Grocery-Shopping in OC (Irvine, Orange, Costa Mesa: travel, house, universities)

[dakicka]

Below you will find an account of my weekly shopping experiences. I've listed the top 5 most annoying, aggitating events that occur in my daily travels at a grocery store. Most of these items are applicable to grocery shopping, dining, driving, or walking around other people. I will focus on my experiences while grocery shopping at Albertson's in Irvine and Pavillions in Newport. I just wanted to get some feedback from other people and see if they experience similar events and what town/store they shop at.

1. When pulling into the parking lot I have to watch out for people backing up full speed without looking.
2. I have to watch for darting kids across the parking lot because their parents are on their cell phone and forget they are with them. If other people didn't watch out for them, the kid would probably get hit.
3. When selecting your grocery cart or shopping basket you have to lunge for it like a foul ball at a baseball game before the other person boxes you out to grab it first.
4. When navigating the aisles of the store you must bring your navigation system to take alternate routes when aisles are under construction (people errantly placing their cart sideways in the middle of the aisle) while carefully selecting which bottled water is most appropriate.
5. Wear your riot gear because when you are approaching turns into a new aisle you have to avoid speeding carters or the all too often shoulder block or cross check from rude and inconsiderate, self-indulged people disengaged with their surroundings. Don't expect an apology, that will only slow them down on their utterly important mission to complete their shopping expedition in under 10 minutes flat!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Don't forget the people who push their cart into your backside while you're standing in line. I swear one of these days, I'm just going to push back about a foot and run them over with their own cart.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by dakicka

Below you will find an account of my weekly shopping experiences. I've listed the top 5 most annoying, aggitating events that occur in my daily travels at a grocery store. Most of these items are applicable to grocery shopping, dining, driving, or walking around other people. I will focus on my experiences while grocery shopping at Albertson's in Irvine and Pavillions in Newport. I just wanted to get some feedback from other people and see if they experience similar events and what town/store they shop at.

1. When pulling into the parking lot I have to watch out for people backing up full speed without looking.
2. I have to watch for darting kids across the parking lot because their parents are on their cell phone and forget they are with them. If other people didn't watch out for them, the kid would probably get hit.
3. When selecting your grocery cart or shopping basket you have to lunge for it like a foul ball at a baseball game before the other person boxes you out to grab it first.
4. When navigating the aisles of the store you must bring your navigation system to take alternate routes when aisles are under construction (people errantly placing their cart sideways in the middle of the aisle) while carefully selecting which bottled water is most appropriate.
5. Wear your riot gear because when you are approaching turns into a new aisle you have to avoid speeding carters or the all too often shoulder block or cross check from rude and inconsiderate, self-indulged people disengaged with their surroundings. Don't expect an apology, that will only slow them down on their utterly important mission to complete their shopping expedition in under 10 minutes flat!

I think this is pretty much everywhere. Probably more common at 530PM when everyone is rushed coming home, hungry, tired, just picked up the energetic kids. Try shopping at 730 AM on a Sunday. Different story.

[dakicka]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Don't forget the people who push their cart into your backside while you're standing in line. I swear one of these days, I'm just going to push back about a foot and run them over with their own cart.

Yes, I forgot to add that to the list! Some lady with her kid was doing that to me this week at Smart and Final in Costa Mesa. I had to pick up some bulk items for a christmas party and I'm waiting to checkout and I get bumped into from behind by a cart. Not once, but 2x. I proceed to ask the woman what is wrong with her... She doesn't even respond and acts as if nothing is wrong. I turn back around and start placing my items on the checkout conveyor and she does it again. I grab the cart and politely toss it aside and tell her to have some manners and watch what she is doing. haha. People are nuts, soooo self-indulged and inconsiderate. Never have seen anything like this before back home.

[Lardog]

Originally Posted by dakicka

1. When pulling into the parking lot I have to watch out for people backing up full speed without looking.

How about the other side of this parking lot experience: You're cautiously backing your way out of your space, maybe halfway out, and someone coming up the aisle at speed determines that they have the right of way (inspite of the fact that you're already half way into the driving lane) and refuse to let you back out, or even honk and yell at you for trying to back out. Understand that its a LOT easier to see cars coming at you from the front windshield than out of your rear window and my personal feeling is that you have more of an obligation to watch out for people backing out than vice verca (again because of the visibility issue). Whether they have the right of way or not, there's an element of common courtesy that often gets ignored.

My biggest frustration with the shopping experience has always been people who block an aisle with their cart, body, kids or combination of all three with absolutely no comprenension of their actions......total cluelessness.

[dakicka]

Originally Posted by Lardog

How about the other side of this parking lot experience: You're cautiously backing your way out of your space, maybe halfway out, and someone coming up the aisle at speed determines that they have the right of way (inspite of the fact that you're already half way into the driving lane) and refuse to let you back out, or even honk and yell at you for trying to back out. Understand that its a LOT easier to see cars coming at you from the front windshield than out of your rear window and my personal feeling is that you have more of an obligation to watch out for people backing out than vice verca (again because of the visibility issue). Whether they have the right of way or not, there's an element of common courtesy that often gets ignored.

My biggest frustration with the shopping experience has always been people who block an aisle with their cart, body, kids or combination of all three with absolutely no comprenension of their actions......total cluelessness.

I feel your pain! Have any of you lived other places than Orange County? Were your shopping explorations similar to this or was it different?

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by dakicka

Below you will find an account of my weekly shopping experiences. I've listed the top 5 most annoying, aggitating events that occur in my daily travels at a grocery store. Most of these items are applicable to grocery shopping, dining, driving, or walking around other people. I will focus on my experiences while grocery shopping at Albertson's in Irvine and Pavillions in Newport. I just wanted to get some feedback from other people and see if they experience similar events and what town/store they shop at.

1. When pulling into the parking lot I have to watch out for people backing up full speed without looking.
2. I have to watch for darting kids across the parking lot because their parents are on their cell phone and forget they are with them. If other people didn't watch out for them, the kid would probably get hit.
3. When selecting your grocery cart or shopping basket you have to lunge for it like a foul ball at a baseball game before the other person boxes you out to grab it first.
4. When navigating the aisles of the store you must bring your navigation system to take alternate routes when aisles are under construction (people errantly placing their cart sideways in the middle of the aisle) while carefully selecting which bottled water is most appropriate.
5. Wear your riot gear because when you are approaching turns into a new aisle you have to avoid speeding carters or the all too often shoulder block or cross check from rude and inconsiderate, self-indulged people disengaged with their surroundings. Don't expect an apology, that will only slow them down on their utterly important mission to complete their shopping expedition in under 10 minutes flat!

I don't know that I've run into too much of this near my house in Yorba Linda... but I see way more people driving too fast or too aggressively in parking lots than backing out too fast.

There is definitely less honor in public parking lots than at local colleges/universities, though. If you attended CSUF before they had the parking structures, you had to learn how to drive appropriately in the parking lot, especially if you hoping to land a space.

[5FLgirls]

Originally Posted by dakicka

I feel your pain! Have any of you lived other places than Orange County? Were your shopping explorations similar to this or was it different?

Most of what you comment about happens everywhere. I lived in Florida for 13 years before moving here and all I can say is that aisles in the stores are twice the size as those I've encountered in the OC. My 6 yr old daughter got hit by a car in a parking lot last week. We were crossing the lot, I saw the car coming, stopped my children and told the person to keep coming. She stopped, insisted that we crossed and then proceeded to clip my daughter. She didn't even realize she'd done it until I confronted her after she'd pulled into a spot. Is there any wonder that I wait to cross until there aren't any cars?? On the other side of things, the comment by Lardog: "My biggest frustration with the shopping experience has always been people who block an aisle with their cart, body, kids or combination of all three with absolutely no comprenension of their actions......total cluelessness." actually hits close to home. The aisles here are so small and sometimes I stop to figure things out (west coast does have a lot of different brands than the east coast) and I block people. This is not done on purpose but because the aisles are so darned small (and it doesn't help that I shop with four small children). I have come to the conclusion that we're all there for the same reason and I have to show some compassion and patience and others should learn to do the same.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by 5FLgirls

On the other side of things, the comment by Lardog: "My biggest frustration with the shopping experience has always been people who block an aisle with their cart, body, kids or combination of all three with absolutely no comprenension of their actions......total cluelessness." actually hits close to home. The aisles here are so small and sometimes I stop to figure things out (west coast does have a lot of different brands than the east coast) and I block people. This is not done on purpose but because the aisles are so darned small (and it doesn't help that I shop with four small children). I have come to the conclusion that we're all there for the same reason and I have to show some compassion and patience and others should learn to do the same.

But do you find the narrowest part of the aisle (like where they've got product stacked on the floor), turn your cart sideways to completely block all traffic, then wander 15' away? Those are the people that need to be run down in the aisles.

[dakicka]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

But do you find the narrowest part of the aisle (like where they've got product stacked on the floor), turn your cart sideways to completely block all traffic, then wander 15' away? Those are the people that need to be run down in the aisles.

LOL 100% agree. So annoying