When Putting Your Items on the Conveyor Belt in the Store

[Nancyg56]

I try to shop when I have plenty of time so I don't get all worked up in the checkout line. I don't care how the person in front of me checks out and I never put my things on the belt unless the person in front lets me know that it's okay.

I don't want anyone to rush me and I do try to group my things as I like them bagged so I give everyone else the same courtesy.

 

[MIGrandma]

I try to shop when I have plenty of time so I don't get all worked up in the checkout line. I don't care how the person in front of me checks out and I never put my things on the belt unless the person in front lets me know that it's okay.

I don't want anyone to rush me and I do try to group my things as I like them bagged so I give everyone else the same courtesy.

So if the guy in front of you has milk and one other small item on the belt, and the rest of the belt is empty and there are two separator bars you still will not put your items on the belt unless HE says it's okay?

And I can totally understand grouping your things as you like them to be bagged, I do that too (cold stuff, frozen, cleaners, etc.) but this woman put one item on a corner of the belt, then another item with LOTS of space between, then another item with LOTS of space between, etc. etc. She used the entire belt for just a few items. I just didn't get that, especially when she knew others were behind her in the line.

Oh, and I did have plenty of time for shopping as I had a long list. It was daylight when I went in and dark when I went to the car. And I didn't get all worked up. I didn't stand there tapping my foot and sighing loudly, etc. as some people do. It was an annoyance. We all have them. Maybe I tend to be more vocal about mine than you do.

 

[Jennasis]

Were you HOLDING your items in your arms or something? I could understand you being upset if you had to physically hold an armload of things while she "hogged" the belt, but if you were just waiting there with your items in cart, I don't understand your issue.

Sounds like a rough day at Walmart for you. Better luck next week?

 

[StarLight StarBright]

I don't put my stuff on the belt until the person in front of me is almost finished paying or if they only have a few items left on the belt. People do not liked being rushed( especially at Walmart).
I was shopping at Aldi one day, and I had a ton of stuff on the belt and as the cashier was ringing it up, I kept adding things to the belt. I started seeing random things in the middle of my purchases that I knew I didn't put in my cart!
I looked behind me and the lady behind me was putting her stuff on the belt with mine! Who does that? The cashier kept saying Mam, you have to wait, and she just kept piling her stuff on! I'm guessing she didn't understand English I had to go through my cart after the cashier had my things back in my cart( no bags at aldi) and pull things out that belonged to the lady. Now that was redonkulous!

 

[Nancyg56]

So if the guy in front of you has milk and one other small item on the belt, and the rest of the belt is empty and there are two separator bars you still will not put your items on the belt unless HE says it's okay?

I don't have an involved conversation about loading my groceries. Once the person in front of me puts the bar down I start. If the person does not the most I will do is put a few things on the metal counter at the end of the belt. There are often several separator bars but if the customer in front of me does not put them down I am not going to impinge on his space. This simply does not matter to me enough to get annoyed by.

I will add that there are some stores I avoid like the plague. That is because I get annoyed when I shop there and since I hate to shop in the first place I won't continue to patronize a store that make me crazy. I know I can get groceries at Walmart but I will pay more anywhere else in order to stay out of that store. I hate Stop and Shop so I don't go there either. There is a small chain of stores in my area that I like, has plenty of registers open and baggers for each lane so I shop there. Makes no difference if I wait a little longer for the guy in front of me to place his things because I am still out of the store fast enough to suit me.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I put everything close together.

I seperate it out too...There are things I want bagged together and unless I am at the commissary where they have actual baggers (that know cold goes with cold...Don't put household cleaners with food...ETC.....)I make it easier for them.

There is very little room between these groups though...Maybe an inch or two.

I am so with you on the bagging thing! The worst is when I actually remember to bring the cloth bags, and they don't put the frozen stuff in the insulated one!

But to the OP, I try to put things close together, and always put the separator down so the next person can start. Maybe your line-mate was just distracted.

 

[tvguy]

My wife insists that we put items on the belt with like items.....frozen items together...refrigerated items together...produce together....household chemcials/soap together. It does speed up the time for the clerk doing the bagging. But we fill in every nook and cranny on the belt so the person behind us can put there stuff on sooner.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Where you at Walmart yesterday?

Thank God I wasn't at Walmart yesterday, a car burst into flames and set 7 other cars on fire!!!!


But to answer the question, yes I start putting my stuff up as soon as the person in front of me finishes unloading their buggy. I will put the divider down if they don't and I will put the divider down again when I'm done with my stuff.
I do frequently let people go ahead of me if they have a few items because typically I have a ton of stuff.
I also group my like items together, cans and jars, boxes, frozen, veggies, meat. ETC, makes for easier packing and unpacking especially since I use my own bags.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I am so with you on the bagging thing! The worst is when I actually remember to bring the cloth bags, and they don't put the frozen stuff in the insulated one!

But to the OP, I try to put things close together, and always put the separator down so the next person can start. Maybe your line-mate was just distracted.

I try to put the insulated bag on top of the frozen stuff, that way the baggers are better at using it. I also have one specific one for meat that I lay on top of the meat for them to use. It's a slick plastic type material that can easily be wiped out after I'm done.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Neither. I load based on belt speed. If the belt is faster, then my stuff spreads out. If it is slow, its stacked. I dont readjust my stuff after I unload.

When I am done, I will always put a separator behind my stuff.

I do the exact same thing.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't think it's odd at all. Everyone has different ways of doing things. Maybe the woman was being respectful of the guy's space. I think it's rude when a customer that's behind me will start to put down their items, when I've haven't even finished placing my items on the belt. Just wait your turn.

I find that when I'm bothered by insignificant things in my daily life, there is usually a personal reason or problem that's the true cause of my annoyance and not the behavior of those around me.

I don't think it's all that insignificant. Remember that recent 'news' that shoppers who use a handbasket tend to spend more, make more impulse purchases, than shoppers who use a rolling cart? I think they were following me. That basket gets HEAVY when you (I) overfill it!

I use a cane, so I only have one free hand to carry it - so the sooner I can get the basket on the belt, and my purchases out, the better. Someone waiting for a shopper with a gallon of milk and one other item to complete a transaction is making things inconvenient for all the shoppers behind them.

 

[disneychic2]

I never knew I could be offending someone when grabbing the dividing bar so I could start unloading. Usually the person ahead of me puts the diving bar down, but if not, I do it. That's what it's there for. I don't stand next the person ahead of me or try to hurry them along in any way. I have had people totally in my hoola hoop, though and I don't like it. Such as standing almost touching me while I'm paying. For the most part, this is a non issue since I go grocery shopping early and the crowds aren't there yet. I do, however, group my purchases according to category as others have stated. I want all my cold stuff together and my non-food items packed separately.

 

[DipsyDoodles]

Don't sweat the small stuff....

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I am a lil OCD when I put my items up,

I group them together as to how I want them bagged,

Cold stuff, frozen stuff, meats, fresh foods, boxed foods, etc

One thing I can't stand is where the person in front of you is done and paid and they don't move on. I can't stand it when the cashier starts to ring my order and I can't see the prices to make sure everything rings up right.

When I take my reciept and change if I have any, I move up and out of the way and then put my change, reciept, get my keys, put on my sun-glasses, apply chapstick, balance my checkbook, make a phone call, text somebody, blow my nose, OUT OF THE WAY

 

[Nancyg56]

I never knew I could be offending someone when grabbing the dividing bar so I could start unloading. Usually the person ahead of me puts the diving bar down, but if not, I do it.

I can only speak for myself but I don't get offended. I just got into the habit of waiting for the customer in front of me to signal that it is okay for me to start by putting the bar down. Many times the cashier will do it.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Not only do I put them close together as possible, I group them by how the should be bagged. Soda up front, then frozen, then cans and boxes, then produce, bread, and paper products.

I know, I'm a little nutty.

And if the person in front of me is done putting their things on the belt, I don't wait for a signal or the cashier, I just but the bar down and start unloading.

 

[snapppyd]

We always do self checkout and bag our own groceries. Our store has 4 self checks so if we are taking too long the person behind us has 3 other registers to pick from (there is one line leading to the 4 self checkouts). I can't stand it when someone invades my "personal space". I think it's rude to get too close to the person in front of you or try to rush them.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We always do self checkout and bag our own groceries.

We do that as long as we aren't doing one of our big trips, too.

 

[ols386]

Stop shopping at Walmart.

I only care how much is in their cart. The cashier can only ring up items at a certain rate. I have found I can add items to the belt faster than thew cashier can ring them, so not having my items packed on the belt is not going to cause you undo time in the store.

It wouldn't apply only to Walmart. Any grocery store that I go to has the same set-up at the cashier counter.

Not me. I must be slow at loading my items on the belt, because most of the cashiers I've run across, scan the items faster than I can load onto the belt.

I wait until the person has paid or in the process of paying before I put my things up on the belt. I HATE being rushed when I'm trying to check out and I do not rush others through the process.

I also do spread everything out on the belt according to my groupings. I'm pretty particularly about the way my things are packed.

Not me. I wait till they are finished unloading their cart, and then I place the divider there (if the person in front of me hasn't already done so), and start loading my things on the belt. Why would I wait until they are in the process of paying before placing my things on the belt? I would think that might slow down the check-out line a bit.

I'm not trying to rush the person in front of me by placing my items behind the divider on the belt. Just trying to be time efficient by going ahead and placing my things on the belt, so when the cashier is finished with the person in front of me, they can go ahead and scan my items.

I try to shop when I have plenty of time so I don't get all worked up in the checkout line. I don't care how the person in front of me checks out and I never put my things on the belt unless the person in front lets me know that it's okay.
I don't want anyone to rush me and I do try to group
my things as I like them bagged so I give everyone else the same courtesy.

You mean by them verbally telling you that it's ok?

I don't have an involved conversation about loading my groceries. Once the person in front of me puts the bar down I start. If the person does not the most I will do is put a few things on the metal counter at the end of the belt. There are often several separator bars but if the customer in front of me does not put them down I am not going to impinge on his space. This simply does not matter to me enough to get annoyed by.

I will add that there are some stores I avoid like the plague. That is because I get annoyed when I shop there and since I hate to shop in the first place I won't continue to patronize a store that make me crazy. I know I can get groceries at Walmart but I will pay more anywhere else in order to stay out of that store. I hate Stop and Shop so I don't go there either. There is a small chain of stores in my area that I like, has plenty of registers open and baggers for each lane so I shop there. Makes no difference if I wait a little longer for the guy in front of me to place his things because I am still out of the store fast enough to suit me.

Oh, I see.

 

[ebtbmom]

I think that I just kind of toss mine on haphazardly.

DH on the other hand will stack items so tight and so high that everytime the cashier moves the belt forward the tower of groceries sways in the wind and threatens to topple over. I don't know what he thinks he's accomplishing by doing this because it takes just as long for the cashier to play Jenga trying to get the groceries out as it would have taken them to inch the belt up some so he could spread it out more. Oh well, at least he helps with grocery shopping I guess.