If the male clerk looks cute and friendly, I'll stand in the longer line. I've got the time.

More and more automation in the grocery business. See this little video about Ocado's grocery technology. I'm not a Luddite, but one wonders what role humans will play in the future.

This may sound outside the box, but as a customer, I sometimes find myself choosing the supermarket line that I stand in by how attractive the clerk is. In my case, how attractive the male clerk is.

This is a different criteria than the pure efficiency of the shortest line. I'm usually not in a hurry so there are other criteria than just getting out of the store the fastest. I realize, tho that conversation with the clerk is usually very brief. I'm not one to hold up the line when others are waiting. I have had some good, but brief conversations with clerks, especially when no one is waiting behind me. The looks of the clerk really doesn't matter that much once there is conversation. Looks just motivate my choice of checkout line, sometimes, especially when I don't know any of the clerks.

These are some of my thoughts on what humans can provide. The personal connection. Most of the time, however, the personal connection is not really that valuable in the efficient setting of a supermarket. In the future, maybe people will engage in deep conversation while machines take over the routine tasks.

On the other hand, even doing routine tasks can be meditative so we will need to keep some of those jobs around. It's just that pure efficiency shouldn't be the only criteria in life. Sometimes the slower checkout line is worth it.