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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think it is rude to start putting stuff on the conveyor belt......

229 replies

JobStresserxo · 02/11/2023 14:40

at the supermarket before the customer in front has finished loading their shopping?
Happened several times to me just recently. This morning, I had to ask the customer behind me to allow me more room on the conveyor belt as she hadn't left enough space for me to get my shopping on.

OP posts:
Vettrianofan · 02/11/2023 17:54

Yep, seen this loads and yes it's rude.

GasPanic · 02/11/2023 17:55

Surely they have to put the divider thing on. If they don't leave enough space push the divider thing back before they start loading.

Alternatively, fester for hours with a massive sulk about the indignity of the situation. How dare they.

PyongyangKipperbang · 02/11/2023 17:55

I should add that my experience was in B&M with very short conveyors. The person in front was paying, I got there and went to start putting my stuff on but the woman behind filled the belt before I even started, she had dashed over to try and get in front of me and wasnt happy that I got there first. Cue confused (and subsequently pissed off) cashier wondering why the hell she had done it, as I was passing my items one by one. Lots of huffing and puffing as Ms Impatient had to wait longer than if she had just waited a very short while to start with. Stupid cow.

PyongyangKipperbang · 02/11/2023 17:56

Actually thinking about it, perhaps she wanted me to offer her to go first, hadnt occurred to me until now!

LadyLapsang · 02/11/2023 17:57

I would only do it if they don’t have many items and the checkout is fast moving. It annoys me (but I don’t say anything) when one person in a couple loads the conveyor belt, you load your shopping and then their partner barges in adding lots of other items. OK, to go back for one item but not use the conveyor belt as a place holder.

phoenixrosehere · 02/11/2023 17:58

novalia89 · 02/11/2023 17:28

I do it all the time if there is enough space. I don't think that it's an issue or that people feel that there space is being 'intruded' usually. Obviously if they have a full trolley and there isn't space then I won't, but I don't see the issue if I leave space.
I usually have a heavy basket so I want to offload the items asap.

Show quote history

Same.

I judge by how much people have left in their cart and make sure to give them ample room. Ime, people usually put the divider up when someone joins the line.

Wellhellooooodear · 02/11/2023 17:59

Unbelievably rude. See also not putting the divider after your stuff. It's like some people were raised by chimpanzees 😂

katseyes7 · 02/11/2023 17:59

I work on a checkout (not Aldi!) and l had this happen at my till this weekend. Lady unloading her very full trolley onto the conveyor. She hadn't even put a third of her shopping on the belt when a woman came up behind her, puts down a divider, and started unloading her shopping.
I said "Excuse me, please could you wait until this lady's finished unloading?" The first lady still had a lot in her trolley. Second one huffs and takes her stuff (only about four items) off the belt. She was right behind the first one, she must have been able to see how much was still in the trolley.
Then she does it again! I had to ask again, excuse me, PLEASE could you wait until this lady's finished unloading?
She rolled her eyes at me, huffed, and flounced off, very ostentatiously.
What is wrong with people? Where do they think the one in front's going to put the rest of their shopping? Fine, if it's big items like packs of beer/big packs of loo roll, etc, it's okay to leave it in the trolley and we can use the hand scanner.
But it's not really a good idea when it's bread, frozen stuff, tins, yogurts, etc.
If it had just been a few items, l could understand it. But not when there's more than half of a big trolley full.

katseyes7 · 02/11/2023 18:00

Wellhellooooodear This. Then shouting at the poor soul on the checkout for not being psychic and knowing what belong to who, or that there's even more than one shop on the belt.

SmudgeButt · 02/11/2023 18:00

I would very annoyed during lock down when someone would put their junk shopping on the conveyor too close to mine. I would place mine on and then leave a good 10+ inches so that things wouldn't be touching and most times the person behind would shove the divider forward, sometimes pushing my shopping further along as well. At first I'd push the divider back to where they had it but that often didn't work so then I started to push it back while coughing - that usually helped but not always.

Now I don't mind someone being a bit closer but do push back if they are adding there things too quickly. And some get VERY annoyed at me because I always line my shopping up pretty much single file so it's closest to the cashier and easier for them to reach. It can mean that even a small half filled trolley means I need a lot of the belt. But if someone huffs at me I just turn and smile!!!

GasPanic · 02/11/2023 18:02

katseyes7 · 02/11/2023 17:59

I work on a checkout (not Aldi!) and l had this happen at my till this weekend. Lady unloading her very full trolley onto the conveyor. She hadn't even put a third of her shopping on the belt when a woman came up behind her, puts down a divider, and started unloading her shopping.
I said "Excuse me, please could you wait until this lady's finished unloading?" The first lady still had a lot in her trolley. Second one huffs and takes her stuff (only about four items) off the belt. She was right behind the first one, she must have been able to see how much was still in the trolley.
Then she does it again! I had to ask again, excuse me, PLEASE could you wait until this lady's finished unloading?
She rolled her eyes at me, huffed, and flounced off, very ostentatiously.
What is wrong with people? Where do they think the one in front's going to put the rest of their shopping? Fine, if it's big items like packs of beer/big packs of loo roll, etc, it's okay to leave it in the trolley and we can use the hand scanner.
But it's not really a good idea when it's bread, frozen stuff, tins, yogurts, etc.
If it had just been a few items, l could understand it. But not when there's more than half of a big trolley full.

If I had a whole conveyer full to unload and someone behind had 4 items I would wave them in front.

The cashiers also generally ask if that is OK if you don't offer to do it at my local place.

Someone with 4 items would probably be through the checkout before the other person had finished unloading.

katseyes7 · 02/11/2023 18:05

GasPanic Ah, no, l phrased it badly, the woman at the back didn't just have four items, she had a full trolley, she'd just put four items on the belt when l asked her to wait until the lady in front had finished.

ThomasinaLivesHere · 02/11/2023 18:07

Surely it’s easy to stop? Just keep your trolley at the end and so no one behind has access to the belt. I think I just naturally do this and never had an issue at Lidl or Aldi.

DeanElderberry · 02/11/2023 18:09

As I've said, I enjoy the brisk efficiency of the Lidl / Aldi checkout experience (can't stand faff), but have noticed that one or possibly both of them locally (Irish market town) has a couple of hours each week set aside as for 'autistic friendly' shopping - they may have started it thinking of children, but any adult who finds the usual experience a bit of an overload should try it out, and tell them that you need time. It's an evening slot - I'm sure there's info online, or you could ask in your local store.

TimeForACider · 02/11/2023 18:25

YABU. As long as there’s plenty of room, I see no problem with this. It’s the ones who place their shopping directly behind yours who are annoying.

SheSaidHummingbird · 02/11/2023 18:27

I do the classic arm sweep to push allllllll their crap back and make room for mine, which they can see needs ti be loaded onto the belt.

It's one of the rare moments in my life when I dare to be rude back. And it's glorious.

Laiste · 02/11/2023 18:29

I've noticed that since the covid barriers have come down (between customer and cashier) the old 'shove the trolly till it touches your arse' behaviour has gradually come back 🙄

I liked the social distancing of the plague times.

TheWeeDonkeyFella · 02/11/2023 18:34

@Britneyfan are you able to go shopping in the evening? Wild horses couldn't drag me into my local Aldi during the day but it's usually ok after 8pm. Worth giving it a try if you can.

ScarlettSunset · 02/11/2023 18:36

I do it but only if I can see there's definitely enough space. I walk with a stick and find a basket easier to use than a trolley but sometimes I get more than I intended and it gets heavy. I can't swap hands so I will hang on as long as possible but then if there's definitely enough space, I'll unload it on to the conveyor belt as I just can't hang on to it while waiting for any longer. It's actually easier to carry it while going round the shop than just being stood there waiting.

wesurecouldstandgladioli · 02/11/2023 19:03

sollenwir · 02/11/2023 16:01

The staff at many shops actually tell you to leave the heavier stuff/multiples of the same thing in the trolley.

Show quote history

Yes, but that’s not what @TheLightSideOfTheMoon is saying. She suggests OP make the staff bend for everything to avoid telling the person behind to stop.

Slitheringheights · 02/11/2023 19:05

wesurecouldstandgladioli · Today 15:53
no there wasn’t any self checkouts

CrushingOnRubies · 02/11/2023 19:06

Yes! Someone did that to me recently. I had a big shop which is clearly not loaded on to the belt yet. And they kept having to move his 5 items back. Gave them a Hmm look they got the message

And yes I felt rushed and it was unnecessary. The people in front also had a big shop and and being slowish so he wasn't gaining anything by doing it.

Noshowlomo · 02/11/2023 19:07

Load from the back people!
I worked in Asda about 20 years ago and saw this all the time. People are thick

CrushingOnRubies · 02/11/2023 19:08

Teachingteacher · 02/11/2023 14:57

I almost always shop at Aldi and I hate this!

Im not sure if they do this in the UK, but a common thing here is for people to leave their trolley/basket in the queue just before the conveyor belt, and then wander around the store collecting the final items. Then, a line builds up behind them and no one is brave enough to push in front of their un-manned trolley/basket.

There was a standoff between two women at Aldi last week, because a woman left her basket on the ground and was gone for at least 3-4 minutes. The next lady assumed she wasn’t coming back, stepped over the basket and started loading her groceries onto the conveyor belt. When the basket lady returned, she screamed at the women that she was ‘next in line, and had left my basket there to mind my spot’ but the other lady wasn’t having it. I paid and started walking out and they were still going at it…

Where do you live? Sounds like my type of entertainment. That doesn't happen in the uk. Unless it's something vital and quick like milk and there's a very long queue and you still apologise profusely in a very British way

melj1213 · 02/11/2023 19:28

I have never had this problem but I always position the trolley at the end of the conveyor and then move round it so that I am in front of the trolley and it blocks the conveyor from other customers.

I then put the lightest/delicate items like bread/eggs/flowers etc which are usually on the top of my trolley at the end of the conveyor (ideally on the metal end bit that doesn't move) so that they will be the last things that come through and therefore will be on the top of the trolley after checkout too. Then I "zone" items along the conveyor belt - heaviest items closer to the cashier and lighter items at the other end. If I join a queue and the previous person's items are still on the conveyor as they're packing then I still do the same - put the light/delicate things on the non moving end of the conveyor so they are out of the way and not going to get damaged/squashed (or just at the very end and then as the conveyor moves I shove them back so they stay at the end as my other stuff moves down,) and then start putting items on the conveyor belt heaviest to lightest.

Unless someone immediately follows me to a checkout, there's no way for them to get their stuff in behind mine because I use all of the available space whilst unloading. If I end up not needing the entire space then it takes seconds to compress things down to allow the person behind to have space to start unloading.