What’s the most annoying thing people do in supermarkets?

[purpledaze24]

LIGHTHEARTED. Don’t need any “well you should keep your child on a leash in the supermarket” responses 🤣

When I’m in the supermarket with my 4 yo he usually walks beside me while I push the trolley. Sometimes he does a little run in front of the trolley. I’ve noticed when he does this, sometimes someone further down the aisle will freeze and do this passive aggressive look as if to say, “well which way are you going, make up your mind!” He is nowhere near them and not affecting the direction they’re going in whatsoever! I’m talking 20+ feet away. Sometimes it’s this look of faux panic on their face as if they’ve just seen a bus that‘s about to hit them. He’s not a toddler and is fully aware of where he’s going but it’s like they think he’s going to roll into a ball like sonic the hedgehog, roll down the aisle and smash into their trolley. It’s so annoying!

Anywaaay, got me thinking, what’s the most annoying thing people do in supermarkets?

People Walking around talking on their phones.

People who pack very slowly at the check outs, while you stand there waiting for them to finish before the cashier can start scanning your items.

People standing around in the middle of the aisles chatting.
And sorry, but small children being allowed to run about.

People who walk side by side with a trolley each taking up the whole aisle and dawdling.

Blocking aisles with their trolleys, or standing round gormlessly in line with a load of other people, blocking aisles… totally oblivious that other people may want to pass by.

Blocking the entrance to an aisle having a chat with someone, and then looking annoyed when you ask them to move.

my Morrisons has these kids trolleys, fine. Quite often the children are allowed to run around picking up any rubbish and putting them in, then dumping that stuff at the end for staff to put away.

People who unload their things onto the conveyor belt, then stand there (usually on their phones), not moving down with their stuff, so you can't unload your things.

I've stopped passively waiting for them to wake up—I just lean past them and start putting my things on. They soon shuffle down.

Exist.

This does not happen in Lidl, the cashiers just start throwing the next person's things down, slow packers be damned.

People obliviously blocking the aisles with trollies. And people spending forever picking the perfect item, while you stand back waiting for the decision.

The people looking at your 4yr old may be worried they will fall, but you do tend to look round if you hear someone running and it takes a second to realise it's nothing important, hence the initial startled looks.

I might be that person @purpledaze24 . I have severe osteoporosis and if I take a tumble/get tripped up by a child, I will break a bone. I do freeze until I'm sure which way they are going.

Back to the thread:

1. The ditherers who pick up every packet before they chose, especially now everything is behind closed fridge doors.

1. The family outings: mum, dad and three kids - why? Can't one play with the kids or take them to the park while the other shops?

1. The coupon rustlers. The lady in front of me last night created a ten minute delay because her £2 off wasn't coming off. Her pie had already been reduced - the manger came and everything. I nearly offered to pay in full for the fucking pie.

1. Staff who don't say please and thank you.

I wonder if the supermarkets are going to start employing people to do all the annoying things to deflect the rip off prices from our attention … by the time we can actually get to the shelves to reach stuff we will be so stressed out we won’t notice the crazy prices and just want to get our shopping and get out the supermarket .

The supermarket is already a crazy and stressful place to be right now without all the mad things other shoppers do ..

It's actually the supermarket online pickers who stand gossiping 2 abreast with their massive trolly things blocking the entire place.

Kids running about

People stretching themselves out across a wide stretch of cabinets - arm outstretched to their trolley handle, trolley alongside the fridge, while they peruse yogurt ingredients at leisure.

General lack of spatial awareness. Park your trolley next to the stores own warehouse trolley thereby blocking the entire aisle / calm your partner to ask some dim question while blocking access for everyone else to where you have parked yourself. Etc.

Standing in the queue to pay for ages , then needing to rummage for 5 mins for card / vouchers etc once it’s time to pay.

Those little trollies being pushed around by very young children are a pain. Children running, yes they might be steady on their feet but some of the other people around won’t be up to dodging and manoeuvring. Obviously standing around talking blocking access to the shelves.

This absolutely does my head in when people are packing everything into the right bags in their trolleys and moving things round and the cashier tells them the bill and they are still having to carry on packing first , then they have to find their purse .. oh it’s at the bottom of the bag , then they have to put it all back in the bags before they pay for their shopping .
Why can’t they ever have their money or card ready ?!
This is why I have to go to the self serve tills I can’t stand people who hold everyone up just coz they are in no rush !!

This, drives me nuts it doesn't seem to matter when I go there is always pickers and shelf stackers blocking aisles!

Crap music
People who pack shopping on top of their purse
Uncontrolled children

I used to work in a supermarket and once saw a little kid run, trip and smash their head off the floor - the scream from them (and their mum) was horrendous and they ended up being taken to hospital to be stitched up.

I sound like a boring old fart but please don't let your kid run in the supermarket.

I don’t let people wind me up in a supermarket
It’s one of the few places you have to be with people you have nothing in common with expect buying items at the same place and time, like a train station or airport, except you don’t have the potential of having many hours journey with them as well!

Annoying people help sometimes as in I come home and after being reminded why my husband and teens are lovely.

If I saw a 4yr old running up an aisle- I too would freeze till I worked out what was noise way, will he keep coming, will I hit him if I move my trolley etc.

-People that stop with their trolley blocking the exact items I want- often on their phone. 'Excuse me', 'excuse me' at increasing volumes till the point it sounds like I'm bellowing at them because they are too pre-occupied
-People that put their stuff on the conveyor and don't put the plastic divider on there when done
-The cashier tells them the total, and only then do they start looking for the credit card, loyalty card etc. Then they faff about, move money from 1 account to another all at a snails pace.

Small children running around and worse are those who play chase and hide and seek !

Parents who take a snack from the shelf and let their child eat it to keep them quiet while sitting in the trolley. By the time they get to the checkout the snack is finished. I wonder if it gets paid for.

I hate those fridge doors because I am one of those people who reads every packet. We have allergies and blood sugar problems so I need to know! I usually prop the flaming door open and move to the side as far as I can.

We frequently shop mob handed, because DH has the money and often needs to pick up stuff for himself (he works away). The kids need to learn to shop. But we try to go at quiet times!

I really, really loathe selfish arseholes who aren’t sorry that they are in the way though. There’s absolutely no excuse for not saying sorry and shuffling to the side!

Morrisons has put seating zones in our branch with seats so the conversational aisle blockers can be out of the way, but I never see them being used!

Dawdle!

You’ve provided context to something you do that’s annoying to other people, but are swearing in annoyance about someone else doing something (using money off vouchers), which seems totally reasonable in itself and may be even more important with context too i.e. they’re skint and just don’t have the money to pay full price.