retail

In a world of Amazon.com, the entire concept of retail confuses me:

• Pay More.
• Work Harder.
• Take Longer.

How is that I spend as much time waiting at a checkout line as I do getting on an airplane? If TSA can search my entire body, bags, and 2 weeks worth of clothing in under 5 minutes, why can't my local grocery store check me out in less than 10?

We're talking turkeys versus explosive powder here.

Was there ever a time when this made sense?

1. Push a wheeled basket through dozens of aisles largely irrelevant to what you came to purchase.
2. Move items from shelf to basket. The more you buy, the harder it gets.
   
3. Get in line. The more you buy, the longer you wait to pay.
4. Let me reiterate that: buy more, wait more.
   
5. Pull everything out again.
   
6. Have every item scanned in front of 1/2 dozen other people.
   
7. Pick a product the store forgot to label.
   
8. Have your life announced over a loudspeaker.
   
9. Wait longer.
   
10. Place every bagged item back into your basket.
    
11. Push to car.
    
12. Take groceries out of carriage again.
    
13. Place into car.
    
14. Drive home.
    
15. Take out of car.
16. Carry inside.
17. Take out of bags.
    
18. Place back into shelves... just like the ones you pulled the products off of at the store.
    

Hmm...