I was at the grocery store picking up a few things. Since it was only a few things, I used one of the self-checkout kiosks. There are 4 of them, and I was the only person using one.
While in the midst of checking out my basket of goods, a man walks right up to my kiosk and starts to try to use it.
“Excuse me… I’m using this.”
“Oh… sorry.”
I was stunned. How unaware could you be? Not the basket of groceries already there, the bagged goods, the kiosk screen showing a checkout in progress, not to mention me standing there checking out my groceries.
I finish up, head out, get home… and realize I forgot the ice cream.
I go back and pick it up… left it at the checkout stand.
I was so preoccupied and stunned by this person’s lack of awareness that I myself went unaware of my own groceries.
Kicked myself for my slip-up, but also served as a reminder to not be so harsh on others. We’re all human. We all make mistakes. We all go “code white”. I have no idea what he may have been preoccupied with or that was otherwise causing him to be so unaware; there may have been good reason. I certainly didn’t have a good reason for zoning out.
A good lesson for me, in a couple of ways.
Stuff From Hsoi 
Not to pick on you but when did you become aware of him trying to use the machine?
Was it when he set down his stuff or before when he was walking up?
I really don’t like the self-check out machines because I tend to become overly focused on the process. And most of the stores have them right by the entrance/exit doors. One grocery store has their self check outs lines right on one of the two main paths into the store. People coming in will walk right into another person on occasion.
I’m learning to keep my head on a swivel using them because of situations just like yours.
Good way to learn a lesson — when the mistake is very minor.
When he was walking up.
But that’s why I wanted to share. We’re all human, we make mistakes, and if we can learn from them — and perhaps help others learn too — it’s not a bad thing.
That doesn’t seem so much like zoning out as getting tunnel vision – focusing on a potential threat to the exclusion of other things, like ice cream. You’ve been to enough KR Training classes to have learned scan-and-assess… but you’re usually scanning for other other potential threats… again, not focusing on stuff that is definitely non-threatening.
Of course, in other circumstances, that could also be known as leaving evidence behind. 😉
Evidence of my sweet tooth. Blue Bell Happy Tracks. 🙂