Shopping and services
Shopping and services
When people talk about modern life they often use word consumer society as society in which
material goods are very important and in which consumers themselves are very important and have big power. Shopping is an activity that is enjoyed
by many people. There are also people who hate shopping and say it is a waste of time. But whether the people like shopping or do not like, the
shopping is a necessity and people have to go to a shop, more or less frequently, to buy what they need.
There are many kinds
of shops ranging from large department stores, self-service shops and supermarkets to small specialized shops such as the grocer’s,
baker’s, butcher’s, greengrocer’s, chemist’s and so on. Nowadays more and more people prefer shopping in large department stores with self
service, where everything can be found under one roof, to shopping in small specialized shops. Shopping in big department stores has advantages and
also disadvantages. The advantage is that this shopping saves a lot of time. You find there whatever you want from bread, meat, vegetables, to
newspaper or flowers. Because it’s so big, they’re also able to lower the prices, making them cheaper than in smaller shops. You don’t have to
carry it in carry bags but you simply give it to your trolley and take it to your car.
Supermarkets are also popular
because they often give their customers some gift for spending a lot of money there. But they have also disadvantages: they are often full of people
and sometimes you spend a lot of time waiting to pay for your shopping. You buy there a lot of things which you don’t need and people spend there a
lot of money. Everything is also reserved there, there are so many products that sometimes happens that you find something after date of
consumption.
Many people prefer buying things in small shops. They are good for older people, alone living people who don’t need so
much food as young people and people with big family. These shops are very useful for children who want sweets, or anyone who wants a magazine or has
forgotten to buy something on their shopping trip to the super- or hypermarket. They often offer everything fresh. Disadvantage of these shops is
that they don’t have wide range of products, they are often very small. Usually products are much more expensive than in supermarkets. Goods can
be also bought not only in shops and stores but also in outdoor markets. You can find there number of stalls, selling cheap goods, but also flowers,
vegetables or fruits as well as meat and fish.
Many people who feel that they don’t have time to go shopping, choose
products from catalogues or they prefer shopping over internet. Services are in our life very important too. It’s a system, which provides
something that the public needs. It’s organized by the government or private company. We know many types of services like banks, posts, police
station and others. Bank is an organization, which provides various financial services, keeping or lending money, we can put our money into a bank
account and they enable us to use credit cards. Each bank has a cash dispenser [ATM] and we can withdraw our money any time we want.
Post office is a national organization in many countries, which is responsible for collecting and delivering letters, post cards, money and other
thing. It’s a part of our everyday life. Police is an official organization, whose job is to make people obey the law and to prevent and solve the
crime. We also go there when we want to buy fee stamps, highway stamps or you want to get your driving license. Every town provides a lot of
services: there belong also electricians, plumbers, hairdressers, barbers, shoe- or watch makers. Many of them can be ordered by telephone or they
are advertised in classifieds. Advertisements influence our life a lot. It is a notice, picture or film telling people about product, job or
service. It has a big function in the world these times. Many advertisements use humor or fantasy to attract our attention and they try to make us
remember their message. Most of them are colorful with pleasant music. Actors are usually young people or people who are known round the world as
sportsmen and. singers. They show us only happy people with their families. They often promise beauty, health, money, fun and quality for people but
they are usually false. There are used short sentences and rhymes to be funny and interesting.
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