Real talk: automation hype misses the point. What actually hits your wallet? Inflation creep and the slow-motion rug pull on service quality.

Prices climb year after year. Meanwhile, the "service" you're paying for keeps shrinking. You're literally doing their job now—checking out your own groceries, scanning your own items, picking up your own orders—yet somehow the bill keeps getting fatter.

Self-checkout lanes replacing cashiers. Kiosks instead of counter staff. "Contactless pickup" that's really just "we cut labor costs and passed the work to you."

You're paying more. Getting less. And doing their work for free. That's not innovation. That's just inflation with extra steps.