to think supermarket shelf stackers shouldn't get annoyed because I want to get items that have a later best before date?

I work in a supermarket.
No one is employed purely as a "shelf stacker" it's actually a small part of the job.
I have never got annoyed with someone choosing an item from the back of the shelf, it's a sensible thing to do. What I do have an issue with is people who want the item I'm currently putting out, and rather than wait 30 seconds they feel the need to lean over me, or stand so close to me it's uncomfortable and snatching one up the second I move.

Did you not bother reading the op.

Your tone comes across pretty snappy to me @supersup. Just a suggestion that perhaps you can may come across that way. Quite abrupt - only my opinion and I am not having go just giving you an alternative view.

I'm so laidback that I am a bit of pushover - we're all different

Potatoes and apples last for weeks. Buy some of those long life bags https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealapack-Fresh-longer-Fruit-Bags/dp/B003KUVQTQ/ref=sr_1_5?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T41hTlqqQ6bkOvbW72eeKW00nwSsredNsSYFC2Wdyuv_oAJIfLinpqOCpgCBfvKqd3ujhYx-VMWhwQRupZYRPCZbsdEGSyCf2SuhasHDkvMQk8IlBzRP2NEjVz3l7c7NJyf93lsl5oNrjMnbYmgbkNiSZ-X7i6Zz-zYRnvsG9BOel4ALgsneOOhwecbcHk57bWDuNOXz5OeDswapMt-JTPotLkKeZ9T8bAkU7Y9YW6gWyWodWjhCQg8EGFLcXyuYgqPOMjlTbnEKLYRYo7f7fqe654E4Gm3QirL2qZi0kv6lXAC0aVjufR2XndZUQYCHvk5Cb5bIl45FeNZmOrfKSiHeWmiH0g0EIEkkdxJyoqBlYTanx5GKNJCF1xhPRNQRSxQaI7JD3RTgqjjJ-CpsuLSP49nVwq4JwJi7GhGZkHhLALvN8apQXgh16bqcNf70.oSvD7Qr6PLisAOAxonXy3Qk4eane4hzUJxagSB3Qvvc&dib_tag=se&keywords=stay+fresh+bags&qid=1739832550&sr=8-5

I did an experiment. The carrot which I didn't put into one of these went bendy after 4 days. Carrot went into a vegetable soup.

I once told a customer off for leaning on other loaves of bread which she squashed that the bag popped. She could have moved the loaves to one side (one of the loaves' neighbours was out of stock) and checked at the back. But no.

Another thing that annoys me as a supermarket worker and now as a customer is dumpage. Customers should return the stuff back where they picked it from. Not everywhere. Customer picks item up, customer changes their mind. THEY should put it back, NOT the supermarket workers. The amount of food we had to dispose of because customers dumped fresh in the baked beans, frozen pizza in the fresh pizzas, milk in the freezers was ridiculous. I had to dispose of £200 of stuff that was left in the wrong temp section one day.

I do this too,although our new aldi only have produce out with 2/3 days max shelf life,very frustrating.

Sometimes its not the supermarkets' fault for having rubbish dates. The main reason is supply issues. If there is a factory breakdown or reduced supply - supermarkets cannot ask the suppliers to give them better dates.

Please understand this.

I had that with the bread.
"All those (product) have the same date"
Customer "how do you know?"
"I put put out 4 trays of them, coming straight off the bread delivery van and the shelf was completely empty before that"

Before you say, there could be some loaves with a different date. Not a chance. Only found that once in 15 years, with some chicken breasts (4 breasts per pack). On the delivery, there were two crates with 16 packs in each. Each crate had a different date. It was the following day. Obviously end of one day's production run then the first of the next day's.

If you are like me and need to shop for an elderly parent for a week, it's a real headache if shops only have short date stock left

I used to share a flat with a guy who worked in Tesco. It was him that suggested it to me.

I do leave the shelf very tidy though and won't bother if the item is too far back.

I do it too! Items in my Tesco grocery delivery are often short-dated, so it's karma when I get to pick it myself

Totally agree. We can only really do a big shop weekly and our little local coop is too expensive. If I'm shopping Friday afternoon and we're having salmon steaks Sunday, I'm going to go to the back. The same with fresh bread rolls. Some are two or three days fresher.

I don't leave a mess but I'm not stopping.

I thought everyone did this. If they don't want you to buy it, they shouldn't put it on the shelf. 🤷‍♀️ I'll lift fruit and veg trays if they're getting on the empty side and help myself to the nicer stuff underneath as well. Never noticed staff getting annoyed but I don't really look to be honest.

I’ve always done this and won’t consider online shopping as try and leave as long as possible between shops
Some things I won’t even buy if the dates are too short

Can’t hear your voice, but the tone is there.

Do you think everyone that’s said you’re snappy is just ganging up on you, or do you think just perhaps they’ve got a point?

I do it when they aren't looking.

HTH

Food is expensive.

Recently, fresh produce seems to stay fresh for shorter time, sometimes it is less than fresh even within the dates.

I get to choose how I spend my money.

I choose to buy food which is as fresh as possible, especially vegetables, meat and fish.

I don't shop daily, I shop weekly.

So, I need to have dates as long as possible.

I feel no responsibility to spend my money to benefit a supermarket's profits

Not sorry about that.

I work in food retail and we do gget uidance when picking orders for online deliveries. I won't bore you with all the details but it essentially boils down to picking items you'd be happy with yourself, so the freshest fruit, the bread with the best date etc.

I work in food retail and it is beyond infuriating to spend ages on a section getting all the products in the rate date order (we call it rotation) and all facing the right way so it's nice and tidy, only for someone to come along and literally demolish everything as they route through all the products. I've even had it happen with bread I've just put out and I'll say something like. "Oh those are all the same dates, I've just put those out." only for the customer to ignore me and proceed to destroy my facing to discover that I was indeed telling the truth.

Funny thing though, if they had asked me whether we had any better dates out back I would glady have gone and gotten one for them.