It used to be that, back in the day, I hated the grocery store with a passion. It wasn’t the act of shopping that drove me crazy, it was just the inability to easily find what I was looking for. Isles jam packed with all kinds of crap that I have to sift through to find the three or four items that I went in to get. I also don’t get the logic that they use when placing items in throughout the store. I honestly found pudding cups by different companies in three different places in the store. Wouldn’t putting all the pudding cups in one area make more sense?!?
I am finding my loathing for the grocery store expanding to encompase just about every store that is out there though. As a homeowner I find myself going to the hardware store a lot and I’ll tell you that finding some things in there is just about as hard as trying to find what isle the grocery store is hiding my Crsystal Light Ice Tea powder. Some things are easy to find at the hardware store such as light bulbs, pipes, sprinkler heads and paint. Power tools are pretty easy too. They have whole sections dedicated to these areas that are pretty big so you can easily spot them, head to them and find what you want. Just try quickly and easily finding foam paint brushes, rubber gloves, or casters to make something stationary into something mobile.
I’ve decided that what we really need to have in any type of store is a map that you get at the door that can help you to find what you are looking for. Safeway at least will color code their isles somewhat, but that still doesn’t stop me from wandering for at least a half hour just trying to find something like those little lemon bottles that are filled with lemon juice.
I really think this map thing is the way to go. Go ahead and map out the store into quadrants and list out the items that the particular area has in it on the back of the map.
Now that I have typed this out I see how stupid an idea it is. If you were to index out everything a store had they would be handing out maps with small booklets stating where all the items were. That won’t even help the dumb bastard that calls moving blankets by the name of sound pads or some such thing.
Good thing I just write about these ideas instead of rushing out to pitch meetings trying to sell someone on the idea.
I have to go wander around the store for about an hour now.
-WW