to be fed up with casual ageism?

None of it bothers me. I have moved from an area where people were generally quite unfriendly to a coastal town where I reckon everyone wakes up and takes a happy pill. I’ve had offers of help with all sorts of things but I love it when I can stop somebody in their tracks.

My favourite moment so far was turning up at a neighbour’s door with chainsaw in hand after they said they were concerned a branch from their apple tree might be scratching another neighbour’s new summer house. 😂

You can take the girl out of the country…..🤣

I don’t see it as ageism, just good customer service as you would expect in Waitrose.

The main thing I'm guilty of is reading about 70 year olds crashing their cars and thinking "Why are they still driving at that age?" Then I remember that I'm 77! I do have a friend who tends to ask me if I'm all right doing things, but she is a whole 6 months older than me!

I'm quite happy to have people offer to help me, a polite 'no thank you' typically works to send them off to help others.

I know I'm elderly, not offended, glad to be alive.

toscalily

This person has probably been instructed to stand there and help anyone, busy mum, time poor office worker, older person, younger person, someone whose first language is not English. No doubt all on camera so if they don't help will be pulled up for not doing their job. Just smile and say " I can manage thank you"

And all to ensure that, in a few months' time, her job will disappear and she will be made redundant.

We need to ask for their help even if we don't need it.
Fight for their jobs!

My Dad moved here from Hampshire when he was 87. One day he walked from his flat to Morrisons, about 15 minutes, and took his rucksack to carry his shopping home.
(It's probably worth saying that he and Mum were always avid Ramblers and hill walkers, so this just made sense to him).

Another customer saw him about to leave the store and was horrified!
She insisted he waited while she bought her few bits of shopping and she drove him home!!
He was tickled pink at how friendly she was 🙂

At 70 I might look like an old dear..not in my mind I dont.
I am regularly blessed.
Technology dosent phase meI am quite capable of packing my shopping,and puttin,but thg through a self service till,but thankyou for asking,the offer is appreciated

I get the same and I’m in my early 40s, I think (when free) they are encouraged to help where possible

I go through the self-service at my peril. As soon as I stop for a split second, a helpful assistant is at my side . I wish they would leave me to it and wait to be called for. I suppose they have to do something.

I just get everything delivered - and have done for decades - so, if I do use a shop machine, I might actually need some help. I wouldn't assume that help's offered because of my age, though.

A new neighbour offered to take me shopping, and I said I don't shop.

My local Morrisons has a lovely woman helping everyone in the self service corral. She buzzes around pressing buttons here and there at the same time greeting regulars and never makes you feel daft if you’re having trouble convincing the ‘voice’ you really have placed your item in the bagging area. I often wonder if she walks away muttering, ‘Silly old bat!’ under her breath. 😂

I actually ask delivery people to lift boxes inside the house now.
We have a large step up into the house and for years people have been ringing the bell and leaving heavy parcels on the doormat in the porch.

Today a very nice driver lifted in my 20 kilo bags of flour no problem!
Thank you!

I suppose they may now ask the next older person they deliver to if they need help - and that person may be miffed about it.

My mother-in-law, in her 70s and early 80s didn't like people standing up for her on tubes and busses.
10 years later she was pleased about it!

When I taught IT, an elderly lady said she found it difficult. I said she'd made good progress anyway - and was sharply told off for being patronising! Some people just look for insults.

Ageism can be directed to anybody

The distrust of a person having the proper skills for the job as he/she is perceived as "too young"

I’m odd I think. Heading for the self service tills in Waitrose for the first time I was pleased to see two staff members stationed there. New to me tills usually ends in disaster. I checked with one where the trolley should go as I’ve been known to confuse things by putting scanned shopping where the unscanned should be. She asked did I need any further help, hearing me say I didn’t think so off she went to help someone else. All went well until one item wasn’t recognised. The second assistant appeared, commented in the daft nature of the tills and sorted it in a second. There was no hint that it might be operator (my) error. I was pleased both were there to smooth my path. It didn’t occur to me they were on the look out for mature folk.

cornergran 😂

You sound like me.
I seem to cause chaos wherever I go (unintentionally).

I’ve never noticed they are particularly ageist . However, yesterday I flashed a loyalty card on my phone to a young bloke and he commented that ‘even he’ hadn’t worked out how to do that ! I felt like saying he must be a bit thick then !

Been to London today and once more I was offered a seat on train and underground. People are kind and I appreciate it. I am old and I don’t see kindness as an insult. Our modern world needs all the consideration for others it can get as we isolate ourselves behind phones etc.

Last time I was in Venice (5 years ago) at a small supermarket I was looking at some items which had no price tags on them. An assistant popped up and told me in excellent English that they had to be weighed individually and then I had to stick the resulting price tag on them in order to check them out. She was obviously used to assisting tourists but I was glad of her help in explaining the system. It was in an area with lots of self catering appartments so I'm sure she was equally helpful to (obvious) tourists of all ages.

I’m glad that they actually saw me! Always pleased to have an offer of help, they are doing their best.

I generally see being offered help as a positive, and if not needed I just politely say: "Thanks anyway, but I'm fine". It's certainly better than being ignored, and let's face it, ANY interaction with another human being in these days of rampaging automation is most welcome.

I think OP is saying that it wasn’t an offer to help which could have been politely refused but an assistant completely taking over.
I have had the same experience in said shop so know exactly how she felt.
I think we are all happy to accept help when necessary but it is the way it is offered.

I am grey and have wrinkles but have never been talked down to or patronised. However, there is not much technology to contend with here in Germany. Yesterday I had to pick our car up and had a perfectly normal conversation with the young chappie who did the work.

When I was still working, I was the one people came to to be shown how the system worked.

Perhaps I will notice this ageism when I come over to the UK. (Am so thrilled to be coming back next week for the first time since the pandemic)

I just get everything delivered - and have done for decades - so, if I do use a shop machine, I might actually need some help. I wouldn't assume that help's offered because of my age, though

I’d do anything to avoid using one but would ask for help and would be quite happy for the assistant to take over completely 👍

Lots of shoppers need help a self service checkouts, then if they have alcohol or other restricted items they have to be authorized, it’s not ageism it’s being helpful.