Wish I had a better come-back to random man comment

[Shimmyingmetacos]

In BP garage, buying a few bits for tea and kids snacks in the M&S shop there - as I was at the till, random man comes up behind me and says in a loud voice "Well you must be rich, doing your shopping here!". It caught be so off guard I didn't think fast enough and I just shrugged and ignored him. It felt like he was trying to embarrass me in front of everyone to be honest.

Now I can't help thinking how feckin rude that was and all the responses I should have said. Not that I need to justify my shop choice, but
as I had got fuel there, it saved me driving further to another supermarket, paying for parking etc.

Mumsnet - what should I have said?

Deserves no more than a shrug, wasnt really a malicious comment. Not worth overthinking.

It’s just weird here sometimes. Like you’ve fallen into a black hole in space and been sucked into an alternate universe.

@Staffy1

It’s just weird here sometimes. Like you’ve fallen into a black hole in space and been sucked into an alternate universe.

Yes but sometimes people have so little going on, stuff like this is a big deal.

@Staffy1

It’s just weird here sometimes. Like you’ve fallen into a black hole in space and been sucked into an alternate universe.

But which side of the argument is the weird one?

@Handsoffstrikesagain

As Piers Morgan said, it’ll be illegal to be a man soon.

When you find yourself agreeing with virtually anything that comes out of Piers Morgan’s mouth, it’s time to take a long, hard look at yourself.

@StoppoChoco

Would be quite an aggressive response to that though. Yes my car was at the pump - along with everyone else who comes in to pay for fuel and most people pick up a couple of items too. I only had 5 items in my basket, not a trolley full! There are only a couple of extra spaces aside from the pumps. Aggressive response. The bloke made a snarky comment because you were doing your shopping while people were waiting to use the pump. Its really inconsiderate behaviour and irritating to those waiting.

Yeah - so inconsiderate and irritating of me to pick up 5 items on my way to the till - ooh - in, wait a minute - a SHOP that the petrol station out there to sell stuff. How terrible of me.

You did nothing wrong OP.
The guy was a dickhead, pure and simple.
My local petrol station is within a tesco, and the pay station is also a mini shop, selling a small range of grocery stuff sandwiches etc.
Half the people buying fuel will also grab sandwiches, milk, newspapers, sweets, toilet rolls etc and pay for everything together.
No one moves their car from the pump to do that.

And even if they did how would that work? Wouldn;t the shop get a little suspicious if someone drives away from the pump before paying?
Or should the OP have left the car at the pump, gone in to pay for fuel, moved he car then gone in a second time to pay for a few items from the shop?
The whole purpose of having a mini shop combined with a pay station is the hope fuel customers will also buy some stuff there while they purchase fuel.
The idea of moving the car is silly. It takes seconds to grab a few items as you move through the shop to pay.

@speakout

You did nothing wrong OP. The guy was a dickhead, pure and simple. My local petrol station is within a tesco, and the pay station is also a mini shop, selling a small range of grocery stuff sandwiches etc. Half the people buying fuel will also grab sandwiches, milk, newspapers, sweets, toilet rolls etc and pay for everything together. No one moves their car from the pump to do that.

And even if they did how would that work? Wouldn;t the shop get a little suspicious if someone drives away from the pump before paying?
Or should the OP have left the car at the pump, gone in to pay for fuel, moved he car then gone in a second time to pay for a few items from the shop?
The whole purpose of having a mini shop combined with a pay station is the hope fuel customers will also buy some stuff there while they purchase fuel.
The idea of moving the car is silly. It takes seconds to grab a few items as you move through the shop to pay.

I'd hazard a guess that you would take offense at a man breathing within a 10 mile radius, judging by your earlier comments which are frankly pathetic. And petrol stations with attached shops usually have parking bays to move your cars into after you have refuelled, if you then intend to buy groceries. I have never experienced a problem moving my car into one of the bays, you tell the cashier what pump you have used and they will ring it through, along with your shopping, easy. It keeps the queue for the pump moving along and is the considerate thing to do, not just for men, but women can benefit from this small act of consideration too.

Yeah - so inconsiderate and irritating of me to pick up 5 items on my way to the till - ooh - in, wait a minute - a SHOP that the petrol station out there to sell stuff. How terrible of me
I doubt that you've grabbed 5 things on the way too the till, and yes waiting for a pump when someone does their shopping is irritating.
If you intend to peruse the aisles of M&S move your car away from the pump, so that others can use it.

Stoppochoco

You are right of course.

Which is why I live alone, have never had a relationship with a man, would never want children in case I had a boy.
Am I so transparent?

@speakout

Stoppochoco

You are right of course.

Which is why I live alone, have never had a relationship with a man, would never want children in case I had a boy.
Am I so transparent?

It would seem so. It’s great you’ve found a way to make life work for you 👍

@Stoppochoco

Yeah - so inconsiderate and irritating of me to pick up 5 items on my way to the till - ooh - in, wait a minute - a SHOP that the petrol station out there to sell stuff. How terrible of me I doubt that you've grabbed 5 things on the way too the till, and yes waiting for a pump when someone does their shopping is irritating. If you intend to peruse the aisles of M&S move your car away from the pump, so that others can use it.

Why the doubt? I grabbed 5 items on the way to the till - I believe I listed them in an earlier post if you need to know which items. Plus - the bloke was in the shop at the same time as me therefore he wasn’t waiting behind my car to use the pump was he? In fact no-one was. You’ve just decided to extrapolate your own presumably previous frustrations with these types of fuel stations with shop attached and used here - unjustifiably

Well done on -
buying a few bits for tea and kids snacks in the M&S shop
in under a minute. Surely some kind of world record and the man should have been congratulating you ?

would never want children in case I had a boy

@Stoppochoco

Well done on - buying a few bits for tea and kids snacks in the M&S shop in under a minute. Surely some kind of world record and the man should have been congratulating you ?

Damn it - should have remembered my stopwatch. I think you may be slightly over invested in this now - seriously the fact that I bought 5 items on top of my fuel is a non-issue

Damn it - should have remembered my stopwatch. I think you may be slightly over invested in this now - seriously the fact that I bought 5 items on top of my fuel is a non-iIssue.
No need for a stop watch, just be mindful of the fact that other people might not appreciate you doing your shopping, while they are waiting to use a fuel pump.
I’m not the one that started a thread about a man that ‘spoke to me’, if we’re talking about non issues.

A lot of places say to pull forward or park elsewhere if you want to shop.

I would have pretended I couldn't hear him "sorry?" so that he repeated himself. Then "no, still can't hear you"

Or just ignored him.

@TastybitofSquirrel

It's always the way. You think of the good replies too late.

Depends what kind of reaction you'd of wanted them to have.

Shut down - "I am" with a smile.

Annoyed - "It's all thanks to the tax payers and huge benefits I receive" with a grin.

Guilt - "Recent inheritance unfortunately" with a sad expression.

Just rise above it. Give it no more head space. How you spend your money is completely up to you.

God, it was a thoughtless throwaway comment. It wouldn't bother me. I don't think he'd be interested in any "comebacks" as he wasn't really invested in anything. It was just a flippant comment probably intended to be funny /friendly. He didn't want an actual answer. I would have just laughed.