Grocery Store Pet Peeves

[lovesmurfs]

I have two.

When it's 10 a.m. on a Saturday and the aisles are blocked with palettes with someone stocking. Sorry. This needs to be done sometime when the store's not open, or at the very least, at a non-busy time.

Second -- when I have a huge cart full of groceries, and there's NO register open, only self-serve (ours don't have belts). Even off hours, there needs to be some way to open a register, instead of just offering to help me with the self-serve, which is what they do.

 

[lynxstch]

I also hate it when a store has not trained their employees to specify exactly which customer can should get in the newly opened line first. I hate it when they just say "I'll take whoever's next in line", and the person in the back of the long line leaps into the newly opened line first even though there are people in front of them who have been waiting longer. Now THAT is rude .

this is my #1 peeve!

 

[usnuzuloose]

I have two.

When it's 10 a.m. on a Saturday and the aisles are blocked with palettes with someone stocking. Sorry. This needs to be done sometime when the store's not open, or at the very least, at a non-busy time.

Second -- when I have a huge cart full of groceries, and there's NO register open, only self-serve (ours don't have belts). Even off hours, there needs to be some way to open a register, instead of just offering to help me with the self-serve, which is what they do.

I refuse to use the self check outs , that lets company's know they can stop hiring more people , as the customer will do it themselves. We need more help in this economy as it is. Not less work.

 

[Andtototoo]

I refuse to use the self check outs , that lets company's know they can stop hiring more people , as the customer will do it themselves. We need more help in this economy as it is. Not less work.

ITA.

I will not shop at stores with self check outs.

 

[sam_gordon]

People who don't return their carts, either to cart corral or the store. They take up parking spots... grrrr!

 

[jen0610]

I hate it when people bring their coffee into the store in throwaway cups and just leave the cups on any shelf they happen to be standing by when they're done. See this more and more.

Or the ones who decide they don't want that perishable item and leave it on a shelf by the check out. If you don't want it, give it to the cashier so he/she can get someone to take it back to refrigeration.

I'll take it one step farther. Saw this over the weekend.

Was walking up the isle with the salad dressings. Someone had made some room and left on the shelf 10 different items that they had gotten from the hot deli area. 1 lb of mac & cheese, mash potatoes and baked beans. 1 1/2 lbs of chicken wings. Then there was 6 foil bags with potatoe wedges, 2 corn dogs, a chicken sandwich, a spicy chicken sandwich, 2 fried chicken breasts, and an apple pie. DD15 and I were shocked. It was all still warm. We looked at it and quickly totaled it up - 23.39.

What a waste of food.

 

[tasha99]

My pet peeves: Stuff in the aisle; the cashier looking at the receipt to say thankyou using my name (my rewards card isn't under my name anyway)

NOT my pet peeves: not letting someone cut if they have an item or two. I do often let people do that, but I would never be so entitled as to expect it. I use the express lane.

Also, seperating orders. I have to do that occasionally if I am shopping for classroom supplies. I don't want my IRS receipt to have misc. junk on it. It doesn't take that much longer, and I wait patiently behind people who do that for WIC. Others can wait patiently for me.

 

[Shmily1]

After working for over 7 years in a grocery store, I've about seen it all. Here are a few of mine...

• If your kid is unruly, don't bring him to the store. I don't care to see him wallowing on the floor or touching all the stuff other people might want to buy.
• Grocery store feet... wear your shoes!! We don't want to see that.
• Nasty kids...really, it's ok to wash them and you can brush their hair too!
• Pajamas... we don't care how cool your pajamas are. They are for sleeping, not the grocery store.
• People that carry the grocery carts home with them. Good that they live close, but carry your stuff or drive. It's what we all do.
• On Christmas Eve, if the sign on the door says it closes at 6, it closes at 6. You should have shopped earlier like everyone else. There's no need to try to push the door open or shove past the person trying to go home to their kids that just happens to have to lock the door.

 

[jen0610]

I refuse to use the self check outs , that lets company's know they can stop hiring more people , as the customer will do it themselves. We need more help in this economy as it is. Not less work.

ITA.

I will not shop at stores with self check outs.

With as poorly as cashiers get trained now a days, I much perfer to check myself out. I can ring it up, pack it in less bags, and do it 10 times faster than 98% of these people who's job it is to do it.

The other 2%, are cashiers that are the same age as me or older and have cashiered for years and know how to sack groceries. If I get someone under the age of 40 - for the most part - I end up with 2 to 4 items in a bag that I can pack with 10 to 12 items in it.

 

[dakcp2001]

I was looking at yogurt on Sunday, and looking for a particular flavor of a particular brand. That takes me less than 30 seconds to scan with my eyes, see the color, and grab 3 but a very large couple (yes TWO grown adults) literally squeeze in front of me and then stop, not even looking or buying yogurt. The lady's body actually bumped me out of the way. It was like I was totally invisible. After 2 "excuse me" 's and a good 5 minutes of waiting for them to move their giant behinds I had to yell at them. Then they stared at me like I had 5 heads. Oblivious. I do not lose my temper often, but every now and then...watch out. At least apologize for nearly knocking me over, you jerks! Ugh.

 

[Hrhpd]

Ok, my pet peeve is not about the actual store but more the patrons...
1. If someone only has 1/2 items LET THEM GO IN FRONT OF YOU, it is sooo rude to have a basket full of grocerys and not allow someone with a few items to go first.
Why is this rude. If somebody has 1/2 items and is behind a full cart, they should proceed to the express lane. Sorry, but my time is valuable too. What does one do if there are 2 or 3 people with one or two items behind them, let them all go ahead? What I find rude is somebody who is entitled enough to think their time is more important than others.
2. Do NOT break your order into multiply orders!!! I was once behind someone who broke their order into 3/4 sep orders, it took FOREVER! Sorry if you have a problem with this. I know many people who shop for several elderly people at one time. Each person needs their own receipt. I have also shopped for our non-profit and my personal stuff also. I am not going to tick off the IRS by putting my personal shopping on the non-profit receipt because the impatient, entitled person behind me thinks they are more important.
3. PLEASE PLEASE (this is my BIGGEST PET PEEVE) do not look thru all pockets / handbags to find CHANGE! if the change is over 50 cents, BREAK THE DOLLAR! I once stood behind someone who looked for 98cents in change, unbelievableThis I will agree with.

Grocery stores ALWAYS put me in a bad mood..

my answers in red above.

Why is it rude? The person with more groceries has stood in line and waited his or her turn?

My pet peeve: people who go shopping with unrealistic expectation of what the grocery shopping experience entails. And yes I have broke up my orders as well. I used to all shop for my MIL when she was sick and it upset her to thnik I was paying for her stuff. So in order to give her some comfort in a way that I could, I would have her items rung up seperately so I could give her her own receipt.

 

[davmill]

1) People that don't start looking for their checkbook until everything is totaled and bagged.
2) Screaming kids while the parent(s) ignore them.
3) Watching screaming kids get beat and slapped real hard because of the stupid parents unable to do anything but beat their kids.
4) People with 40 items going in the 20 or less lane.
5) Wal-Mart's fake price rollbacks. I watch the prices of their items and when I see that they have raised the price, I watch it again. Pretty soon they "rollback" the price to a price that is higher then it was before.
6) Not enough clerks.


I like shopping at Public's...except for the high prices.

 

[SandrA9810]

Why are the people with 1 or 2 items even in line with me and my big basket of groceries? They belong in the express lane.

I actually HATE when a person with 1 or 2 items lines up behind me in the regular line, giving me guilt (I realize that they are secretly hoping I will wave them ahead of me. Why else would they do that?) I have often just turned to them and nicely advised them to go wait in express.

I would rather wait behind one large cart than get in a line behind 3 or 4 people in the express lane. Statically speaking, you're more likely to move faster than the other people.

I appreciate it when people let me in front, but I have no problem waiting in line. I have a tendency to go shopping without a cart because I spend way less than when things started getting tossed in the cart. It makes me think about what I have, what I need, and if I need it, how do I carry it.

The cashiers at Safeway are really slow too when it comes to bagging and ringing items up. I'd rather just bag my own items so I know it's done properly rather than standing there while they try to do it all themselves. But that would just look so horrible on their part. 99% of the time I pay by debit, which can be done at any time during the transaction, not just at the very end.

 

[dakcp2001]

I also hate when people do not have their card or money out and ready to pay. Oh you want me to pay? Let me dig through my giant purse. It is not a big surprise people, you know it is coming so be prepared.

I also hate everyone at the deli, all the time. There is a system here, people, take a number and get in line like everyone else. Why is it so difficult for people to take a number? UGH. This is not a new system! And move yourself out of the way until your number is called, don't block the whole case with your car.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My peeve is when I bring my own bags, and the bagger doesn't put the cold stuff in the insulated one.

Ok, my pet peeve is not about the actual store but more the patrons...
1. If someone only has 1/2 items LET THEM GO IN FRONT OF YOU, it is sooo rude to have a basket full of grocerys and not allow someone with a few items to go first.
2. Do NOT break your order into multiply orders!!! I was once behind someone who broke their order into 3/4 sep orders, it took FOREVER!
3. PLEASE PLEASE (this is my BIGGEST PET PEEVE) do not look thru all pockets / handbags to find CHANGE! if the change is over 50 cents, BREAK THE DOLLAR! I once stood behind someone who looked for 98cents in change, unbelievable

Grocery stores ALWAYS put me in a bad mood..

to 1. While I think it's awfully nice when when people do this, I definitely don't think it's "rude" not to. The person has waited for his or her turn and deserves to be able to take it. If they let me go, it is a random act of kindness, definitely not something they owe me. And like somone else said, what if the next person also has only one item, and the next person...? Where does it stop?

So for the flip-side...

I love when the man at the deli offers a slice of cheese for my toddler
(I always buy a 1/4 lb even if I don't need any cheese to keep her happy in the store, LOL)

I always try to reach for the divider and put it at the end of my groceries and appreciate when the person ahead of me does too.

One time I was having a coughing fit while shopping with my daughter and a man working in the produce section ran to get me a cup of water without even being asked.

I love that someone added good stuff too!

Mine happened last week. - My grocery store has recently rearranged, and while I was picking up a few things, I was writing down what was in each isle now, because I like to make my list vaguely in order. A stock person asked if I needed help finding something, and when I explained what I was doing, she went into the office and came back with a copy of the new store map for me!

 

[cluvsdisney]

I thought of another one...

I generally bag my groceries while the cashier is ringing them my order. They will almost always finish ringing before I can finish packing and every once in a while the cashier will stand there watching me pack the rest of the order instead of putting items in a bag too.

 

[Flight]

Unless you have a physical limitation or are watching your infant, bag your own groceries.

 

[Hrhpd]

ITA.

I will not shop at stores with self check outs.

I won't shop at our local Albertsons as they took out the self check out but didn't add cashiers. Hence, long lines.

 

[MIGrandma]

Some of these grocery store pet peeves have been...um...entertaining to say the least!

I agree with many, like people stopping to chat in the middle of the aisle and are oblivious to anyone trying to get around them, people leaving their cart in the middle of the aisle to go get something, cashiers wasting bags by putting so few items in each, etc.

But there are a few I disagree with as well, like letting someone with 1/2 items go ahead of me. I will do that sometimes but I don't feel it's rude if I don't. Rude is the person with 1/2 items that feels entitled to go ahead of me. And I would never let someone with a few items go ahead of me if there were others in line behind me as well.

I don't agree with the poster who said you shouldn't break up orders as it takes too much time. Sorry, but as others have said some people are shopping for elderly parents or others and they HAVE to separate the orders. People behind them need to be patient. They may be in that situation themselves someday and have to separate orders too, and then have someone behind them getting impatient.

I don't agree with not writing a check. It only takes a few seconds for the machine to print it, and most stores don't even require you to fill it out or even sign it anymore. DH and I do not have a debit card and we do not want one. I've heard of so many problems that people have with them and their banks, places like gas stations putting a "hold" on your funds, etc. etc. etc. I don't want to deal with crap like that. A check is so much easier, and it's what we prefer. If someone behind me doesn't like it, that's too bad.

Here's one about a cashier that hasn't been mentioned yet. You know how they start bagging your stuff then you start taking your bags and putting them back into your cart? I had one that wouldn't LET me put them in my cart. She stopped me when I started to take the first one, and I asker her why...she said when it came back around she would put more items in it!! Seriously?! I had NEVER seen THAT done before. I just had to stand there, while she loaded up my bags and then when SHE deemed they were ready to be taken, THEN I could take them! Thankfully we don't live near that store so I don't think I'll ever encounter that particular cashier again.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

I hate screaming kids! It just bugs me to see little people so unhappy! I applozie if any of you have had a screaming child whos staring at the crazy lady making faces, just trying to help! I love trying to cheer children up (and sometimes it works!)