gas stations. They were called “service stations” because they actually offered service. When you drove in and ran over that little black cord, a bell would ring inside the service station and an attendant would come out and put the gas into the car for you. This same person would wash your windshield, check the oil level, and maybe even put some air in your tires.

When everything was complete, he would take your money and bring back change. In addition, the station might also give you some premiums like glassware, dishes, or a mug. And this was when gas was selling for 32 cents a gallon. All you had to do was sit in your car. But today we do it ourselves.

Gas costs close to $3.50 a gallon or more and we have become the attendant. We put the gas in the car ourselves, wash our own windows and if we need air, it is up to us to put it in. Most stations don’t even need someone to take our money because you are required to pay at the pump. The oil companies have found a way to charge you more and have you do all the work to boot.

At one time, a common phrase uttered when you entered a store was, “Can we help you?” Most stores had clerks or salespersons whose main job was to serve their customers. In a shoe store, you would sit in a chair while the clerk measured your feet. They would then find several styles in your size and with the aid of a shoehorn put the shoe on for you.

Today you wander around a large store looking at boxes stacked on the wall or on shelves, hoping to find something in your size. If you find one, you look around for one of the few benches available to sit on to try on the shoe. This is after you remove the wads of paper in the shoe, break the plastic tying the shoes together and put the rest of the laces in. If you do find something you want, you then truck it up to the counter where the one clerk takes your money.

Grocery stores have changed drastically as well. There was a time when they also provided service. Once you had selected what you needed, a clerk would ring up your purchase and take your money. They also didn’t have a machine to tell them what the change should be, and they could actually count back the change.

If you had an account at the store, they might also just put your purchase on your account for payment later. Someone was always available to bag your groceries and, in many stores, that same person would carry them out to the car for you.

Fast forward to today.

While most stores still have someone who can check you out and take your money, they are becoming fewer. Instead, modern technology has given you the “opportunity” to do the work yourself. You can unload your own basket, scan each item, put the money or card in the machine and then bag the purchases yourself and carry them to your car yourself. Stores will tell you this is all for your convenience, but it is just a way they get you to work for them for free.

While we are told life is easier now because of all the modern technological innovations, I think it is just part of a master plan to get us to do the work that had been done for us in the past.

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Photo: I was thinking Ron Albright