Why do they do it?

Baggs, I'm pushy and impatient - that's why I have it delivered. I'm human, not a saint.

I remember one Christmas supermarket food shop - with three whining kids in tow, crowds, long queues, some empty shelves, irritating music etc. - utterly dead on my feet and worried sick about the bank balance.

That day, yes, I lost it and screamed at the person in front 'For God's sake, wake up and get on with it - I haven't got all day!'

It was a total ‘mare in the supermarket today. If you wanted to use the manned tills, there were massive queues. If, as I did, you opted for self checkout, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

I only spent about £30 but was told I needed the assistant five times! Twice for it to accept my bags, once to allow me to buy potatoes once for paracetamol and once to remove a security tag.

There was one young assistant to about ten checkouts. Everyone seemed to need assistance with something (I was watching while I waited for him to come to me). One person had to have her entire scan & shop purchases rescanned, others needed age verification, others seemed to have random things come up, like my potato purchase.

Fast it was not. 🤷‍♀️

Thanks Baggs 😊

On reading about the French shoppers I was reminded of one of Bill Brysons’s books, I think it was Notes from a Small Islandi.e. Britain when he remarked about we inhabitants who take our time then look surprised when we realise we have to pay and start scrambling for a means to pay.
When I think about it that would be the days of chequebooks, when that had to be found, then a pen then always having to ask who the cheque should be made out to, then a reminder of the date…..
Todays young people with a flash of their phone would be amazed.

I apologise for implying you are pushy, lpb. I had picked up or interpreted your grumbling wrongly.

It's not the slow person so much as the person who is totally disorganised that gets to me. As I explained in a post further up thread, the self scan for a bigger shop in Morrisons, the one with the conveyor belt, tells you politely (it says please) to place your bags in the bagging area. This is so you can scan your items and place them straight in your bags, thus saving time for yourself and others in the queue. That's why I prefer to use those checkouts. It's not rocket science. Some people leave their bags in the trolley, scan all their items one by one onto the bagging scale, and then, once they've done that place them, one by one, into their bags. So it takes nearly twice as long and probably longer than going through the manned checkout! However, Baggs, I would never dream of tapping my foot, rolling my eyes and/or huffing and sighing behind a slower person. I'm about the least 'pushy' person I know, so please don't quote my post, as you did up thread, and thereby imply that I'm pushy and impatient.

There are much worse things to be stressed about than shopping

That is why I don`t shop at aldi, the stress then fingers and thumbs of getting it done super quick. I am always ready at checkout and when someone is slow, then so what, he/she may have needed that chat. It didn`t hurt anyone

Well done to `the boy` for being patient and for helping

One argument for a self service check out. If I am in a hurry I use these. Most shops here have them, certainly all the big department stores like M and S.

I always have my bags ready before I get to the till , debit card in trouser pocket. However it can be a frantic time onloading onto conveyor belt then packing and paying. I like Aldi because after purchases are scanned I put them straight into the trolley, pay and then move to the counter opposite the tills to pack my groceries with care into my bags.
I always have patience with customers who take a long time and are not 'on the ball' with regard to packing and paying. There are many reasons people hold the queue up and yes it is frustrating but I am just grateful that for now that person is not me ..............yet!!!! If people are so rushed that they are unable to wait and show some compassion/ understanding there are always the self service tills.

Romola Using the smart shop means being absolutely confident that you will remember to scan every item.

I do not use smart shop, simply because I do not have confidence inmy ability to always remember to scan every item, otherwise I would.

Hetty58

Romola, it's not just the 'truly time-poor' that prefer online shopping. It's the patience-poor, can't be bothered, have better things to do, (would rather boil my head) types that it's a godsend for. I still remember truly hating getting the shopping in.

Callistemon21, haven't you noticed? This site is full of old people pretending they're still young!

😂

Romola, it's not just the 'truly time-poor' that prefer online shopping. It's the patience-poor, can't be bothered, have better things to do, (would rather boil my head) types that it's a godsend for. I still remember truly hating getting the shopping in.

Callistemon21, haven't you noticed? This site is full of old people pretending they're still young!

I was in a queue recently where a lady was trying desperately to put her pin into the card machine; eventually she became so agitated that her companion gently did it for her. It was obvious that she had tremors and was unsteady on her feet.
Perhaps some horrible disease was overcoming her and she was trying to hang on to her independence. Nobody tutted or shuffled their feet, it seemed to be a collective and unspoken 'There but for the grace of God..' It's a pity everyone is in such a hurry; life is so demanding for some.

SueDonim

How patronising.

👍

Isn't it.

You wouldnt think this was a site aimed at older people.

This kind of thing annoyed me when I was younger. Now I think ‘there but for the grace of God’ and I recognise that many older people speak to nobody but the person who serves them in the shop so they want to prolong that experience. Who knows how long that little pleasure may have to last them?

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

I don't go food shopping (have it delivered) but it's the same when I hop on a bus. We wait in a queue - usually for ten minutes or so - then, the person in front of me boards the bus and starts searching their pockets and bag for their travelcard. It's absolutely infuriating, so I always have to make a comment.

dolphindaisy

One thing that always amuses me at checkouts is when the little old lady (always a little old lady) at the front packs her shopping, searches for her purse then insists on trying to count out the exact amount, searching through all her loose change down to the last penny. I feel like pointing out the checkout operator has a till full of change, they don't need the exact amount.

That little old lady ….
to the younger woman or lad further back in the queue , it could be just how they are seeing you!

This really resonates with me, and I am generally very patient even standing back for the person behind me who has very few things. I am OK with all of this unless I have a fair few frozen things that seem to defrost (Ice cream products being the usual culprit) before my eyes while the shopper in front laughs and jokes, and sometimes flirts, with the person on the till. Then I may not be all that chatty with the till person myself because I am so fed up (although never rude).

halfpint1

I notice non of the French Gransnetters have posted on this
thread. The French shopper has it down to a fine art.
They take their time and only when the last item is safely
packed neatly do they then, always with a pause, start looking
in the bag for their purse. They all do it. My son tells me his
French wife does it.
I am now gratefull for internet on my phone as its the only
thing stopping my stress levels rising every time
I shop.

It’s the same in Spain, Portugal and most other countries I have shopped in.

I notice non of the French Gransnetters have posted on this
thread. The French shopper has it down to a fine art.
They take their time and only when the last item is safely
packed neatly do they then, always with a pause, start looking
in the bag for their purse. They all do it. My son tells me his
French wife does it.
I am now gratefull for internet on my phone as its the only
thing stopping my stress levels rising every time
I shop.

A few years ago my New Year Resolution was to be patient in the Supermarket and just chill when it finally occurs to the person in front that they actually have to pay for their shopping.
It seems to work. I’m sure this has added years to my life span so what I lose at the checkout I can enjoy else where.

If you're someone who prefers to go to the supermarket rather than get a delivery, just use the "smartshop". You pack everything the way you want it, handling everything once only. You can see how much you're spending as you shop. For the truly time-poor, a delivery is the answer, but "smartshop" is excellent, I find.

How patronising.