You’re Not a Customer. You’re a Suspect.
Retail has evolved from a service into an obstacle course. We’re forced to perform unpaid labor at self-checkouts, beg for access to locked products, and endure surveillance as if we’re all shoplifters. This isn’t progressโit’s a betrayal of the promise of convenience. The article exposes the historical irony: we’ve cycled back to a clerk-served model, but with added suspicion. It’s time to stop accepting this degraded experience.