Bargain Bliss

Here’s a confession. I’m not obsessed with big-picture money and have never invested in the stock market nor bought lottery tickets. But truthfully, I love a good bargain on the small side of finances. Like here at the SF Airport, where I shopped for a simple sandwich to bring on board. Found a passable pre-made cheese on wheat bread for $11.49, stopped to consider a bottle of water for $4.99 just because the bottle would be a great water bottle to use when teaching my New Orleans Jazz Class. The sign said “2 for $6” but I decided to pass altogether. The $5 too much for water and I didn’t need the bargain second bottle. I considered a second snack to supplement the sandwich and looked at Frito corn chips (one of the healthier alternatives), wondering if it was forth the $4.99. Decided to just settle for the sandwich, bypassed the self-check-in pay stations and came up to a friendly woman at the cash register. 

 

She said, “Would you like a bottle of water (the same I had looked at) and a bag of chips to go with that sandwich. Instead to the total costing $11.49, all three together are $10.24. “ What?!! How does that work? But I was getting it all for half what it would have cost if I had bought each separately. What a bargain!

 

And notice. None of these small pleasures— the bargain, the banter with the check-out person and opportunity to thank her— would have happened had I opted for the self-check out. Why are we so hell bent on replacing each other with machines?