CUSTOMER OR CASHIER? Installment 1: You Work Here Now
Grocery chains didn’t automate—they outsourced. To you. You shop, scan, bag, pay, and get stopped on your way out—to prove you did the job. No training. No wage. No discount. You don’t work there. But they’re sure acting like you do.
We bag the groceries. They bag the profits.
I went to the grocery store. I did the shopping. I did the scanning. I bagged the groceries. I paid.
And then, as I tried to leave, I was stopped by an employee—to check if I was stealing. Or, more accurately, to make sure I’d done the job correctly.
The job I was never trained for, never hired for, and never paid to do.
Let’s just say it out loud:
I don’t work here. But you’re sure treating me like I do.
This is what shopping looks like now. You walk in as a customer and leave as unpaid labor. No compensation. No benefits. No choice. Grocery chains have quietly offloaded the work once done by real employees onto the rest of us. They’ve fired staff, installed machines, and passed the labor to customers—without asking, acknowledging, or compensating.
Even returning your cart is now part of this unpaid cycle. It feels polite, responsible. But it’s another way companies eliminate jobs and pocket the savings. If we keep doing it all for them, why would they pay anyone?
Let’s be clear: this isn’t innovation. This is exploitation at scale.
Loblaws replaced $18/hour jobs with $14,000 machines—and now expects you to do the work without a dime.