A funny Lounge thread about pet peeves at the grocery store

[eleny]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=5333736&mesg_id=5333736

[KyndCulture]

1. OH I saw that...

My pet peeve is moms or dads with wild children running to and froe across the aisle that I am afraid I am going to hit with the cart. Please contain your lil beasties...

[Warpy]

2. HAHAHA! Thanks!

I never read the Lounge, maybe I need to start.

My pet peeve when I pushed health foods would be the two little old ladies of either sex who would have their items added up and then argue over who was to pay for them, "Oh, it's MY treat, dear!" or "Let me pick this one up!" Meanwhile, there would be 20 people behind them getting more steamed by the minute.

I'd have to put the bags in back of the counter and ask them to settle it while I helped other customers. I resisted the urge to tell them to duke out in the parking lot.

I know I have to work hard not to get irritated at the shaky old folks who count the total out one coin at a time because I'll be there some day. Or people who have brats in the cart who scream and grab at all the shiny packages at the checkoutstand, because I know I've already been there.

Cell phone clods are another matter. I just want to shoot them.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. What a riot ...... thanks for the link ...... I would never have seen it

since I never go to the Lounge.

My grocery store peeves have all pretty much been covered in that thread ... in spades!

Of particular annoyance to me:

Road blocks and family/neighborhood reunions in the middle of aisles with the usual dirty looks when I say 'excuse me' to try to pass.

Kids .... rude shoppers' demon spawn.

The IHMJ* employees.

Smokes treated like radioisotopes necessary for national defense. Purchase of same always requires interruption/delay for the purchaser and everyone in line behind the purchaser.

The 6-monthly store reshuffle .... makes me feel like a foreigner in my own grocery store.

Lazy-assed cart parkers who can't waddle their fat asses to the curb with their empty cart.

FYII** drivers who take two spots due to careless parking or who park in front of the cart pickup or store entry blocking everything while their fat-assed wife/husband/kid goes into the store.

Impatient assholes who race through the crosswalk at the store entry instead of waiting for people to cross. I hope every one of them gets a flat tire on the freeway at rush hour when its hot, muggy, and there's an air quality orange or red alert.

Produce bags that don't tear easily from the roll and that refuse to open, even with spit on your fingers.

Wilted flat leaf parsley

No fresh basil


*IHMJ = I Hate My Job and I will make sure YOU know it.

FYII** = Fuck You I'm Important and you don't mean shit to me.

[KyndCulture]

4. Totally IN SPADES Husb!

Dear god, sometimes I need more medication to go the the market.

I am lucky that our only grocer is open 24/7 and I have figured out that around 11pm there isn't anybody else in the store, or I'd be in the corner babbling

[Warpy]

7. I have another peeve I just remembered

People who drive monster SUVs and try to cram them into the parking spaces labeled "compact."

I've been blocked in twice in the last week by these clods, unable to get into my car unless I crawl through the hatchback.

I have thus far resisted vandalism. That's not going to last forever.

[merci_me]

8. Tip for plastic produce bags...........

most groceries where I shop here has a neat new bag that pulls open as you tear it off, but when you don't have those............put the bag between your two palms and rub them together like you rub your hands to warm them. TA-DAH

A friend of mine was gone on a movie shoot and left her husband and two sons for six weeks. She said they'd probably lose their minds trying to feed themselves. The day she got home, she and her husband went grocery shopping and of course, hit the produce first. She said she looked at her husband rubbing plastic bags between his hands and she was sure he had gone around the bend. Turns out, he had actually solved a sticky problem.

Editing to add....H2S if you see this, I thought I'd tell you about a blog said friend started last week. Fun for those who have "nun" experience.
http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/2006/07/have-sorrowful-and-holy-friday.html

[NMDemDist2]

5. LOL

but I have carefully trained myself that a grocery shop is a time consuming thing, I try never to be in a hurry and I am getting better all the time about patiently waiting while the little old lady/harrassed mother of two toddlers/brand new checker does their thing

I'm also one of those annoying people who if you have 3 items and I have a cartfull I let you go first

BUT I'm also one of those people who check my reciepts carefully as I have caught way too many errors in the scanning equipment. I do try to watch the screens as they scan however so I can catch the error BEFORE I pay with my CASH MONEY

aren't I just a pain? :evilgrin:

PS my only true pet peeve is the lazy idiots who leave the carts in the parking lot anywhere and everywhere and I have been seen on more than one occasion grabbing two or three and hauling them to the corral as I save one for my use.

[politicat]

6. Maybe I'm more patient at the grocery than I used to be.

I learned the secret... I take my iPod, my PDA (upon which are many books and games) and sometimes a book-book. I HATE the magazines, but I have fun with 'em. I make sure that there is a Cosmo at eye level for a kindergartner at every checkstand, and I bring my own bags (usually with the competition's logo on them) and I leave post-it notes on the open fridge/freezer cases (these annoy me to no end; they're such a power waste) pointing out how many soldiers have died so far so that we can have the cheap power to run these oil hogs.

And I just don't give a shit anymore. People can give me weird looks. I don't effing care. The worst they can do is throw me out (so they won't get my business... oh, boo-hoo). They can't take away my birthday and I don't do anything that damages either product or facility. I'm just annoying.

[NJCher]

9. that's my solution, too

I listen to my own programmed music of choice or sometimes I don't even listen to anything--I just where a headset that's designed to shut out noise. No cords to mess with, no nuthin.'

I did used to surf the 'Net on my cell phone while waiting on line at the checkout stand but I quit that when I ran out of minutes only two weeks into the month. So now I just read magazines at the checkout line.

To avoid a lot of waiting and annoyance with inconsiderate customers, I shop at the higher-end grocery stores or Hispanic markets and not the big box supermarkets. Both of these types of stores are smaller and they have less "junk" food. They're not afraid to put on enough help to service the customer and they hire a better quality of employee than the big box supermarkets. If I have to pay a little more here and there, that's fine--it's well worth it to avoid screeching kids, idiots with their cell phones carrying on conversations with the cell set at "speakerphone," you get the picture.




Cher

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Hi, Cher! It's been awhile since I've seen you!

I absolutely agree with everything that's being said on this thread. I always go into the grocery store, thinking that I just have to pick up a few things, but it's crowded, kids are screaming and I can't return my six bottles because someone is ahead of me who has brought in several hundred, LOL! I agree with you about the specialty food stores, but if you live in a small town, as I do, it's the big chains, or nothing...:-(

BTW, did you know that your next post will be your 10,000th? Just a heads up, since this is a pretty big milestone, so I thought you'd want to know. And newyawker99 will definitely notice...:D

Rhiannon:hi:

[NJCher]

11. My 10,000th !

Hi, Rhiannon :hi:

Thanks for tipping me off! Something did tell me to check the other day but I didn't get around to it.

Here's to 10,000 more! ;)




Cher

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Hi, Cher! And absolutely, my friend! Here's to 10,000 more!!!

10,000 POSTS!!!:toast::party::woohoo::applause::wow::bounce:CHER HAS 10,000 POSTS!!!:toast::party::woohoo::applause::wow::bounce:10,000!!!:toast::party::woohoo::applause::wow::bounce:CONGRATS ON 10,000!!!:toast::party::woohoo::applause::wow::bounce:10,000!!!:toast::party::woohoo::applause::wow::bounce:AND HERE'S TO 10,000 MORE!!!:kick::kick::kick:

Rhiannon:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

14. Too cool you put your 10000th post in C&B!!!

:yourock:

[troubleinwinter]

12. 'Discount' or 'Courtesy' cards.

I have to carry FIVE of those stupid suckers in my wallet. Safeway, Albertson's, Fry's... WHY!!!????

A few days ago, I saved about $30 using a card, so I surely MUST use them.

WHY????!!! Why do they need my name and address and phone number and track everything I buy? They do not use them to send special coupons to "our favorite customers".

If I buy organic free-range tofu and thousand-year-old barrel-aged shoyu, will they assume I'm a hippy-pinko-commie-Dem?

If I never buy alcohol or pork or butter will they list me as a likely Muslim?

If I buy the tall packages of tortillas weekly and fresh chilis and cilantro, will I be on the INS watch list?

Whose business is it to know that someone or no-one in my home menstruates? Or uses condoms?

What sort of magazines I buy?

Phonecalls, emails and bank records are already not our own private business. What is the grocery stores' privacy policy? Are they selling or turning this info over to anyone?

I have taken to just lying on the signup form, but surely nearly everyone has these cards and simply turns over their name, address and phone so their every purchase can be tracked.

That's my peeve.

[Tab]

15. I don't use those just out of principal

because loss of privacy is an incredibly slippery slope, but...

1) Short of some legal action where someone had to subpoena to determine your shopping purchases, no one really cares what you, as you, buy.

2) If they're not marketing to you directly, they also don't care what you (you, specifically, personally) buy. I mean, no one's going to say, "Hey, this person doesn't buy much toilet paper - let's send them a coupon for Ex-Lax!".

That said, they care about you in aggregate.

1) They probably just sell the information.

2) The purchaser can tie your address/phone/whatever to all other info, and get your demographics (income, age, education, own a house, kids, whatever).

3) They can then tie that to what you buy.

4) Ultimately, they can come up with "'X'-year-old adults of 'X' gender, with 'X'$ of income and 'X' kids and 'X' education, who own homes really like to buy boxes of cereal and rib-eye steaks. Who knew?"

So, I don't think there's anything inherently bad going on RIGHT NOW, but my objection is how we set the stage to devalue our privacy. For that reason, I don't use the cards. This is aside from the fact that anyone with any brains will get multiple cards for the places they shop at, so the cards don't necessarily drive consumer loyalty.

That said,

1) The only way to really protect your privacy is to pay cash. Using credit cards or ATM cards (or checks), they can also track purchases in certain instances, so you don't necessarily avoid it, but the use of these is growing, and they're not universal, thus they still go for the "rewards" card thingie.

And for my pet peeve? I posted a couple, but the big two are these:

1) Stores that put trainees ("Thank you for your patience... I'm new!") on the friggin' express line. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

2) Cashiers who are ringing up your purchases, but stop to read an article that catches their eye in the newspaper. WTF? This has happened to me WAY more times than I could possibly count.