Things that annoy me

My husband was caring for his dying mother. Had no help but took the opportunity when visitors arrived to go and do some shopping. He mistakenly used a ten items or less (only had a few more than this) till in his haste to get back. He had unloaded all the shopping, not noticing the tut tuts from the other customers. The cashier then refused to put through the items. He was in a right state and started to take everything off the belt to move to another till. Halfway through, the cashier must have realised something was wrong or common sense set in and said she would put it through but, being stubborn, he insisted on carrying on. All this must have taken a lot of time and held up the queue longer than if she had just processed the shopping. Just goes to show that you cannot know the problems some people have.

My main irritation is people parking in disabled bays when they do not have a badge. In my experience, usually men with expensive cars.

At checkouts I try to put things on the belt in the order I want to pack them, have my bags ready in the trolley and pack as quickly as I can. However, I am aware that not everyone is able to do that, the other day I was in a queue and the lady in front of me was getting very flustered. She looked at me and apologised for being slow - I just said it wasn't a problem and she should take her time and not worry about it. The smile of relief on her face was wonderful.

The things that annoy me tend to be when I am driving! Drivers who don't understand what indicators are or those who zig zag from one lane to another just to get a couple of spaces in front. I drive past a university on a regular basis and am amazed at the number of students who are intelligent enough to win a place at uni. but are incapable of working out how a light controlled crossing works, even worse are the people who cross the road totally ignoring a pedestrian crossing just a few yards away. Today I saw a man stroll - yes stroll - across the road causing a bus to stop and wait for him to get across, (no he didn't get on the bus) a pedestrian crossing was no more than 10 ft from him!

If you were that upset by the delay why did you not offer yo help them pack their groceries? People are always in too much of a hurry now....

Oh and I rarely get annoyed...It does no good. It is a negative thought. I try to keep my thoughts positive.

We all have days as we get older, when we are slower than others, similarly days when our patience runs out quickly.
We need to just breathe, not get all antsy, after all, the slow person in front could one day be you.

It always made me (and lots of my fellow workers) cross that mums with prams and the retired would be in the bank or the Post Office at lunchtimes. There would be huge queues and it would really cut into my lunch break. They would have all day to do their banking/posting and chose to do it at the busiest time of day!

I now live in rural France and you have to be prepared to stand in line for ages in the supermarket while the customer and the checkout person have a chat, then they get out the purse or cheque book after all of the shopping has been carefully packed back into the trolley. Fortunately, I am not usually in a rush and appreciate that there are a lot of elderly people who need extra time to do things and also want to talk to someone.
There is a lot of letting people in front when they have only one or two things to pay for. Manners are a big thing in this area.

jusnoneed I used to let people with just a couple of items go ahead of me. However, I was in a queue when the lady behind, with a basket of 5 or 6 items asked if she could go first. As I had a fair number of items I told her to go ahead.
She put up her items and there wasn't a code on one of the things, so the cashier had to call for assistance, which took some time, but unavoidable.
Then when the item was put through, she asked for a bag and started putting her things in it. ? why she couldn't have asked for the bag whilst waiting for assistant to get code I don't know!
Then once this was done, the checkout assistant gave her the total and lady reached into her bag and rooted through it, she then rooted through her coat pockets, before returning to the bag and eventually brought out some money bags. She then proceeded to count out the cost of her items in 20p and 10p pieces, finishing off in 1p pieces.
All extremely annoying when you just let someone through as a favour, plus not even a thank you or an apology that she took so much time.
Never again.

One thing I did do last Monday!! (wont be doing it again and you may do it yourself) is...

Bought few item for my lunch in the morning before I started work (banana etc) I popped my card onto the contactless machine and left it there whilst I put my bits in my bag. took my receipt and then was distracted by another colleague.

Off I went to hang coat up etc. started my shift at 8-00 Colleague on Customer service came to me asked if I had "lost anything" said nope I don.t think so and handed me my card!

I had forgotten to pick it up off the card machine! the lady that came on the self service checkout behind me put her shopping through! and my !! card paid for it as it was still sat on the machine..luckily she was honest and handed it n and I was refunded the money (£21.00) Some of my customer do it hence thought ok I will do it.(but no more)!

Considering the amount of profit that supermarkets make, I wonder why they can't have packers on every till, as they do in America. This was in all food shops regardless of how much you were buying. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable shopping experience I've ever had. When I told my friend of the crazy, bad tempered, stressful time that we endure at the tills, she couldn't believe it.

Willow at the supermarket I work at we have! to ask if one would you like any bags? (if we cant see that you have any) the other question we ask is "would you like help with your packing" ? I pack around 30% of my customers shopping and they are always grateful or I at least start packing for them and they then take over. We get told off if we don't ask

We sometimes get the bag packers in the scouts/air cadets/etc who help pack to increase their donations.

I feel a book coming on lol lol

Yesterday, in Tesco's, the assistant said "Would you like me to pack for you?" Lovely! I handed her my bags and she did. Lots of time to get out my cards.

Maybe things are changing for the better then? Let's hope so! In those shops that don't offer this service, it would be nice if they could lend a hand, instead of impatiently waiting for you to pay and finish packing so that they can move on to the next customer!

If I want a change from online, I am retired, loath being shuttled along checkout, I can shop anytime but prefer mid week 5.30 and 6.30pm..
Children out of school shopping with parents are dwindling out.
Business persons yet to arrive.
Store is a 24 opening and one checkout informed me, with exception to Saturday , Sunday early closing, that 5.30 -6-30 pm is the quietest period.

Very same thing irritates me to. Only last week a couple were in front of me packing shopping as if it was going to a perfect shopping exhibition. The female was at the end standing in the passageway, the male was at the cashier area. Eventually all the bags were packed and the male started to push the trolley away. Thinking they must have paid and just been catching up with the packing that they were moving off U started to walk to the packing area. But no, male came back saying he still had to pay and could I move back. Couldn't believe how slow and pernickety anyone could be at a checkout. Both looked to be 50s and no disability. Grrrh!

The book has already been written!

www.amazon.co.uk/Checkout-Girl-Tazeen-Ahmad/dp/0007327722?tag=gransnetforum-21

Funnily enough, my local police force FB page today has a warning about not keeping your purse/wallet/cards in easily accessible places as there has been a spate of pickpocketing.

Willow 10. Yes and they will also take your shopping to your car .unload it and take the trolley back .I could do with this service in the UK.

I nearly always shop online partly because of being gluten intolerant but also because i have impaired mobility and get flustered and anxious with lots of people. Feeling pressured with a line of people behind me, judging my slowness would probably push me into a full scale panic. I think we have to be careful with judging people from our own standards as we have no idea whats going on in their heads or lives and whats a few minutes out of a whole lifetime

I remember some years ago talking to a cashier that I knew locally.
I was packing my bags and just chatting to her when the lady waiting behind me was so rude. Shouting at me to hurry up sohe got a flea in he4 ear from me.
Life’s to short to hurry. Now at the age of 73 I am learning to pace myself and to be more patient. After all I haven’t got a young baby in a buggy yelling or crying anymore.

Nothing more irritating than an irritated person.
DH can get impatient in a queue and when its me he's annoyed with I get flustered and go slowèr than ever.
I never argue with an angry driver. Whoever is at fault, road rage can lead to murder.

lol Sue just read the reviews about the book ,may take a peek at it at some time.

What irritates me is people who don’t drive round a roundabout properly, also those who brake on the on-slip road of a motorway or dual carriageway- both dangerous to them and other drivers

Just be aware that the person in front of you might have a learning disability, and will be hugely panicked by anyone telling them to hurry up. Why not ask the person in front if they would like you to help them pack, you will both get through quicker?

Must admit I do! brake on the slip road if ! the drivers wont let me join as is many occasion, if I didn't brake I would smash into the ones who won't let me join. Those on the motorway already have Priority over the ones joining the slip road if I'm right (I may be wrong) it has been known

I don't see it as a problem as I am quite happy to wait for a person to finish at a checkout. Its usually not that long but was does get my goat up is we have a checkout for baskets only. Fair enough but I can't carry many things in my basket let along 4 pints of milk so I always use a trolley. So I go to the baskets only checkout as I only have 4 heavy items in my trolley and get tut tuts from others who have baskets loaded to the hilt. I did ask one woman if she had a problem when she tut tutted but she turned away..