Sounds you don't hear when shopping on Amazon

[supersuds]

Mechanical registers

I remember, as a wee lad, being in a Piggly Wiggly during a power failure and seeing the boxboys cranking away on the registers (maybe I should rephrase that) synced up with the checkers. The checkers would enter the numbers and the boxboys would whirl the crank. They were fast, like it happened all the time.

There was enough light coming through the plate glass windows that everyone could shop almost normally. Of course, the store was not as large as supermarkets today.

 

[circlew]

I worked at Shillito's (was Lazarus later, now Macy's) downtown store during the Christmas '79 season, and off and on for the next couple years. They had just installed new computerized registers not long before I started, so never got to use the big old NCR's they had for many years. New isolated ground wiring had been installed for them, and they also were connected by communications cable to the main office. There was only one power outage while I was working there, and the registers came back on very quickly, along with selected lights.

I do remember an old cash register at my dad's uncles grocery store that could be operated manually. It was a Burroughs from the late 40's, and not the main one.

 

[twintubdexter]

oh no, another one of those boring green posts...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I remember the cash registers were so old in the San Francisco store they had the receipt tape mounted outside above the top and it fed down inside. These were still being used when Macy's up the street (Union Square) installed flashy POS terminals which allowed the company to monitor the salespeople's productivity on an hourly basis and patrol the floor with a whip. They were so very kind 

.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">The Emporium also sounded royal-like trumpets at opening and at closing sort of like "The Queen Approaches!" They never announced the store was closed. It remained open until the last customer was finished shopping. There were no wall clocks either. No customer was supposed to feel rushed. </span>

 

[jamiel]

I worked at LS Ayres in Cincinnati during grad school in 1986-1987--one of the branch stores (Tri-County Mall). LS Ayres was out of Indianapolis, and was #3 in a 4 store market in Cincinnati. Had previously been the "carriage trade" store, but had moved downmarket by the time I was there (Shillito Rikes was the broad-line department store, McAlpins was the lower-end promotional store, LS Ayres was the aging upscale store and Elder-Beerman (from Dayton) was not a huge factor with 2 or 3 stores. We were using the 1st generation computerized POS terminals which by that time were about 7 or 8 years old (they were the common Associated Dry Goods terminals). Most terminals had tractor-feed printers (saleschecks were fan-folded tractor feed); furniture had no printers (all saleschecks were hand-written). We had a book of saleschecks tucked in the back of the cash drawer in case the registers went down--you then hand-wrote all sales; entering them into the system when they came back up. They carefully explained that you voided the handwritten check if it was a cash sale (upon entering into the POS terminal), but voided the POS check if it was a charge sale (transferring the transaction number onto the handwritten check, to preserve the customer signature).

 

[superocd]

I do miss quieter shopping experiences and believe it or not, Muzak instrumentals. I also miss the sound the simpler electronic or older PC-based registers would make as the clerk keyed in your purchases; it printed the receipt line by line. Those were miniature dot matrix printers, usually built into the register. Some independent gas stations still use something like this, but I remember when department stores were still using DOS with the old computer registers and the shrill signature sound the receipt printer made.

I don't, however, miss the screaming/yelling/otherwise noisy kids or the obnoxious pop music most stores tend to play over their intercom (which this here millenial does not like).

I also don't miss the crowds or people blocking aisles. Has anyone ever encountered two people (or more) having a long conversation amongst themselves, in an aisle or in a major pathway? It always happens at the busiest times, too, like after everyone gets off work or on weekend afternoons. These people are usually oblivious to other shoppers and won't move out of the way. It's almost as if they might as well take a picnic table to the middle of the store, throw some burgers on the grill and have a big ol' family/friend/acquaintance/coworker reunion during peak shopping hours.

Oh, parking lots and shopping carts. If possible, I park far away from any shopping carts, usually off to the side of the store.

 

[gusherb]

I strangely find I'm least likely to be hit by a runaway cart if I park near the corral. Usually cuz people don't leave random carts laying around near the corral, but do in spots far from it. 

 

If someones blocking the way I'll usually walk right through their conversation. I'll bump into them if I must. 

 

[imperial70]

I wonder how long it will be before on line shopping becomes boring and people want to get out and enjoy a trip to a department store again.

Cash registers. I remember the earlier NCR electronic registers that made computer sounds but the printer was clunky and made plenty of noise. It was amazing how much would happen at the end of a transaction just to get the receipt to print Total, AMT tendered and change.