U can still remember the first time I stopped at the local McDonald's on my way home and was greeted with a deserted service counter and signs directing me to the rich screen ordering boards. This was just about two years ago and it was just the latest in a series of "conveniences" that service and retail establishments have offered for their customers. Now it's come to the point where my local pharmacy doesn't have staffed checkout at all and, despite being an introvert, I'm tired of all the "convenience".

I've seen arguments against this trend that bemoan employment lost to automation. I've seen complaints that groceries don't cost any less despite the fact that we're taking on the labor of scanning and bagging. Valid points, but that's not what bothers me. I actually miss the dozens of "micro-interactions" that I'd have with store employees over the course of a week. Sure, it's usually nothing but banal small talk with a stranger but it helps to humanize each small event in my life and I kind of want that back.

Over the past month, my wife and I have moved our prescriptions to a smaller pharmacy that staffs it's registers, we've made a conscious effort not to use self-checkout at Wegman's (grocery store), and we've stopped going to the "mini-Target near our house because they force you into the self-checkout lanes. We're better off for having these small human interactions in our life.

In short, I'm done talking to and interacting with machines when I run my errands. Employ a human or I'll likely shop elsewhere.