My grocery store gripe.

[MichelleCarmen]

Yeah, the grocery store. . . I love food but hate the process that it takes to aquire the food and stock my fridge with it.

What I think is the most irritating thing (in the world of grocery shopping) is when I have a cart full of items when standing in line and a person comes up behind me with only 2 or 3 products. Why does she/he do that when she/he can go to the express lane or the self check? Am I suppose to let that person go in front of me? If I do that and then another person with only 2 or 3 things then comes up, do I have to let that person go too?

Ugh. My fridge has food. Don''t have to hassle with this for another few days

 

[Haven]

Oh, MC! Don''t put yourself under that kind of pressure. I let someone go ahead of me if I haven''t unloaded my cart yet, and if they only have a few things. But if a second person came up I don''t think I''d let them go ahead, too. I need to check out sometime!

I find that I much prefer shopping at Garden Fresh, which is a smaller version of Jewel, for example. I don''t like those cavernous grocery stores that take fifteen minutes just to walk across. I find the produce quality is much better at GF, anyway.

Do you have any smaller grocery stores near you? We go to farmers'' markets for produce in the summer, too, and that is so much more fun than going to the store.

I don''t use the self-checkout anymore because they never work. I always end up having to stand there waiting for an employee to come over and punch in her code, so what''s the point?

 

[Moh 10]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:13:08 PM
Author:MC
Yeah, the grocery store. . . I love food but hate the process that it takes to aquire the food and stock my fridge with it.


What I think is the most irritating thing (in the world of grocery shopping) is when I have a cart full of items when standing in line and a person comes up behind me with only 2 or 3 products. Why does she/he do that when she/he can go to the express lane or the self check? Am I suppose to let that person go in front of me? If I do that and then another person with only 2 or 3 things then comes up, do I have to let that person go too?


Ugh. My fridge has food. Don''t have to hassle with this for another few days

If you want to let the person in front of you, do so.
If not, don''t.
You don''t have to; you were there first.

How can this be a gripe?
They are not doing anything to you.

Sounds like you are carrying around old niceness-lessons that don''t work for you today.
Let them go.

 

[luckystar112]

I'm infamous for letting people go ahead of me in line when they have less than me, which is why I get a little annoyed when others don't do the same. lol.

My gripes at the grocery store are:
1) When someone takes up the whole aisle with their cart.
2) When people go through express lanes with more than the maximum amount.
3) When I'm at the self-checkout and some idiot feels the need to breathe down my back while I'm entering my PIN so that they can get the register after me. This includes when they set their bags down on my register while I'm still ringing up.
4) People who don't have their money out and ready when in line.
5) My grocery store thinks they are being helpful/efficient by having the baggers come over and help unload your cart. I hate it; it feels like such an invasion of privacy for some reason!
6) I get really bothered when I'm looking for something specific and a person is parked right where I need to be. I know that this is overboard though, and I should probably take a xanax.

But it happens a lot.
7) I really, really detest those huge clunky stupid cars/carts that children are put in. I also detest those miniature carts for kids, though thankfully my store doesn't allow them.
Did I mention I dislike it when parents allow their kids to push the cart?
9) People who don't have their coupons ready to be scanned, or who have coupons that are expired/meant for some other product and listening to them argue with the cashier.
10) Grocery shopping on the weekend or the day of a big holiday. I always go around 8-9 PM on a weekday!

That's it. What?

Can you tell grocery shopping is one of my least favorite activies, trumped only by putting away laundry?

 

[Gailey]

I don''t do grocery stores on this side of the pond, I used to get panic attacks in them when I first got to Canada. Mr Gailey does the weekly shop now, bless him.

God I miss Waitrose and most things in it!

I''m thinking of looking into on-line grocery shopping for the Winter when it''s supposed to be my job. I''ll go to extraordinary lengths to avoid having to go myself.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:28:51 PM
Author: luckystar112
I''m infamous for letting people go ahead of me in line when they have less than me, which is why I get a little annoyed when others don''t do the same. lol.

My gripes at the grocery store are:
1) When someone takes up the whole aisle with their cart.
2) When people go through express lanes with more than the maximum amount.
3) When I''m at the self-checkout and some idiot feels the need to breathe down my back while I''m entering my PIN so that they can get the register after me. This includes when they set their bags down on my register while I''m still ringing up.
4) People who don''t have their money out and ready when in line.
5) My grocery store thinks they are being helpful/efficient by having the baggers come over and help unload your cart. I hate it; it feels like such an invasion of privacy for some reason!
6) I get really bothered when I''m looking for something specific and a person is parked right where I need to be. I know that this is overboard though, and I should probably take a xanax.

But it happens a lot.
7) I really, really detest those huge clunky stupid cars/carts that children are put in. I also detest those miniature carts for kids, though thankfully my store doesn''t allow them.
Did I mention I dislike it when parents allow their kids to push the cart?
9) People who don''t have their coupons ready to be scanned, or who have coupons that are expired/meant for some other product and listening to them argue with the cashier.
10) Grocery shopping on the weekend or the day of a big holiday. I always go around 8-9 PM on a weekday!

That''s it. What?

Can you tell grocery shopping is one of my least favorite activies, trumped only by putting away laundry?

Luckystar - the only thing worse than looking at the car carts the grocery stores have is being stuck driving one! Eh, my kids would whine and whine and we tried using them a few times. They''re a pain to steer AND they do not go backwards (or at least the ones I used never did). That is why it may appear that the moms are being rude. It''s actually those carts that suck.

Glad someone else hates the grocery store. The only good is when samples are offered. I love when Tully''s or Starbucks inside the stores have little mini-coffee or scone samples.

I wish my DH would do the shopping, but whenever he does all he gets is beer!

 

[lovegem]

I buy online and have my food delivered, so I don''t really have any complains at the moment. Maybe the next time I am in the grocery store then I may have a lot to say. until then...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:21:55 PM
Author: Haven
Oh, MC! Don''t put yourself under that kind of pressure. I let someone go ahead of me if I haven''t unloaded my cart yet, and if they only have a few things. But if a second person came up I don''t think I''d let them go ahead, too. I need to check out sometime!

I find that I much prefer shopping at Garden Fresh, which is a smaller version of Jewel, for example. I don''t like those cavernous grocery stores that take fifteen minutes just to walk across. I find the produce quality is much better at GF, anyway.

Do you have any smaller grocery stores near you? We go to farmers'' markets for produce in the summer, too, and that is so much more fun than going to the store.

I don''t use the self-checkout anymore because they never work. I always end up having to stand there waiting for an employee to come over and punch in her code, so what''s the point?

eh. . .the funny thing is I never actual offer to a person that they go before me. I just stand there wondering if they''re thinking I should let them go and this stresses me out (today it happened again! lol We do use the self checkout, but the little computer voice is always nagging at me to remove my last item from my bag, mostly because my kids do the ringing up when we only have a few products and they keep putting their hands on the spot where the bags are. That must drive the checker person nuts! hahaha

We do have smaller stores, but they also cost more. I buy organic veggies from local farmers, but for basics like cereal, I go to the regular chain stores.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 7:01:07 PM
Author: lovegem
I buy online and have my food delivered, so I don''t really have any complains at the moment. Maybe the next time I am in the grocery store then I may have a lot to say. until then...

Where do you order from?

 

[lovegem]

oh MC, you shouldn''t stress yourself out. Standing in line waiting and waiting is just part of the grocery shopping process. If they don''t like to wait, they don''t have to buy.

 

[lovegem]

I buy from Shoprite. You have to specific which store you want to get your food from. I have tried two different stores, the standard of the delivery and quality of the meat differ. I have been buying from the same store for more than a year now. I am the happiest with this store.

 

[Catmom]

Umm, isn''t that what the 10 item or less aisle or the self check out aisles are for? I hate when I''m unloading a huge cart and they start huffing behind me because they only have a few items. I always want to turn around and ask them why they just don''t go to those aisles.

 

[purrfectpear]

This thread is actually a little ironic IMO. Most have figured out that I''m frank, sometimes overly honest, and borderline curmudgeonly on PS. Yet I''m the first to suggest that someone in line behind me go ahead if I see they only have 3 or 4 things to purchase

It costs so little to be gracious and it''s only another 5 or 10 minutes of my time. Clearly you already feel that you could be gracious also, or else the thought wouldn''t even pop into your head right?

To me it''s a lot like when cars are merging on the freeway, or blinking to change lanes. How much does that extra car really take out of your life? I think of it as my karma bank

 

[D&T]

Date: 8/5/2009 7:24:07 PM
Author: Catmom
Umm, isn''t that what the 10 item or less aisle or the self check out aisles are for? I hate when I''m unloading a huge cart and they start huffing behind me because they only have a few items. I always want to turn around and ask them why they just don''t go to those aisles.

Me too!,
but then I will let them go in front of me, only one person though, luckily we have some really good customer service helpers, that shuffle the shoppers to other aisles.

 

[Moh 10]

I hate when the cashier looks at me and says, "Hey, you're so fat already. You really shouldn't buy these potato chips and cookies."


Just kidding.

 

[diamondsrock]

To be honest, I don''t see a lot of people around here doing that. I have done it, only because I feel bad if someone has one thing and they have to wait for my entire cart''s worth of groceries to be rung up.
One time I let an older woman go ahead of me, and you''d think it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. She was so incredibly grateful and happy that someone took the time of day to do something nice for her. It really made me feel good, but sad at the same time, because people just don''t seem to be courteous anymore, so when you are, it''s seen as unusual behavior.

 

[Linda W]

If people behind me have a few items I always let them go ahead. This is especially true, if they are elderly or have babies that are fussy or toddlers that simply want to get out of the store.

 

[ckrickett]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:28:51 PM
Author: luckystar112
I''m infamous for letting people go ahead of me in line when they have less than me, which is why I get a little annoyed when others don''t do the same. lol.


My gripes at the grocery store are:

1) When someone takes up the whole aisle with their cart.

2) When people go through express lanes with more than the maximum amount.

3) When I''m at the self-checkout and some idiot feels the need to breathe down my back while I''m entering my PIN so that they can get the register after me. This includes when they set their bags down on my register while I''m still ringing up.

4) People who don''t have their money out and ready when in line.

5) My grocery store thinks they are being helpful/efficient by having the baggers come over and help unload your cart. I hate it; it feels like such an invasion of privacy for some reason!

6) I get really bothered when I''m looking for something specific and a person is parked right where I need to be. I know that this is overboard though, and I should probably take a xanax.

But it happens a lot.

7) I really, really detest those huge clunky stupid cars/carts that children are put in. I also detest those miniature carts for kids, though thankfully my store doesn''t allow them.

Did I mention I dislike it when parents allow their kids to push the cart?

9) People who don''t have their coupons ready to be scanned, or who have coupons that are expired/meant for some other product and listening to them argue with the cashier.

10) Grocery shopping on the weekend or the day of a big holiday. I always go around 8-9 PM on a weekday!


That''s it. What?

Can you tell grocery shopping is one of my least favorite activies, trumped only by putting away laundry?

UG I hate it when people have more then the max at an express lane. I can see maybe one or two small items but sometimes people can be real jerks.. The grocery store near me is really awesome and they hire "special needs" people to work. These people are polite and very hard workers and they always seem happy.

I was at the check out and I noticed the lady in front of me had a FULL cart like 200 dollars worth of groceries. The guy pointed to the sign smiled and said "I''m sorry mam, this is 10 or less" the snarled at him telling him she was in to much of a hurry to wait in any other line and then she started to unload it, the poor guy looked so upset, she was rude to him the whole time. I wanted to say something but a manager came up and told her that if he ever saw her do that again she would be escorted out of the store. I was happy that a manager took charge but sad at the same time that someone would abuse not only a lane like that but a worker who obviously couldn''t defend himself. he looked so defeated after she left.

 

[Haven]

We just stopped by the grocery store, and I was reminded of some things that I do hate about grocery shopping:

I hate it when people are rude to the cashiers.
I hate it when people yell at the baggers for putting too many things in one bag.

I see more rude people in the grocery store than anywhere else. I think it''s because people get all worked up there when it''s busy.

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:13:08 PM
Author:MC

What I think is the most irritating thing (in the world of grocery shopping) is when I have a cart full of items when standing in line and a person comes up behind me with only 2 or 3 products. Why does she/he do that when she/he can go to the express lane or the self check? Am I suppose to let that person go in front of me? If I do that and then another person with only 2 or 3 things then comes up, do I have to let that person go too?

MC, methinks your gripe is not with the grocery store, but with your own namby pamby response to the situation you described.

Date: 8/5/2009 9:32:35 PM
Author: ckrickett

UG I hate it when people have more then the max at an express lane. I can see maybe one or two small items but sometimes people can be real jerks.. The grocery store near me is really awesome and they hire ''special needs'' people to work. These people are polite and very hard workers and they always seem happy.

I was at the check out and I noticed the lady in front of me had a FULL cart like 200 dollars worth of groceries. The guy pointed to the sign smiled and said ''I''m sorry mam, this is 10 or less'' the snarled at him telling him she was in to much of a hurry to wait in any other line and then she started to unload it, the poor guy looked so upset, she was rude to him the whole time. I wanted to say something but a manager came up and told her that if he ever saw her do that again she would be escorted out of the store. I was happy that a manager took charge but sad at the same time that someone would abuse not only a lane like that but a worker who obviously couldn''t defend himself. he looked so defeated after she left.

for that store manager, and

to that woman.

As for my attitude towards grocery stores? If I''m in a good mood, I just roll with the punches. If I''m in a bad mood, my list of gripes would put luckystar112''s to shame. My favorite grocery store -- the one I''ve been shopping at practically forever and where almost all of the clerks are familiar to me, even if they don''t recognize me -- always puts me in a better mood than some of the newer stores with more gimmicks. That safeway club card gimmick burns me up

but I finally got tired of having an attitude about it and got a card for those rare occasions when I end up there.

 

[treefrog]

I have found that Sunday at around 11am, I pretty much have the store to myself. I go the same time every week and get pretty much the same stuff. It works very well for me. If I am late, or have to go any other time, I am not a happy camper due to all of the reasons listed above. I love the grocery store... but only when I have it virtually all to myself. If one person comes up behind me with 2 or 3 items and I don''t have anything out of the cart yet, I will let them go. I''ll do this one time... unless she''s really cute!

 

[monarch64]

I don''t really have a hard and fast rule about letting shoppers with 2-3 items go ahead of me, it''s more of a quick assessment of the circumstances...if someone with a screaming child and 2 gallons of milk wants to go ahead of me and I don''t have a carton of already melting ice cream in my cart then by all means I let them go ahead. If, on the other hand, they are holding a bag of Doritos, 2 Butterfingers, and a deli sandwich and look stoned out of their mind, they can wait behind me or go to the express lane.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 9:51:40 PM
Author: Haven
I see more rude people in the grocery store than anywhere else. I think it''s because people get all worked up there when it''s busy.

With grocery stores, there''s a wide variety of people, so you''re more likely to encounter various personalities you normally wouldn''t. Everyone needs food, so regardless of personality, social status or mental capacity, one will still end up shopping for milk or bread. It seems like the airport and the post office are also the same way. A wider variety of mish-mash and more chances you''ll run into a person who is odd!

 

[TravelingGal]

People who write checks and don''t get them ready before everything is all rung up. I know this isn''t fair, but I hate slow check writers.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 8/6/2009 12:11:56 AM
Author: MC

Date: 8/5/2009 9:51:40 PM
Author: Haven
I see more rude people in the grocery store than anywhere else. I think it''s because people get all worked up there when it''s busy.

With grocery stores, there''s a wide variety of people, so you''re more likely to encounter various personalities you normally wouldn''t. Everyone needs food, so regardless of personality, social status or mental capacity, one will still end up shopping for milk or bread. It seems like the airport and the post office are also the same way. A wider variety of mish-mash and more chances you''ll run into a person who is odd!

I agree, MC! Don''t forget the bank...people seem to get all sorts of impatient there, too.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 8/6/2009 12:21:40 AM
Author: TravelingGal
People who write checks and don''t get them ready before everything is all rung up. I know this isn''t fair, but I hate slow check writers.

Yes! I haven''t written a check for groceries in years because I prefer to use my debit card, and I really loathe waiting for someone to painstakingly make out a check while I''m standing there waiting for the damn conveyor belt to move so I can unload the rest of my cart. Meanwhile, the POS items like $1.99 travel size Febreze and boxes of Good ''n'' Plenty shaped like mini milk cartons start tempting me and I end up feeling unfulfilled when I refuse to give in. It''s just horrible.

(Seriously!)

 

[vip0802]

i may be one of the few people that actually enjoy grocery shopping. i feel so good when i'm able to fill my cart up with deliciousness! not only that but my dad and i were the ones that used to go grocery shopping together when i was younger, so i suppose it's a reminiscent thing for me.

my only gripe isn't with the actual store itself or the people that work there. it's the some of the customers that shop there that irk me. i understand people are in a rush, but we aren't we all? it doesn't excuse rudeness though.

the grocery store i frequent hires "special needs" people as well and i can't tell you how many times i've seen customers be complete jerk-offs to them. this one employee in particular that i always see there, was busy running around stocking some items when he tripped and fell. this happened right in front of check-out lanes and NO ONE offered to help him up. c'mon people! does it really exert that much energy just to look and see if someone is ok? i mean i could hear and see him from several aisles down going "ow...ow...i'm sorry...excuse me sir...sorry 'mam" while trying to get up and collect the items that spilled out of his arms. i ran right over and he ended up being fine thankfully. i picked up the items for him and offered to just carry them in my basket for him while he stocked. the manager came over and was concerned for him as well, and ended up helping him stock. the poor guy kept apologizing to his manager saying he was sorry for falling and that he was embarrassed he did it in front of customers!

i always greet him whenever i see him at the store now. he's always like "hi vip! i stocked some really good yogurt if you want it for breakfast." or "i just told the deli people to brew some fresh coffee for you!"

he's such a super guy and i still get upset when i see someone who didn't say "please" or "thank-you", or the kids who make fun of him or anyone else that works there.

this morning actually, there was a woman trying to pick through the watermelon barrel and was pretty adamant about finding the perfect one...all the way down in the bottom. she had the nerve to call over one of the store employees to dig through the melons for her since she "couldn't possibly ruin her nails". ugh!

another thing that bothers me is people who don't return their carts! i mean i hate it when i'm about to pull into a parking space and there's a freaking cart parked there instead. or when i see someone just push their cart away in the middle of the parking lot after they loaded their groceries in their car. seriously, what gives? is it really that hard to walk and push a cart a few feet to the cart port?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 8:05:22 PM
Author: purrfectpear
This thread is actually a little ironic IMO. Most have figured out that I''m frank, sometimes overly honest, and borderline curmudgeonly on PS. Yet I''m the first to suggest that someone in line behind me go ahead if I see they only have 3 or 4 things to purchase

It costs so little to be gracious and it''s only another 5 or 10 minutes of my time. Clearly you already feel that you could be gracious also, or else the thought wouldn''t even pop into your head right?

To me it''s a lot like when cars are merging on the freeway, or blinking to change lanes. How much does that extra car really take out of your life? I think of it as my karma bank

Yes, you''re right that the thought of being gracious does pop into my head. I tend to be a polite person

My gripe was because there *are* express lanes a person can use and I do not understand why a person would stand behind me when I have 30 items when they can instead walk over to one of those checkers, which leaves me feeling a twinge of guilt.

(and I always let people in when trying to change lanes - and totally agree with the Karma bank!!!)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2009 6:22:34 PM
Author: Moh 10

Sounds like you are carrying around old niceness-lessons that don't work for you today.
Let them go.

There is nothing wrong with being nice. I feel it's human responsibility to be respectful to one another otherwise the world would be full of unhappy loveless individuals who bring each other down.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 8/5/2009 10:54:23 PM
Author: monarch64
I don't really have a hard and fast rule about letting shoppers with 2-3 items go ahead of me, it's more of a quick assessment of the circumstances...if someone with a screaming child and 2 gallons of milk wants to go ahead of me and I don't have a carton of already melting ice cream in my cart then by all means I let them go ahead. If, on the other hand, they are holding a bag of Doritos, 2 Butterfingers, and a deli sandwich and look stoned out of their mind, they can wait behind me or go to the express lane.

That's about how I handle it.

I detest the grocery store. It eats hours of my life and sucks away money. And the act of grocery shopping seems to bring out the worst in people. The lack of common courtesy in the world astounds me.

Oh and the height of the aisle shelving. WTH

. Not everyone is an Amazon people! Seriously. Who plans these things?! I usually don't have problems reaching things (I'm fairly tall) but others aren't so lucky. I saw a rather short woman the other day looking up at something on the top shelf with a "how the hell am I supposed to get that?" expression. I asked if she wanted me to grab something for her. She looked so STUNNED that someone had offered to help. I got her the can, said have a nice day and moved on. It took all of 3 seconds. Moral of this story is twofold- how do they expect shorter people to reach anything, and why was I the only one that offered to help? Grrr.

Many of my other pet peeves have already been mentioned, and luckystar's list deserves a medal for summing it all up.

I always manage to spend way too much money too. Ugh. Sticking to the list is an impossibility for me, LOL.

DH has 16 more days until he's done with school... and he is SO taking over the grocery shopping at that point!