Woman in supermarket queue behind me

[wowowowow]

today shoved up all my shopping (on the conveyor belt) and started to heap hers on.

I didn't know what to say as I would never dream of interfering with someone elses stuff but I don't know if I am being precious - am I?

some people will hold their shopping back while the conveyor belt is moving forward

Guilty :)

So why not get your purse out while you're waiting in the queue?

Because people usually have their hands full - especially in a queue for an express till where you are standing up and maybe have bags in both hands as well as a basket.

You can put your basket on the floor.

When I had PND, I had an irrational anxiety in supermarkets - really glad I didn't read this back then!

However, I always try to have my purse out and correct cards out before my stuff goes through. And always before everything is through on the conveyor. It is perfectly possible to simultaneously pack and put card/numbers into machine. Saves time and frustration for those behind you.

There is always somewhere in the packing area to tuck your purse/cards - you don't have to pack one-handed.

This happened to me in Aldi, I hadn't finished unloading my trolley when a bloke started putting his stuff on, leaving me with very little room to get the rest of my stuff on. I just pushed his right back and glared at him.

You can put your basket on the floor

Yes but that doesn't help if I've got bags as well does it? And it's no good when the queue moves either. Yes I can kick the basket along with my foot but then someone will come onto MN and complain about that too.

Surely this is the sort of outrageous behaviour pepper spray was invented for!?!

I was in the supermarket with my parents once. They were buying enough to feed everyone on their block, I had 5 or six bits separately behind and a couple behind me with a basketful.

The woman in front of my parents is taking a fair amount of time (fair enough) and the couple behind me got restless. They looked round and then took my shopping off the conveyor and bunged it in a basket.

I said "What do you think you're doing with my shopping?"
"Oh," said the man, "is it yours? You never said."
"Well, you never asked. Put it back now. "

They'd assumed my stuff belonged to someone who'd nipped off to get something I'd forgotten.

I really rather enjoyed that!

Yes, I believe it was Chaos she of the bad typing who introduced MN to the divider game.

I've been known to "accidentally" step backwards into/onto a foot of a person standing too close. "Oh I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone to be standing there!"

You can put your basket on the floor

Yes but that doesn't help if I've got bags as well does it? And it's no good when the queue moves either. Yes I can kick the basket along with my foot but then someone will come onto MN and complain about that too.

Generally people in supermarkets don't have full bags. If they do, they also can go on the floor for the minute or so that it take to get a purse out of a bag. Thereafter you can pick things up or kick them along, as you choose.

I don't know where you all live but ALDI is perfectly civilized where I live, so is LIDL but I don't use that as much.
Shockingly, as a regular ALDI shopper I let two people go in front of me yesterday because they only had two items and I had a lot, seemed only polite.

I've just been to Aldi. The assistant asked the chap behind me to put up the red "checkout closing" bar. Five people in turn tried to load their shopping after the red bar and had to be turned away. FIVE.

More impressive was the woman who was packing at the shelf with four children, one of whom was not behaving well - picking up porcelain pots and nearly dropping them. After a couple of minutes supermum called over to the woman shopping at the nearest till, who was clearly a stranger to her, to come and rescue PeskyChild because she was "worried she'll drop one of these pots and cut herself". I was in awe.

I shop in Aldi, I have a baby in a pushchair, a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I have one basket on each arm and just before I pay, I skilfully wrestle a big bag of pull-ups onto the metal bit before the conveyor belt. Someone may or not still be emptying their trolley, but usually have to grab a fleeing child's arm and I got to keep one hand on the buggy.

Also I have to pack straight into the pushchair and bags, I do have a fast technique but if one of the terrors decides to have a paddy or bolt it I got to stop. Still the cashier will keep beeping things through. I at that point decide to go slow. Unless
They gonna provide me with a personal shopper to push a trolley for me, they can sod off and wait. Not everyone is quick and able.

I don't have these issues, I just have to put up with the inconsiderate people who refuse to put the bar behind their shopping. So half the time I'm putting one down to put my shopping on, AND putting down one behind my shopping for the next person. Usually lazy students.
In my local Aldi you're not allowed to pack at the till, you have to shove it in the trolley and pack at the back. Yes, I was told off the first time.

I went to an Aldi for the first time yesterday (they are new to our area)and packed at the till like I would any other supermarket. I had no idea that this was against the law in Aldi! The checkout bloke didn't ask me to move, but then he did disappear for 5 minutes to go and find the price for a reduced item, so maybe it wasn't a problem for him.

People were packing at all the other tills too, and I have never seen anyone using those shelves in Lidl, again, I had no idea that you were supposed to pack your shopping there, so maybe our part of the country is more relaxed about these things!

Wow where does everyone live?! I've never seen this or experienced this - people generally wait

Hmmm, it depends. Did she have a trolley or hand basket?

If I was carrying a really heavy hand basket and there was nowhere to put it while I waited, I would be tempted to gently move previous shopper's shopping, just so that I can start putting mine on and get rid of the load.

I was in Asda today ( a place I don't go to very often) I'm sure the women behind me said " hurry up" although can't be sure! Actually three of the female staff in there where standing around effing and blinding, so lovely! I prefer Aldi now, no hanging about the checkout. Normally I would keep the trolley behind me to stop people standing at my ear when I have to pay, I've had people shoving the trolley forward but I just shove it back again, they soon jump out of the way! Although they don't let you do that in Aldi. I hate shopping!

Wow - but her shoving her stuff on the belt wouldn't make shopping quicker as your stuff would still go through at the same time.
I would have told her to leave my shopping alone as I was paying for it!

Curious about Lidl 'rules' - never been in one. Why can't yo pack your shopping at the checkout? How do you get it out he shop? ( I might have missed the explanation)

I hate it when you're packing your shopping at the other end the the people behind are so eager to move you on they has their trolley up your arse so that when you come to pay you can't get back to the card machine! I just stand there, card in hand and look and them saying 'err do you mind?' until they move their trolley back. It doesn't get then anywhere any faster!

Tapandgo

The checkouts at Aldi and Lidl are designed so that the end of the trolley slots into the bit behind the cashier. So once you have loaded your shopping onto the belt and it is being scanned, you push your trolley past the cashier, then turn it round so it fits in the slot. You are supposed to put all your items straight back into the trolley once they have been scanned. No faffing about with packing bags.
You pay and then push your trolley to the shelf where you can pack at your leisure without holding up the rest of the queue.
It is brilliant and works well as long as everyone follows the rules.

In defence for Aldi, for all those who say they're too much of a wuss to shop at Aldi as the checkouts are too scary man up
I love it there, as it means you just pack as you go. Either into your bag, or into your trolley and sort it all out at the long benches underneath the windowsill.
The latter being if you can't keep up packing your own bag, so just put in your trolley instead and sort out at your own leisure.
Far better than being one of those dithery whatnots driving the rest of the queue insane.

The big problem with Aldi and Lidl, for me, is that you aren't allowed to take baskets through the checkout - you have to unload and leave the basket at the beginning.
I don't drive and have to carry my shopping home so I only ever use a basket so I know I can physically get my stuff home.
So if I use those shops I have to pack at the till which is major stress so I just don't go there.

And I think I win today's prize for most "so's" in a post

I have never bought that much in Lidl at once that I couldn't pack it straight into bags in the trolley as it is scanned. I haven't seen anyone packing their stuff at the back in the local store. If I'm honest though I dislike their checkouts and having to find a pound for a trolley.