Courtesy, Machine Style

Standing in line at the supermarket is not usually a barrel of laughs. But at Albertson's Food Center in San Jose, Calif., the checkout counter is turning out to be the most entertaining part of the visit. Albertson's, along with five other U.S. supermarkets, has installed a tiny black box manufactured by National Semiconductor Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif. The device electronically simulates a woman's voice calling out the price of each item, the total bill and the amount of change owed shoppers. The machine, dubbed POSitalker, is usually connected to a so-called laser scanner, which is a computerized checkout machine that can automatically add up a shopper's selections simply by reading a computer code printed on the packages.

Since scanners do their work with lightning speed, and in silence, more than a few shoppers naturally wonder whether everything is being totted up accurately. POSitalker was designed to give them reassurance that the laser scanner is doing its work properly, and most people seem pleased enough. Says Peter Scialabba, 37: "More stores should have them. Lots of times you wonder if you are getting the right change, but this eliminates the wonder." One dissenting voice belongs to Linda Swope, an Albertson's customer who complains about one part of the supermarket experience that no machine can make pleasant. Says she: "It's disgusting. No one wants to hear that one lousy steak costs $4.57."

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