To be irritated by Asda card woman?

I appreciate that some of us are particularly busy and don't have the time to chat

But a 'no thanks, but thank you so much for offering to help' takes about 6 seconds. Maybe 8 seconds if you add in a kind smile

Let's go all out and say it might take ten seconds...and then if she asks again ....another ten seconds

20 seconds, tops, and you are too time poor to allow 20 seconds of kindness ?

Wow. Just wow. What is the matter with you?

All day chatting and being endlessly sociable?

Has said nobody except you tbf.

Asda have not failed to implement the scheme properly.

Our shit, ablist society have failed to accept that people different to us belong in it just as much as we do.

And twats cause havoc and play tricks on retail staff whether they have LDs or not. That's because they've been brought up by people who have never told them not to.

Oh get over yourself!

If this annoys you, you need to take a long hard look at yourself.

I think you’ve had a lot of unfair responses here, OP.
People have overlooked the fact that you clearly stated you’ll still get asked who you’re buying for and have cards pulled out and shown to you regardless of what answer you give to being approached and asked if you need help by this lady.

@DaniMontyRae ’s reply is the best on this thread for me. Based on OP’s post, it seems ASDA has failed to implement this well-meaning scheme well in this instance. I can imagine OP has politely said doesn’t need help today, thanks but this lady doesn’t know when to take a cue from that and leave the customer be.
ASDA needs to do better here and actually I think the feedback to the store is probably required to make them realise that some supervision/training is needed.

It’s not fair on the lady in question either. I imagine you aren’t the only customer who feels the same way and people probably avoid going down the aisle now when she’s there. Wonder if anyone’s replied with an answer like, “yes, I need some nutmeg, go get me some,” or some other random product that would be in a completely different aisle? I’ll bet at least one person has played a prank.

My understanding is that Asda supports people with LD by allowing them to volunteer there.

One of my DC has LD and I'd be thrilled if they were able to reach a stage of independence that they could carry out a volunteer job at Asda.

It's extremely unkind of you not to have even thought about why she might be a volunteer, or even just spoken to a manager to say you would prefer not to be bothered while shopping, bearing in mind this lady may not be as aware of social cues/norms as you are.

Upset and annoyance?

Bloody hell you are delicate!

@ExitSandyman you're being totally unreasonable!

It's a few minutes out of your day occasionally, to just be patient and interact.

Honestly, no one's life is that busy.

Be kind!

This.

Asda are well known for their work with sen adults.

My mum knew the SEN gentleman who worked in the vegetable aisle. He always chatted to her for 10 minutes whenever she went in. It made his day to tell her he was being "promoted" to HQ to help with the filing.

Have compassion OP. This lady is learning a very valuable life skill. You had to do that once.

How many cards are you buying?

Surely it's such a rare occurrence that you can ignore the help on offer. I'm sure OP has massively over exaggerated the situation.

Or if like OP, it does get all too much, other card retailers are available.

Stock up online maybe?

I only ever buy from Asda's shockingly shit range if I'm giving zero thought to it anyway.

I certainly wouldn't be buying from them if I were immersed in grief. Chucking a card in my basket with the bananas.

We are all busy but are you sooo important you can't spare a few minutes for another person with perhaps learning difficulties.there are a couple of staff in my local Asda as above,they get their wee chat and go back to what they were doing.

I had a security guard in Morrisons speak to me for about 5 minutes the other day about the new baskets. He had SEN and actually I could tell he really enjoyed sharing his knowledge.

I want to chat baskets with him! This is so lovely 🩷

Oh, I love that.

For those saying "just say no"

No matter what your answer is, she will ask who you’re buying for and start pulling out cards that you might like.

Listen to music on your headphones, smile at her and say hello and politely decline her offer of help.
It's not bloody hard.

If I'm shopping for cards in Asda it's usually for something unexpected like a bereavement or illness/hospital stay ... the last thing I want then is to be forced into social contact with someone who can't understand no or that there is a place for interaction and a place for space.

It's great that she's been given this chance BUT it doesn't give her carte blanc to cause upset and annoyance to others. Many people will engage, some won't. Some will have their own SEN and MH needs.

"The volunteer by the cards can come across as a bit overwhelming sometimes" is fair feedback

It's not "she has no place in society" as some seem to think

Try it extra hard this time.

You're so lovely, even if you make little sense 😂

That's lovely to read.

It doesn't take much does it?

I'm autistic.

I have to put my game face / mask on just to get out of the house.

Everyone I meet thinks that I'm really chatty and smiley.

It's bloody exhausting, but well worth it.

It's one a week at most, sometimes once a month. I'm sure OP can go to a card shop. Asda card selection is shit anyway.

@JanglingJackI Love Asda for employing people with learning disabilities.

I was in a small asda quite recently and had a lovely chat with a girl with downs syndrome working on the tills. she was lovely and very confident. her mother must be so proud of her.

I am very sad indeed to read of someone so blatantly signally a total lack of empathy. Just as sad to see that over 60 per cent of people don’t think the OP is unreasonable (although the actual comments give a different picture I know).

Honestly OP how much can this possibly affect your day? How often are you in there buying cards? Compared to the benefits that undertaking this work apparently bring to the volunteer? And yes I’ve heard of the volunteers, yes it’s a “scheme” for want of a better way of putting it, also, resolutely yes I think you are unreasonable for taking such exception to this woman.

You do realise that there will be customers with additional needs like ASD, mental illness like anxiety, cognitive issues, suffering bereavement etc who find it difficult and uncomfortable to engage with people, especially when they aren’t expecting to have to… like in a supermarket.

Do you have any empathy for these people? or is it one way?

It’s maybe not so bad if the volunteer accept a no thanks straight away, but if she persists then some people find that difficult for good reason.

Did all those posters telling the OP to just say "no thanks" to the volunteer not bother reading her post? The OP has made very clear that it doesn't matter what you say to the volunteer, she still continues pulling out cards for you.

A scheme to help people with additional needs learn work skills is good but only if implemented properly. Asda leaving their volunteer alone and not training her is not helpful. This person needs to learn that if a customer declines their help then they should step back and leave the customer alone. It's rather basic life skills.

How many cards a week are you buying if you allow yourself to get irritated by this vounteer.

Have you read the original post? Try it, extra hard this time, and you’ll see the OP says they try to 'help' even if told not to.