Loblaws Needing Re-Energizing

Maybe I should say that I need re-energizing after the monster grocery shopping trip I just returned from, but I noted two things at my local grocery store that made me pause. The first was minor. The cashier didn't know the name of some fennel I bought. When I told her she couldn't find it in the system. Luckily, her system also had pictures so we were able to determine that it was called "Anise" by the computer. While that isn't wrong, clearly both names should have been available to the cashier.

The more troubling issue was that for the first time I saw little mauve signs scattered through the store telling someone to order more product. While it's not unexpected to have some shortages just before Christmas, I was surprised that the inventory system was apparently not smart enough to catch the shortages and produce the necessary orders automatically for review by a purchaser. In a company the size of Loblaws, having to check stock levels manually is a waste of the employee's time and the employer's money.