Grocery Shopping Will Never be the Same

I really enjoy grocery shopping.  Were it not for the business of loading the food into the cart, loading it out of the cart onto the belt, loading it back into the cart, loading it from the cart to the car, and then unloading it from the car into the house and then again into the cupboards, I would probably grocery shop every day.  That being said, I had an epiphany while grocery shopping last week. 

Shopping with both kids is tough, and I try to avoid it if possible but some days it just has to be done.  The main problem is that carts are not really built for newborns, and even if they were, I would prefer that Matthew stays in his carseat[1] and I need to basically keep Ryann sitting[2] in the back of the cart.  However, since the carseat blocks my vision, Ryann can and does get into mischief while in the cart surrounded by groceries.  She has chewed her way into cereal boxes, crushed bread, and torn open rice packages.  Not on purpose mind you, her main concern is getting the price tags off.

So my idea is for grocery stores to provide “cart assistants”[3] which are basically high school kids who come and work at the grocery store from 4-8 every day (longer on weekends).  These kids work for a basic wage and then the customers will also tip, say based on the total of their grocery bill.  

So the customer walks in the store, pushing her two angel babies[4] in the double stroller.  She has called ahead and reserved her “grocery boy”[5] and he is now waiting with an empty cart, ready to follow her around the store.  She pushes the stroller, and he follows behind her, never more than an arm’s reach away, so she can grab[6] the things she needs and throw them into the cart.  

Once the customer is done shopping, she walks right through the check out and has a seat on the bench so she can watch the groceries being unloaded onto the belt and back into her cart.  She pays for the groceries, and her personal shopper[7] pushes the cart out to the car and unloads the groceries into the back while she loads her children[8] into their car seats.  The customer then thanks the young man or woman, hands them a cash tip if they didn’t already add the tip to the grocery bill, and then they are on their way.  

This would be a great job for a high school student, and I know I would be more inclined to shop longer and buy more things if I had a cart full of room and someone to deal with all of it until I got home.  Maybe I would even be less inclined to stop at Subway[9] on the way home since I wouldn’t already be sick of seeing the food I just bought.

If any reader out there is in a position to make this happen, I am available at the e-mail address listed for consultation purposes.

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[1] The only time I ever put Ryann in the provided “infant” seat at a store, her nose was completely stuffed by the time we left the store.  True story.

[2] trapped

[3] Best name I could come up with-feel free to suggest a better one.

[4] It’s my dream, I can tell it how I want.

[5] Do you like that name better?

[6] Or just point to, depending on how much she plans on tipping

[7] What about that name?

[8] Now sleeping soundly

[9] McDonald’s