Computers in the Workplace

                Technology is used a multitude of ways across the span of industries. One industry that I find fascinating when it comes to the use of computers and technology is the grocery industry. I am currently working at a grocery store and information technology makes its way into my job every day. There are many ways that technology is used from pricing and inventory control, to cash registers and mobile apps. Most people think of grocery shopping as a mundane task, but people don’t tend to think about the ways that technology works their way into these very boring shopping trips.

              

  Like most stores, my store has a loyalty program that customers can sign up. However, unlike most grocery stores, all customers get the stores sales prices. Instead, our loyalty program is more rewards based. The program only works off of a phone app where members get exclusive coupons that work alongside sales prices to make items even cheaper. The app uses analytics to track each customers’ buying habits. It then pinpoints specific coupons that are custom to each specific shopper. This helps the store to pinpoint sales and products that their specific customers buy most often.

When customers shop at our store, they must scan their smartphones or enter their phone number into our computerized register system. This links their loyalty program to each transaction. On the mobile application, customers get specific rewards and coupons that are catered to their needs. However, for the register to take the offer of they must “clip” the reward making it active on their account. For instance, a customer might log into the app and have a few coupons for money off certain items like the ones you can cut out, as well as a $5.00 reward from the last shopping trip. They would then tell their app that those are the promotions they want to use. Simply by linking their program with each transaction by scanning their phone or typing in a phone number the computer system automatically takes those offers they had clipped off their next shopping trip.

Grocery technology is also expanding in other ways. Some stores have grocery pick-up where customers can shop at home on their computers and then pick up their items at the store. My store has an app where customers can shop at home on their cell phones, and we have shoppers that fill their order and actually deliver right to their homes. These types of technology are ever expanding and making the lives of customers easier by allowing them to shop for grocery items without ever even visiting the store.

Technology is what makes all of these things possible. There is a lot of programming and thought that goes into making these applications to make the lives of customers easier. As technology evolves it makes it much easier for the stores to create programs like the ones mentioned in this blog.  It is very important for employees to be computer literate because we have to understand how the applications and programs work in order to help the customers that shop at our store. Not only must we be able to help the customer, but we also need to understand when things aren’t working correctly. For instance, if a customer shows me that they have a promotion that isn’t automatically working, I have to be literate enough with technology to be able to figure out why and figure out how to solve the problem for the customer. Sometimes technology breaks, but the customer still needs to get the appropriate coupons and rewards to keep them happy and returning. If a customer shops online through our application and purchases items that we don’t have in store, we have to be able to know how to refund these items and make it right for the customer. Being able to troubleshoot the applications as well as the stores computerized registers is essential to keeping consumers happy and returning. It is essential to understand the new technology because it is what is expect by the customer, and it also makes our day run more smoothly.