Totally random post is about to follow. You have been warned.
When was the last time you actually took a few moments to take in transactions going on around you? Lets take my very simple trip to Mc Donald’s for my Friday coffee shot this morning.
I jump in the car and immediately I am told I need fuel, besides the swear word about my partner not filling it up, I realise I have not even started my journey and I am being told that I need to make a purchase, this does not bow well for the rest of it.
$%&~| brilliant, I might as well get my wallet out and sprinkle the entire car with cash, yep you guessed it the car now says ‘Arrange Service’. I decided to futilely ignore all spending warnings on the lump of tin and proceed to get my much needed intake of caffeine.
After counting 4 bill boards, 2 scaffolding companies and I could not keep track of on-car advertising, I finally made it past the petrol station, to spy two sets of transactions in immediate progress, the first ‘the queue’ in the shop, the second someone sticking their card into the pump. Personally I sometimes relish in the faceless transactions of petrol pumps, they’re so well scripted, the entire Indian population could learn from them.
I’m ignoring the pub to my right, its not open yet (shame), Sainsbury’s and the car lot to my left. Finally the golden arches of the Big M and my eyes instantly hit the white Mc Donald’s lettering across the place. I am almost there, I can taste it.
Ace, one car in front, I pull up at the drive through window and see the woman in front ordered a 2.99 meal, I order my ‘Large Black Coffee’ and turn the bend. WTF She’s just paid with a card, for a £2.99 meal. Damn, parting with cash is too easy.
Handing over my £1.49 for the pot of black gold, I arrive at the next window to be greeted by a smile and a pot of gold, the chap recognises me and says ‘no holder, no milk, no stir’er, have a great day’. Jeas is it not bad enough that I have just been rough-lessly slammed through the Mc Daddy’s of ALL TIME franchising, but the chap to recognise me and go that one stage further? I make my getaway fast.
Bugger, I distinctly remember someone saying ‘milk’ as I walked down the steps, so stop in the ‘back shop’. I don’t know who does the marketing for these places, but typically its not done well, I can’t see in the shop for all the posters and clutter, if this was someone website, I’d shoot them.
Immediately as I enter I am forced to eye-swing the tinned items, now it hits me. WTF Why don;t they put their high value items right here, at eye level. Matt stop it, I’m getting my milk and running. I eagerly smile and hand over the 60p of convenience for 1 pint of milk and run.
Four ‘For Sale Signs’, more car advertising and I’m home, I feel safe, at least until my ad-block fails in Chrome. Epic, all I wanted was coffee.
There was not much time left this morning and the bulkier posts that are being drafted are still quite long way away from public exposure, however one little thing I learnt from one of my daughters today was, that Children are not yet fully corrupted by the boundaries the outside world and there is some very interesting thought processes to be picked up from them.