Re people loitering and dithering in shoos

[Carbosug]

With one way systems, social distancing, people queuing outside AIBU to wish people would make an effort to move as quickly as possible up and down the aisles.

Standing for ages deliberating between products, phoning your oh to check what brand of marmalade they prefer, or standing for ages checking a shopping list in a narrow aisle where people need to pass is inconsiderate.

These aren't normal times and most people have adjusted the way they shop accordingly.
But you still get the oblivious faffers and delayers.

Is it Aldi and Asda that have introduced the ‘don’t touch unless you are going to buy it’ rule? That will speed things up.
I don’t think YABU but it looks like the ditherers and faffers have their reasons.

I drive myself mad by turning a corner onto say the cereal aisle there’s always a shelf stacker there so I immediately swerve past them then think right where’s the cheerios look all the way up the aisle to then realise they must be next to the shelf stacker grr when will I learn!!

YANBU to wish people wouldn’t loiter, dither or generally fart about, but YABU to expect others to have your knowledge of the shop, organisational skills and speed of thought.

In normal times. DP does our food shopping at the local huge Tesco. But he’s >65 and asthmatic, so since lockdown, I’ve been doing the shopping. Luckily, we’ve always kept well-stocked cupboards, so I’ve only had to go to a local Co-op three times. But I don’t know the shop layout, and I’m unfamiliar with some of the products, so there are times when I ended up faffing or loitering. I don’t like it, and I don’t want to inconvenience others, but I’ll be fucked if I’m going to apologise for it.

Have an Co-op branded .

I just walk past if necessary. Plenty of people just walk past me too. Not an issue.

Two meter distancing isn't always possible or practical. I do it mostly, but I am not going to panic if I have to nip past someone or if they have to pass me.

I find that if people don't pass each other then it causes a log jam in the one way systems.

Is everyone here mute? On a couple of occasions someone in front of me has been talking their time and I've simply said "excuse me" with a smile, and they've instantly apologised, smiled back, and either moved on or made space for me to pass.

I swear some of you spend all your time looking for things to complain about.

Yep. Rather than communicating pleasantly with a person to solve the problem, it's clearly more rewarding to passive aggressively let the problem continue so you can moan about it on a forum.

Mama, I understand. It is the same if my sons ever send me for their obscure foods which are hard to find rather than my own stuff I can almost run round the shop in minutes knowing exactly where it is. The problem is wanting to be 2 meters away from other shoppers- not that easy when the aisles are narrower than that.

People are feeling under pressure enough. And many are trying to stick to tight budgets while shopping prices and choices have changed/increased. Back off.

BreconBeBuggered Our local Morrisons isn't so much a one way system as a series of unexpectedly blocked routes, like a maze.

I don't know why, but this has really tickled me. Something to do with lab rats solving mazes.... I'm imaging, behind the scenes, a group of scientists in white coats watching the CCTV and making notes on clipboards - "Ah, the lady in the blue coat has made it through again!"

The first time I shopped under social distancing measures it wasn't my usual supermarket but the nearest one to me so I wasn't familiar with where everything was. Plus I was shopping for a neighbour too. It took me an hour longer than usual and was a nightmare to stick to the designated route.

YANBU although I agree with PP that shopping is very difficult at the moment especially if you are doing it for others as well.

What is annoying is people at the front of the queue staring at the sky/ chatting and not realising someone has left the shop and they can go in. It happened at a local shop yesterday, TWICE with two consecutive people in the queue. FFS if you are first, watch for people leaving. Those of us at the back had to point out that someone had left and one man refused to believe us until another man made him look through the shop window to check.

Of my usual buys, I take my time deciding what to take off a shelf as due to greedy people the selection isn’t the greatest

It’s not greedy people, it’s logistics chains straining to move food around & store it in an unprecedented situation plus families now taking the entirety of their meals at home, necessitating more supermarket food. Supermarkets have thinned their range of product lines & simply can’t get enough of certain everyday products. COVID is the problem, not consumers.

My DH went to the shop and nearly half the products we normally buy were not there. I have severe allergies to certain ingredients so as the products we normally buy wasn't available DH had to get an alternative and he couldn't just grab one and rush off because he needed to check if the alternative product had the ingredients I'm allergic to. Yes, this probably did take an extra minute or two and he might have picked up 1 or 2 items and then put them back, but I'm not sure what else he could have done.

What I hate is when I am waiting patiently in my 2m gap to get to a section where someone else is currently shopping, and another customer barges in between just as the other person moves away

I had the misfortune of being in front of a woman in the shop the other day who refused to walk past others. She kept huffing and moaning about people being too slow. I honestly don't understand why she couldn't just walk past me and the other shoppers.

Because she is trying to keep up social distancing and remain 2 metres from people wherever possible, and walking past would take her too close? I have been the woman refusing to walk past others and waiting for them to move on before continuing (though I have done it patiently and have not huffed or moaned, though it does make me feel stressed, as does the whole shopping experience)

Because she is trying to keep up social distancing and remain 2 metres from people wherever possible, and walking past would take her too close?

But there's no risk walking past someone, even if it means you're slightly closer than 2m.

What about those people with allergies? My DNephews have coeliac disease. One of them is also allergic to corn - it causes severe sickness almost to the point of hospitalisation. So, if my Dsis can't find their usual brand she has to check the packet (which is another issue with having to buy the things she picks up...). My friend has a nut allergy - so she sticks to specific brands for the whole family. If they're not available she has to find an alternative which is safe.

On my last shop I had pasta on my list. No pasta. So I had to go through my meal plan, in my head, to work out what I had at home and what could substitute the pasta. I did have one lady huff and puff but I told her I needed to work out alternatives and it was her choice to move on past or waste her breath huffing - I wasn't going to be moving any quicker just because she moaned about. In fact, as I explained to her, if she kept flustering me it would take me even longer to decide.

I just walk past people - what about those who stop in an aisle you don't want anything from OP? I didn't need diary stuff last week but the one way system meant I had to go through it. Do you actually wait for every person in front of you to select their milk, cheese, sandwich fillers (cos that's what's in our diary aisle). I'd be there all day if I did that, so I skiddle past them and get on with my shopping.

Plus you have people who may be buying from more than one list as mentioned already. People who may usually buy bulk packets - like pet food or bigger sizes of cereal, who now need to work out how many smaller sizes they need. Whilst still being aware of the huffers and puffers behind them, getting them flustered.

Just walk past!

Please remember some of us are volunteers shopping for the elderly and isolating and working off 7 or 8 shopping lists, sometimes in supermarkets we aren’t familiar with in order to get Betty’s favourite casserole mix.

I agree with you that it is annoying BUT these are unprecedented times and we’re all finding it stressful shopping in a supermarket at the moment, trying to avoid everybody else and not get in their way, linger too much etc. but when you’re shopping for your own household as well as other people and are not familiar with some of their requested items it becomes doubly stressful! 😕 I’m shopping for my DP’s who are shielding due to being over 70 and both with chronic long term conditions so sometimes if the supermarket doesn’t have something they want then I will ring and ask if an alternative is suitable. I’d rather do this than leave them without... 🤷🏻‍♀️

A lot of people are working on tighter budgets than they are used to, also checking dates is even more important as people tend to be doing bigger shops so need to ensure that stuff has a longer use by date on it. I don't see the issue with asking about a brand to be honest, they are probably shopping for someone else as most people would know what's in their cupboards usually at home; even if not I can't imagine it's taking hours. Yes it is annoying having to wait, but it doesn't mean people should rush and end up with a load of crap they don't want just to hurry it along.

Ditherers gonna dither. Corona or not.

People will take longer than usual atm because they know they wont be going back for awhile and need make sure they have everything off their list. Also with stock being low they need to find substitutes and this may involve ringing somebody to check. Dh was in sainsbury for example and couldnt get flour but saw some other kinds of foreign flour and was trying to work out if we could use it so rang me. The shop assistant told him off for being on his phone and was very rude. I think we all need to have abit more understanding in this situation so yes YANBU

Surely it’s about everyone being reasonable though? Including the people being shopped for? And IME they are. My relative and shielded neighbour I shop for are just very grateful for the help and would be horrified if I was stopping to phone them up mid shop. They realise how bloody awful shopping is right now and have tried to be as helpful as possible by giving a detailed list (with a couple of photos when it was products I hadn’t heard of)

Of course people will pause now and then, maybe take longer than we’d like. Cut them a bit of slack, walk round them if necessary, don’t be that person who stands and huffs in a passive aggressive fashion. And if the shop layout is unfamiliar or products out of stock that makes it more likely people are going to be slower than we’d like.

But having said that, we’re a month into lockdown, it’s bloody ridiculous if people are still phoning from the aisles to consult about shopping choices- just have a conversation beforehand with whoever you’re shopping for- ‘what do you want if that product isn’t available?’ ‘Do you want a different brand?’ ‘Do you want frozen peas or tinned peas?’ Etc . It’s not rocket science. People just need to apply a bit of common sense

YABU* that should say!

Yes I had this the other day in Tesco. A bloke stood in the middle of the aisle twiddling with his phone totally oblivious. I was trapped and just had to go for it.

Oh yes and the shop layout doesnt help matters...