“WELCOME TO WALGREENS!,” the recorded announcement echoed throughout the empty 15,000 sq. ft. store.  The announcement was so loud that it startled my wife and myself as we entered the store late in the evening.  It was if the voice of god greeted us to the drug store.  I commented that I had never run across this before in a store.

As we wandered through the store on our quest, several other customers either entered or exited the door and each time the recording bellowed its message.  We soon headed to the cashier with our purchases to check out.  As she rang up our purchases, I asked her about the recorded announcement.

She explained that the system had been installed recently and they used it from opening until 9 am and from 8 pm until closing. The idea is not so much to offer a friendly greeting but rather to alert staff when there are customers entering the store and to discourage theft. She added that when there is a lot of traffic it gets pretty annoying.

So much for the simple bell on the door.