Good. His classes (I mean mine) start Monday. Jon and Charlie are getting along great. Charlie now knows not to bite the hand that feeds him. Updates Monday.
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Grocery Store Etiquitte
- Thread starter Relic
- Start date
When grocery shopping, two things become very apparent: people are getting lazier and they have no patience. Lazy: can't believe the amount of grocery carts that are all over the parking lot. C'mon, is it that much of a chore to return the cart back to to store or at least to one of the many cart coral's?
No patience: At the checkout today the person before me had quite a lot of groceries and with no one bagging quite a mountain was waiting to get packed. The conveyor was empty but even if I put my groceries onto it wouldn't have sped the process up at all. So I waited a bit. The woman behind me stepped up, grabbed the plastic divider and set it at the back of the conveyor. I still waited. She say's "you know, you could start putting your things on the conveyor." (??) I said "yeah I could, but is it going to make a differance with everything before me that has to be packed?" Ohhhhhhh.....she was hot! Too damn bad. I waited until the clerk had one more bad to pack and even then it only tookl me about 30 seconds to load what I had onto the belt. But boy, once that belt started rolling she was practically throwing he stuff up there. Like it's really going to speed things up! I encounter this a LOT at the grocery store.
Makes me glad when last week an eldery woman was before me. She was moving slow and was having a hard time getting what change was needed from her purse to pay. No big deal. She looked at me and said I'm sorry if I'm holding you up. (!?!?!) I said "ma'am, you take your time, I'm in no hurry at all today."
No patience: At the checkout today the person before me had quite a lot of groceries and with no one bagging quite a mountain was waiting to get packed. The conveyor was empty but even if I put my groceries onto it wouldn't have sped the process up at all. So I waited a bit. The woman behind me stepped up, grabbed the plastic divider and set it at the back of the conveyor. I still waited. She say's "you know, you could start putting your things on the conveyor." (??) I said "yeah I could, but is it going to make a differance with everything before me that has to be packed?" Ohhhhhhh.....she was hot! Too damn bad. I waited until the clerk had one more bad to pack and even then it only tookl me about 30 seconds to load what I had onto the belt. But boy, once that belt started rolling she was practically throwing he stuff up there. Like it's really going to speed things up! I encounter this a LOT at the grocery store.
Makes me glad when last week an eldery woman was before me. She was moving slow and was having a hard time getting what change was needed from her purse to pay. No big deal. She looked at me and said I'm sorry if I'm holding you up. (!?!?!) I said "ma'am, you take your time, I'm in no hurry at all today."
The main thing I notice at the grocery store is that most of what is in the aisles is barely even food.
...especially in the perfume section of Macy's, Dillard's, et al.
How 'bout the pinheads that unload two(2) carts worth of "groceries" (snack foods, cereals, sodas, etc) at the Elex Counter/cashier at Wal-Mart...while I'm there, in a pinch, trying to buy one(1) electronic item.
I don't really shop at grocery stores that much. I only pop in for odd things. I get my meat from a local butcher, my produce from a local produce stand, we get a lot of specialized Japanese stuff from a little nearby Japanese store. My beer I get from my local beer specialty store. Everyone's cool and friendly in these places and most places know me by name. Especially the beer shop.
When you have small kids in the cart you must use the middle of the isle to prevent the kid from knocking product on the floor
;-/ cleanup on isle 6
;-/ cleanup on isle 6
I completely agree with you about the impatience at the checkout lane. It's like shoppers rage sometimes. Some folks just seem to think it's ok to just completely lose any sense of decorum.
I have to respectfully disagree about the carts, though. They have people who are gainfully employed to go around and collect them. Their pay is included in the price of my groceries. As long as I don't leave my cart where it's blocking anyone's way, I don't see the harm.
Did you ever notice they usually put the smallest skinniest kid on cart duty.
;-/ I said doo tee
It is also proper etiquette not to remove a shopping cart from store property. Which so many people do and is theft and against the law.
I'm very, very fast and efficient in grocery stores; so much so that I believe I annoy the slow plodders of the world. I spot a short checkout line a mile away, and I get myself there quick.
I was heading for one, in a very large store, and I could sense I had competition. I laughed to myself. "This person, who I can see in the corner of my eye, doesn't realize who they're up against."
I quicken my pace. My heart is racing. The charge of adrenaline is in the air.
I pass a display of batteries. My opponent is with me, step for step, and they are in the inside lane, so if it's a tie to the checkout lane, they will win via proximity! I turn to get a good look at who is giving me such a fevered battle.
It's a grey-haired old woman, with a very determined look on her face.
I am faced with a moral dilemma. Do I allow her the win, out of respect for my elders? Or do I battle on, showing her the respect of a valid competitor, and make her earn her victory? I decide on the latter, and I get up to my maximum speed, without actually running. (running is not allowed; check the official rules to grocery cart racing)
She grits her teeth, and pushes with all she has, and I think she's about to beat me to the lane, which has only two people in it, but she is stopped by a helpful store manager.
"Ma'am, we're opening another checkout line. Come with me."
And he guides her to a lane where she will be first. I fall into place at the lane we were racing for, as that stopped moment in time ends, and shoppers flow in behind her, and behind me, and instantly, we each are at the front of two very long lines. I watch her intently, waiting for her to turn her head, so I can give her a thumbs up, and let her know she beat me fair and square.
For a very long time, she doesn't look my way, and then, as she's heading for the door, she does. I smile, and she makes a very guarded hand gesture, that is only privately for me, and no one else sees.
She is flipping me the bird.
I was heading for one, in a very large store, and I could sense I had competition. I laughed to myself. "This person, who I can see in the corner of my eye, doesn't realize who they're up against."
I quicken my pace. My heart is racing. The charge of adrenaline is in the air.
I pass a display of batteries. My opponent is with me, step for step, and they are in the inside lane, so if it's a tie to the checkout lane, they will win via proximity! I turn to get a good look at who is giving me such a fevered battle.
It's a grey-haired old woman, with a very determined look on her face.
I am faced with a moral dilemma. Do I allow her the win, out of respect for my elders? Or do I battle on, showing her the respect of a valid competitor, and make her earn her victory? I decide on the latter, and I get up to my maximum speed, without actually running. (running is not allowed; check the official rules to grocery cart racing)
She grits her teeth, and pushes with all she has, and I think she's about to beat me to the lane, which has only two people in it, but she is stopped by a helpful store manager.
"Ma'am, we're opening another checkout line. Come with me."
And he guides her to a lane where she will be first. I fall into place at the lane we were racing for, as that stopped moment in time ends, and shoppers flow in behind her, and behind me, and instantly, we each are at the front of two very long lines. I watch her intently, waiting for her to turn her head, so I can give her a thumbs up, and let her know she beat me fair and square.
For a very long time, she doesn't look my way, and then, as she's heading for the door, she does. I smile, and she makes a very guarded hand gesture, that is only privately for me, and no one else sees.
She is flipping me the bird.
Not exactly. The baggers end up doing that. Sometimes they'll have enough downtime to go collect them without a problem, but if the store is really busy they're forced to take time away from bagging to go gather them up because the store's running out. So either it takes longer to check everyone out or the store hires more people, thus raising prices.
As a former grocery employee, either I or my wife always take the cart to the corral. It only takes seconds.
Are trollies in US supermarkets not "hired" as they are in the UK and Ireland then?
We deposit a 1or 2€ or £ coin to release the trolley from a chained together line and then get the coin back when the trolley is returned and re-chained - very few people leave trollies around the car park IME.
We deposit a 1or 2€ or £ coin to release the trolley from a chained together line and then get the coin back when the trolley is returned and re-chained - very few people leave trollies around the car park IME.
Aldi's charges a quarter and you get it back upon return. Your right, very few stray carts.
If you're in front of me writing a check, know I am contemplating murder. If you ask how to spell the name of the store I am going to leave the line and wait for you at your car.
