Functionally Illiterate, Stupid or Arrogant?

It seems to the POD that society is quickly becoming either functionally illiterate, stupid or arrogant or a combination thereof. The "perfect" example of this occured yesterday at the Grocery Store. My local grocery store, in an effort to "elminate" Customer service has added numerous self check outs (in which you do most of the work which used to be performed by the employees of the store and don't get a discount for doing so), has eliminated lanes, and completely eliminated "express" lanes operated by real people. So the POD was standing in a self-check express lane (actually a lane that lead to TWO self-check express lanes). Sadly in front of POD were two individuals who were funcionally illiterate, stupid, arrogant or a combination thereof. Both had well more than the 10 items in their basket (POD counted 43 unique items in one of the baskets (and numerous multiscan non-unique items like cat food) and 65 in the other. Both had it pointed out to them that it was an "express lane", both of them said that they had not seen the sign... and continued to check out. Neither of them understood how to use a self checkout. Both would scan an item and then not put it in the bags on the other side (the weight verifiers) and would then stand there looking irritated at the self checkout until an employee arrived to punch in a "store code" and tell them to put it in the bag. And then, not being single trial learners, they would repeat the same process a few items later. One of them put Bananas on the scanner and waited for the Bananas to "magically" be scaned. POD went up and showed this person that she had to hit the right buttons. Then it came time to pay.... and again.... no concept of how to do it. Finally payment was made and the change was dispensed. And clueless stood there waiting to put the bags back in her cart and slowly and carefully counting her change (and blocking the scanner (and the now very long line of irritated people with fewer than 10 items) from the POD).

If you do not know how to use a self checker, don't use it when the lines are long. Learn to use a simple piece of machinery like this on your own time, not on my time.