It's not rocket science

I have been blessed (or cursed depending on how you look at it) with scanning technology at the last two jobs I have had spanning 2000-present. You know, a laser scanner that you might see someone using in the grocery store or Wal-mart. Why is it that people of all walks of life just can't master this apparently baffling piece of technology? I have spent the past seven years observing people not using the common sense that I hope God gave them. Both jobs allowed members/patrons to scan their own card (you know - the old key chain cards) and either check-in (at the gym) or check out books. Here are the ways people fail to use this easy device:

1. the laser line is horizontal and they hold their card vertically - imagine a + sign. It's just not going to work, people.
2. in their panic to get the scanner to beep they furiously wave the card back in forth at warp speed and usually throw their card down and proclaim the "damn thing" "broken"
3. a surprising number of people fail to even attempt to match the laser line to the barcode at all. It takes all the restraint I have in me not to wack them up side the head and say "seriously? You have NEVER seen how this works? On which planet do you reside?"
4. Or my personal favorite: the person who looks at the self check or the scanner and they throw their hands up and proclaim that it looks too hard and couldn't you just do it for them? That I believe is more telling of the state of our country than anything else.