Grocery store manners...

[Guts/Batman]

I thought of this when I was working and eating a sample when a person was coming out of an aisle.

Which is more rude in the situation? Saying excuse me while attempting to eat/swallow said sample or not excuse me and eat the sample?

Add any other grocery store manners you feel are rude and such if you wish.

[mgs]

don't go while very sick, sneezing, coughing and touching all over foods and such.

[tricksterpup]

Add any other grocery store manners you feel are rude and such if you wish.
hmmmm.. Seeing other people do this at the store is very disturbing.
http://www.dogdoo.com/images/Honey.jpg

[boolean]

hmmmm.. Seeing other people do this at the store is very disturbing.
http://www.dogdoo.com/images/Honey.jpg

"Clean-up on aisle seven!"

[tangentman]

I wouldn't say it's a requirement for good grocery store protocol, but if you have a full cart and see a person behind you with a single item (or just a handful), let that person go ahead in line. Now, for a pet peeve of mine--people with cart's packed full who use the express lanes. That lane is meant for customers with small orders, you grocery store troglodytes! READ THE DAMN SIGN!

There, vent over.

[Rachel Grey]

I wouldn't say it's a requirement for good grocery store protocol, but if you have a full cart and see a person behind you with a single item (or just a handful), let that person go ahead in line. Now, for a pet peeve of mine--people with cart's packed full who use the express lanes. That lane is meant for customers with small orders, you grocery store troglodytes! READ THE DAMN SIGN!

There, vent over.

Yeah that's one of my peeves too. I also hate it when the sign says 8 items only and people rock up with 12 or even more.

But that's kinda related to what you pointed out...

[Valmore]

I wouldn't say it's a requirement for good grocery store protocol, but if you have a full cart and see a person behind you with a single item (or just a handful), let that person go ahead in line. Now, for a pet peeve of mine--people with cart's packed full who use the express lanes. That lane is meant for customers with small orders, you grocery store troglodytes! READ THE DAMN SIGN!

There, vent over.

Well, darn it. You beat me to both of those points. Especially point number two. It aggravates me to no end to try and get into an Express Lane with 3 items and the person in front of me has 30. I may as well just get in a regular line.

[tangentman]

Here's a suggestion to grocery stores about ways you can show more love for your customers: For God's sake, please, PLEASE put more than 2 or 3 cashiers on a register during peak shopping hours!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

My dad was telling me this story. The old guy he knew pretty well ( we'll call him Mike ) , well Mike had just lost his wife after 40 to 50+ years . He was in his early 80's and he looked at my dad one day and asked " How do you meet a woman now ? I haven't been in the game for years . "

My dad realizing he could have some fun took him to a supermarket. The 2 would walk up and down some isles as my dad would watch Mike try and hit on some old ladies . It was a fun experince and my dad would be loadin his cart down.

Old Mike would tell them his whole life story and they'd take off scared of him lol ! My dad loadin his cart down all while he chatted. Finally he stopped and walked back as he stopped from pushin the cart.

" Hey...what are you doin ? Are you buying this ? " he asked my dad.

" No Mike. You told me you were coming here to shop. " my dad replied .

" The hell I am ! I'm here to meet a woman ! " he said very loudly as my dad bit his lip from laughin. It was loud enough every in that Grocery store could hear Mike yell it.

[Shellhead]

I hate the selfish people who park in the fire lane in front of the store so they don't have to push their cart as far. I also despise the wheel men who frequently sit at these cars with the engine running, so they can move the vehicle before it gets towed.

[ocelotrevs]

People who use credit cards for about 3 small items, then the card doesn't go through. Mean I have to spend longer at the checkout.
People who take to long to put their shopping in the bag annoys me as well.

There's more, but I just don't want my head to blow off.

[DonC]

Well, people have already mentioned the express lanes and parking out front while someone else shops because they don't want to walk 30 yards so I'll post something that baffles me to this day.

A little old lady was in line behind me (we were maybe 4 or 5 people back in the express lanes) when she started jabbing me with her cart hoping, I guess, that I would let her and her cart full of 10 or 11 items go ahead of me and my 2 or 3 items.

So, little old ladies, don't do that.

[Boldido]

Anyone have this one? You are waiting behind someone who is going to pay with a check. They are waiting behind someone else. They know they are going to have to write the date and the name of the store, but they wait until the cashier is done ringing all of their items up before they even bring out the checkbook.

You know you are going to have to pay for your groceries people, why wait until the last minute to get out your checkbook or wallet or coupons or everything else?

[Michael P]

The store in my neighborhood has an epidemic of people using shopping carts to carry one or two very small items, which causes no end of gridlock at the registers.

They make those little plastic baskets for a reason, assholes.

[Mike Smith]

A few more...

Don't use display footballs to play football in the aisles with your roomies. You can knock things over.

Don't spray a can of axe body spray to see how far away you can get before you can't smell it anymore.

Don't give big people rides in carts.

If there is an old person eyeing a close spot in a crowded lot, concede said spot to the old person.

Don't deface shelves that have just been faced, putting items in random locations about the store.

Don't moan and complain in a long line about the price of something being $2.79, when it's ringing up as $2.99. At that point you've just required everyone else behind you in the line to flap their arms, wag their head in disgust, and make the obligatory sigh followed by "Who is this guy..." as they watch the help light beep. Just pay the dang twenty cents.

[Deathstroke]

Don't moan and complain in a long line about the price of something being $2.79, when it's ringing up as $2.99. At that point you've just required everyone else behind you in the line to flap their arms, wag their head in disgust, and make the obligatory sigh followed by "Who is this guy..." as they watch the help light beep. Just pay the dang twenty cents.

Umm....correct pricing is a big issue. The news stations do stories about the computers ringing up the wrong price to the tune of thousands/millions each year.

Oh, and here's one. If you are a little old lady and you run into another little old lady that you haven't seen in years, it's fine if you want to stop for a few minutes to chat. But could you please get the hell out of the exit doorway so other people can leave after making their purchases.

[Boldido]

Oh, and here's one. If you are a little old lady and you run into another little old lady that you haven't seen in years, it's fine if you want to stop for a few minutes to chat. But could you please get the hell out of the exit doorway so other people can leave after making their purchases.

If I can go off topic for a second, I'd like to make this same request to rich bitch soccer moms who stop in their SUV's while driving up a two lane road to talk with another rich bitch soccer mom in her big honking SUV coming from the other direction effectively blocking the entire street. If the person was that important to you, you would actually call her rather than block traffic to chit chat.

And when you do this, don't look at me like I'm the asshole because I honked my horn at you. If you are acting like an idiot, please own up to it.

[Violently Apathetic]

Ramming someone in the ankles with your cart does not make the line go faster, it just makes said person want to turn around an punch you. If the line isn't moving it's not moving, accept it.

Also, don't park in front of the meat section and discuss with your family what they want for dinner for the next week, figure that out before you go to the store.

[gary bolt]

For many people shopping is all about them and they don't consider other shoppers or the store staff.

I hate it when I see people park their cart in line and then disappear to find another item or two. Sometimes they make it back in time and sometimes they don't.

Sometimes when I'm waiting in line I look in the magazine or candy displays and see items that people have bailed on. Usually it's canned goods but the ultimate example is when my wife and I found a tub of ice cream stuffed into a magazine rack. If you decide you don't want something, or can't afford it, put it back or at the very least give it to the teller so that the store can re-stock it.

[Gilda Dent]

-When in the parking lot, parking in the aisle to wait for someone to get in their car start it up, and pull out, thus causing traffic to back up behind you. On the other end, I'm going to take as long as it damn well pleases me to load and arrange things, and attend to business once I get behind the wheel. Don't sit there and start honking at me. Your desire to have my parking space does not create on my part an obligation to vacate it. Pass on and take another spot.

-Taking up two parking spaces. I don't care how much you paid for your car, how much work you've put into customizing it, you get one parking space. One. If you're worried about dings, park far enough away that you have empty spots on both sides of your car.

-Handicapped spaces are for disabled people only. No exceptions. I don't care if you're only going to be inside for a minute, you park your car in a regular slot.

-Repeat above point for stork parking (some stores have spaces reserved for pregnant women).

-Your kids go inside with you, not left in the car. I don't care if you're only going to be in the store for one item for two minutes, you don't leave kids unattended in a car.

Inside:

-Don't block aisles. There are several ways people do this. Park the cart on one side of the aisle, then stand on the other next to your cart. Park your cart next to that of a friend and stand there gabbing. Park the cart in the middle leaving no room on either side.

-Get all your items before you get in line. I hate it when people get in line, then send hubby or junior off to grab three or four more items while they unload. Sometimes the extras get there in time, sometimes the rest of us have to wait.

-Scan your card while your items are being scanned. Save us all a little time.

I've heard the "Old people bumping from behind" complaint on three different message boards so far. This is a bizarre behavior I've never encountered in real life. I really can't concieve of any reason why someone would think this is acceptable.

Gilda

[Shellhead]

A lot of the problems mentioned in this thread are reasons why I try to do my weekly grocery run early on Sunday mornings. If I'm up late enough on a Saturday night, I will just do my shopping then, just before I go home for the night.

[Gilda Dent]

A lot of the problems mentioned in this thread are reasons why I try to do my weekly grocery run early on Sunday mornings. If I'm up late enough on a Saturday night, I will just do my shopping then, just before I go home for the night.

Damn straight. Back in California, we had any number of 24 hour stores available, and I'd do the grocery shopping at 2 am Saturday or Sunday morning when I could. It was awesome, store practically empty, usually just one register open, but nobody typically waiting.

Gilda

[ocelotrevs]

Shellhead gets it right
A lot of the problems mentioned in this thread are reasons why I try to do my weekly grocery run early on Sunday mornings. If I'm up late enough on a Saturday night, I will just do my shopping then, just before I go home for the night.


I hear that, if I have to go shopping for my mum. I make sure I go when it's quieter, and use the 5 items or less line (even that takes the piss at times), and if I have more, drop em off then go and pay for the stuff, and pick up the other stuff later.

[CoffeeStained]

Umm....correct pricing is a big issue. The news stations do stories about the computers ringing up the wrong price to the tune of thousands/millions each year.That's understandable, but I once had a guy who rang up a jug of oil at the front of the store, while automotives is at the back of the store. The oil was correctly priced, and the signs were about a week and a half old. For some reason this guy got it in his head that the oil, (Mobil1 Tri-synthetic) was $24.87. So we get a call because that's not what it was ringing up as. We confirm the price, and the customer comes stomping back, tears down the sign, accusing us of just putting it up. He said something to the tune of, "Don't ever fucking try that again, asshole."

The store never has a .87 price point. It's always .97 or a multiple of .05. He stomped back for ten cents. I reiterate now that the signage was correct, and I also make note that the cashier has a ten-dollar allowance per customer. She could have just altered it, right then and there, without even calling me, because the difference is so insignificant that no one but the cashier need be involved. She doesn't even have to fill out a slip explaining why she discounted it. Plus the customer would have been satisfied, she would not have held up her line, angering the rest of the people in line, and we wouldn't have had a scene.

[Corsair]

-When in the parking lot, parking in the aisle to wait for someone to get in their car start it up, and pull out, thus causing traffic to back up behind you.Happened to me just the other day. The funny bit was that the lot was nowhere near being full. There was an available spot two spaces down the aisle. I could see it from behind the moron blocking the aisle, but she was so fixated on waiting that she didn't see it. Pay attention to your surroundings.

-Scan your card while your items are being scanned. Save us all a little time.Not a chance. I want to see the total and verify its accuracy before I provide my credit card.

[Azangel]

I also despise the wheel men who frequently sit at these cars with the engine running, so they can move the vehicle before it gets towed.

Those are usually shopLIFTERS not SHOPPERS.
:)

[Mike Smith]

Umm....correct pricing is a big issue. The news stations do stories about the computers ringing up the wrong price to the tune of thousands/millions each year.

Off course, it's Office Space meets Wal-mart. It still doesn't stop the necessary response.

How about don't leave your baby's diaper in the parking lot. Find a trash can and dispose of it properly if Junior has to make a stinky during shopping day.

Don't ding my car with your cart or car door.

In winter, placing half of your cart on over a median/curb doesn't help the people who have to go out and get the carts. Put the carts in the corral.

Don't aisle hog. Some couples are great at walking an odd distance from one another, at a very ackward pace whilst talking. The guy usually lumbers of the cart while the lady browses, keeping up talk, and hogging the aisle.

Don't leave your McDonalds spillings throughout Wal-mart.

[Valmore]

A lot of the problems mentioned in this thread are reasons why I try to do my weekly grocery run early on Sunday mornings. If I'm up late enough on a Saturday night, I will just do my shopping then, just before I go home for the night.

People might think Wal*Mart is evil, but I don't care. I try and do most of my grocery shopping at the 24 Hour Supercenter at 2 a.m. simply because it means I'm not surrounded by a bunch of people who are blocking up the aisles, walking waaaaaaaay too slow, sending others out to get items while waiting in line, blocking traffic for one spot, etc. The only problem this causes is that's also when they re-stock the shelves, but I can live with that. It also fits into my work schedule a lot easier, unlike Winn*Dixie and Publix, which all close at 10 p.m.

[Gilda Dent]

Not a chance. I want to see the total and verify its accuracy before I provide my credit card.

I was thinking debit card, which is how I pay for very nearly everything, but I suppose the same principal applies to credit. In either case, regardless of when you scan the card, you still get to see the total and verify it after everything has been scanned. The information isn't sent to the network for approval of the debit/charge until that point.

Gilda

[Boldido]

I have one for the grocery stores themselves. Is it possible to not put 8,000 different stand-alone displays in the aisles. There is little enough space as it is without having to try and negotiate all these cardboard display cases. It would also help if you would use night stockers. One chain here in Florida, Publix, always has the aisles full of stockers at 6:00 p.m. Everyone and his brother is in your store and you jackasses think that this is a good time to do your restocking? Use your heads!

[Valmore]

I have one for the grocery stores themselves. Is it possible to not put 8,000 different stand-alone displays in the aisles. There is little enough space as it is without having to try and negotiate all these cardboard display cases. It would also help if you would use night stockers. One chain here in Florida, Publix, always has the aisles full of stockers at 6:00 p.m. Everyone and his brother is in your store and you jackasses think that this is a good time to do your restocking? Use your heads!

That's becuase Publix closes at 10 p.m. and they don't hire anyone at all for overnights. Is there even such a thing as a 24-hour Publix? I haven't seen one.

[Corsair]

Another one that comes to mind, keep children under control. Okay, kids are kids, they're excitable and have lots of energy. That's fine. Keep them in sight and tell them when they need to cool it. TELL. Don't beg. Don't wheedle. "C'mon, guys, settle down, please?" "Oh, I wish you guys would just behave!" If you're using lines like this, you're a failure as a parent. Please kill yourself and your spawn for the betterment of humanity.

(I'm not entirely sure I'm joking there...)

Likewise, keep yourself under control. Saw a guy a while back had apparently given his cell phone to his kid, presumably to keep the kid occupied. Small child, was riding in the cart. Junior dropped the phone. Dad threw a fit.

Gee, dumbass, maye your precious phone wasn't the best choice of pacifier?

[Gilda Dent]

Another one that comes to mind, keep children under control. Okay, kids are kids, they're excitable and have lots of energy. That's fine. Keep them in sight and tell them when they need to cool it. TELL. Don't beg. Don't wheedle. "C'mon, guys, settle down, please?" "Oh, I wish you guys would just behave!" If you're using lines like this, you're a failure as a parent. Please kill yourself and your spawn for the betterment of humanity.

I gotta agree with Corsair here, at least in principle. Teach your kids to behave themselves when they're in public as a general rule. It can be done, and is a basic part of your job as a parent.

Gilda

[Corsair]

I was thinking debit card, which is how I pay for very nearly everything, but I suppose the same principal applies to credit. In either case, regardless of when you scan the card, you still get to see the total and verify it after everything has been scanned. The information isn't sent to the network for approval of the debit/charge until that point.

GildaTrue. I suppose it's more of a psychological thing than anything. I feel like I'm paying for something before seeing how much it is, even though I know that's not actually the case.

[Boldido]

I gotta agree with Corsair here, at least in principle. Teach your kids to behave themselves when they're in public as a general rule. It can be done, and is a basic part of your job as a parent.

Gilda

This is where I have to give a big thumbs up to grocery stores these days. The ones near me have started to offer special carts that are a mix of grocery cart and toy cars. You can put your kids in the front of the cart that looks like a toy firetruck, complete with steering wheels, which let the kids face forward and gives them something to keep them occupied during what is normally a pretty boring trip. As a parent, I love these things.

[howyadoin]

Anyone have this one? You are waiting behind someone who is going to pay with a check. They are waiting behind someone else. They know they are going to have to write the date and the name of the store, but they wait until the cashier is done ringing all of their items up before they even bring out the checkbook.

You know you are going to have to pay for your groceries people, why wait until the last minute to get out your checkbook or wallet or coupons or everything else?Hell, why not step into the 21st century and use debit or cash?

[howyadoin]

A lot of the problems mentioned in this thread are reasons why I try to do my weekly grocery run early on Sunday mornings. If I'm up late enough on a Saturday night, I will just do my shopping then, just before I go home for the night.I've got a 24-hour grocery store near me. The service is shitty and the food selection isn't very good, but it's still less hassle to shop there at night, except when you get groups of drunk gay guys giggling at everything in the place.

[Azangel]

They're great...for keeping kids occupied.

They're bad for everything else. No place to put them as they don't fit in the cart corral. They're hard to steer when full. Kids climb on top of them, out of them, and scream when mom or dad tells them to stay put. Or they pitch a shit-fit when mom and dad try to leave the store.

We actually had a kid climb out of one and it scooted out from under her, and hit an old lady, knocking her down. Amazingly, we didn't get sued.

11 years in retail.

Here's a few of my pet peeves...

Do not piss in the flower buckets. We have a bathroom.

Do not piss on the floor. We have a bathroom.

Do not piss in the cart corral. We have a bathroom.

Do not take a dump on a piece of cardboard on the floor in the compactor room cause you're too lazy to walk to the bathroom on the other side of the store.

If your kid squats and pisses on the floor, it's YOUR job to clean it up, not MINE. I have other customers to wait on, and I'm not the one that spawned the brat.

Leaving used KY jelly on my counter is not funny.

[howyadoin]

I have one for the grocery stores themselves. Is it possible to not put 8,000 different stand-alone displays in the aisles. There is little enough space as it is without having to try and negotiate all these cardboard display cases. It would also help if you would use night stockers. One chain here in Florida, Publix, always has the aisles full of stockers at 6:00 p.m. Everyone and his brother is in your store and you jackasses think that this is a good time to do your restocking? Use your heads!On a related note, the Safeway nearest me reorganizes their shelves about once a week. I've been shopping there on and off for 9 years, and I still constantly have to ask where things are, because they move them all the fucking time.

[Michael P]

For many people shopping is all about them and they don't consider other shoppers or the store staff.

I hate it when I see people park their cart in line and then disappear to find another item or two. Sometimes they make it back in time and sometimes they don't.

Sometimes when I'm waiting in line I look in the magazine or candy displays and see items that people have bailed on. Usually it's canned goods but the ultimate example is when my wife and I found a tub of ice cream stuffed into a magazine rack. If you decide you don't want something, or can't afford it, put it back or at the very least give it to the teller so that the store can re-stock it.
I got that beat. I saw a peach in the magazine rack today. Not a bag of peaches, one peach.

[Boldido]

They're great...for keeping kids occupied.

They're bad for everything else. No place to put them as they don't fit in the cart corral. They're hard to steer when full. Kids climb on top of them, out of them, and scream when mom or dad tells them to stay put. Or they pitch a shit-fit when mom and dad try to leave the store.

We actually had a kid climb out of one and it scooted out from under her, and hit an old lady, knocking her down. Amazingly, we didn't get sued.

11 years in retail.

Here's a few of my pet peeves...

Do not piss in the flower buckets. We have a bathroom.

Do not piss on the floor. We have a bathroom.

Do not piss in the cart corral. We have a bathroom.

Do not take a dump on a piece of cardboard on the floor in the compactor room cause you're too lazy to walk to the bathroom on the other side of the store.

If your kid squats and pisses on the floor, it's YOUR job to clean it up, not MINE. I have other customers to wait on, and I'm not the one that spawned the brat.

Leaving used KY jelly on my counter is not funny.


Jesus Christ, where in Florida do you live that no one seems to have mastered the concept of toilet training? You live in Jacksonville, don't you?

[Callie]

My pet peeves from a shopper's and ex-cashier's standpoint:

1. Do not write checks in the Express lane...EVER. If you forgot your cash or credit card, you're granted a one-time exception.
2. If you are intimidated by the U-Scan/Self-Check lanes, do not use them. arthritic grandma/confused widower...I'm looking at you.
2a. If you have more than 10 items, do not use the Self-Check lanes.
2b. If you have to write a check, sure as hell do not use the self-check lanes.
3. If you have electronic food stamps, let the cashier know. They don't care if you need a little assistance (whether you really deserve it or not.). It saves the cashier a headache because they will have to often choose a separate button to ring foodstamps up (my old job required two extra keystrokes to separate food from non-food).
4. If you are a cashier, be polite to the customer and say Hello/Thank you. It's your job. I don't know what it is with Target recently, but every cashier I encounter is rude as hell.
5. Look after your kids. It is not the cashier's job. I once had a tiny tot who managed to wrap the seatbelt around her neck. The idiot mother just sat there and laughed as the kid started to turn purple and go into distress. I had to remove the strap.
6. Do not make the cashier act like a parent. If your brat wants to open a pack of gum, don't ask the cashier to be the one to scold them. Yes, I have had many parents ask me to yell at their kids.
7. Don't open & eat food in the stores. Surely you can have enough self control to wait until you've paid for it. What happens if you don't have money? You've just stolen from the store. What if the cashier doesn't realize the package is open? You've just created a mess that will cause everyone behind you to have to wait.


Woo! That was cathartic. ;)

[Puma]

1. Put your carts in the cart corral, yes you can walk the extra fifty feet (and it will do you good). Don't leave them blocking parking spots.
2. Do not invade my personal space while in line; crowding me won't make the line go faster but it will irritate the hell out of me. One arm length between people is ideal.
3. Do not graze while shopping, it's disgusting, it teaches poor behavior to kids, drives up prices, and I don't want to find a half eaten anything on the shelf next to the item I'm wanting to purchase.

[howyadoin]

Do not graze while shopping...But that's what cattle do.

[Azangel]

Jesus Christ, where in Florida do you live that no one seems to have mastered the concept of toilet training? You live in Jacksonville, don't you?

Nope, even worse, I'm over by alley-bama.

Y'know, Pensacola. (hides in shame)

The sad thing is, most of those things have happened more than once.

And don't get me started about the guy who used to shit on the top of the toilet, or the woman who came in every Sunday and wouldn't *sit*...and she nearly every week apparently had both bad gas and the trots. You've never lived until you've cleaned liquid fecal matter off of a toilet and three walls of the stall itself. I dearly eish I was kidding.

Want me to enlighten you about some of the things found in the parking lot...like used spoons & needles, condoms, and the like? How about people who hand you money that has *fresh* blood on it? Even better! *Talking on cel phone* Cough cough* Sorry, I just got out of the hospital. Yeah, I had Mono...

I had a guy on a cel phone SNAP HIS FINGERS at me and point at a bottle behind me and grunt 'Moet' before returning to his phone conversation. Yeah, HE got to wait on ME. I am not a dog.

How about insane customers who write your name down, look you up in the phone book, and start calling you at home? THAT's always fun. One of the sick, sad problems with being the only person with your last name in town.
I don't care WHAT happens, who threatens me, I will NEVER have my last name visible EVER again.

I'll quit ranting now.

Oh and if anyone wonders... I've been a bagger, cashier, seafood department clerk, pharmacy clerk, customer service clerk, liquor clerk, produce clerk, and am currently the florist. I've done *almost* everything. ;)

[gary bolt]

I got that beat. I saw a peach in the magazine rack today. Not a bag of peaches, one peach.


Not to pick nits but how does finding a peach in the magazine rack trump melting ice cream? :p

[Shellhead]

Hell, why not step into the 21st century and use debit or cash?

Cub Foods, where I get my groceries, has just started some new program where you pay by fingerprint. I don't know any details yet, but apparently there is a way that you can give them authorization to debit your designated bank account just by putting your finger on a special scanner. They could really advertise this well if they went edgy... "Give Cub the finger!"

[Rachel Grey]

But that's what cattle do.

Lol! Good one! :D

[Paradox]

I'm a firm believer that when traveling through the store, car traffic rules apply. Keep to the right, yield to through traffic, don't block the aisle, etc. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one in my area that feels that way. :(

Also a big fan of "shop at 3 am". I hate people getting in my way.

[Valmore]

I'm a firm believer that when traveling through the store, car traffic rules apply. Keep to the right, yield to through traffic, don't block the aisle, etc. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one in my area that feels that way. :(

Also a big fan of "shop at 3 am". I hate people getting in my way.

I'm not picky about it - if people want to do it the British way by keeping to the left and yielding to through traffic without blocking the aisles, that's good, too.

[howyadoin]

I'm a firm believer that when traveling through the store, car traffic rules apply. Keep to the right, yield to through traffic, don't block the aisle, etc.Generally speaking, I think the same thing oughta apply to walking along the sidewalk.

(Depending on the amount of traffic, obviously.)

[Dan Apodaca]

Leaving used KY jelly on my counter is not funny.

This is the only one I disagree with. That is pretty funny.

[howyadoin]

This is the only one I disagree with. That is pretty funny.Depends on how you leave it there. If it's coming out of your ass - not so funny.

[Nick Soapdish]

That's because Publix closes at 10 p.m. and they don't hire anyone at all for overnights. Is there even such a thing as a 24-hour Publix? I haven't seen one.

The one on Ocala is open until 11 most nights. I usually swing by after work and the only re-stocking is the refrigerated stuff. Maybe I just get lucky.

The floor-cleaners at Wal-mart are more annoying to me. They're so damn loud and it irks me that I have to move out of their way while I'm looking at something in the aisle. And while Wal-mart has everything, it has a lousy selection of everything. They usually don't have the brand or flavor that I'm looking for. But mostly, it's probably that I just don't like Wal-mart because they're evil. ;) Unfortunately, it's the closest grocery store to me by a number of miles so it's where I go if I forget something.

[howyadoin]

The floor-cleaners at Wal-mart are more annoying to me. They're so damn loud and it irks me that I have to move out of their way while I'm looking at something in the aisle.So don't move. I wouldn't.

[K'Nort]

Two things that irritate me. Cashiers who insist on being chatty and actually get indignant if I don't feel like it. People who have fewer than 10 items and nevertheless get in a regular, non-express lane, and then make all sorts of huffy noises about things moving slowly. If you're in a hurry, there's a special line for that; go use it.

Oh and I also don't like cashiers who say snarky things about the previous customer. You're not bonding. You're being unprofessional.

[Valmore]

The one on Ocala is open until 11 most nights. I usually swing by after work and the only re-stocking is the refrigerated stuff. Maybe I just get lucky.

Really? The Southwood Publix started closing at 10 p.m. awhile ago. I think the one by Hobbit's Hoagies in the Center now closes at 10, too. But there are still some open until 11 p.m.? This I did not know.

[Mike Smith]

Cub Foods, where I get my groceries, has just started some new program where you pay by fingerprint. I don't know any details yet, but apparently there is a way that you can give them authorization to debit your designated bank account just by putting your finger on a special scanner. They could really advertise this well if they went edgy... "Give Cub the finger!"

You do understand Pat Robertson is going to swear up and down this is the beginning of the end.

[bfrank]

So don't move. I wouldn't.
I feel the same way about my cart blocking the isle...

[Shellhead]

You do understand Pat Robertson is going to swear up and down this is the beginning of the end.

If anybody ever uses a severed finger to pay for groceries with someone else's bank account, I might agree with him. Until, it just seems very efficient and cool.

[Azangel]

Two things that irritate me. Cashiers who insist on being chatty and actually get indignant if I don't feel like it. People who have fewer than 10 items and nevertheless get in a regular, non-express lane, and then make all sorts of huffy noises about things moving slowly. If you're in a hurry, there's a special line for that; go use it.


Our cashiers are **REQUIRED** to make non-work related comments to the customers. It's actually part of the 'Mystery shop' score. As is offering the 'extreme value buy' to every customer, and offering carryout service, whether there's a bagger or not.

Now...getting indignant is another matter. :(

[Michael P]

Our cashiers are **REQUIRED** to make non-work related comments to the customers.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the person who thought that up has never worked a cashier-level job in their life.

[Guts/Batman]

I work at a grocery store part time while I go to college. I work in the can/bottle redemption center. We do have rules that we are supposed to talk to customers.

You know the typical, "May I help you find something?" deal. I rarely talk to people about non-related stuff but I do more than I did. I talk all the time with the assistant managers as I don't have anyone to talk with most of the time.

I don't mind the "Hi, did you find everything tonight?" and those nicities and I do it every now and then but I go more about my business than most of my co-workers.

Seeing a guy come out with a few carts, pushing one and pulling another asking if he wanted some help with it.

But a few of my pet peeves are:

1) People who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom. I don't want to touch the doorknob. What's even more disgusting is that cashiers I see doing it.

I know I should say "Get your ass back here and wash your hands." but I never do. Though I am becoming more assertive at work now.

2) Customers who don't pick up their garbage when done with their stuff when they get done putting their cans in the machines.

[K'Nort]

Our cashiers are **REQUIRED** to make non-work related comments to the customers. It's actually part of the 'Mystery shop' score. As is offering the 'extreme value buy' to every customer, and offering carryout service, whether there's a bagger or not.

Now...getting indignant is another matter. :(

Well and I'm fine with comments (except the ones complaining about coworkers and other customers). But some of the cashiers in my neighborhood grocery want to be much more interactive, with personal questions and such. Not "did you find everything," but "so what do you think about...."

[Azangel]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the person who thought that up has never worked a cashier-level job in their life.

Ya think?

Another thing...Mystery Shoppers.

The service counter areas are scored not by minutes but by SECONDS.
If a person doing a mystery shop has to wait more than 60 seconds to be served, regardless of the line, or lack thereof, it's 5 pts off. More than 50 seconds is 4 pts off... etc. To get the full score they have to be served within...10 seconds. This is for the cashiers as well, but I think they bump it up a tiny bit.

Sales floor associates (anyone not behind a counter when approached) are required to walk a customer to any item they ask about. "Where is..." "Let me show you..."

If you happen to be on your way to the bathroom, tough luck.

Yes, we get um... LECTURED about our scores and can be written up over them. More than 3 write-ups in a quarter can be used as grounds for termination.

[Gilda Dent]

Our cashiers are **REQUIRED** to make non-work related comments to the customers. It's actually part of the 'Mystery shop' score. As is offering the 'extreme value buy' to every customer, and offering carryout service, whether there's a bagger or not.

Now...getting indignant is another matter. :(

I won't shop at a store that doesn't offer carryout service, at least not for the huge semi-monthly run, because I really have to have it--I'm weak as a kitten--but I'm too shy to ask for it even at stores where I know it's available. So I like that one.

I don't understand the "non-work" part. I get cashiers at stores asking me, back home, "Are you Chinese or Japanese?" or sometimes just Chinese, and here it tends to be "Are you Korean?". I usually just answer, but it's just a tiny bit annoying.

Oh and I also don't like cashiers who say snarky things about the previous customer. You're not bonding. You're being unprofessional.

No kidding. On three different occasions I've actually had someone make racist remarks about a customer that checked out before me, in once case criticising the "Arab" (whom I'm pretty sure was a Sikh anyway) ahead of me who had asked which of two similar items cost less so he could buy the less expensive one. While the behavior was annoying, question it because of the guy's ethnicity seems bizarre.

Gilda

[Guts/Batman]

I'm glad I don't have to worry about Mystery Shoppers...

[heretic]

Also a big fan of "shop at 3 am". I hate people getting in my way.
Consider yourself fortunate. In Germany everything closes at 2000 (AKA 8PM) sharp save the Gas Stations... and do not even dream of doing anything on sunday.

HTG

[Thanos_6383]

Trying to move by a 900 pound woman whos standing in the middle of the aisle and refuse to move(perhaps shes stuck)

[Paradox]

Michael Pullmann has a good guess:

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the person who thought that up has never worked a cashier-level job in their life.

That'd be my thought, too.

We have that "make conversation" nonsense at the hotel I work at, too. Of course, I routinely ignore it. Most of my customers want to get their key and go to the room in a minimum amount of time. I have to practically yell down the hall the breakfast hours like I'm supposed to, because they're off as soon as they get the key in their hand (just like I would).

It's a stupid rule. If someone wants to chitchat, you can tell. I'm not annoying the vast amount of my customers because a handful might want to gab. I can tell who they are, and gab with just them. But as a rule, it's shite. They even tell their inspectors to act like they DON'T want to talk. More corporate idiocy in action.

And in a job like Az's??? Hell, the rule should be NO chitchatting. It's a grocery store. People (being Americans) are in a HURRY! Shovel 'em through!

[Paradox]

Azangel has people picking her nits:

Ya think?

Another thing...Mystery Shoppers.

The service counter areas are scored not by minutes but by SECONDS.
If a person doing a mystery shop has to wait more than 60 seconds to be served, regardless of the line, or lack thereof, it's 5 pts off. More than 50 seconds is 4 pts off... etc. To get the full score they have to be served within...10 seconds. This is for the cashiers as well, but I think they bump it up a tiny bit.

Sales floor associates (anyone not behind a counter when approached) are required to walk a customer to any item they ask about. "Where is..." "Let me show you..."

If you happen to be on your way to the bathroom, tough luck.

Yes, we get um... LECTURED about our scores and can be written up over them. More than 3 write-ups in a quarter can be used as grounds for termination.

I think your corporation needs to be LECTURED on intrusiveness and inflexibility. I always look at "Mystery Shoppers" and "inspectors" as people who can't hold down a real job, anyway. Many of them have vindictive sides that show up in their ratings. To my eyes, they're next to useless. Trust me, if a place is screwing up, they're GOING to hear about it from the customers. Inspections are superfluous.

[Paradox]

Guts/Batman is free:

I'm glad I don't have to worry about Mystery Shoppers...

I'm supposed to worry about them, but I don't. I do a damned good job and most of the rules I don't follow are corporate nonsense rules that aren't in the best interest of my customer service. I could give a shit about their demographic surveys and idiotic ideas about PR. I'm here for the CUSTOMER not the CORPORATION, and if they have a problem with that, they can can my ass.

Probably one of a few impeti (sp?) that might actually get me out of here.

[howyadoin]

I always look at "Mystery Shoppers" and "inspectors" as people who can't hold down a real job, anyway.Agreed. They're almost as low on the scale as people who work for collection agencies.

[Guts/Batman]

Hmmmmmmmm...I had no clue what Mystery Shoppers meant. I didn't think it was a way for the store to check on it's cashiers but I'm glad that I'm not a cashier.

I did read a note when cleaning that a customer said "screw you" because the cashiers (teenagers...of course) finished their conversations. That was deserved.

I don't really talk to any of the cashiers except for one. I do most of my chatting with the managers. My job is so easy, I don't even have to think about it.

But sacking...I have to think about. "Put the bag of rice in this one." "This bag is for vegetables.", etc. I don't have to think about my job in can/bottle redemption.

People always say I walk around like I look pissed off. But all I can say is that I'm focused when I work. I'm focused on my job. Smiling is encouraged but I'm pretty sure that the customers don't care as long as I do my job right.