In the Know: Grocery Store Edition

In the past year, I have been doing customer services jobs. I am not going to include the two months I tried being a salesperson for a marketing firm because, let’s face it, that was was a mistake. My current position is a Bakery Clerk for a big Grocery store chain.

Today, I was surfing the web and found an article from Reader’s Digest. The article was written by Lauren Cahn and is called 13 Rude Things You Need to Stop Doing at the Grocery Store. Cahn goes into details about all the things that make the shopping experience not pleasant for everyone. The 13 situations are all too familiar for me because of my recent position. The front end of the Grocery Store is full of action and frustrations. I basically agreed to everything that Cahn wrote about in her article.

I would like to go through the 13 things not to do in a Grocery store, but in my perspective as an employee who witnessed it every day. Please, go read the original article because it is all of the tea.

Leaving your cart in the parking lot:
My position was a cashier, but I felt personally attacked by this one. It was annoying going to my car at the end of my shift and seeing all of the loose carts that would block park spaces. It is extra infuriating being a shopper at another store, seeing all of the empty carts taking up the good parking spots that are close to entrances. It is not safe to keep the carts out in the parking lot because they can cause accidents toward people and cars.

Leaving your cart in the checkout lane while you grab another item:
This one did not irritate me as much as the previous situation. This situation is like my texting game. I will text a sentence and send it off. Then, I would think of something else to add, leaving me to send another text soon after the first one. As a cashier, I had to guess if the customer shopped with a list ready or just entered the store on a whim. I wait patiently for the customer to come back and tell any other customer who comes over to my register that it will be a minute. They have a choice of going to another register or staying just a little longer.

Leaving the checkout line while you’re groceries are being scanned (to grab another item):
In the situation, I have the same feelings as the second one. In any store, I am the shopper who becomes scattered brained and everything I planned to buy is gone. There were a lot of people that I check out who is similar. If you need to get a loaf of bread while your items were being scanned at my register, I told you it was fine and I will wait until you come back. I could tell this made some other customers peeved, but they could move on another register if they were in a hurry.

Blocking the aisle with your cart:
My heart hurts when I imagine this situation. It is not hard to move out of the way to passing shoppers. When I go down an aisle of a Grocery store, I see a two-way road. There is one side for one cart and another one for another cart. It is just decent if you do not take up the whole aisle. You can also say “excuse me” if you need an item that is not on your side of the aisle. Also, do not stop in the aisle to talk to someone you have not seen in months.

Cutting the line:
There is a gray line for me when it comes to this situation. At my register, some employees and customers would leave some items by my register, so they could use the restroom or get another item. They intended to purchase the items, but not at the moment. I do not condone people who deliberately cut in front of someone, so they can get out of the store faster. If this happened at my register, I would tell the cutter that the customer they cut was here first and they can go to another register if they need to quickly check out. The customer will either stay in line or travel to another register.

Encroaching on anyone else's personal space in line:
Greet and smile at each customer, my supervisors say to me. Well, it is hard when the line is getting longer and each customer is practically breathing on each other. This situation is common when the store is closing and there is only one register open. It made me anxious seeing everyone so close, so I tried my best to quickly check everyone out in an ordeal fashion.

Gaming the express lane:
I worked the Express Lane a lot. The store flow would fluctuate each day, so I would have too many customers or none. I took anyone who came over because I did not care how many items you had in your cart. It would annoy someone who just went in to buy lunch, but I would check out a customer in a timely manner. I timed how long I would be with a customer with a small purchase, which is three minutes. Customers with a larger purchase would be my register for at least five minutes. I never had a problem with people not understanding what an Express Lane was, so I do not see the annoyance in this situation.

Letting your kids misbehave:
The fact that kids are misbehaving in a grocery store does not reflect how the parent or parents raise their children. Without asking, you do not know how the family’s day has been like, so there is no room to judge the parents. I do believe that you should teach children to behave in public, especially at a grocery store. Children should not be rude to other customers or employees. 

Not putting perishable/non-perishable items back where they belong:
This is one of my pet peeves no matter where I am in public. I will move salt shakers or ketchup bottles back to where they belong at restaurants or clothes in their right place at department stores. It is my way of not throwing the world into catastrophe. It might be a nervous habit too. Either way, I think it is rude if you pick up an item and then leave it in the wrong place after deciding you do not want it anymore. There is a system in a Grocery store, each item placed in a certain way for a reason. If a cold item like Pork Chops is sitting on a shelf with the cans, the Pork Chops are now ruined because the raw meat can grow deadly bacteria, making it impossible to sell the meat again without a lawsuit. One customer has cost the store to lose more money because the customer could not go and put the item back. If you decided on not getting an item, you can go to a checkout lane and give it to the cashier. They give it to a bagger or deals with it after taking care of the customers.

Sampling food:
At my store, there was one customer who each employee knew well that would come in almost every day. He was a pillar of the community and got away with everything in the store. He would come in and start sampling produces, talking to everyone. The nuts and grape stations would be targeted by this sampler, but no one said anything because of who he is and what he does for the community. He also was the loudest person in the store, laughing with the other customers and employees. In the end, though, he always purchased something. I never had a problem with him, but I would feel annoyed knowing it was fine for him to sample food, but taboo for anyone else. Sampling food that is not in the purpose of being sampled is both unsanitary and show disrespect. Sit down restaurants will not let sample their food, so how is a Grocery store any different?

Helping yourself to your haul before paying:
Here is another gray line for me. This is in a way is sampling food in a Grocery store, but you mean to purchase the food in the end. I would say purchase the food first and then snack while you shop. As a cashier, I witnessed all sort of situations concerning this matter. I see a mother with a fussing child, wanting a juice box. The mother would look tired and try to calm down the child. There were other people needing a quick snack because they have low blood sugar. I took each customer with a smile and told them it was fine. Some people will be abuse this situation with no real motive, though, I think there are some reasons to snack in the store.

Conclusion:
The Grocery store is just like any other store. It goes a long way to just think about what you are doing in or out the store and respect everyone you come in contact with. It could make the shopping trip more enjoyable for you and the other customers. I believe you should enjoying shopping and spending money, especially if you had a stressful day.