Observations From A Shopping Trip

Eventful 10 minutes

I’ve decided not to tackle weighty subjects today, instead its a few things that stood out to me in a brief trip to CVS this morning.

As I was perusing the children’s cold medicine section, which happens to be right near the pharmacy, I heard the woman checking out a customer say “I hope you feel better” upon the conclusion of their business. This struck me as such a simple, but nice choice for someone doing that job to make. There’s obviously nothing wrong with “have a nice day” but presumably whether because they talked about symptoms or she was just aware based on the prescription being filled she recognized this person was under the weather. I try (and hopefully succeed) at being generally kind and polite when dealing with people in jobs like those, and it makes me happy when someone figures out a little different way to do something nice. Kudos, CVS pharmacy employee. I see you doing your job with a little bit extra pizazz.

From the kind to the harsh. I chose to use one of the self checkout machines when finishing my business today, and the camera that records the customer when checking out could not possibly be at a less flattering angle. I’m just here to buy some liquid IV and Tide pods, I really don’t need a horrific reminder of my nonexistent hairline and to feel worse about myself. The angle, the lighting, it’s all dreadful.

And back to the kind. I’m not sure what was in the water but the guy who appeared to be the only cashier at the front of the CVS was also doing yeoman’s work today. It was not very busy, and every time he had a break with no customers he was jumping out from behind the counter and doing something else. Maybe that’s the expectation, but I was impressed to see him ring someone up, then follow them out and start vacuuming the vestibule.

I’m sure the answer is because people buy them, but it’s amazing to me how many different brands and varieties of cold medicine exist. I realize it’s because there are many different medicines that treat different systems, but it is quite overwhelming. I get to the children’s cold medicine section and I feel the way I used to feel when I went to big book stores like a Barnes & Noble: I’m sure a lot of this stuff is good, but I don’t have the wherewithal to make a selection. It is too much.

Finally, speaking of too much, I have long been oddly amused by the extreme variety of items available at these large chain pharmacies. Maybe it reminds me of small town general stores of my Vermont youth, but I get a huge kick out of all the options. I’m sure it wouldn’t be nearly as funny as I imagine, but I have had the idea for awhile that it would be fun to buy one item from each aisle of a CVS, just to try and find the oddest collection of items. Maybe I would even write about it. In fact, let’s see what my loyal readers think.

Once again, I’m here to tackle the important questions and topics of the day. You’re welcome.