Those old enough to recall neighborhood grocery stores, even meat markets and local hardware stores, will have a frame of reference to allow consideration of this comparison.
It was Clarence Saunders who killed grocery stores as they were known at the turn of the last century [or thereabouts]. Previously, customers generally came to the store, handed a list to the clerk who gathered the items and checked them out. Mr. Piggly Wiggly came to the idea [by comparison of another business' example which slips my mind now, that allowed customers to wait on themselves.
Skip to this century and they stores are mostly very large, having mostly forced the smaller family or service oriented businesses into the shadows. People are an expensive asset, and cut into shareholder [dare I suggest Corporate big-wig/executives] profit or compensation. NOW, we have stores that don't want to hire individuals to help others, except in name, and more recently want YOU TO CHECK YOURSELF OUT.
These self-service checkouts are the latest, given the death of Gomer/Goober topping off your car's tank, to "allow" you to help yourself faster. Now if you want help or service you have to find a remaining small store, a rare/unique large store, or become a researcher and get the information [and probably the product] off the Internet. What progress.
