Invisable

[MinnieBaldock]

Is it me? but when I'm queuing to pay in shops the person behind me always seems to stand nearly on top of me. It seems to happen a lot and funny enough a lot of time in M and S for some reason. It's like people forget you can still get Covid, but apart from that it is still rude.

Not something I’ve been remotely aware of

It’s invisible

People stand close together in queues and always have

Have you acquired a new ring recently, with mysterious writing on it?

Have you had a influx of non English people in your area recently because its been like that where I live for years and people from other countries just aren't use to how British people are we have been practicing queuing since primary school and we like our space. Its like being on a beach all the English people will spread out nicely then you will get a family from a different country basically come and sit on your lap

Wave your arms wildly

cough a lot

step back accidentally

you could have such fun with this!

I hate this and it happens to me in the Post Office.

So I downloaded the song 'Invisible' by Alison Moyet and I play it very loudly on a portable speaker that I strategically place in a tucked away location whenever I enter the local Post Office. So when anyone stands too close to me in a queue, I am ready to go (or rather, Alison Moyet is).

I also have on standby a song by The Police called 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' so I can mix it up a bit when I am feeling less invisible and more irritated.

Be prepared at all times for people and their sketchy ways.

It’s fucking annoying.

I think it’s a trauma response to Covid and social distancing.

As in, they don’t “have” to do it now, so to make themselves feel safe and quash their anxieties, they over-compensate.

You can also see it in lots of comments socially about mask wearing, or hand washing, or not going out when ill etc.

People pretend coughing (or having the urge to cough) at other people or shouting at stranger who maybe using handgel in shops or even wearing masks inside or to healthcare appointments. (Without having any background information or knowledge of that individual).

Their brains feel safer when they try and deminish their lived experience (through a pandemic.)

They may not even notice that they do it.

It’s always been an annoying thing. I stick my leg out to create some space 😂

@youalright I’m not British, and when I go back home (or elsewhere in Europe) I always notice people standing really close to me! I have to remind myself I’ve just gotten used to the British way of doing things and that they’re not being deliberately rude or weird…

This is one of my favourite things to do in a shop.
Especially when I’m with my kids. The kids move up with the line but I don’t 😂.
Looking at stuff in baskets.
Lunges.
Leaving my basket or trolly in the way but standing in front.
striking up a deranged conversation.
Or singing.
Facing them to queue backwards 😂
Farting is fun.especially quiet ones.
Fake phonecall about Tuberculosis.

Exactly its not intentional its just cultural its different its actually quite funny really 😄

@Poirot1983 For when you're extremely irritated, I recommend Move by Ludacris. Maybe just to play to yourself in your head rather than out loud though!

Stepping back onto their foot should stop them. Oops!

I have stepped back onto someone's foot before. They soon move.
What i don't like is when they try to load their shopping on before I've finished mine.
Don't rush me! 😡

I could do Warrior Three and really create some space

I'd quite like to see how that scenario plays out if you just calmly carried putting your stuff on the belt around theirs wiithout saying anything. What do they hope to gain by putting their stuff on the belt not leaving you room for half your stuff? I'd love to see the assistant get half way through scanning, and for the customer to say "Sorry, none of that is mine" and the CF to have to take their stuff off the belt and go to the back of the queue.

No what usually happens is the first customers ends up having to pass each item individually from there trolley to the cashier its annoying as hell

I agree. Some people have no idea about personal space. Even putting shopping on a conveyor belt in M &S there are people behind who are desperate to stand up as close behind others as possible. It annoys me greatly too OP.

I have been shunted with a trolley twice in the queue in Waitrose. Waitrose! I don't pay all that money to be bumped into. Honestly I think Tesco customers are better at queuing.😀

I had this by a little old lady once she just kept doing it 🤣🤣

I had this on a bus once where the person was standing uncomfortabley close behind me. There was no one behind him. I pushed him back and told him not stand so close. When we both got off the bus he called me a weirdo in a very loud voice.

Yes I was in Lidl recently and the person behind me stood next to the chip and pin machine. Totally in my way and too far forward. Different cultures queue differently clearly!

i think it’s a passive aggressive signal to the person in front to hurry up!

To be fair, sometimes in Tesco I think it’s a response to queues being long when it’s busy and not enough cashiers on. So much so that the queues extend into the aisles but people can’t block the space in between the tills and aisles so some move forwards instead of queuing up the aisles. They have less staff in shops now and it shows!

I frequently find people standing too close, it’s like they think the nearer they stand to the checkout the faster they will get served rather than it actually based on the number of people in front of you! I often have my ADHD/ASD son with me who hates to queue so can be fidgety, he not awful like running in circles but he will pace/move his feet around within a small area around me. They give me great evils if he steps on their toes or if I pick him up and his leg catches them but do not realise that they are, in fact, stood entirely in his and my personal space. If they backed up a bit, we’d all be more comfortable!