Jobsworths.

Yes I would have gone back and exited through the correct door. There are usually signs up and sometimes arrows on the floor.
We can't ask the door people to only sometimes enforce the rules. People enter without masks, don't use sanitiser etc. I think the only way to stop you in your tracks was to raise her voice.
I think before venturing shopping you should have asked your son or a friend what the drill is and it is a bit naive to think just going early is OK. Sorry 100% behind the shop

Yes, I would have gone back and used the correct door. You were wrong. Yes you were wrong.

I got screamed at (literally) by a checkout operator in Waitrose for doing the wrong thing - I think I had moved my trolley too far forward, but there were no markings to tell me that. I was very rattled, but I reckoned she must be quite scared to scream like that, and realised she was dealing with people all day, any of whom might pass on the virus to her, so it was understandable.

In this situation, I think I would have said 'Oh, I'm very sorry, I'm not used to this yet', gone out the way I was being directed to, then been fuming when I got home! There's not much point her standing there if she doesn't ask people to use the correct exit!

I visited Asda yesterday for the first time in a year. After the checkout I headed for the door I had come in, only to realise there were barriers in place. As I puzzled over how I was going to get back to where my car was parked, a nice young lad came forward and explained that I needed to walk the length of the store to the other door to maintain a one way system. He was very apologetic that I had to do this, but I could see the reason why. I did tell him that it was my first visit since lockdown!

Chazwin.. Yes. Giving people power can go to their heads & then they start abusing that power. My great auntie said to me " be very careful who you step on climbing the social ladder, because those are the very same people you'll meet on the way back down". Good advice, I believe, people don't forget.

I did it in Sainsbury’s I hadn’t realised but wondered why the security guard looked at me strangely! I skulked off quickly back to the car when the penny dropped ?!

kircubbin2000

I have been to Sainsbury for the first time in nearly a year as son has been doing my shopping. I was up early and just felt like getting out so I had finished by 8.30.
As I was leaving , the security woman shouted at me that I was leaving by the wrong door, the entrance one, which I have always used before covid.She told me angrily to go back and out the far door.
As the shop was empty and I was almost outside I left and told her I'd know the next time. Would you have gone back into the shop and used the other exit?

No I wouldn’t have! There is no need to be rude!

I would have gone back and out of the correct door, laughing it off with "sorry, first time out, just not used to the change" - rules have been put in place for a reason. Regardless as to whether the shop was or wasn't busy if everyone went out the wrong door nknpoibt in having them

Kircubbin2000 - I agree it’s difficult to know what’s going on out there when you’ve been inside for a year but it’s your responsibility to follow the rules - shop assistants have been verbally and physically abused by people who won’t wear masks etc and it’s not surprising that they try to call out the rules in the supermarket - it probably made no difference in the long run whether you exited the wrong way but the system is there to protect everyone - I would have apologised and followed the same procedure as everyone else - it’s arrogant not to do that - and I wonder what your take might have been if it had been someone who had just finished a prison sentence breaking a new societal rule - your answer to that might give you more perspective on your response to the shop assistant

DillytheGardener

Doodledog because OP could have done as directed, excited via the requested exit and apologised. I’ve been in the exact situation as op, I have to travel around London for work, and I apologised along the lines of “sorry not concentrating” and exited correctly. Not difficult to be polite to those in customer facing roles during a pandemic

No, there is not - I agree, but there is no suggestion that the OP was not polite. The security guard, on the other hand, shouted and spoke angrily, which in my opinion is very rude, particularly from someone in a customer facing role.

I am afraid this os the new normal.
Shopping is no longer a pleasure its fraught with rules, oneway systems, taped arrows, singular shopping,hand gel, sanitiser, facemasks and jobsworths, waiting to challenge you if you put a foot wrong ! All in the name of keeping us safe.Welcome to the new normal.

Our Sainsbury’s has been roped off so you can clearly see where to go in and where to exit, big signs too, I would do what you did if I didn’t know, no need whatsoever to be angrily shouted at by a shop worker, no reason why she couldn’t have said excuse me you are going out the wrong door, I’d have then said oh sorry I didn’t realise,

I wouldn’t call her a jobsworth though, having worked in retail all my life, she would have been given rules to stick to,

Arrows are big enough aren't they ?

Rules are for a reason.I would have made light of it saying 'sorree',which for many is the hardest word to use and used the other way in/out as the case may be.

As a shielder, on the few occasions, I was allowed out before being advised to shield again, Sainsburys was the only store I felt safe in. Wide aisles, security on the door, lots of sanitisers at the entrance, hand held scanners, (as advised by the shielding service) and helpful staff.

I think calling her a jobsworth is a bit unfair. She probably had a manager breathing down her neck and the security guard isn't able to give her version of events.
I would have apologised and said I hadn't realised, as I hadn't been out much. Surely we need to make ourselves aware of the protocols, when going shopping at the moment.

I admire those who have had to continue working during a pandemic under difficult circumstances, when there are many people who ignore the rules and show no consideration of others. Being told off is a minor issue in the scheme of things.

I think a lot of changes are confusing, especially as often they're not clearly marked. However, in Aldi yesterday large signs at the door said one customer, one trolley. I counted six spare-dinner men hanging about in the shop, in the way, watching their wives shop from afar. At the checkouts they all appeared, to clutter up the queue. Why? Managing a supermarket must be a nightmare, with foolish people who can't seem to shop by themselves

I collected my husband from hospital two days ago. We had recently moved to the area of the hospital and I found driving around strange roads difficult. The hospital is vast. It was such a relief to find where I had dropped him off. I hadn’t been allowed to visit him and I was upset when I had dropped him off, collecting him after two weeks, I was equally apprehensive and also thrilled to be seeing him. He has been really ill.
All spoiled by the horrible officious chap who dashed over and harangued me about parking too close to a ambulance in front of me.
I gave him a mental slap around the head with a wet fish. What a jumped up jerk. A bit of power had gone to his head. I reversed and said nothing.

I thought shops had enough signs, arrows, etc, for us to follow to show which way to go. Any I have been in for the first time seemed very well organised. Maybe she shouldn't of shouted at you, unless you were far away from her, there's no need for that though, but I suppose if it keeps happening it ends up getting frustrating. I've worked in shops since leaving school and it's a thankless job most of the time, I've been sworn at, threatened that they knew where I parked my car and would be waiting for me after closing, etc. Covid, I believe has made it even worse for retail staff and the way they have been treated by some of the public. You just explain why it happened and that now you know what way to go you definitely wouldn't be doing it again.

So sorry this happened to you, OP. No one has the right or excuse to shout at another human being or be abusive towards them. Common curtesy goes a long, long way, except in the barracks. I've seen both, those members of staff and customers who ignore rules like social distancing. I would have told the security guard that I wasn't aware/made a mistake and there was no need to shout at customers and upsetting them, and what he did was unacceptable and left through the door he/she pointed to.

well yes, at the moment there are rules to follow and , in most shops, there is an entrance and exit, dont think she should have shouted at you though

Totaly agree Shirlb:

They used to do this at Asda long before the pandemic and it was a long walk round to the other exit. I stopped going there.

i did this when they had been chopping and changing what doors to use, it was 8.30pm and nobody around, security guard stood blocking the door and telling me to go back and out the other door, i said i was sorry and will remember next time, he raised his voice and pointed at me to do as i was told, i asked to speak to the manager and asked for the security company head office number, he now just smiles and avoids me

You have to remember that shop & security staff have gone into work all through the lockdown and pandemic. They do not get worshipped for this like NHS staff.
Many other professions too have also continued to work under difficult circumstances & putting their health at risk - police, bus drivers, prison officers, cleaners, court staff.
You have to understand that these workers are probably feeling a but frazzled by now