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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to have said 'excuse me please, can I just get to the toilet roll?' In the supermarket?

90 replies

17leftfeet · 03/04/2014 12:24

Older couple, woman pottering down the aisle looking at stuff, man parks himself and his trolley in front of the toilet roll so I politely asked to get past him and he said

'When my wife has finished looking and I can move I will, in this country young lady we do something called waiting our turn!'

Wtf?

For one thing I'm 35
Where did the 'in this country' bit come from since I am British
His wife was a good 3m away so moving a foot so I can pick up some toilet roll wasn't unreasonable was it???

I don't get supermarket etiquette

OP posts:
formerbabe · 03/04/2014 12:26

He's nuts!

whereisthewitch · 03/04/2014 12:27

He's a rude git! I'd have pushed his stupid trolley out of the way and told him to kiss my very ample ass!!

BringBackBod · 03/04/2014 12:29

YANBU
He was rude.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 03/04/2014 12:29

I have to be honest - son and I were choosing yoghurts one day and a lady reached across us to get to hers. I was more than a little miffed and wondered why she could not have waited for a minute. It's what I do if someone is making their selection. Wander off and get something else on your list, then come back to it. Not hard.

Not sure about the "in this country" remark though - bit weird.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 03/04/2014 12:29

He's very rude. I would have said "Don't be ridiculous you've plenty of room to let me through."

Thurlow · 03/04/2014 12:30
Confused

That's the oddest thing. If there's room for people to move then what's wrong with asking them to move?!

fuckwitteryhasform · 03/04/2014 12:30

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ViviPru · 03/04/2014 12:31

I'm a calm reasonable person and avoid drama at all costs but this would give me the blind rage. What did you do/say?

JohnFarleysRuskin · 03/04/2014 12:31

But OP didn't reach across, she asked politely.

The man was very funny. I would have smirked.

Marylou2 · 03/04/2014 12:32

Cheeky sod! Not my business but I imagine that unless you are white that he may also be racist? Perhaps you might have told him that "in this country" people are traditionally polite.

Seeline · 03/04/2014 12:32

Supermarkets are weirdly designed so that there is never any where to actually just wait a moment. I think if someone is pondering a choice then it is reasonable to let them continue. If someone is just stood waiting, blocking an area of produce, it is perfectly reasonable to ask them to move. He was ridiculously rude, and it was an unnecessary reaction to a polite request.

theincrediblealfonso · 03/04/2014 12:32

Haha, what a nitwit. What did you say in return? I bet if the roles were reversed and you'd said that to him, he wouldn't have taken it well.

murphys · 03/04/2014 12:34

What a grumpy old arse!

SirChenjin · 03/04/2014 12:35

Ahh, you must have made his day - not only did he get to tell a young 'un off, but he was able to assert his place as a male over a younger woman AND squeeze a healthy dollop of xenophobia in there too Grin

He should either be commended for managing to turn a perfectly polite and reasonable request into something ridiculous, or be pitied - I can't quite decide which.

RiverTam · 03/04/2014 12:36

well, he wasn't the one doing the choosing so he could have easily moved the trolley - if it was just him on his own, pushing and shopping then fair enough. But it wasn't!

God, I would have said something back, you were very restrained if you didn't!

RedRoom · 03/04/2014 12:37

You were polite. He was rude. I would subsequently have nudged his trolley aside, reached right in front of him, and pulled down a giant pack of 12.

Viviennemary · 03/04/2014 12:37

That is too cheeky of him. I'm always behind people that do this in supermarkets when I want just to take something off the shelf and not ponder for hours in front of tins of baked beans. Then usually the next few things I want there they are again. Grr.

17leftfeet · 03/04/2014 12:39

I am white -no idea where the comment came from unless he considers Manchester to be foreign!

Well I suppose I am in Yorkshire!

I didn't say anything back I was too busy standing there with my mouth wide open

OP posts:
123Jump · 03/04/2014 12:40

He sounds like the kind of person that really enjoys confrontation. Always on the lookout for any kind of situation to cause a fuss.
Twat.
If someone is at the spot where I want something, I wait. If they have been a while and no sign of moving, and I can see what I want, I'll say "excuse me, would you mind if I just get one of these ?". They usually apologise for hogging the spot, I say no, not all all, and we all end up smiling and friends, Grin.
I usually do online though.

MyNameIsInigoMontoya · 03/04/2014 12:42

He is that guy in Viz (do I mean "Major Misunderstanding" or something?)!

BoffinMum · 03/04/2014 12:43

I would have mentioned to his wife woman to woman he was being an issue and then waited around the corner while she told him off Grin

poii · 03/04/2014 12:43

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LoonvanBoon · 03/04/2014 12:45

I'm disappointed, 17. I was really hoping that you'd run into a massive snob who had criticized your use of "toilet roll" instead of "lavatory paper" or something.

He was ridiculous, anyway. I think I'd have just stared open-mouthed, too, but the "young lady" bit might have riled me into a rude response! What an arse (appropriately enough).

poii · 03/04/2014 12:45

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Beastofburden · 03/04/2014 12:45
Shock Poii, disability is not a curse from god for evil behaviour. was that supposed to be funny?