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?

Performance parenting.

Since my stroke I don't have the ability to have my cards out & put stuff on the belt then pack it. I keep them in a handy part of my bag & try to be quick, but I've lost the use of my dominant hand & so sometimes it's not that fast.

Sorry my stroke is minorly inconveniencing you.

Trust me, a stroke, literally overnight, at 55, wasn't my plan! (& you wouldn't know I'd had one to look at me, no droop - face or foot, mobile) so no point saying 'oh that's different, because you don't know anyone's situation)

People who huff and puff judging other shoppers for being slower than they would like, standing in a place they don't like, being with "too many" family members, or even just being in the shop at a particular time. I wish they would just shop online.

Well said!

I totally understand where you are coming from. I get if you looked at me, you wouldn’t understand it would cause me a lot of pain if a child ran into me but isn’t it obvious it would cause an old person pain so why do so many people let their children run around? It’s so lazy and selfish.

I am a testy old fucker by nature, and I don't think I've ever noticed anyone taking too long to find their money and pay. The one thing that does wind me up is people like DH who get to the checkout and meticulously organise the shopping not only into categories, but in neat geometric patterns. In Aldi, FFS. The main reason this is more annoying than watching anyone else do it is that he'll make a seriously half-arsed job of putting it away once we're home, but can't resist the performative neatness. And the poor fucker behind must be seething.

Performance parenting reminds me of waiting to pay in a busy car park and a dad had lifted his DD up so that she could input their cars reg no . However he was spelling it phonetically to her and she was taking ages . Then he let her put the coins in the machine counting as she went . Yes I get that it helps with her spelling and maths , but not in a busy place with a queue of people waiting to pay . I admit that I did a loud ffs under my breath.

Me too. Am between two local Waitroses, I’ve noticed the one in the more expensive area, the customers lack basic manners ie when I stand back to let them pass, rarely get a thank you. So I respond with you’re welcome in my most sardonic voice.
Hate rudeness but entitlement tops the lot for me.

Those who leave the supermarket but stand literally in the doorway (blocking everyone else) checking their receipt .

Genuine question, why don't the people who find so many elements of the supermarket shopping so hard and challenging do online shopping or click and collect?

On a similar note, for me it's people who sit in their car with the engine running the whole time their partner is inside the shop.

How WET my local Morrisons is. The freezers and fridges are constantly leaking water all over through floor so they have sandbag type things down.

In addition anytime it rains there are floods inside the shop. And even when it's dry the ceiling is sometimes dripping.

My dear old mum used to do this, I pulled her up about it once, but she said it was more comfortable for her bad back than standing up straight. 🤷🏼‍♀️

One supposedly short trip to Morrisons on Thursday -
Woman in front of me going in, blocked the entrance by stopping immediately in front of me, parallel to the security desk, to say hello to the security guard and tell him that he hadn't seen her for a while because she'd been on holiday. She looked like Amanda from Motherland! The security guard looked very nonplussed about her enthusiasm to inform him of her "doings"!
Then the same woman proceeds to dance about in my way for the first 4 aisles I went down. The final aisle, she left her trolley in my way, right in front of what I needed and proceeded to walk nearly to the other end to pick something up. Just take your fucking trolley with you! I casually rolled it out of the way in the opposite direction.
Idle shoppers not returning items to their correct places when they decide they don't want them. The ones I came across in that one visit; a hot rotisserie chicken in the pet food aisle; two large blocks of cheese next to the biscuits; a pack of ham and some dips on the the washing powder shelving; a pack of eclairs, same shelf a bit further down.
Personally, I will walk the entire length of the store to return something I've decided I don't want. It's plain lazy and bad manners not to.
The woman at the checkout in front of me, discussing how Morrisons has gone downhill and that her mothers uncles aunts brother has had his hip replaced and she's doing his shopping, including what he likes and doesn't like. This conversation went on for a good 7 minutes after she'd packed, but before having paid. (Which also took her an age). And the checkout operator sat comfortably back in her chair and looked like she could quite happily have sat there all day chewing the fat! She didn't even acknowledge that there were people waiting. Infuriating! I use operator checkouts solely because I disagree with self service doing people out of jobs. But after that, I can see the benefits of using them sometimes.
Got back to my car and some dick had parked a millimeter from my boot! I had to load my heavy shopping bags in from over the side, which is quite high!
I'd do online shopping, but I've had bad experiences in the past. I like to pick my own goods, so I see what I'm getting and I can choose the longest dates.
God I feel better for getting all that off my chest!!! 🤣

5 - People who decide they don't want something so just discard it somewhere random, worse when it's frozen or chilled and left to warm up, upstairs, next to the bath towels.

4 - Having no spatial awareness, or any awareness that there are other customers in the shop sat the same time, so they leave their trolley in the middle of the aisle, rather than tight to the side.

3 - Stealing stuff, from the 'free' things on the magazines, to absolutely everything else, so now everything is locked away or has security tags. Then you have to scan a receipt just to escape the shop.

2 - Not returning their trolleys in the car park.

1 - Returning their trolleys badly. I think this might be worse than not returning it at all. When the trolley bay is overflowing out across the car park, but if people had parked them all neatly and correctly, spooning with their identical trolley friends, it would only be half full.

Putting meat products in the veggie section

Its not funny

We used to have a supermarket that had those dividers - I think it was an Iceland. Brilliant. Hinged at the bottom. They should bring them back. I’d appreciate it whichever side if the equation I’m on - it’s stressful trying to pack quickly when there’s a huge queue and you couldn’t get the paper carrier bags open and it’s a bad life skills day.

@TheOtherAgentJohnson
the tills at your Lidl must be very different to ours

Theres no split customer side and would be no room for two customers to stand. Asda do have that I noticed but not Aldi or Lidl

@VikingLady if you find it stressful I’d give Aldi and Lidl a go
You literally throw it all in the trolley and use the huge benches behind the tills to pack it up at your own leisure.

Bravo 🤣🤣

Don't you have any clothes with pockets?

Maybe people should just allow extra time for supermarket shopping if they’re always in such a rush.

I spent about 10 years persuading my parents that they didn't need to shop on a Saturday.

When me and my brother were children, my mum didn't drive and my dad worked long hours, yes they needed to shop on a Saturday (although I think my brother and I could have been left home).

My dad now shops on a Wednesday.

M&S trolleys. The ones with the holder for the scan and shop device. Very uncomfortable and I have noticed at two stores who do the scan and shop these holders have been ripped of quite a few trolleys. I always try to get one of these. Also the holders have some very sharp edges and I would hate to trip and hit one accidentally.

People (always middle aged / older blokes) who stand and block the card reader and give you the stink eye when you try to pay. They never say a word when you ask them to move, so you can pay.

A while ago, I said to one:

"Excuse me," brandishing my card.

"Excuse me, I need to pay..."

"Excuse me, I need to pay - you're blocking the card reader."

No answer, just glowering. The till lady shouted the price again and I said, "Sorry, I'm trying to pay, but this idiot is deliberately blocking the card reader and won't move!"

She told him to move, as did his wife.

Wait until the last item goes through the til and then start looking for their bank cards or purse.

Babies often cry in supermarkets, l’m on their side, l really understand why. It’s only my stiff upper lip that gets me to pull up my big girl pants and not copy them 😱.