So we travelled to Boston for Thanksgiving, flying several days early and coming back Saturday to try to miss as much of the herd as possible. Walking through Logan airport I stopped at a newsstand, picked up a roll of mints and a bag of candy, said a few pleasant words to the single employee there who said she had started her shift at 3:30AM, and was on my way.
Further; down the concourse I walked passed an Amazon storefront selling soda, chips, and the like, proclaiming with large signs: “Amazon Just Walk Out”with walk-and-go technology that allows you to just tap your credit card and leave, presumably there are multiple cameras watching your every move and recording what you’re buying.
The weird thing is that there was a uniformed security guard standing there watching your every move, so I wondered “How does this save money? Does a security guard cost less than the heavily accented lady at the cash register at the place just up the way?”
On the way home, at a more reasonable hour, the traditional newsstand was open, different cashier of course, and the Amazon store “Just Walk Away” was closed, no security guard present. It seems a difficult way to serve customers and and even more difficult way to make money, being closed during the Thanksgiving days at the airport.
I guess I don’t understand the new economy. Or something.