Grocery Store Pet Peeves

[sbell111]

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!)

I don't like screaming kids, either. Actually, that's not true. Since we've had kids, other people's screaming kids don't bother me anymore. I'll smile, give their parent's the 'been there, done that' look, and move on.

My screaming kids bug me, mostly because it is so frustrating when little kids lose it at inopportune times and aren't quickly able to be snapped out of it. Still, groceries need to be purchased, so the stock answer of removing the children immediately from the store if they start to melt down isn't realistic, in my opinion.

To the stranger who gives me the 'been there, done that' look or throws my kids a funny face or a friendly comment at these times when we are showing the world our worst: a sincere 'thank you'.

 

[anniemae]

Oh, I forgot one. I hate the people behind me in line who feel the need to get as close as possible to me. I will be standing there waiting for the person in front of me to finish up and the person behind me is practically pressing the front of his cart into my behind! I will be trying to pay and every inch I move, the cart moves closer to me. I want to scream "JUst wait your turn! Pushing your cart into me will NOT make the process move faster!"

 

[sbell111]

Ah, so you're one of THOSE?
The person who comes in and buys a package of Tic Tacs and uses a debit card?

I've been tempted to plunk a dollar down to get people like you out of my way so I don't have to wait for the debit card to be approved.

Unless I am on vacation, it is super rare that I have any actual cash money in my pocket. As such, I use my debit card for nearly all purchases. I don't see how this inconveniences anyone as I'm pretty certain that I can enter my PIN and finish my transaction in about the same time that it takes another customer to count out money hand it to a cashier, the cashier to count it, compute my change, count that out, and then count it out for me.

If anything, people paying with cash should be a pet peave. (It's not for me, however, because I don't pay much attention to other people's transactions.)

 

[lovin'fl]

Here are a couple gripes I have:

1)I use self check out most of the time and hate when someone in front of me doesn't know how to do it and takes FOREVER. Uggghhh, don't go to self check out unless you know what you're doing or can figure it out quick and have your glasses (if you need them), so you can see/read the screen. The lady in front of me yesterday had no clue how to do it and was squinting at the screen and kept pushing buttons and then would stand there confused for long moments...uggghhh! And then some folks, after they ring all their items up, they very slowly bag while you are just standing there waiting. I personally don't mind if someone behind me starts to ring up while I am still bagging (and they have a little bar to put across to keep orders separated), but most other folks HATE that and shoot you the evil eye if you start to ring while they are still bagging.

2) I also like to separate cold from non-cold items and bring my own re-usable bags. I like to bag all cold together and zip up bag and then bag all cleaning/household items together and then all non-cold food/drink items together. I hate when a worker bags it all willy nilly (if not in self check out, I put up stuff on belt in groups of how I want it bagged and yet they switch/mix it all up). Also, hate when they over-stuff my bags and they are super heavy.

3) I also wonder why the self check out cashier can't come along and bag for us using self check out to help us go faster. The lines were so long yesterday (partly from the lady in front of me holding my line up) and the cashier just stood behind his stand doing nothing. There is one store I go to where the self check out cashier does go along and help bag and I love that (I'll even forgive the mixing up of my items if it gets me out quicker).

4) I also don't like those aggressive folks that zip around and cut you off...just like many do with driving. They just push their way through you. Then there are the ones who, as you are walking up to check out, they zip on up in front of you (likely the same folks).

I hate to grocery shop and try to go early in the day and during the week so as to avoid all the hassles.

 

[Sugardimples]

I'm sure some of you do this, so don't take it too personally. I get irritated by people who bring the whole flippin family to the grocery store. I know they mean no harm, but grocery shopping isn't a family event for us. It's a painful chore for me to endure. I try to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. I'm glad the families are (seemingly) enjoying themselves, but I'm not. Step aside!

I find this to be especially true the weekend before Thanksgiving.

 

[sbell111]

4. Groceries cost a fortune. I am not self checking anything. Hire some cashiers. Someone has to monitor the self checkout anyway. Put them on a register. When you give me a discount for doing the job then I will check out the whole store for you.

They ARE giving you a discount. When people self-check, the store doesn't have to hire as many employees. This savings results in lower grocery prices; effectively 'discounting' the cost of groceries for everyone who shops there, even people like you who refuse to help the company make these savings.

 

[sbell111]

It weird that people say Walmart has cluttered aisle. Unless it the bread, pop or chip asiles. Walmart does there stocking on overnights

I think that what they are referring to is one of two issues.

WalMart tends to have very wide main aisles that are split in two by large merchandise displays. Generally traffic works just like on roads where people on one side of the aisle go in one direction and people on teh other side travel in the opposite. Some people didn't get this basic shopping memo and gum up the works, however.

The other thing about WalMart (and other department stores) is that the when you get off the main aisles and into the individual departments (the clothing departments, generally), the aisles often are very narrow and convoluted. One shopping cart often doesn't fit through these areas without brushing clothing (or at least being too close to the clothing for a toddler to resist). Multiple shoppers with carts generally make shopping in these departments quite a pain.

 

[marmalade]

Oh, I forgot one. I hate the people behind me in line who feel the need to get as close as possible to me. I will be standing there waiting for the person in front of me to finish up and the person behind me is practically pressing the front of his cart into my behind! I will be trying to pay and every inch I move, the cart moves closer to me. I want to scream "JUst wait your turn! Pushing your cart into me will NOT make the process move faster!"

This happened to me a few months ago and I was in a particularly bad mood that day. I turned around with full intentions of telling this creep to back off and give me some space because I could feel his breath down the back of my neck. When I turned around he looked right at me with his very large swastika tattoo smack dab in the middle of his forehead. Needless to say I paid for my groceries and left without saying a word to him.

 

[sbell111]

Mine is: It seems that I always in up with the misfit shopping cart. You know the one with the one crazy wheel or better yet the one that sounds like a freakin train clicking and clacking down the track and everyone stares at you when you walk by. I swap out sometimes, but for some reason our WalMart has the worst carts, so sometimes I just can't get a good one.

I hate that too. Also, I hate that because the stores that mostly seem to have this problem have the cart area bricked or tiled so you can't easily detect the defect until you have actually entered the store, so you (I, anyway) often don't bother to go back to exchange the cart for another (potentially bad one).

 

[sbell111]

Unfortunately, yes. It's awful. Makes me wonder how they ever get their feet clean, or if they do. It's just nasty!

I'm thinking that people who go around barefoot aren't very interested in making sure that the bottom of their feet remain clean.

 

[scubamouse]

My biggest pet peeve is people not returning their carts to the cart area. How important and entitled do you have to be to not walk 20 yards or less to put the cart away?

 

[POOHsie]

My biggest pet peeve is people not returning their carts to the cart area. How important and entitled do you have to be to not walk 20 yards or less to put the cart away?

Speaking of not returning the cart, how about the ones checking out in front of you, who have their cart behind them, then leave the cart at the check-out belt when they're done. If you have your cart in front of you, it's hard to get these abandoned carts out of the way. These people are the very definition of self-absorbed blockheads.

 

[tvguy]

Unless I am on vacation, it is super rare that I have any actual cash money in my pocket. As such, I use my debit card for nearly all purchases. I don't see how this inconveniences anyone as I'm pretty certain that I can enter my PIN and finish my transaction in about the same time that it takes another customer to count out money hand it to a cashier, the cashier to count it, compute my change, count that out, and then count it out for me.

If anything, people paying with cash should be a pet peave. (It's not for me, however, because I don't pay much attention to other people's transactions.)

Like I said, except for Walmart, most debit systems around here take more time than plunking down cold hard cash.

 

[sbell111]

Like I said, except for Walmart, most debit systems around here take more time than plunking down cold hard cash.

I didn't realize that the non-WalMart stores in Carmichael, CA had slower debit machines than everywhere else. Mea culpa.

 

[Elmo9607]

Most kf the time, I'd rather someone pay in cash then debit. They swipe their card, then enter their PIN, then stand there and stare into space while the machine asks them if they want cash back, then after they select yes or no, they stare into space again while the machine asks them to confirm their amount. Heaven forbid the PIN gets entered wrong! I've had people ASK ME what their PINS are, as in, 'Do you know what the numbers in my PIN are? I forgot...'

Then you remind them that they can always run their card as credit, but you get 'But I can't possibly do that! It's a DEBIT card, not a CREDIT card! If I run it as credit I'll get billed and I don't want that! If I wanted a damn credit card I would have applied for one!' and yada yada yada.

Of course, the vast majority of people know how to properly use credit/debit, thank goodness! But really, credit, debit, and cash all have the potential to be slow...just depends on the person using it.

As for the bagging...even though I work at a home improvement store, we sell limited foodstuffs. On the first day of cashier training, we're taught to NEVER put ANYTHING chemical in with food, or any items of clothing. Ever. Or boxes of nails, ect. It's just common sense.

My pet peeves while I'm the one shopping are people who go to unload their cart and take one item out at a time, all while gazing at said item in wonder like they've never seen it before in their lives. Hello! If you're shopping alone, nobody put that in your cart but you!

And one time I had a person in front of me with a full cart of groceries. He told the cashier 'Oh, I only have $50 to spend, so when you get up to that, let me know, and I'll pick amd choose what to keep and put back.' Oh hell no buddy, you need to keep a mental tally of your order cost YOURSELF while shopping on a budget.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

most of the stores I go to, its faster to use a debit or credit card. mainly because I can swipe it and as soon as the cashier hits the total button, it gets approved.

but then again, I live in a modern city and the stores probably have a system that is always on-line and not a dial up type.

strangely enough, I have noticed that when people pay with cash, the clerk seems to take MORE time because he/she needs to count it when handed to them (to not be accused of making a mistake, common when customers are trying to scam!) (I gave you TWO twenties, not a twenty and a ten!)

and then needs to count it back to the customer (same reason!)

 

[Ginny Favers]

The last time I was in the supermarket with my young daughter, I had a full cart and was loading everything on the conveyor when a young guy came up behind me and said, "Mind if I go past?" I didn't see anything in his hands so I assumed he wanted to walk past us. When I said yes, he went over, grabbed this giant flower arrangement, knocked my daughter over, and handed the arrangement to the cashier. And there were empty self-checkout lines and express lines that were just for that purpose! I got the feeling he'd never set foot in a supermarket before and was confused.

Don't get me started on people who sit chatting it up with cashiers when there are lines of people behind them. Elderly people always seem to do this, and I feel bad that they have nobody to talk to, but the cashier has work to do and doesn't really want to hear their life story.

Also... the ice cream is in lane 20. The ice cream cones, lane 2. A not-so-subtle ploy to get you to walk your kid through the entire store, picking up "Oooh! I want this!" items all along the way.

 

[Bob NC]

My pet peeve is people who come to pet peeve threads and argue with other people about their personal pet peeves.

I'm sure someone will have a problem with this pet peeve.

Oh, my grocery store pet peeve, (I have a million of them, really. Most about the other shoppers, not the grocery store), is when I'm waiting in line and a clerk from a newly opened register gets my attention and tells me to come over there. I usually just mouth, "No, I'll just wait here", then they insist by saying, "No, come on over here I'll get you right away." Then I begrudgingly head over there only to have 4 people appear in front of me before I get there.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

a PET PEEVE I have is calling them a pet peeve.

I consider them more to be minor irratations by unthinking whackadoo's


Last time I went to the grocery store, I DID notice that soem women appeared to be wearing pajama bottoms. when I told my wife about this, she said that they were really not pj.'s, but a new style. weird!

 

[rgf207]

Ah Grocery Store Pet Peeves

1. People who take 50+ items to a self checkout
2. People who take 50+ items to an express lane
3. People who pay with check. Seriously, it's 2012
4. When the grocery lines are full and a new checkout opens, take the next customer in line, not the person who get there 2 seconds ago and ran to the open lane.