Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Looking Less Like a Total Idiot at the Checkout Stand! - Tuesday, 9 April

I encountered a new payment system at the fruit market around the corner this morning ("Le Palais du Fruit") and got rid of a heavy pile of coins in the process!  The cashier weighs and packages all of your purchases while the system tallies it all up on an easy-to-read screen.  Then you toss your coins in one little bin and slide your bills in another slot (and there must be a slot for credit cards ... I just didn't look) and it counts up everything speedily and returns your change in both bills and coins. For someone like me who manages to accumulate a coinpurse chock-full of small change, it's fabulous!  I don't have to stand there hunting for the right change, I just throw all my coins in the coin bin and it counts them fast and tells me how much more I need to add in bills.  I no longer have to look like a total idiot and irritate the real Parisians behind me in line!

OK, I know that Home Depot has a similar system on their self-checkout lanes, but the other beauty of this is that the cashier can handle your fruits and do the scanning/weighing/packing for you without also handling your and other people's money.  Nice!

I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo of the system, but when I go back I will do so and add it to this blog entry.  I might even add a shot or two of the lovely fruit (and veg and greens and olives and nuts)!

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