American entrepreneurship

It was around lunchtime, on a weekday, and we're nearly three-four weeks into the Fall semester. In this country, that meant most everyone in a higher-ed institution as my own is busy and about, usually just trying get in and out of various venues that provide the ability, to quickly grab or carry-away a bite for lunch. Campus stores, given the so-called administrative-financial pressures have gone the same route as most commercial stores around the country, by installing machines so that the customers can check themselves out. Such ideas apparently impact efficiency - which itself is usually only vaguely defined - but I digress. Anyhow, this is not a recent or altogether strange situation and all the thousands of denizens occupying campus, had made their peace with this arrangement (in-fact many rely on these efficient, self-checkout counters to keep up with the busyness of academic, campus life). The darned things do work - or at least they do most of the time...

It was there at a campus store - one that had two self-checkout stations - that I stood along with a few others just looking to get some food and get on my busyness. The queue of people on both sides was moving along smoothly enough, when there was a person on one that seemed to be having some sort of difficulties. The gentle, polite, virtue of American patience, balanced by the persistent ticking of the clock, forced some of the waiting folk to quickly move to the now only- functioning aisle. I was on the side of the working aisle and behind only two or three heads before me - when I had a chance to observe what was causing the blockade on the other lane. 

The bloke causing the slowdown was clearly having trouble - but was dogged in trying to resolve it! The efficient check out machines were somehow not calibrated to correctly scan the items the blockader was trying to procure. The store, thankfully, was still staffed by two operatives; an elderly lady who was sitting behind the non-working aisle almost staring at the chap causing all the trouble in somewhat of a bewildered state, while her younger colleague had made his way to stand behind her, smiling, watching the issue unfold. The issue, as I had pointed out seemed to be that the checkout station had allowed the blockader to scan most of his items - except an errant packet of chips.

I was now right next to the scene of the problem - and could overhear the conversation. The blockader asks the woman "Did it scan?", while moving a bag of chips, she says "No." He replaces the bag, and picks up its neighbor and repeats the exercise, to arrive at the same result again. By the time I was there, it seemed that he had made his way scanning each chip packet on the shelf next to him and was possibly on his seventh or eighth attempt, still undeterred, and still somewhat politely, yet incredulously, inquiring if the scan had registered with the woman. Fortunately, my station was working with the efficiency that would have made the campus administration officer's face beam in joy. 

That meant that I would soon be on my way to nourish my insides. As I completed my quick checkout, the blockader's efforts too were met with success! His 10th (or 13th) bag had worked - there was victory! I expected him to leave. But, he was curious - and asked the younger man if he could try scanning the rest on the shelf so that they knew what worked vs. not. The employee was happy to accede, and the exercise continued. The mildly curious customers who were behind me were defaulting to their apathetic states, and turned their attentions to their mobile devices, after wisely choosing to await their turns at the working aisle.

In walking back to my office, food in hand, soon to be engulfed by other things on my mind, I had a chance to reflect on what I had witnessed. The blockader was a problem solver at heart. He had discovered that the technology which was expected to work, had flaws - in fact it was inconsistent. Next, he was testing a hypothesis - which he had constructed so he could verify if it were false. Then he set about conducting the experiment. To do that he clearly would need to break social norms. But, (believed) he had cause to do so. He was not doing it rudely, or impolitely but with a true sense of exploration. He did not blame the staff, or ask them to find him a packet of chips - which they would've certainly been happy to do - but went about to demonstrate to them a flaw in their system. 

The blockader, clearly was new to campus. He was also an immigrant. It made me think that this type of spirit was exactly what the vaunted notion of American exceptionalism and entrepreneurship embodies.