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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To expect to NOT have my shopping thrown at me?

51 replies

oneyummymummy · 30/01/2009 17:13

I just can't stand it when I go food shopping and am nice and polite to the girl/guy on the checkout only to be ignored and then to have my food virtually thrown at me!

I can understand that they have a job to do, so cannot always chat, so I try anyway and get the vibe for if they are in a rush etc.. but then to have my food shopping thrown down the checkout at me is just plain RUDE!

So AIBU to expect the checkout person to just 'place' my things the other side of the checkout for me to bag?

OP posts:

HecateQueenOfGhosts · 30/01/2009 17:55

I dunno. It depends what you mean by throw.

If you mean that they are taking aim and lobbing tins of beans at your head, then YANBU.

If you mean that they are scanning your things then quickly pushing them down to the bagging area, then probably a bit

Tiramissu · 30/01/2009 18:00

TheInnocentBystander · 30/01/2009 18:00

Try shopping at Waitrose or doing your weekly shop in the M&S Food Hall instead.

snigger · 30/01/2009 18:00

I think if I worked in our local Tesco the urge to lob tinned goods at eye-level would be ever present.

Did they break anything, or were they just making a point? Maybe they were due a break? (Maybe I'm being too conciliatory and you should just go back tomorrow and pay for a weeks shop in pennies and euros).

eNABlemetobebetter · 30/01/2009 18:02

I ask them not to do it when my shopping is being pushed down without consideration for its squashability.

Is that even a word?

MrsSeanBean · 30/01/2009 18:11

Ahh. There's a knack to this.

Do a recce on the operators before deciding where to queue. Pick a nice middle aged chap. They are usually a delight to talk to and will often offer to pack for you.

NB. The reverse is true of bored-looking youth or youthesses IME.

TheInnocentBystander · 30/01/2009 18:14

@ MrsSeanBean but she has a point. Hence my comment re Waitrose or M&S as they seem to have a higher proportion of oldies staffing the checkouts.

terramum · 30/01/2009 18:29

use the self scan tills...much much less stressful when you can go at your own pace

ThePgHedgeWitchIsCrankyBeware · 30/01/2009 18:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 30/01/2009 18:39

I hate it when they do that - MrsSeanBean is quite right about picking an older till-person. at 'youthesses'

ComeWhineWithMe · 30/01/2009 18:46

I got rammed by an elderly lady today ,she was behind me in the queue and mumbled at me to hurry up ,this was while I was trying to pack and lift four massive bottles of Oj ,the assistant sat there looking bored.
As I turned to move away she rammed the trolley into my back saying about bloody time.

I wouldn't mind but I am 6 months pregnant and am not as fast as I usually am.

Silly old moo .

I keep thinking now of witty one liners I could have said to her but at the time I just walked off a little shocked by the nastiness of a pensioner!!

BabiesEverywhere · 30/01/2009 19:00

If you really want a challenge, try shopping at Aldi. Our local has lovely staff trained to scan items at a frighteningly high speed...there is no packing at the till, goods are shoved into a tiny metal tray thingy (maybe 6" square) from which you have to pack into your trolley at the same manic speed

2shoes · 30/01/2009 19:13

I once complained about this, the woman even dropped the apples on the floor and put them back!! I got an apologie and £10 voucher and she got more training.

2shoes · 30/01/2009 19:14

NB. The reverse is true of bored-looking youth or youthesses IME.

sorry mrs sb disagree, I can chat to them and they alsways seem ok.

PerArduaAdNauseum · 30/01/2009 19:18

@ComeWhine - pensioners can be vile.

lizziemun · 30/01/2009 19:41

Comewhinewith me, i would have either rammed the trolley back at her or told the more she pushes her trolley into me the slower i go.

I solved the slow packing problem my mum just retired so she takes me shopping on a friday and packs my shopping for me.

Oh the reason she takes me is that i'm 34wks and i can't fit behind the wheel anymore. I hate having short legs .

catweazle · 30/01/2009 19:51

comewhine I had a pensioner ram me with her trolley once (tho not so maliciously as yours ) and I shoved it back at her. She looked really surprised.

indignatio · 30/01/2009 19:55

Choose your checkout person wisely.

I always shop at the same time each week. I now know whom to approach and whom to leave well alone. I know all the excellent packers (who understand my anal system) and who to avoid at all costs.

ChristmasPenguin · 30/01/2009 19:59

ComeWhine - I think I may have told the old bitch where to stick it. People tha rude would certainly suggest to me that it's fine to take all afternoon to pack your shopping

and no, YANBU

Spillage21 · 30/01/2009 20:06

I love Lidl, but can only shop there when I feel emotionally strong and physically quick witted. No matter how quickly I put stuff into the bag, it still piles up in their miniscule check out area and I get withering looks from cashiers. Even just throwing stuff directly into trolley (and packing in car park) isn't quick enough.

And being Catford, 2 out of last 3 visits there has been some altercation involving shouty men bellowing 'You can't f*king touch me I know my rights, you c*t' whereupon bottle of gin usually falls out of coat.

Honestly, it's really stressful...

newlysinglemummy · 30/01/2009 20:16

YANBU - the thing that really annoys me is when the person at the check out does not say one word to me. Not even how much I have to pay, just expects me to look at the till to find out how much I have to pay, which I always do but in future wont check how much I have to pay and wait for them to ask for money...

Grumpyoldcaaaaaaaa · 30/01/2009 20:28

@ spillage - it's similar here in Middlesbrough!! But not gin, normally White Lightning 'cider'

Original poster

oneyummymummy · 30/01/2009 20:31

at the old lady!

I was packing very fast, I'm very good at this by now! She was just RUDE, and miserable.

She wasn't literally lobbing food at my head, but throwing down my end, in a very inconsiderate way, then when I started to slow down and there was a back-log she started to push the food to make more room. squashing all my muffins and crisps veg and fruit! (It was really fruit and veg before I get a grilling for that )

I would love to use the self-checkout, I do this as often as possible, but you are not allowed to use it with more than 10 items

OP posts:

Original poster

oneyummymummy · 30/01/2009 20:35

I will take advice on board about observing the checkout 'operators' before unloading ALL my shopping onto the conveyor. I never really thought of it before, normally just try to get a fairly short que and hope for the best.

Spillage I know Catford say no more.......

OP posts:

squirrel42 · 30/01/2009 20:39

I remember reading an article about Lidl that said the cashiers are expected to scan at a minimum speed. The tills are monitored by computer and an average scan rate is calculated - if it's too slow then they face warnings and goodness knows what else.

I worked in Somerfield as a teenager and used to hate being on the tills. It got a bit soul destroying after the fourth straight hour when I was dying to go on a lunch break but there was no one around to cover.

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