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Original poster

Customer collapsed in store customers were stepping over whilst first aiders attended to him

130 replies

Hdlll · 25/10/2025 15:23

Man fell whilst I was shopping. It was by the condiments. First aiders attended whilst awaiting an ambulance.

I saw customers stepping over the ill man to get to the shelves. Fucking rude and disrespectful. There was a colleague who wasn’t a first aider but was holding onto the man’s hand. She was not best pleased with customers acting like this with her facial expressions. I shared my disgust with her. She said she was able to pass customers what they needed.

How would these customers that stepped over the man liked it if someone stepped over their unwell relative?

OP posts:
IPM · 25/10/2025 17:35

Butchyrestingface · 25/10/2025 17:23

She said she was able to pass customers what they needed.

Trained first aider or not, if she was staying with the man until help arrived, then she should have been comforting/observing him for any symptoms rather than passing condiments, surely?

Exactly!

It makes me wonder if any of their staff are actually trained.

IPM · 25/10/2025 17:34

It was badly handled by the staff.

The first aider should've got their colleague (and you as you offered to help) to keep all customers away from the area.

Ridiculous really, passing items to customers!

liquoricetorpedoes · 25/10/2025 17:32

Disgusting and selfish behaviour. I was once helping a lady who was having an epileptic fit in Asda- My husband had gone for a first aider and I was trying to clear a space so she didn’t hurt herself and reassure her young child who was in a trolley. A man walked up and pushed the trolley with the child in it away as he wanted to get to the cereal on the shelf- I thought at first he was trying to help but no, pushed the trolley away, grabbed his cereal and walked off!

Butchyrestingface · 25/10/2025 17:23

She said she was able to pass customers what they needed.

Trained first aider or not, if she was staying with the man until help arrived, then she should have been comforting/observing him for any symptoms rather than passing condiments, surely?

Galatine · 25/10/2025 17:23

youalright · 25/10/2025 15:27

Happens all the time people are arseholes

Absolutely! I used to be a workplace First Aider. Many timeswhen tending a casualty, I was interrupted by someone asking a non-urgent question. It’s as if they don’t grasp the inappropriate nature of their intervention.

MannersAreAll · 25/10/2025 17:21

There's a chap that lives near us who goes bright red and puts his head down every time he sees one of our family as 5 years ago when one of my DDs and her colleague were held up at knife point he complained that they wouldn't re-open the shop for him to put his lottery ticket on. He apologised profusely a few days later, but is rightly still mortified by his complaining on the night.

Weekendwatch · 25/10/2025 17:20

Hdlll · 25/10/2025 17:01

I didn't gawp. I asked if they wanted any more help etc.

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And then looked on in “disgust” whilst you crafted your Mumsnet thread you’d start about it

clinellwipe · 25/10/2025 17:16

I remember when we were doing CPR on a man who had had a cardiac arrest on the ward and another patient opening the curtains around his bed to ask for a cup of tea - no dementia etc just being a twat

JohnTheRevelator · 25/10/2025 17:13

Doesn't surprise me. So many people these days are rude and disrespectful. I fell over in the street a couple of years ago and couldn't get up (osteoarthritis in my hip). 2 men just walked past me before one nice guy stopped and gave me a hand to get up. I think the first 2 thought I was sitting on the pavement for fun!

Algen · 25/10/2025 17:10

Boomer55 · 25/10/2025 16:43

What did you want them to do? He was ok. 🤷‍♀️

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Be a decent human and go to a different aisle? Maybe do without the ketchup or get it somewhere else.

Craftysue · 25/10/2025 17:08

Doesn't surprise me. I was walking to work through our busy city centre and a young woman was obviously having some kind of fit. The ambulance staff were already there so I carried on walking but there were people filming on their phones!

KeepScrapingBy · 25/10/2025 17:07

Maybe he was shocked at the price of olive oil?

Dollymylove · 25/10/2025 17:06

The staff should have cordoned off the isle to stop people. I worked at a supermarket and we had a screen like those in hospitals which we deployed when someone collapsed, and posted a staff member telling people the aisle was closed

BringBackCatsEyes · 25/10/2025 17:03

Mum2Fergus · 25/10/2025 16:56

I worked in retail very many years ago and experienced a customer passing away in store…management put those ‘wet floor’ signs around him while waiting for ambulance. Didn’t occur to them to actually close.

Closing the store would cause a lot more disruption and attention. I doubt (hope) such decisions are not entirely profit based.

Original poster
Hdlll · 25/10/2025 17:02

Castiela · 25/10/2025 15:35

I saw people complain at a bar that no one was serving and shouting towards manager when will someone serve them.
The manager was at the time giving cpr, alongside with barman to a man who died later.
He got complaints about a lack of service.
And then people wonder why many from service industry hate general public.

What a bloody disgrace. I would have banned the complainers from the pub and, depending on how many of the chain in the area, those too.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hdlll · 25/10/2025 17:01

Weekendwatch · 25/10/2025 15:25

Whereas some, like you, stood and gawped

I didn't gawp. I asked if they wanted any more help etc.

OP posts:
Amperoblue · 25/10/2025 16:58

OnlyOnAFriday · 25/10/2025 15:49

Asda or Waitrose? 😁

someone collapsed at Waitrose near me once, was having cpr in the veg section and they evacuated the store and closed it.

Petersfield? The manager there was talking about it and said they had to as people were stepping over him too at first.

OnlyOnAFriday · 25/10/2025 16:56

ilovesooty · 25/10/2025 15:40

I worked in a Mecca bingo hall years ago. Someone collapsed during a game and an ambulance was called. The people there were only interested in continuing the game. The woman's husband went to hospital with her in the ambulance, left her there and came straight back to demand a refund on the unused tickets.

Bingo is surprisingly expensive 😁

Mum2Fergus · 25/10/2025 16:56

I worked in retail very many years ago and experienced a customer passing away in store…management put those ‘wet floor’ signs around him while waiting for ambulance. Didn’t occur to them to actually close.

Weekendwatch · 25/10/2025 16:56

Clearly the Op just stood there and looked on in disgust

not exactly great either

Weekendwatch · 25/10/2025 16:55

AutumnCosy2025 · 25/10/2025 16:45

'He was ok'

Was he? He was waiting for the ambulance. What condiment could you possibly need so badly you need to lean/step over someone awaiting an ambulance??

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Duchy tomato chutney

Notaflippinclue · 25/10/2025 16:54

Years ago an old chap collapsed at the counter - whilst we were trying to resuscitate him the owner of the corner shop was serving people through the door that we couldn’t open properly because of the old chaps body - surreal thinking back!

AutumnCosy2025 · 25/10/2025 16:49

TheNightingalesStarling · 25/10/2025 16:45

There was a similar incident in our little co-op and the staff just shut the shop. But they only have 2 staff on most of the time.

A bigger shop, surely they could just shut the aisle?

Our local co op would have (since closed) but they'd close an aisle if someone burped!

I imagine our Waitrose would evacuate the shop IF they saw him amongst the fuck off cages & staff restocking the shelves!

Not sure about the others.

BringBackCatsEyes · 25/10/2025 16:46

Boomer55 · 25/10/2025 16:43

What did you want them to do? He was ok. 🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

He was not OK - he was being treated on the floor.
I would expect people to give him respect and space, not literally step over him!

TheNightingalesStarling · 25/10/2025 16:45

There was a similar incident in our little co-op and the staff just shut the shop. But they only have 2 staff on most of the time.

A bigger shop, surely they could just shut the aisle?