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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to use the baskets only lane with a trolly?

33 replies

suddenlycupishalffull · 05/08/2015 13:39

So I'm in the supermarket with my 4 year old & 19 month old whom I have to strap down into a pram because he's a runner & is heavy. I normally shop online but I needed to nip in for a few bits, ie a small baskets worth of stuff. if you 'nip' in anywhere with 2 kids in tow Anyway, I'm stood there minding my own business and the old guy behind me looks me up and down like I've just crawled out of the sewer & says 'this line is basket only,' so I said 'all I have in my trolly is my son, he's too heavy to carry & I only have a few items' but he's not happy, raising his eyebrows at me, huffing, puffing etc. I ignore. The nice girl on the till serves me but when I turn to go he starts ranting - and I mean properly ranting - to the till girl about how unfair it is I was allowed to go through, it's not on etc etc. The girl said it was fine, I'd only got a few items but he carries on ranting so I stopped & defended myself saying I've got 2 kids in tow, could he carry a baby & manage a pre-schooler round a busy store & carry a basket? He continues to rant about it not being fair so I huff off. But really - is it that much of a sin? I'm bemused! Most people give you a sympathetic smile when you're going round a supermarket with kids, did I break some supermarket taboo here? AIBU?

OP posts:

indianqueens69 · 05/08/2015 13:42

Yanbu

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle · 05/08/2015 13:44

yanbu. Some people are just massive arses.

Chottie · 05/08/2015 13:45

I would have just ignored him full stop. He's obviously just a moaner, if it wasn't you, it would have been someone else.

And no, I do not think you were being unreasonable. You were very sensible using a trolley.

maz210 · 05/08/2015 13:45

You are so not being unreasonable, he's obviously one of these people that is a stickler for rules. He's missed the point that the "basket" definition is so that people with only a few purchases use that queue.

To prevent this in future, put a basket in your trolley and put your shopping in that. I've seen people do this before, it's obviously to stop people moaning about them using the basket only till.

Alternatively you could ask the complainer to hold your children while you transfer your few purchases into a basket, would be worth it just to see his face.

SpaghettiMeatballs · 05/08/2015 13:46

In my local Sainsburys it has a picture of a basket and says 10 items or less.

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old so always use a trolley for at least the 1 year old. If I have 10 items or less I use the basket queue and no one has ever reacted badly.

YANBU.

Becauseicannes · 05/08/2015 13:46

Well yes, it is baskets only, personally I would have just told him to eff off., not explain, he is not the supermarket police and doesn't warrant an explanation. I think some people just get grumpier as they get older but that can't be helped.

Metacentric · 05/08/2015 13:54

In my local Sainsburys it has a picture of a basket and says 10 items or less.

Actually, I know a supermarkets which has a baskets queue and a 10 items or less fewer line. The baskets line wouldn't work with trolleys, as it's a cluster of closely spaced tills with a basket rest but nowhere you could put a trolley without blocking one of the other tills.

BigRedBall · 05/08/2015 13:59

This is why I have a Phil and teds. No way would I have the hassle of using a trolley when I don't need to.

Yanbu btw!

ShaynePunim · 05/08/2015 14:04

Actually, I know a supermarkets which has a baskets queue and a 10 items or less fewer line.

Oh yeah I know a supermarkets like that too.

Jollyphonics · 05/08/2015 14:09

YANBU.

What if you went in and bought one large thing - like a big bag of compost - would he expect you to squeeze it into a basket, or stand in a queue of full trolleys? Ridiculous.

What a nasty man.

ShaynePunim · 05/08/2015 14:15

What if you went in and bought a pint of milk - no basket?

Original poster

suddenlycupishalffull · 05/08/2015 14:16

He was shouting - at the girl, not me though I was stood right next to him - about breaking the rules & I thought god have I broken some sort of sacred supermarket rule here?! His reaction seemed totally disproportionate & I felt like I was justifying daring to be in there with kids in the first place. Putting a basket in the trolly is a good idea. The supermarket police is an even better one. I'd love that job! I'd have arrested him & charged him with being a miserable old arse!!

OP posts:

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 05/08/2015 14:24

Yanbu unless your trolley causes an obstruction. In the supermarket I used to use the basket tills were in a line with the front of the queue at one end and you walked past the other basket only tills to get out. Except if someone with a trolley used it then it was impossible to get past with a buggy and a juggle with a basket. The tills were designed for baskets only too.

Feel pity for that man. Pity that his life is so small that supermarket rules get him so vexed.

BlackNoSugar · 05/08/2015 14:27

I use a crutch so have to use a trolley (I put my crutch in the trolley and just use the handle for support, my big bright blue crutch is pretty obvious). I did have one woman say quite huffily to me when I was just buying milk and bread, "this is a 10 or less lane, it's for baskets", and I explained, in a nice friendly tone, "If I've got the crutch in one hand and the basket in the other, I'd need a third hand to actually pick things up." She had the grace to apologise and the checkout girl was trying not to laugh.

Oldraver · 05/08/2015 14:33

People like this dont deserve the time of day

0x530x610x750x630x79 · 05/08/2015 14:48

I have done this I bought 5 heavy items, which i couldn't carry, an old woman got huffy, i ignored her.

Janeymoo50 · 05/08/2015 14:51

His reaction was over the top and no way would I have minded you doing it, it's clearly not a major issue. My pet hate (one of many) is when people do a big trolley shop and use the small self check out tills, there is no room, they can't scan and pack everything because it affects the scales and the assistant has to practically stand with them to see it all through plus the massive trolley blocks the way for others.

MintJulip · 05/08/2015 14:52

Op I really feel for you - you poor poor thing.

I do this all the time, with literally a few items in trolley as easier than hulking it round with two small DC as well.

Just take a deep breath and ignore.

Its just so hard to do anyting with small DC in the UK I dont know how any of us cope, its miserable

notquitegrownup2 · 05/08/2015 14:54

I once did this, not because I had a toddler but because I had done my back in and could barely walk. I put the basket with a few items in into the trolley and was still told off - by the cashier who served me very very begrudgingly. I was in too much pain to complain, but still see him and seethe.

YWNBU

MrsGentlyBenevolent · 05/08/2015 15:01

I get irritated when people put trollies through the basket only self-service. Not that I would actually say something , it's just even with only a few items, it always seems longer when it's with a trolly, not a basket.

I shop at asda (yeah, I know, chav ), and my local 'big store' balance's it out well, I think. There's an area with plenty of 'basket only' self-serve (that would be pretty difficult to navigate a trolley around), then a bigger, self-service 'conveyor belt' area that is easier for trollies but without the hassle of the regular checkout. In smaller shops though, I really think if you have a trolly, don't use the 'basket only' area. I think it's more of a socially polite thing that a necessity, I think anyone who would rant about it is making more of an arse of himself.

Original poster

suddenlycupishalffull · 05/08/2015 15:22

If I was blocking the way, if it was narrow lane (like some of the self-service lanes are) then yes it's not on & I wouldn't do it. But I only a few items so it's just semantics surely? No it wasn't a basket but it was 5 items, I wasn't in anyone's way, the cashier was fine with it so what's the problem? I can't believe anyone cares that much about the 'rules', I felt like he was trying to bully me out of the shop!

OP posts:

Nolim · 05/08/2015 15:24

In smaller shops though, I really think if you have a trolly, don't use the 'basket only' area.

This.

zazzie · 05/08/2015 15:27

As long as you are not blocking access it's fine to use them. Ds has to be in a sn trolley but I still use basket only queues if I have a few things and it would mean a wait (with ds creating) in the other queues.
What is unreasonable is people using the basket only queue with several baskets in a trolley with 30 items altogether.

Neednewflowers · 05/08/2015 15:35

Imagine having a life where your only worry is some woman with a trolley in the basket aisle?

Christ.

Op yanbu

ImperialBlether · 05/08/2015 15:36

I think this is completely discriminatory. Not everyone is able to carry a basket; plenty of older people and disabled people have to push a trolley.

Surely it's the number of items that matters?

I always choose a trolley because I don't go shopping with a list and have no idea how many items I'm going to buy. Also if I'm buying two bags of potatoes, a bag of carrots, a cauliflower, a leg of lamb and a bottle of wine I don't want to carry it all in a basket!

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