nun bet

If you go to a chain supermarket in Israel, you’ll find at the checkout the usual array of candy, batteries, lighers, etc. that you find in an American supermarket checkout. In Israel though, you’ll also be asked by the cashier if you’d like any special sale items. These items are usually piled around the checkout area. The items on sale can vary. I’ve seen fruit, tablescloths, and chicken shnitzel on special. This past Pesach, I found myself in line behind a woman that was sure the flavor of gum on sale was not Kosher for Pesach.

When I saw this sales strategy for the first time after moving from the US to Israel two years ago, I thought it was such a massive waste of time. It totally slows down the line as the customer decides if the deal is good enough to buy. It’s an irksome occurance when you have a very busy, important life waiting for you just outside the automatic doors of the supermarket. I swore to myself that I would NEVER buy anything on sale at the register just as a matter of principle. No way. I don’t want to encourage this behavior. I come from the land where you can check yourself out.

Called “U-Scan,” the self-checkout unit allows customers with any size orders to handle the entire checkout process.

“People are starved for time today, so we wanted to offer them another alternative for checking out quickly,” said Jessica Graham, Harris Teeter’s corporate relations manager.

With U-Scan, customers can scan and pay for their groceries at the unit using a credit card, cash or check. There is no involvement from a cashier unless identification is needed for alcohol or tobacco purchases.

The other day walnuts (which I buy anyway) were the checkout special. To tell you the truth, I have no idea how much walnuts cost regularly. I just thought that if they are on special at the checkout line, then they’re probably cheaper than what I normally pay. So, you guessed it, I bought some!

I don’t know what to do with myself! I mean, buying items from checkout specials is just so Israeli!