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Slow people at the supermarket checkout

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I am no conspiracy theorist. Nor do I own an anorak, but I feel it only fair to offer up to the public the opportunity to comment upon an insidious and growing problem.  I have tried to come up with a collective noun that fits the bill, but could only manage one with a hyphen; Slow-People.

Where these people come from I have no idea.  Perhaps they belong to some government department briefed to ensure diversity in supermarket queues.  Invariably female, (yah boo to all of you who allow a sharp intake of breath at my boldness) these grocery agent provocateurs are meticulous in their obfuscation and dithering.

Not content with packing and repacking bags at the pace of an arthritic snail, these incredibly slow people will wait until they have completed the task to their inevitably high standards, before searching for a purse.

Trolley's snaking into the distance at a supermarket Cash will never be offered where a fistful of vouchers will do.  This in itself introduces further delay, as often; the vouchers are no longer current or only apply to special jars etc.  Oblivious of the grumbling in the queue behind her, voucher woman will trundle off around the store again, looking for the correct jam or whatever it is before returning with a smugly self-satisfied smile as if expecting applause to break out all around her.

In a society, which eschews violence I would hope good, decent people everywhere would agree that more should be done by supermarket designers to ensure peace in our aisles and a quicker, more pleasant shopping experience for all.

I suggest an addition to the Cash Only and Wide Aisle facility.  I've even thought of a name for this new addition to the local supermarket, it's called "The I Don't Want to be Punched aisle."


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Karl

Karl

I agree with you wholeheartedly - our time is not theirs to waste.
03/10/20 Karl
0
The real issue

The real issue

The real issue is that supermarkets have cut the number of staff they employ.
18/05/14 The real issue
0
cleverdick.com

cleverdick.com

I agree with every word you have said. Not only are women slow in the supermarket checkout queue but they are terrible drivers too. What is it with women and big cars? I thought it was only guys with small willies who drove big gas guzzling machines!
10/05/14 cleverdick.com
1
hairyfairy

hairyfairy

Iv`e tried using this new addition to supermarkets, the self service till. It`s supposed to make checkouts faster, & in theory it would, if the things worked properly. Iv`e tried using them, & They always seem to malfunction, &I have to call a member of staff to sort it out, so ending up wasting time anyway.
10/05/14 hairyfairy
0
meagaine

meagaine

He's a paying customer, just like yourself and may have a medical reason that makes him a bit slower. Honestly, do the three minutes really make such a difference in your life? Like these people that overtake you while you are sticking to the speed limit, glare at you and go tearing down the road only to meet up with you again and the next red traffic light. Slow down and breathe or go to Aldi they are really quick and nobody is allowed time to dawdle.
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27/04/13 meagaine
-9
hairyfairy

hairyfairy

I totally agree, I don`t believe that supermarkets are social clubs where you can come & gossip with the checkout assistant & hold up the queue, I just want to get in do my shopping as quikly as possible. Another irritant is the batty old lady who doesn`t seem to know where she is, let alone where her purse is.
04/10/12 hairyfairy
-2
Notapleb

Notapleb

Why dont these plebs dump their goods into their trolly or basket when its been scanned then wander off to pack their bags at leisure (very slowly)
But no they stand around all vacant, only produce any money when asked instead of having it ready, then wait until all the goods have been scanned before sorting out into different bags, they drive me nuts
24/07/11 Notapleb
-14
Liam

Liam

Artuk, have you ever been to an Aldi store? They are trained to speed scan. There's no board they just scan the shopping at lightning speed and then stare at you until you grab everything and clear off to the shelf by the window to pack your bag. Meanwhile there is a queue of people (they don't believe in opening tills unnecessarily) willing you to get the hell out of the way so they can be 'processed'. I know how a sheep feels now ;-)
24/07/11 Liam
-27
artuk

artuk

I use a very busy private supermarket in Derby and they don't take 'nonsense' from slow shoppers. They have a board on the checkout slide so when the checkout person has taken the money from one customer they switch the board so the next person's groceries go to the opposite side so the second person can start packing while customer number one is still thinking about it.
24/07/11 artuk
-5
MikeP

MikeP

"nine times out of ten they will get a mini statement and stand at the cash machine going through it while others are waiting"

..... and you can't just politely ask them to shift themselves if they're finished? Or rudely if you feel so inclined. I'm sure b1tching about it here isn't going to help much.
24/01/11 MikeP
-10
Baz

Baz

How many others get annoyed when people stand at a Cash machine and decide to go through every bank card they have in their wallet or purse. Nothing is more annoying when all you want is to get a tenner out of the machine. The nine times out of ten they will get a mini statement and stand at the cash machine going through it while others are waiting. Cash machines are really for getting money out of them quickly. If people want to go delve further into their accounts GO INTO THE BANK AND TALK TO A MEMBER OF STAFF.
24/01/11 Baz
-8
Weston Babe

Weston Babe

What's the problem with being prepared? All folk need to do is have the bags ready to put the shopping into and have the money or card ready - Simples! Instead, shopper stands and watches goods pile up, then roots around for the bags to put them in and is half way through packing when they have to get handbag out of bag and purse out of handbag to get money. Goods paid for, they carefully put change in purse, purse into handbag, handbag into bag, then finish packing - by then I'm ready to scream at them - for goodness sake, prepare.
27/11/10 Weston Babe
-8
Chris

Chris

"if there are two tills together, why not make one "two minutes or less"

You can't tell beforehand how long you are going to be.The staff make mistakes or there could be a problem on your account that you didn't know about.

What are they going to do - have a stop watch and chuck them out if they are three minutes? Dozy idea.
10/11/10 Chris
-15
Big Mac Meal

Big Mac Meal

My problem was with a cashier who scanned my shopping so fast I couldn't pack it quick enough. I told her to slow down, she did only to speed up again. So I packed my bags nice and slow and made her wait before I pretended to fumble in my back for my purse. I held up the queue but it's not a race is it?
10/11/10 Big Mac Meal
-17
Christian Louboutin sale

Christian Louboutin sale

Wow,great content and your blog template is so beautiful. Is this template free or not. If so, would you please share this template? if not, how much does it cost? Thanks a lot!
03/02/10 Christian Louboutin sale
-7

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