Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I hate to bring up an old thread, but I keep seeing people refer to items on the conveyor belt as their stuff. Technically, the merchandise is still the property of the store if you have not yet paid for it. Once you pay, then it becomes your stuff.
So next time I pass you in the aisle and I see you have something in your cart that I want to buy, I will just take it out of your cart. It's not yours yet.
This is a highly unusual practice for the US since people want and demand extra space. In Europe rubbing elbows with the customer behind you is normal. What gets me are children who get in between us as I'm loading the belt or my cart and having to move back to the card reading terminal. I say nothing and let my eyes do the suggesting, staring and grunting. the next person's shopping cart has gotten close to me more than once.
I really do not like it when another customer messes with my items on the conveyor belt at a store's checkout. Last night it happened yet again.
...snip...
I don't think my bread was damaged, but still, it's the principle of the whole thing -- don't mess with my stuff! Or am I just getting upset over something that I should not get upset over...
I've never seen this before but I'd be annoyed if someone did that to me. I would never touch another shopper's items on the conveyer belt. It wouldn't even occur to me to squeeze or push their items so I could fit my items on the belt.
I'm more annoyed by clerks who don't let the belt advance while they randomly pick items off it but don't scan the item that is preventing the belt from moving forward. But that's for another thread.
I have not uncommonly moved other people's stuff on the conveyor. Not everyone corrals his purchases into a tidy pile. Some folks will use the entire space for a few items. Then the cashier does not advance the conveyor. I am standing there waiting for the person ahead of me to make room. Nothing happens.
So I slide the other customer's order over and start unloading my buggy. I do not crush anything.
I do not think this is unreasonable. It expedites not only my checkout but that of everyone behind me.
I would not feel comfortable handling/touching other peoples purchases.
So instead of sliding over a few items on the conveyor, I should ask the cashier to ask the other customer to move her stuff, as if the other customer is not there at all?
Honestly, I have never had another customer appear to be the least disturbed by my doing this. Please note that I do nothing that would damage the products. The baggers are more likely to do that than a customer making space on a conveyor.
Maybe I should never ask another shopper to get a product off a shelf that is higher than I can reach?*
Maybe I should not strike up a conversation while I am waiting in line?
Heavens! I should never help the person behind me to empty her buggy, even if her hands are full with an infant and a toddler!
And, gosh, what was that young man thinking last Thanksgiving who tracked me down to give me the last quart of buttermilk the store had? He was shopping, not working, and we commiserated with each other at the dairy case about the buttermilk deficit. The store was busy, so I had decided to try again another day. He had an employee double check, there were two quarts left, he took one and searched several aisles to find me. We were strangers to each other. According to your interpretation of Dr. Assaro, he should not have done that because he impacted my user experience.
Maybe it's a Southern thing.
As DubbleT said, shoppers interact with each other. It is inevitable. Those interactions can be positive or negative. A little courtesy makes it easier on everyone.
If you would prefer for someone to not touch your stuff, just say, "I would prefer that you not do that. The bread needs a little breathing room." With a
*Lee Child fans: Apparently Jack Reacher got his name from other shoppers impacting his user experiences. Little old ladies were always asking for him to reach down cans they could not get to. Lee's wife told him that if his first novel did not pan out (Reacher was unnamed at that point), Lee could get a job as a reacher in a grocery store.
more apples to oranges in a vain attempt to justify one's actions
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
