And for some reason, the windows that aren't blocked are still covered by translucent film for most of their height, allowing some light in but not letting you see out. This picture was mostly intended to show the tiny "deli" section, but it also shows something I haven't ever seen before and didn't notice at the time -- on the right side of the emergency exit doors is a kiosk for people to pay their Tacoma Public Utilities bill! Apparently, several Safeways in the area have these, I guess for people who don't want to pay online.
I've heard of kiosks in supermarkets where people can pay their bills, but I don't think we have them here. That said, it's not uncommon for people here to pay their utility bills at the customer service desks of full service supermarkets such as Kroger and Randall's. This seems like an antiquated way of paying bills, but I suppose it works for some people. The kiosks probably don't help the people who aren't skilled with technology.
ReplyDeleteThe only 'bills' I pay at the supermarket, if you even want to call it that, is to do my annual car registration renewal at Kroger or Randall's. Harris County allows people to do this at supermarkets instead of having to go to a courthouse or doing it online with the state where there is an extra fee and one has to wait a couple of weeks for the sticker to be mailed. As you can see, doing it at the supermarket is probably the best way to go.
I've never heard of being able to pay bills for unrelated services at a grocery store customer service desk! (At least not officially; the closest we would have is Western Union and similar services.) There are some (not very many) grocery stores or other retail businesses around here with special desks for car licensing, but those are operated privately (not by either the store or the state/county), and around here they're actually the most expensive option, with an added fee compared to ordering online or going to the courthouse (I believe each county is allowed one county-run location without the extra fees associated with privately-operated locations).
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen one of these city bill payment stations - either as kiosk or part of the service desk - at any supermarket I've ever been to. Walmart's Money Center is probably the closest I've seen to anything like this, but I don't think you can pay local utility bills there (but I could be wrong about that). Interesting concept, but not something Publix or Winn-Dixie ever expressed interest in doing.
ReplyDeleteI would guess it is up to the local utilities to make those kiosks and then they make deals with the supermarkets to put them in. I would guess that around here, the utilities don't see the need to, or just don't want to, make kiosks. While the kiosks might have been justifiable some years ago, I suspect most of the people willing to use a computerized system will just do so from home these days so if someone goes to the supermarket to pay their bills, they need to do so at the customer service desk so an employee can help them.
DeleteYeah, the kiosks are a utility-specific thing -- I've seen other utilities with similar things, just not inside grocery stores like this! Paying at the service desk isn't something I've heard about at all -- maybe it's a regional thing.
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