Odd check out behaviour

[wowfudge]

I'm beginning to think I must attract 'em at the check out after this lunchtime.

I put my few items of shopping on the conveyor behind the shopping of the woman in front and the 'next customer' sign she had already placed there. After a couple of minutes while the actually person at the till faffs over packing and paying, the woman before me in the queue takes a 'next customer' sign leans over my shopping and puts the sign behind my stuff. There is nobody behind me. Why would someone feel the need to do this? I think she might be the kind of person who thinks her younger neighbours need to open their curtains.

A few weeks ago the person behind me in a check out queue picked up my sushi from the conveyor, turned it over to read what was in it and asked the lad on the till where in the shop the sushi was on the shelves. She didn't ask me about it, or in fact say anything to me; just picked it up and turned it over!

Wow! They definitely like you don't they?

The sushi-handler is v v weird. That is one step from actually taking something out of someone's trolley to look at it!

I've had someone do the "next customer" divider thing to me. I looked her straight in the eye, picked up the divider and put it back on the rail thing, with a look that dared her to pick it up again. Fight crackers with crackers, I say

Had an encounter with a real character last week .

She was in front, unloading her trolley, and I was admittedly daydreaming. I saw her put a handbag on the belt, and assumed she had finished, so put a divider down, and a couple of things.

Turned out she hadn't finished - the bag was actually a purchase, and was hiding some cloths .

My god !!!! You'd have thought I was some sort of public enemy

"I've not finished" she barked, "have some patience"

"Oh my" I said, suitably mortified, and removing my stuff shit. "I am so terribly sorry, please forgive me, I thought you had finished."

Which I thought was fair dos. I was wrong - apologised. However, this wasn't enough, because she then carried on again, sort of under-her-breath but in actual fact (and deliberately so) louder.

Once again I said sorry.

More (and louder muttering).

This time, VERY LOUDLY, I said "I have apologised twice, and will apologise again, and if you tell me how many more times I need to apologise, I will do so. Thank you.". Loud enough to cause heads to turn.

All of sudden there were issues with her packing, and she slunk off to the rear conveyor. Blushing, glaring, but quiet. With the checkout operator smirking .

Just before Christmas I was putting a trolley load on the conveyor in Aldi. Person behind starts unloading their trolley too, behind next customer sign - leaving me with no room for half my shopping! So I just shoved some of their stuff backwards and said, 'you might have actually let me get me shopping on there'. Cue simpering wife, trying to make some joke about her dozy DH. They were both putting the stuff on there and there was no apology.

Online shopping is your friend.

I felt a bit guilty yesterday. I popped into my local Sainsburys and bought 4 items. I thought I had their self-service tills sussed so they don't hassle me with "unexpected item in the bagging area " nonsense etc. Anyway, the stupid machine decided that it could not cope with the last item I put in the bag and said "something wrong with the weight, please seek assistance". Nobody around. I walked off and left the shopping and went into M&S next door instead. I felt guilty because the shop assistants would have to take the stuff back the shelves.

MumInHants

Think of it as a job creation scheme

All I can say is they must be out in force today!
Went to Tesco this morn to get bits to make rocky road as I had promised DS I would make some,
I bought cherries,marshmallows,digestives and chocolate

Anyway, the woman behind me starts chatting in the que, was I baking? She said, What am I baking? I said rocky road,
Her: but you haven't bought any nuts,
Me; no DS doesn't want nuts
Her; but you need nuts, it's not rocky road otherwise
Me;DS hates nuts, he doesn't want nuts in his rocky road
Her; shall I save your place while you run and get some, you need nuts
Me: no thank you under my breath of course
She seemed to sulk after that as she turned her back on me

CyclopsBee

Oooh a recipe nazi ! I hate them with a vengeance ! For me, the whole point of cooking for yourself is you can make it how you want and leave out all the muck

rocky road doesn't have nuts, the silly bint

I actually like food shopping - it's just the strange types I end up next to at the tills that annoy me.

wowfudge someone did that to me yesterday in Lidl, gave us about half a conveyor and started unloading theirs. I had barely begun unloading my full trolley, so said 'I think I'll need more space than that' and moved theirs back little by little as I unloaded.

I did smirk though, when the next till opened and the other operator asked the next person in line to come over- if the person behind me had waited for me to finish and hadn't already unloaded their shopping they could have moved and been first at the other till!

I was at a self service checkout a few weeks ago and it was fairly busy but a few empty tills. As I was scanning I heard heavy breathing behind me and turned around to a man staring me in the eyes clutching his shopping. I pointed out the available ss checkouts and he said "I must use this one". It made me more uncomfortable than anything else

I automatically put the "next customer" divider down even if there's no-one behind me as I assume that someone will come along soon, but I'd never lean over someone to put one down for them.

I've seen people with a look of panic in their eyes when there isn't a next customer sign available. I once said, to a particularly twitchy individual, 'let's agree: I won't pay for yours and you won't pay for mine'!

In sainsburys last week, there was a youngish girl on the tills & every few mins she asked what certain fruit & veg was, is this a small cucumber? No a corgette!, Whats this? an aubergine I said, then she turns round to her colleague & said whats the code for these aborrigine things!!!

I always put the divider down after putting my shopping on the belt and have often passed a divider to the shopper behind me after they've put their shopping down if the next divider is out of their reach. They've always said "Thank you".

"I've had someone do the "next customer" divider thing to me. I looked her straight in the eye, picked up the divider and put it back on the rail thing, with a look that dared her to pick it up again. Fight crackers with crackers, I say" - Perhaps she wasn't "crackers"? Perhaps she thought she was being helpful? Whichever, a looked that dared her to pick it up again was a bit unnecessary, it's just shopping after all.

Off topic slightly but I have seen a couple of times recently people taking trolley-loads of shopping through the self-scanning section. Am I alone in thinking that self-scanning should be for baskets only? Also I'm sure it must take them longer than just going through a normal till. Genuinely don't get it. Thank god for online shopping so I don't have to deal with this too often.

LurkingHusband I smiled in recognition at your description of the person who requires apologies to come complete with sackcloth and ashes. I really don't understand people like this who cannot just accept an apology and shut up/move on.

I asked one recently if she would like me to prostrate myself at her feet and beg forgiveness, she shut up after that. It was the most minor of minor incidents which was actually more her fault than mine.

KitKat1985

Our local (massive) Tescos has started a scan-as-you-shop service (again !). When you have finished, you take your trolley to the paypoint (which looks very similar to the self-scan checkouts) and pay there.

Fooled me first time too.

I was looking in a mirror in New Look...holding a jumper up against me when a woman just stepped in front of me to do the same! She couldn't miss me...I was only three feet from the mirror....I said "Er...excuse me! I was looking in that mirror" and she SNIGGERED and said "It's only a mirror!" as though I was being ridiculous!

When DD2 was little I was waiting at the tills when I saw her touching some sweets. I warningly said "Patience..." Cue the woman behind me yelling "I AM being patient!" and ranting about my rudeness and the ineptitude of the cashier. I waited until she'd quite finished to tell her that DD's name is Patience.

A man in Lidl plonked down a next customer divider and began unpacking his basket, while I was still unpacking my trolley full. I still had half my stuff left and he left me no room.

So I used the next customer thing to push all his shit back to the very top of the belt. It was way more room than I needed, but I was making a point. :o

Mrs Tawdry, that is always happening to me!

I apologise to anyone who is behind me as my dd now thinks it is hilarious to do the 'next customer' sign horizontally. MN's fault.

my dd now thinks it is hilarious to do the 'next customer' sign horizontally. MN's fault

We do this. It's amazing how quickly it gets turned "the right way" by the person behind you if you turn your back for a second.

I was buying root ginger and the cashier picked it up, squinted at it, then asked me 'What the fuck is that?!'

Another time, this guy in the queue behind me plucked at my coat to get my attention, then proceeded to show me every item he was buying and whether or not he could get it cheaper elsewhere.