Venting : store check out etiquette

[HubbDave]

I once was unloading my cart from the front and the lady in line behind me started unloading MY cart from the back. I had to ask her twice to back off. Her reply? "I'm in a hurry". Then when I was swipping my credit card she pushed by me and pulled my cart out of the isle.

Wow...that is nuts.

I always wait until the person in front of me is done with paying and has started walking with the cart before I advance. Most pellets don't seem to crowd much. If they do it is usually by accident, but this is a pretty Podunk area...

 

[CPT Tripss]

That is why I have the cart in behind me. It is a space blocker.

But then you impede my ability to put my purchases on the belt.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

But then you impede my ability to put my purchases on the belt.

I move my cart after I swipe my card which I do right away when the cashier starts checking my stuff. I don't wait until she is finished ringing me up and THEN I swipe.

In no way do I impede your ability to put your purchases on the belt.

 

[NaLisa]

Not to excuse anyone invading the personal space of another, but I'm trying to remember when something like this might have happened to me or if I ever inadvertently invaded the space of someone in front of me.

Is it possible that people are trying to move forward as much as possible to keep from blocking the perpendicular aisle that feeds all the checkout lanes?

Or that they worry about holding up the people behind them if they don't get their items on the conveyor belt ASAP?

I know when I'm at Walmart, it seems like the people both in front of an behind me are frequently testy, likely due to the amount of time they have to spend in line there.

 

[nephthys43]

This is why I love my long hair. You get in my space, I smack you with my hair. You get a warning look or two first though.

I just had this happen at the mall. Woman up my tush in line at the food court. I turned and gave her a look and moved up a bit. She moved up as well. I turned around again and said, "do you mind?" She acted like she didn't understand English. Finally I unpinned my hair and let her have it. It had been up alllllll day and I really needed to run my fingers through it and toss it around a whole lot at exactly that point in time. She finally backed off. Gave me dirty looks the whole rest of the time in line.

 

[Jaya]

How about the person in back of you who keeps ramming you with their cart? Like that's going to make a miraculous space in front of me appear so that I can move up. A few months ago, a guy in Costco took a chunk out of the back of my leg when he ran into the back of me with his cart. Let me tell you, I threw a MAJOR hissy-fit over that..... And don't even get me started on the people who let their small children push the cart.

 

[dogluva]

I had a lady in CVS reach over me to have the cashier scan her card. She had not even put my stuff in a bag. I said, "excuse me" and she said, "I am late for a party". So I stood there and had her wait even longer, Sunday, a man and his kids were encroaching and I asked him why he was giving me the bum' rush. He laughed, I don't even think he realized.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I was in line and I had not even finished putting my stuff up and the lady behind me started putting her stuff up , her husband told her to stop because I wasn't done putting my stuff up yet.

 

[palmbeachmom]

When I'm at the grocery store and someone starts pushing into me with their cart, i just start backing up my rear end firmly into their cart. Usually, it pushes their cart back into them so they stop. If I'm in someplace like CVS where there is no cart and someone gets all up on me, I will simply back up into their body. Once I even asked a rather rude man, jokingly of course, if he was cold and just trying to snuggle up with me to keep warm!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I can't picture this. How does the checker/bagger put your bags in the cart? Do they hand them to you?

They dont hand the bags to you. Not sure the kind of grocery stores you have but every single store/cashier around here have the bags placed on the end of the belt counter. You grab them yourself. Nobody hands bags over to you...ever. Also, most of the stores I go to are a self-bag store. You bag it yourself by using a cloth bag...or you can get a box that is available to you for free. Plastic bags cost 5 cents.

I also put the cart behind me....once I place all my groceries on the belt, I move my cart up and start putting the bags in my cart while the cashier is ringing up the groceries.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've noticed this a lot lately too. When they get too close, I try to actually close the gap a little more, pretending I didn't even see them there. They usually back up a bit then.

 

[mhsjax]

They dont hand the bags to you. Not sure the kind of grocery stores you have but every single store/cashier around here have the bags placed on the end of the belt counter. You grab them yourself. Nobody hands bags over to you...ever. Also, most of the stores I go to are a self-bag store. You bag it yourself by using a cloth bag...or you can get a box that is available to you for free. Plastic bags cost 5 cents.

I also put the cart behind me....once I place all my groceries on the belt, I move my cart up and start putting the bags in my cart while the cashier is ringing up the groceries.

Where I live, most of us shop at Publix. I have never had anyone get into my space at my store. I don't know where most of you live but in all my 30 years of shopping, this had never happened to me. Also at Publix, the bag and place your groceries in your cart for you.

Guess that is why their motto is: Publix, where shopping is a pleasure and I have to tell you, it is.

 

[mom2rtk]

Where I live, most of us shop at Publix. I have never had anyone get into my space at my store. I don't know where most of you live but in all my 30 years of shopping, this had never happened to me. Also at Publix, the bag and place your groceries in your cart for you.

I grocery shop at Wal-Mart. The clerk puts the groceries in plastic bags on a turntable. It only holds 6 bags. It takes many more then 6 plastic bags of groceries every week for a family of 5. So while she's bagging, I have to take the bags off the hooks and put them in my cart or everything backs up. I guess I could just wait and she'd do it. Without fail though, every time I step to the side to take a bag off the carousel and put it in the cart, the person behind me moves up to the payment spot. Maybe I should just let them pay next time.

 

[mhsjax]

I grocery shop at Wal-Mart. The clerk puts the groceries in plastic bags on a turntable. It only holds 6 bags. It takes many more then 6 plastic bags of groceries every week for a family of 5. So while she's bagging, I have to take the bags off the hooks and put them in my cart or everything backs up. I guess I could just wait and she'd do it. Without fail though, every time I step to the side to take a bag off the carousel and put it in the cart, the person behind me moves up to the payment spot. Maybe I should just let them pay next time.

YOu could. Oh and I know all too well how much food it takes to feed a family of 5, especially with 2 teen boys. Although, I do keep my neighbor company at Walmart, ( she hates going alone) and she hasn't had this problem when I am with her. OH well, I guess both of us have been lucky.

I don't shop at Walmart, so I don't have this problem. Not convenient for me.

 

[IMissEd]

Sometimes when this happens to me I start having a big, fake coughing and sneezing fit.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Where I live, most of us shop at Publix. I have never had anyone get into my space at my store. I don't know where most of you live but in all my 30 years of shopping, this had never happened to me. Also at Publix, the bag and place your groceries in your cart for you.

Guess that is why their motto is: Publix, where shopping is a pleasure and I have to tell you, it is.

Not once, in all my years grocery shopping at a variety of stores, did a cashier put bags in my cart for me. Not once ever. Would be nice thou...not gonna lie.

 

[mhsjax]

Not once, in all my years grocery shopping at a variety of stores, did a cashier put bags in my cart for me. Not once ever. Would be nice thou...not gonna lie.

Yeah, Publix is in a class all by itself. It is wonderful. They also insist on taking your groceries out to your car. They also have a covered area, and when it rains the baggers will wait under roof with your items and your child, until you go and get your car. Most are teen boys from around the neighborhood, so you can trust them watching your kid. They are wonderful.

 

[njmom47]

In our area, we don't have baggers or people help us to the car. (Although the first time that happened to me in Florida, my "Jersey" came out and I tried to argue with the guy )
I would say 75% of people where I shop bag their own stuff, and a lot of people bring their own bags.
I too leave my cart in the "aisle" near the pin pad. I also sometimes leave stuff on the metal edge of the counter allll the way back so people can't put their stuff up.

 

[mhsjax]

In our area, we don't have baggers or people help us to the car. (Although the first time that happened to me in Florida, my "Jersey" came out and I tried to argue with the guy )
I would say 75% of people where I shop bag their own stuff, and a lot of people bring their own bags.
I too leave my cart in the "aisle" near the pin pad.

Don't worry, I have a good friend from Jersey, she was confused at first, now she is a convert. LOVES IT.

 

[MIGrandma]

When I was grocery shopping recently I felt someone actually bump into my behind as I was moving my full bags back into my cart to take out to my car. It wasn't the person's cart, it was his body that bumped me in the behind.

I looked at him and the cashier said "she's not done yet, you need to back up a little and give her room." I was thankful she said that as I didn't really know what to say, he caught me off guard I guess. He was ahead of his cart, and his wife was behind their cart. She had to back up with the cart, so he could back up.

They still didn't back up enough, because when the cashier was done ringing everything up and I had the bags all in the cart I had to step back to pay so had to say "excuse me" so they moved back again.

Why don't people just give you your space to begin with?!

I stay at the back of the conveyor belt with my groceries and I don't move up by the register until the person ahead of me has paid and moved on with their cart, then I move my cart ahead of me (so I can start loading up the full bags) and get by the register while the cashier is ringing things up.

I do like how the pharmacy works, you have to stand in line by the ropes and you don't move up until one of the clerks calls you up. So there is nobody standing directly behind you breathing down your neck while you're getting your prescriptions.