Fed up with selfish shoppers using their shopping trip as an excuse to socialise

[anyname147]

I have been kept waiting in shopping queues whilst (usually older ladies) talk nineteen to the dozen to shop staff and other shoppers. In the small grocery stores I go to where the aisles are very narrow, they will stand and block the aisles chatting away for ages. Don't they understand they are putting shop staff and other customers at risk? I am sorry that they are lonely or bored during lockdown, but this is short sighted selfishness. There is an army of volunteers who will call them/befriend them if need be. I know because I tried to volunteer to be one myself but there's no vacancies as it appears the number of volunteers exceeds those who require help.

Since half the supermarket staff done seem to give a shit about keeping a distance from anyone shopping I still don’t see a problem. Cheer up.

Don’t seem*

Ours had a similar warning @wellies.

Facebook was buzzing within minutes, offers to pay any fine levies. Sadly the women running the shop couldn't handle it and have closed. We're trying to support them reopening in some capacity and have complained to the police chief... waiting on that one!

Yes I agree, it is so bad to have a little chat in the shop,it happened to me today. I am supposed to be an old lady,as in 78, and I was buying cat food, and was telling someone,that all three of my cats do not like and Felix cat food that has Cod in it, and the other person said. oh.yes my cat does not like cod fish in cat food., the other person was standing away from me correctly, so our voices and conversation were heard by others, who then glared furiously at us for the two minutes of our chat.!

why talk in the shop holding up others esp. those queuing to get in, how is that not a bit selfish. ? talk outside if possible

Queueing to get in? Wait your turn, like I did!

Some people go in with lists, some browse, some get a few items, some a huge amount. There is no time limit....

I understand the OP's point about the chatting in the aisles. Most of them are people who look to be 60-ish +.

After a good deal of, "Excuse me, Ma'am?"/"Excuse me, Sir," I have concluded that many of them are hard of hearing (like my own dad and SM).

Sometimes I have to give up and come back to that aisle later!

Most who respond have seemed very surprised to see me there, apologize, and move. I think they are just relieved to have someone to chat with and forget everything else. Totally human!

Now we've (state in US) been asked to wear masks in places where social distancing is not possible. It's cut down on immovable mid-aisle meeting considerably!

I had to go out yesterday so took the opportunity to visit the nearby supermarket. I'm elderly, I chatted to no-one - I have zero interest in chatting to people I don't know and I am sick of the aqeist comments on here lumping us into a homogenous mass.

I could start a thread about the current self obsessed snowflake generation but I'm too polite.

Sorry but I fail to see why someone having a chat in an aisle for a few minutes - assuming they were stood at a distance - is putting supermarket workers at more risk.

Unclench OP. This is a marathon not a sprint.

I actually make a point of passing comments/engage in a bit of banter with my fellow shopper. Not to ths point where I put the kettle on, but a passing pleasentry here and there. One "old" lady thanked me for saying "Cor, at least we've got some loo roll now" saying it was the first time someone had spoken to her in weeks. Tale a chill pill OP.

I agree, it’s terrible. I actually think it’s important never to allow people to socialise, or chat in person, ever again.

@RhymingRabbit3 Standing around for ages in an indoor confined space is obviously going to increase the risk of germ propagation.

A couple of minutes of banter is one thing (I have no problem with this - I do it myself). It's the ones who deliberately come into the shop in order to spend 20 minutes chatting that I have a problem with. And yes they are putting the staff at risk if it's the staff they talk to.

And just because I mentioned `older ladies' - how do you know I am not one of them already?

If you are desperate to chat - go outside on to the street where there are no queues.

I am probably what you would consider an older lady ( 50’s) and I always chat at the shops, mostly because it’s nice to have any kind of social interaction at the moment!
It does no harm and if the shop were worried they could put up a sign politely asking people to not stop and chat.

I work in a supermarket and to some of the elderly people we are the only people that they will talk to all day. Yes they get that there's a pandemic but many are widowed with no family nearby and extremely lonely. Working during this pandemic has been an eye opener, it's brought out the best and worst that humanity has to offer. If talking to someone for five minutes reassures them that someone cares then I'll do it every time and other customers can tut, roll their eyes and moan all they want because I don't care. This could be anyone of us in the future and I'm sure we'd be grateful for a friendly chat and a bit of social interaction.

@G3m81 why don't they talk on the phone or to strangers on the street then? This is why the UK has crazy covid death rate numbers and will take ages to stamp this virus out

The selfish bastards, OP.

I hope you told then where to go and nonchalantly rushed your shopping through to show them how it's done, PROPERLY.

I actually agree with the OP.

My local mini supermarket has a 6 person rule (one per isle).

Yet we've had couples going in and people taking their children (and no, in the instances I've seen not lone parents as the mother was sat in the car whilst the father to the 2 children went shopping).

This means you can have 3 households shopping rather than 6.

The queues at times have been huge (think 30 people) but once inside I've still encountered people having a "catch up", blocking the isle so everyone is "stalled" behind them all whilst the queue outside is growing further.

I'm sorry but it is selfish, especially when there is no reason people can't finish their shopping and have a chat outside the shop (like most people are doing actually - it just seems like a few people locally and the majority on this thread don't really care about needlessly holding other people up).

people take the piss and talk for hours

Literally hours?

Chinny reckon

@welliesarefuntowear

That is outrageous. A shopkeeper is warned by the police to inform her customers to stop chatting? Or she will be fined?

That is not what the additional police powers were for and that is police either over excited about new powers or a lack of understanding about what those powers mean. Chatting in small spaces, like our butchers is unavoidable even with six feet apart measures. I'd love the coppers to say that to our butcher, he'd have none of it.