Grocery store etiquette

[Cinder & Smoke]

... do you not pay for the items you give your child, or do you
return a half eaten bag of whatever to the shelves when he's done with them?
... absolutely nothing wrong with buying the kid something to eat when he's hungry,
I would do the same ... but pay for it and not return the crums on the shelf ...

Not until check out time ... kind of like a restaurant.
Jonah eats first, and pays later. (not from the produce section ...)

I do that, too - since I never pay attention to Mom's old advisory to "Never shop
for groceries when you're HUNGRY!" I always seem to need a *snack*!
I open the baggies of Hard Salami and Swiss, pull out a few slices, then *roll* a
poor-man's sammich (no bread) and *munch away*. If anybody objects,
MY reasoning is the bags are pre-weighed and pre-priced ... Who Cares
if the bag is half-empty when I pay full price for it at checkout?

Then there's the OTHER extreme - which I experienced not that long ago
whilst shopping in the Big Burd Store >>>

"Mom" & 13-15 yo Daughter were *SHOUTING* their way through Produce and
stopped to order 'dinner' at the hot foods deli counter ...
Mom: "Gimmie 2 drumsticks (that BIG one) anna couple wings."
"HEY - go get us a couple Cokes out by the registers - COLD ones!"

Kid returns with the Cokes and they push on - *SHOUTING* instructions and
questions back and forth for all to enjoy. Later, I noticed it was *quiet*.
Reason?

They were stopped in Beverages ... *munchin* on hot chicken drumsticks!

A few minutes later, they're in canned goods - polishing off the wings!
All done? They cleaned up with the lil nappies in the bag.
"Here, git ridda this!" (And Mom hands over the bone-filled styrofoam take-out box.)
Kid walks over to the Beans section, pushes some #10 cans around on the bottom shelf;
and shoves in the bone box (WITH the contents & PRICE sticker)!
Dinner was GOOD - and FREE!

And I KNOW there were two chilled but very empty 20oz Coke bottles
sitting on display somewhere between Canned Goods and checkout!


Grocery Shoppin is ALWAYS an Adventure!

[king2005]

Oh the stories I could tell when I was working at the Post Office!

TO make a long story short, I didn't take customers BS. I treated them well untill they abused me.. then they were told off & NOT served.. I would move to another cash & server the next customer leaving that nasty BEEP standing with a blank look...

Once I was in a rather good mood & was stupid polite (not backing down though) to a nasty customer.. I had MANY of my regular customers yell at that person & MADE them leave Actually that happened a lot

The only time I got ganged up on is when they thought I was 14yrs old & working everyday during "school hours". They threatened to call the police & blah blah blah... Showing my ID almost didn't work I was 23 at the time

[jennielynn1970]

The last few days have brought out the cranky old people for some reason. I had one woman at my lane tonight, and I swear on my grandmother's grave, this lady had to be atleast 65 or 70. She had badly dyed black hair, chunky eyelashed and thick and nasty looking eyeliner and silvery shiney eyeshadow on. There was also the fire engine red lipstick that got you if the rest didn't. She was very snotty. Very "I'm just above all of you, and you are my servants, so kiss my feet" kind of attitude. I was not in the mood for it, and I was hungry too cause break time was late, lol.

So, I'm ringing through the order. She's tap, tap, tapping, her ugly long nails that are painted some electric blue color, and she's tapping her feet as well. I was a bit annoyed. I'm scanning, then bagging what would go together, and she's standing there doing nothing, and the guy she was with seemed hardly to be coherent. I thought he was drunk. So, I'm ringing up more stuff that he plunked down, MADAME actually puts a few things in a bag, and then while I'm waiting for the man to pull together the cash to pay the bill, the lady says, loudly, "Well, you can finish this now honey." in a not very nice tone. I stood there, looked at her husband, and said, "I am guessing she's speaking to you, as I don't know her well enough for her to call me honey." He just kinda smiled at me like, yeah... sorry bout her. She tapped her foot and said that she most certainly did not mean for him to finish bagging groceries, as that's my job. I just said, fine, but the next time you address me, I prefer Miss, or Ma'm, and not a term of endearment when it's certainly not meant as one. I smiled, told her to have a nice night, and to drive safe.

We all watched as they walked out. Her in her knee high leather boots, her skin tight leopard print spandax pants (or something not so shiney), and her tight tank top and black leather short jacket.

And yeah, again, remember the age adn face description. It really didn't go well together. Quite scary.

[jennielynn1970]

I'm so tired, I have to post tomorrow about the whole, load/unload the cart for the customer, bag the whole order, take it to their car, drive them home, cook for them, and then go back to work kind of thing I was thinking about.


I'm just getting the feeling many people today want it all done for them, and they want to pay as little as they can to get it done, show as little courtesy to the person they are expecting to do it all for them as well, and then bitch and moan when it's not done exactly to their liking.

I can't stay awake long enough to give a sufficient answer to that whole deal.

Let me just say that whoever Trader Joe's is, he may have many people sucked into that whole scenario, but thing would run smoother if it would just be 1. do your shopping, load your cart appropriately and in the way you'd like it to be taken out. Unload groceries in the way you like them bagged (it does happen like that you know... I do it all the time when I shop for myself), then if you do want things bagged in some obscure way that, if someone else bagged it, you will not be happy with no matter what, bag your own crap and help save time. Otherwise, let the baggers (who are trained to bag appropriately actually) do what they are supposed to do, unless there are no baggers available, then help out the cashier and bag if you have a free hand because more than likely there are 20 people in line behind you waiting to get their crap done.

If we all work together, it gets done quicker, and easier, and you get out, and we are done with you and we all move on. It makes for a happier experience all around.

Eat before you come to the store. If you come to the sotre with a child who will need to be fed or amused, bring things for him. My mother would have been appalled if we actually ate what we were going to be buying before buying it. I know things have relaxed in society, but there are social norms and expectations, and usually one refrains themselves from eating in the store before buying what they have in their carts. It is NOT a restaurant. Unless you are stopping at the deli and salad bar, and are dining IN THE STORE IN THEIR OWN DINING AREA you should not be eating while shopping. That's just not cool. I never did it before, I don't do it now, and i don't plan on doing it in the future. It's just poor manners. And if that's what "mr. walmart" was thinking, then he grew up backwoods with no manners either.

We had hand sanitizer as our Pick of the Week at the store, and they are always on top of our registers and also next ot our registers, and it says what they are, and if there is a special deal on buying more than one of them. One lady came up, took one, squirted it in her hand and started to walk away. "Excuse me," I said, "but that is an item for sale, it is not for public use. It's our pick of the week item." Well, she thought it was jsut there for everyone to use, isn't that what we usually do? No, I told her, when you see candy bars, tick tacks, seasonal candy items etc.. up on top of our register, its so that you buy them, they are freebies.

Seriously. What is going on with our society.

[Cataholic]

Eat before you come to the store. If you come to the sotre with a child who will need to be fed or amused, bring things for him. My mother would have been appalled if we actually ate what we were going to be buying before buying it. I know things have relaxed in society, but there are social norms and expectations, and usually one refrains themselves from eating in the store before buying what they have in their carts. It is NOT a restaurant. Unless you are stopping at the deli and salad bar, and are dining IN THE STORE IN THEIR OWN DINING AREA you should not be eating while shopping. That's just not cool. I never did it before, I don't do it now, and i don't plan on doing it in the future. It's just poor manners. And if that's what "mr. walmart" was thinking, then he grew up backwoods with no manners either.

WOW. Sounds like you have things pretty well summed up! I guess what is "wrong" with society these days can be attributed to eating in the grocery store. I guess I should start telling those stores that give out free samples how totally poor their manners are!

[jennielynn1970]

WOW. Sounds like you have things pretty well summed up! I guess what is "wrong" with society these days can be attributed to eating in the grocery store. I guess I should start telling those stores that give out free samples how totally poor their manners are!

I wasn't talking about free samples, and I think you could tell that from the post.

Usually when they have a free sample, it's just that, a sample. It's a teeny tiny cup, and you eat it with a teeny tiny spoon or fork, and you throw away said cup and spoon/fork right there in the garbage can at their table. Deli sample items are usually on a toothpick, again, just a mouthful, and you throw away the toothpick in the garbage can located right by the deli sample items.

I was annoyed and tired when posting it, so it was a little bit of a rant. Sorry for the rant part.

I still think it's bad manners to be eating before you pay. Like I said, it's not a restaurant. There are dining areas in some stores, and they are meant for purchasing food and eating there.

[king2005]

The last few days have brought out the cranky old people for some reason. I had one woman at my lane tonight, and I swear on my grandmother's grave, this lady had to be atleast 65 or 70. She had badly dyed black hair, chunky eyelashed and thick and nasty looking eyeliner and silvery shiney eyeshadow on. There was also the fire engine red lipstick that got you if the rest didn't. She was very snotty. Very "I'm just above all of you, and you are my servants, so kiss my feet" kind of attitude. I was not in the mood for it, and I was hungry too cause break time was late, lol.

So, I'm ringing through the order. She's tap, tap, tapping, her ugly long nails that are painted some electric blue color, and she's tapping her feet as well. I was a bit annoyed. I'm scanning, then bagging what would go together, and she's standing there doing nothing, and the guy she was with seemed hardly to be coherent. I thought he was drunk. So, I'm ringing up more stuff that he plunked down, MADAME actually puts a few things in a bag, and then while I'm waiting for the man to pull together the cash to pay the bill, the lady says, loudly, "Well, you can finish this now honey." in a not very nice tone. I stood there, looked at her husband, and said, "I am guessing she's speaking to you, as I don't know her well enough for her to call me honey." He just kinda smiled at me like, yeah... sorry bout her. She tapped her foot and said that she most certainly did not mean for him to finish bagging groceries, as that's my job. I just said, fine, but the next time you address me, I prefer Miss, or Ma'm, and not a term of endearment when it's certainly not meant as one. I smiled, told her to have a nice night, and to drive safe.

We all watched as they walked out. Her in her knee high leather boots, her skin tight leopard print spandax pants (or something not so shiney), and her tight tank top and black leather short jacket.

And yeah, again, remember the age adn face description. It really didn't go well together. Quite scary.

Are you trying to give us nightmares???!!!

[RICHARD]

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ighlight=peeve

================

People that do this SUCK!

Walk around items on the floor.

I have this complusion to restock items on the floor that have fallen.

FOR YEARS it bugged me as to why I did it.

My first real job was working in a records room. I always thought to treat each folder with respect because they are patients and god knows if they need a chart for a patient and we could no find it because it was lost, misfiled or tossed aside.

Pull a magazine out of a holder and not put it back correctly or in it's place.
Same with the items like gum, candy, mints.....
People that stop cashiers and ask, "How much was that?" THEN REFUSE TO PURCHASE IT!
People that chuck stuff on the side as the unload the baskets!

We have some higher end supers here in El Lay, Von's and Ralph's. I walk in, scruffy looking because I am going to a friend's house for dinner. I get to the conveyor and the cashier is talking to a regular customer because the are trading gossip and talk.

She is all bubbly and smiley, but when she gets to me the look on her face is one of being confronted with a six foot, two inch turd, shopping in her store.

SHe never makes eye contact, doesn't answer my "Hi, How are you!" and puts my change on the counter/check shelf.


I got my change and I told her that I hope her day would get better.

I did notice that they closed down the store soon after!

Biatch!