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Original poster

Why do so many couples go to the supermarket together?

182 replies

Changingmyname1234 · 11/04/2020 15:41

I was at the supermarket this morning. I go once at the weekend so dh can supervise our young DC without WFH distractions. The past 3 weeks I've noticed quite a few couples shopping together. Some have even been wearing gloves and masks... I'm totally baffled why people need to do this. It makes social distancing so much harder and increases their risk of passing it on or catching it. Surely if one doesn't drive the other can just wait in the car. Maybe there a good reason that I'm just missing. I am just curious really...

OP posts:
Patch23042 · 11/04/2020 16:20

Lots of clear and valid explanations here but tbh I think there are many cases where the little woman doesn’t drive and doesn’t trust the silly man to go shopping by himself...ie those weird couples stick in the 1970s. I don’t know any (thank god) but they appear periodically on the local Facebook page (usually as JimHelen Jones or similar) moaning about the rule.

Pulpfiction1 · 11/04/2020 16:20

I've noticed this. Can some people not go anywhere alone.

There was an oldish couple at Alidi this morning, both well fat, doing my head in. Blocking all the isles, slowly browsing, standing just far enough apart that you couldn't get round them and then shouting to each other and not keeping distance from people.

I just thought it's idiots like you that we're trying to protect and you can't even follow the guidance yourselves. Stop chatting and browsing, get your shopping, get out of the way and sod off home.

YgritteSnow · 11/04/2020 16:23

Last time I went - about ten days ago there was a couple where the man strolled down the centre of the aisle, hands behind back, observing proceedings while his wife ran around filling the trolley. Impossible to distance from him and he looked as though he was taking a lovely stroll in the park. Made me really angry tbh. So selfish.

YesItsMeIDontCare · 11/04/2020 16:24

@Changingmyname1234 - Not remotely vulnerable, even my asthma doesn't qualify me because it's classed as mild. DH's problem is (hopefully) temporary but requires a spinal nerve block injection which obviously isn't going to happen for a while.

So we shop together and DS goes mid-week for fresh vegetables & loaf if necessary.

Bathroom12345 · 11/04/2020 16:24

Being behind two couples and a family of three in the queue outside the am I did ask the cashier when I eventually got in why they were not trying to ensure just one person per family which would make the queue move more quickly.

He agreed with me and said Head Office didn’t want to put their staff at risk if customers starting kicking off! Doesn’t say much about the general public!

I do think the vast majority of the public would be accepting of this policy so why don’t they leave a sign up or the staff could come down the line stating it’s 1 customer per family . Of course there are some total twats who will then try and grab another trolley and pretend they aren’t together but surely they would be in the minority.

As for the stupid who bring the whole family and allow their children to run around... I think we all need to shame them and call them out on their selfish behaviour.

carriebreadshaw · 11/04/2020 16:24

I took my teenage daughter because we live an hour walk from shop and I dont drive. So we either go together or I go twice. Because one can't carry enough shopping for the week. Last week we wrote separate lists and stood apart so we could both go in. I'll probably get flamed but I'm of the opinion that common sense must prevail

CompleteBarstool · 11/04/2020 16:29

I saw this yesterday despite there being someone outside telling couples only one could go in.

This couple were blocking aisles by standing side by side by the trolley, the bloke didn't seem to once have any actual involvement ie. didn't take anything off the shelf or put anything in the trolley. He just seemed to always be standing in front of shelves that people needed to get to whilst waiting for his wife.

I also thought it was quite telling that when they left the car park they drove the wrong way round the one-way bit.... entitled all round!!

LettuceP · 11/04/2020 16:29

I'm pretty gobsmacked that there are people on here not only admitting to doing it but also trying to justify it Confused

YesItsMeIDontCare · 11/04/2020 16:32

@LettuceP - what do you suggest I do then?

YahBasic · 11/04/2020 16:33

We go together but it’s because we are currently doing the weekly shop for 3 elderly neighbours also.

Is it best that we go more times but separately? Or for one of us to buy all four households in one go?

I suppose they have now lifted restrictions on how much you can buy, but chances are I’ll be judged for buying 5 loaves of bread, 4 lots of milk, 4 lots of eggs etc Hmm

AsCoolAsLangCleg · 11/04/2020 16:36

I've noticed this. You're in the supermarket, everyone is trying to keep their distance, then one half of the coup,e dives in between you so they can show their partner they've got bread or ice cream or whatever. YOU STILL COUNT AS TWO PEOPLE EVEN IF YOU 💕 WUV 💕EACH OTHER.

Krisskrosskiss · 11/04/2020 16:37

Maybe they both want to buy different things or have separate finances... maybe only one drives? I dpnt drive so the entire family goes to the supermarket however they stayin the car whilst I quickly go in and get things off the list... weve only been once this past 3 weeks... does seem crazy to all go in at the same time even if you want to buy different things or whatever... but maybe in some places its because you have to queue and they dpnt have enough time to both go thru the queue after swapping round?

AsCoolAsLangCleg · 11/04/2020 16:37

Then again I've never been supermarket shopping with DH and we've been together 25 years.

cologne4711 · 11/04/2020 16:39

Bet half the people bashing this are going to the corner shop for cigarettes or ice cream Nope I went for milk and bread. I presume that's "essential" enough for you? DH and I can operate on our own. We can both drive, both carry bags and both shop.

But if I needed him to drive I'd either send him on his own with a list or I'd leave him in the car while I shopped.

Other than if one person is a carer for the other, you can go in on your own. You have a trolley for the bags, and then you put them in the boot. How difficult can it be?

Parker231 · 11/04/2020 16:39

The supermarkets I’ve been to have lifted the restrictions on how many you can buy of each item. We are also shopping for two neighbours. One of us does the shopping for all but pays separately for each household. Not been an issue and means only one person is out of the house and in the supermarket.

starrysimon · 11/04/2020 16:40

DH and I don’t have a car but live very central. We go together so we can carry a weeks worth of shopping home therefore cutting the need to be nipping to a corner shop every other day. I wouldn’t be able to carry it all myself as 38 weeks pg. Also DH is useless at food shopping no matter how many times I say what we need. Useless even with a list!

OldQueen1969 · 11/04/2020 16:40

While I broadly agree with all the measures being put in place regarding social distancing and one person shopping etc, I do have an observation - my vulnerable Dad and Step-Mum took three weeks to obtain a delivery slot at Sainsbury's, so as I'm local I volunteered to do their weekly shop until the matter was resolved.

Each week was a full trolley load, and it took me quite a long time to unload the trolley completely and then pack the shopping when it had been scanned. My DP and I don't do big weekly shops as a rule - we eat out a fair bit and because our working patterns are erratic we don't really do planned sit down meals, so it was a bit of a revelation how time consuming that bit of the trip was, and it lengthened my trip to the supermarket and held up the queue a fair bit - one unloading the trolley and one to pack halves the time. That said, it is what it is and of course I managed and the queue was very patient, but obviously it is more important to minimise the risk of virus spread. Had I been shopping for a household of five with different aged kids and all their requirements I can imagine it to be quite an undertaking.

H1978 · 11/04/2020 16:43

I detest food shopping so always shop online so I can’t understand couples making it a day out! Hmm

Dh hates it even more but usually I go in and he waits in the car but he has to take me because I don’t drive

Sweetpotatoaddict · 11/04/2020 16:46

I’m just back from the supermarket, couldn’t get to the pasta because of a couple canoodling in the aisle Hmm.

starrysimon · 11/04/2020 16:46

What has this country becomeShock People getting berated for shopping with their partners. You don’t know the reasons why purely by looking at people. They could have a hidden illness or disability. They could, like me, not have access to a vehicle and need extra arms to carry the food home. As long as they aren’t getting in people’s way then there shouldn’t be an issue. I for one basically climb the shelves to get out of people’s way (a joke but I am very conscious of others). But we go to quiet supermarkets so we can take our time

lifestooshort123 · 11/04/2020 16:46

Our local large M&S hasn't got a one-person-per-trolley policy - on Thursday, in the queue to get in, a couple in front were banging on about how they'd just been to their local M&S but not much choice and were going on to the garden centre later. As we were being counted in and out they counted as 2 (as were all the other couples in the queue) which made the wait for everyone else longer. She took the trolley and he wandered from side to side inspecting the shelves and her choices. It was a normal shopping trip for them. They looked the same age as me (late 60s) and their lack of awareness made my blood boil.

starrysimon · 11/04/2020 16:47

I think a PP touched on this point. If there are two people doing the same shop then it cuts the time in half as they can load and pack much faster. Leaving more time for other shoppers and less queuing time

thunderthighsohwoe · 11/04/2020 16:47

Obviously we don’t go together during lockdown, but in ‘normal’ life DP and I (therefore toddler too) usually go together. He is the cook and prefers to inspect the fresh produce carefully prior to selection, and he is absolutely useless at getting the correct cleaning products.

We used to do online shopping to save us having to do this, but we ended up spending a small fortune compared to what we would spend at our nearest Lidl.

cadburyegg · 11/04/2020 16:48

Exactly @starrysimon but apparently telling people to focus on their own families isn’t cool these days Hmm My point is that you can’t do a lot about random strangers shopping together so don’t waste your energy.

beaker25 · 11/04/2020 16:49

We shop together as don't drive and can't carry everything back. We also go in together as we're shopping in smaller shops where you can't use a trolley, so take a basket each. I haven't noticed any shops asking people to come in singly so hadn't occurred to me it would be a problem! Still dont think either of us could get a weeks shop alone though, even with one standing outside, I can't carry two baskets...