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Original poster

Supermarket checkouts: This isn't a thing, is it?

273 replies

DeathStare · 02/08/2016 17:12

I've just been to the supermarket. Did full-trolley shop and went to the check-out with the shortest queue. The person at it was having his stuff go through the scanner and there was about half the conveyor empty.

There was also another man just hanging around about 2 feet back from the end of the conveyor - no shopping with him.

So I went to start unpacking my shopping onto the conveyor and the man hanging around said "Excuse me I'm next". So I apologised and moved and indicated to him to put his stuff on the conveyor belt ahead of me. So he said "Oh I'm saving it for my wife for when she's finished her shopping". I looked around - thinking she had maybe just nipped back for something - but nobody was nearby. I asked if she was coming and he said he didn't think she had finished yet. So I said he didn't think he could save the check-out then and started unpacking my stuff.

He started complaining at me that I'd stolen his checkout but I just ignored him. Then when I'd filled the rest of the conveyor belt his wife turned up and he told her I'd stolen his check-out and she demanded that I remove my shopping because her husband had been saving it for her. When I refused (politely!) she shouted "you are so rude" and the pair of them stormed off.

This isn't a thing now is it? You can't save a check-out can you? Or have I just not noticed it before?

OP posts:
dustarr73 · 03/08/2016 18:13

I remember a few years ago i had done my Christmas shopping.2 huge trolleys,dp had 1 and so di i.It turned out i was up first so away and putting the stuff up.And there was a woman behind the other trolley.Dp goes off to get something else.

Now she didnt realise we where together,and the sly smile when she thought she was pulling a fast one.

I waited until she had pushed the trolley away and then i said it to her.The back tracking was gas but she was sick.

bitemyshinymetalass · 03/08/2016 18:14

I think you've misread. I believe you that it happened, but I think you are wrong to be complaining about it.

Roseformeplease · 03/08/2016 18:14

Sorry, bite was the one talking about moaners Chihuaha called me a liar.

For fuck's sake. Wee harmless anecdote.

Roseformeplease · 03/08/2016 18:15

bite have apologised. No complaint at all. Nothing said to BAA. No mention of it at the time, or after.

Just, you know, telling anecdotes on an Internet forum.

bitemyshinymetalass · 03/08/2016 18:20

No, complaining on here. It's a thread for complaining about queue jumping, you added a post. I merely said that I don't think you have any cause for complaint.
BA staff don't need to queue to get on a BA flight when they are being flown to go and work on another BA flight.
I really don't know why you are making such a thing about a simple point, just ignore me if you disagree.

Janey50 · 03/08/2016 18:23

I get utterly sick to death of supermarket queue 'politics'. I am disabled,so when I shop in a supermarket,I always use a trolley,even if I am only buying one or two items,as that way I can put any other bags of shopping I have in the main part of the trolley,and put my items on the child seat. It also gives me something to lean on as I am trudging around. I have lost count of the times I have had a person joining the queue behind me say 'Can I go in front? I've only got a basket with 6 items'. I'm like,'er no,I've only got 2 items'. To which I get the response ' But you've got a trolley full there!'. No I bloody well haven't! Use your eyes and look! Even better was when the lady on the express till for baskets only told me to go to her till as it was quiet,and she could see I only had a couple of items. No sooner had I put my shopping on the conveyor belt than a woman comes stropping in front of me,snarling at me 'This is the EXPRESS TILL,for BASKETS ONLY!' I just looked at the cashier,who said 'I told this lady to come to this till as it was quiet. Plus she is disabled'. The woman's face was a picture.

Unicorn1981 · 03/08/2016 18:29

The other day a similar thing happened to me. This little girl (about 8) ran to the checkout ahead of her mum and stood there. They had a massive trolley and I had a basket so I just got there at the same time and started putting my stuff on conveyer belt. As we were waiting I could just hear them going on about how she'd got there first etc. I just looked ahead...

mathanxiety · 03/08/2016 18:29

Slightly, my Aldi only has one bay by the door, and nothing in the carpark. There are often beggars trailing people through the car park asking to bring the trolley back to the bay so they can get the trolley deposit for themselves. It's a whole little economy all unto itself.

About three Christmas Eves ago there was a shooting in the car park of my local Walmart that started out as a fight in the checkout line.

Eliza22 · 03/08/2016 18:29

Odd. But my son would do this. He has Aspergers.

Member251061 · 03/08/2016 18:33

Love the code dick idea!!!

ginger1976 · 03/08/2016 18:37

Omg maybe they think it is like sunbeds on holiday and you have to reserve your patch!! That is so funny good for you though sticking to your guns!!

Roseformeplease · 03/08/2016 18:41

bite but they clearly were breaking the rules as they were told off by the staff.

Thissideof40 · 03/08/2016 18:44

Wtf?? That's ridiculous. Did the checkout person say anything?

Myself and a colleague went to the bank a couple of weeks ago to bank the takings for work and the bloke in front of us said 'oh there's another person behind me in the queue, they're just coming'. The mystery person didn't show up but we were damned if we were going to let them jump in when we had a queued a good 5 minutes.

Roseformeplease · 03/08/2016 18:50

In our "supermarket" (in any other world it would be a corner shop but here it is all we have so...) we get a lot of tourists, unfamiliar with queuing. They rebuilt it completely to make the queue more obvious to help them. The problem is that it is the size for the winter population but we get 2 or 3 times the local population through per day (the village, not the shop) in summer.

Up to this point you would queue, snaking round already busy aisles with people also re-stacking the shelves. I have lost count of the times I waited patiently only for someone to come round the wrong way, see the empty checkout I was heading for and nip in. I never said anything as it was already shit for tourists just trying to buy food. Plus the checkout people are young , ex-pupils of mine and I feel sorry for them too.

Sassyfaff · 03/08/2016 18:51

YADNBU!! What the absolute.... ?? I think I would have probably laughed and asked if his wife was part of the Royal family or something? (Even so... Pfft! )

YelloDraw · 03/08/2016 19:05

When it was tactfully pointed out she was in the wrong queue, she said "Nah, five for her, five for him, five for him, five for him and five for me!". She was sent on her way.

Ha ha that is quite funny tho!

dontmakemedothis · 03/08/2016 19:11

Definitely not acceptable. As I was reading your post I was thinking "oh God, please don't say you went to a different checkout and let them get away with it". I'm so glad you went ahead and unpacked your shopping.

Wdigin2this · 03/08/2016 19:14

Hell no!!! But I was in a department store recently, when a sales assistant asked if she could help. I told her what I was looking for and she was telling me where to find it, when up came this women stood right between us and said, 'I need some help over there...now!' The assistant looked at her, and coolly said to me, 'Would you like me to show you to the XXX department madam?' And she walked me off and away from the rude woman! Fab!!!

ElHirsuto · 03/08/2016 19:16

No, this is an outrage. You can't just stand at a checkout and reserve it like that.

What I do is to urinate in a circle around the whole checkout. This makes it clear that it's a no-go area for other shoppers. I do the same with parking spaces, sun loungers and my girlfriend.

Vvlgari · 03/08/2016 19:39

elhirsuto Grin

I've got an outrageous bit of queue jumping from when I was less bolshy than I am now. I was waiting in quite a long queue at Tesco cigarette counter and had just got to the front when a guy walked in and went up to the counter before I could. It was so blatant, I lost the power of speech momentarily. The worst thing was that the cashier saw it, still served him before me and didn't say anything.

Then, even more gobsmackingly, I got to the counter and the cashier closed his till, telling me it was the end of his shift! So I had to wait for yet another till to become free.

I still kick myself for not a) telling off the queue-jumper and b) not complaining about the cashier.

milliemolliemou · 03/08/2016 19:45

ElHirsuto - great idea.

Respect to anyone working the tills when customers get into queue bargeing and you're being asked to adjudicate.

But unless you're a little old lady or gentleman or have other problems (eg more than ten kids in a shopping basket/just my DC) then I do think it's helpful to have your loyalty card/bank card/cash ready to go. It may only take 20 seconds for you to find it but in a queue of ten people ....

HunterHearstHelmsley · 03/08/2016 20:12

One or my favourite queue jumping incidents..

I was waiting to pay in the clothing department at Tesco. Years ago now, I'd be about 18. Only me in the queue. A woman planks herself in front of me. I walk back in front of her and she says "excuse me! There's a queue, you know!!" "Yep" I replied "which I was at the front of until you barged in front of me". Her face was thunder.

CreepingDogFart · 03/08/2016 20:18

No this is not "a thing" and they are cheeky cunts.

ArcheryAnnie · 03/08/2016 20:24

Just coming on here to raise my hat to the OP for making this not be a thing. Reserving tills isn't a thing.

RavenclawRemedials · 03/08/2016 20:41

MyLlamas Asda have a system for dealing with people who don't have payment at the till. The cashier calls a staff member who prints off a list of the customer's goods and then takes them to customer services where the staff member can guard the shopping and the customer can faff around finding their payment without holding the regular queues up. It works quite well.