To not understand why people act this way in the supermarket

[Emerald31]

Hi tell me if I'm wrong here but has anyone else noticed how strange people can be in the supermarket? I did my usual food shop today and I had people literally leaning over me and bumping into to me to get to an item, ramming there trollies past me in a rage because I've stopped to look at something they clearly wanted to. This one woman felt like my own personal shadow and seemed to reach for everything I did then continued to walk with her trolley parallel to mine which started to make me feel uncomfortable.

I got to the till and the same woman came up behind me and started to load her items on to the belt whilst I was still trying to load mine. There wasn't enough room for my stuff in the end as she packed her stuff within a miliemetre of mine so I had to pack my food high. It was a long queue and I'm stood there waiting patiently but decided I needed another bag so turned back to get one. This woman was stood right behind me to the point were I've bumped it's her and she gave me a strange smirky look. I've reached down for a bag then got back in the queue. I moved up slowly as other shoppers in front of me did but this woman again was stood that close behind that I could practically feel her breaking on me.

I finally get to the front and start loading my items into the trolley and again she's stood right up close watching me pack. I've gone to pay with my debit card and she's moved up again and this time I lost it telling her she won't get served any faster by standing closer to me and she should wait her turn. She's then shouted saying she's in a rush but I'm sorry I don't care if she was in a rush. What is the need to invade people's personal space? Thinking back I've experienced similar before were I've had people standing too close and the more I've moved away the more they move closer. I've also had people slam down those shopping separator things and it's like they're panicked incase one of my items is mistaken for theirs and they might be charged for it. Seriously why do people act this way?

You need to get a bit more assertive (you sound lovely and patient unlike grumpy old me btw!) No way should you have piled yours higher- a 'do you mind, I've not finished' would have done. People like this need calling out on their rudeness otherwise they get a kick out of taking the piss.

I would also be mindful of pick pockets

I have difficulty dealing with people who stand too close. I move to the side and give them a look, not a rude one, and it never works. I hate people being too close.

Click & collect cuts all that out for me!

And this is why I shop online

Some aren't blessed with patience or manners, I ended up having an argument with some rude old lady who nearly knocked my daughter flying and me with her trolley at self serve. The cheeky old cow told me my daughter shouldn't be standing there.... She shoved the trolley. She's well known apparantly. She soon moved when I had a go at her.

I would also be telling people to get their payment ready as they will be paying for something very soon!

I actually do that at the Customer Service Desk when people bring stuff back and then be surprised that they need their payment card for a refund ... so now rather than waiting for them to faff while the queue behind them grows exponentially as I start scanning their items back into the system through the till, I will ask them "Have you got the card you used handy - for the refund to go back into your account - or would you like it on a gift card to spend in store today?" which usually stirs them into action and they start excavating their bag to find their purse and by the time I'm finished scanning the items and doing the paperwork, they're ready with their card

I hate supermarkets. Weirdly most panic attacks I've had have started out in the supermarket and I've had to quickly rush out for 'air' as I feel stifled and like I can't breathe. Oddly never had a problem when working in a supermarket only when shopping in there.
This woman sounds horrible. I hope you took your time packing your shopping away

I had to tell a lady to give me some space at the checkout the other day, as she was so close to me we were practically intimate! She didn't say a word in response and backed up a couple of inches, then proceeded to hover over me while I placed my shopping on the conveyer belt, so I was deliberately slow and spread everything out so she had to wait longer to put her items down. Reading others' responses here, I'm now thinking she may have been a pickpocket, but equally, just a rude, impatient lady! Why have they crawled out of the woodwork all of a sudden?

I would have asked her if she wanted to pay for my goods considering she was standing so close.

This is why online supermarket shopping was invented.

I read through this thread after a weird experience in the supermarket today that left me feeling bad and I couldn't think why. It was a very rainy day so the supermarket was extremely quiet, very few people in the aisles, and I needed to buy an item for somebody, and barely had I found it than two people were behind me, standing far too close and gabbling noisily, I couldn't tell what they were saying, and it took me a minute to react, turn round and look at them, then move away, I suppose I thought their presence would disappear soon but they carried on standing there too close to me and gabbling away. It seemed rude as they must know that feels harassing, and I had only just got there half a minute before them, there was no excuse to try to rush me away. I uncomfortably moved away so the guy could get his item. Then I was considering buying an unusual vegetable and was again only standing by that vegetable for a few seconds when this woman was standing right by me apparently also trying to get one of the same unusual vegetable, which was odd because the whole vegetable area was almost deserted. I uncomfortably moved away, and moved back when she had gone. The whole thing just felt so creepy. When I got past the till to sort my bags out, I noticed that the zipped part at the front of my backpack was undone, which I thought weird, I don't usually leave it undone. I thought no more of that one until after reading this thread about pickpockets, that had honestly not occured to me. I was wondering if a lot of people just get their kicks by deliberately upsetting other people in supermarkets by getting in their personal space. For it to happen twice, one right after the other, just seemed like more than a coincidence. I don't keep my money or phone in my backpack pocket, and nothing had been taken, I keep a wooden comb, an emery board, a pen, a compact mirror and a lipstick and they were all still there.

I hate these bloody space invaders when you’re in the queue. The last time someone did it to me I turned round and said very loudly, ‘would you like to jump on my back?’ She looked confused and I said, ‘well you obviously want to be glued to me’. She muttered something and stepped back and the rest of the queue laughed. 😄

I might add that both the items were unusual, it wasn't as though either were everyday items, as well as the supermarket being very quiet because of the pouring rain. And the second occurance was right after the first, which made it feel super creepy.

I just thought people deliberately want to be in the spot where you are for the fun of upsetting people. Once I was in a the sewing section of a department store, where they have lots of pattern books and stools to sit on, and there were only three or four different pattern books, but about three of each kind, and plenty of space. When I got there I was the only person there, with my baby and toddler in a double buggy. A woman turned up with (presumably) her husband, and with a big choice of where to sit, she moved my double buggy, with my children in it. I did have a go at her about it, said why did she need that particular space when there were multiple copies of each pattern book and plenty of seats, and she just made whimpering noises, and her husband said nothing.

To be honest it's the people who pull their trolleys behind them at checkouts that annoy me. Their trolley takes up at least half of the convey belt space which means I carnt unload the majority of my shopping untill they have paid and left which in turn causes a delay to everyone behind them. I find that incredibly rude and entitled.

I am only 5ft so find people often tower over me and it is very claustrophobic

Same here, I use the backpack trick and it works really well!

I remember once I was at an attraction where the main event was the view - even though there was room to look elsewhere, a very tall guy stood directly behind me, looking over my head, because evidently he wanted to see the exact view I was photographing (why?!).

I felt he was rude, made me feel very uncomfortable, and normally very shy and quiet I felt my blood boil! I can't remember what I said, but something like 'just because I'm short doesn't give you the right to invade my space'.

He smirked and walked off.

But I'm waffling! Yes, you meet lots of dickheads in Supermarkets. Why do people huff and puff all passive aggressively rather than saying actual words like excuse me or sorry I'm in a rush...?

Zombie

I hate it when this happens to me. I like to leave a good amount of space between me and the person in front of me.

Tbh I find it really annoying if I’m standing in a queue and the person in front of me has left a huge space between themselves and the person in front of them. Or the queue moves forward and they just stand there. Don’t get me wrong I am not a space invader but I can feel my blood pressure climbing.

If people load their shopping onto the belt early and don't leave enough space, I put as much of the stuff as I can on and leave the rest in my trolley.

I pack the stuff that's on the belt as it's scanned, then I slowly and carefully hand each remaining item to the cashier out of the trolley and pack it in my bag. It takes much longer and really pisses off the belt stealer.

I've had the premature shopping unloader once, I just stopped and said "You're going to have to move that, I've got a whole trolley to unload here". He stared at me for a minute, I stared back, and he eventually realised that if he didn't shift it he'd be stood there a long time as I was in no hurry and he wouldn't be able to check out until I'd finished .

I've had the premature shopping unloader once,

Why don't you leave you trolley blocking the end of the belt until you've finished unloading?

Put your trolley behind you - stops people from breathing down your neck.

If you have a basket then I find that standing in the queue with one foot behind you, acts as a good barrier. If they shuffle forward they bump into your foot and it stops them from getting too close.

I asked someone if they were going to pay for my shopping once, when they moved forward to stand next to the pay area!

weekend shopping, any supermarket shopping, can be a nightmare.