Errant Alarms in Grocery/Dept Stores

Errant alarms seem to be more and more common when you go shopping these days. I'm not talking about the unmistakable fire alarm that can go off and scare everybody silly. I'm alluding to the annoying beeping noises that come from machines in a store like Ingles or Wal-Mart.

They're often the result of understaffing. I've heard them coming from ovens, french fry machines, self-checkout stations and more. The machine will just beep constantly in the hopes that an employee will do something about it. The register says, "Add more paper!". The oven says "Take the bread out."

I'm sure the manufacturer of these monstrocities are proud of the alarms built into them. The problem is that stores cut staff who often can't attend to an alarm when it goes off. Thus you have a store full of beeping noises for no apparent reason. Frustrated staff will just go out and smoke with a statement like, "Let the thing beep. I don't get paid enough."

The Explanation

I find it astonishing how much of modern society simply accepts a store full of beeping sounds as normal. Most people don't hear it. As I've tried to explain before, erratic beeping sounds tend to disrupt my rhythm. I may be thinking about a recipe and what to buy for it and every time the alarm goes off I have to restart the cycle.

Common Reactions

I try to go into stores late at night if I can. Still sometimes this method backfires because there is even less staff. I've also begun wearning my industrial strenght ear muffs. They are meant for a construction worker to wear. But I go shopping with them.

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