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Saturday, February 05, 2011

What I Learned in Town Today

One week of being snowed in + the need for food and supplies + One more week of forecasted snow and low temperatures + one decent day with a bit of melting on the highways = a trip to Wal-Mart.

The line waiting to get into the parking lot.

The busiest day at Wal-Mart I have ever seen.  A 10 minute wait into the parking lot, up and down five rows until I found a parking spot, a ten minute wait for a cart before The Bean went and wrangled one out of the Cart Corral, a fight to get up and down every.single.aisle and a 40 minute wait in the checkout later and I was home again.  Whew!  One of the store managers was trying to take a photo with his cellphone.  I told him I had taken a photo too.  He said he had never seen it so crowded ever

I had some experiences today which made me think about how you should behave in a public situation.  It's really not that hard, people!

Let's talk for just a minute about grocery store aisle etiquette.  Scenario:  The person ahead of you in the aisle stops to pick up a can of tomatoes.  You wait behind her because you know she is only going to pick up the tomatoes and then proceed to pull out into the main aisle to go down the next grocery aisle.  Not only is it proper for you to wait, but for everyone behind you to wait too.  That is proper etiquette.  It is NOT proper etiquette to pull out of line five people back, push your cart up the center of the aisle, careen into the middle of the main aisle causing a pile up down all the aisles in every direction.  Might I add that it is MEN that do not understand the proper way to handle themselves in the grocery store.  (I won't even talk about those MEN that leave their carts at the end of the aisle and walk up and down to get what they want, deposit it into their carts and then proceed to do it on every single aisle.  My Dad is guilty of this and it drives me batty! 

Now let's discuss "why pushing your cart so close to me that you pull my shoe off is not acceptable".  I lost a shoe TWICE this week in the throngs of people.  The first one said, "SORRY" like I had a hell of a lot of nerve even being at the grocery store.....not nice at all.  Today, the lady was all over herself apologizing.  But, still......back off!

Since I am on a roll, let's discuss "Proper Behavior when you are a Checker".  After the grocery store, we went to The Dollar Tree, which was very quiet and very slow.  All around the store, I could hear this very loud voice talking and talking and talking and talking and talking.  Talking about her day, her night, her Mother, her car,her son, her boyfriend, what she had for dinner last night, what she had for lunch today, what she bought at the mall last weekend.  OH MY GOD, shut up!  When I checked out, she kept telling the other checker this looooong drawn out story about her Mom and the bank and icy roads and OH MY GOD, shut up!  When she was scanning my last item, she looked up at me like she had never seen me with this surprised look in her eyes and said, "Oh, how are you today?"  Like, helloooooooo, who do you think you were ringing up all this STUFF for??????

Well, that is my opinion of the day today.  Sorry for the rant.  I worked in retail a good number of years and I know how to treat customers and how to behave in a retail setting as both a customer and an employee.  I was bound to crack at some point!

10 comments:

  1. UT-OH... she's been shut-off from the real world for TOO-LONG and is forgetting how 'they' act out there... kinda like when you go on vacation, and it is TWICE as hard to go back to work!!! (and you chose WALLY-WORLD of all places!!)

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  2. LOL! You are so right on on this post! This weather is driving me absolutely batty too and in my little city, Wally World and Kroger are about it! :)

    Hope you get a bit of thaw soon. Really soon.

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  3. OMG! I totally agree. It's like people get to town & then forget to have any common sense. You know what annoys the crap out of me? I mean aside from all the lovely points you've already made?? When people have to travel in a pack and take up the whole damn aisle. For the love of God, if you insist on shopping with 15 family members, please follow behind each other in a single line fashion and don't spread out so that no one can get around you.

    Oh, and how about those people that go to the mall/store/wherever with said 15 family members and then proceed to lollygag in front of you, all spread out, so that you can't do anything but walk just as slowly as they are. OMG! Drives me insane.

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  4. I hate it when I'm in line or the cashier is checking me out and just talking away about her personal life to the bagger. It's rude and I don't want to hear it. Oh yes and the aisle etiquette is so true. That was one busy wally world.

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  5. While I agree with you on many points and I still work retail.(a small store on main street.)The leaving the cart at the end and going into the aisle to get what you want is me all over. this is how I see it. I want one thing from that aisle I have to take my cart down that aisle avoid all those carts with my cart, take 10 minutes for one item. To avoid all that I leave my cart at the end dodge the other carts and grab what I want 1min tops I am out of there and did not add to the congestion. I hate the talkers they meet a neighbor and have to catch up in the aisle, or the mom having a problem with the kids, or the browser. They want to see all things in the aisle just incase they may want something.(my husband) I hate shopping I am in and out with a list and rarely do I go off that list I want to be in that store as little time as possiable. But I would not have waited in line etc. I can not take crowds and to me my time is worth something. I would go to a store less crowed and pay perhaps a little more. But I hear what you are saying everyone has cabin fever and needs supplies. I am a coward when it comes to that kind of shopping.
    have a great day.
    cathy

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  6. LynnW1:23 PM

    And here I thought this stuff only happened in my neck of the woods!

    Shara, did you get any good pics of weirdly dressed W-M shoppers?

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  7. I went to Walmart this morning for groceries. It was fairly crowded, but not as bad as I've seen it at other times. For the most part, people were nice & polite but I know what you mean.

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  8. Hey! I leave my cart at the end of the aisle all the time and grab what I want and take it back to the cart. It keeps me out of the congested aisles.

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  9. LOL! I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing because I've been there done that! Never been the Walmart when it was that crazy busy-not even on Black Friday!!
    Glad you survived!
    I too have worked in retail and I get soooo frustrated with clueless cashiers!!!

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  10. Men in grocery stores - don't even get me started.

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