WHY?!?!?!?!!!?????

[square_duck]

WHY??? Why is it that when ever I pop into a place to buy something.....just one (1) uno....single, item, and then get in line...... Two things happen:

1) there is ONLY 1 cashier.....who is also new!!! And S*L*O*W

2) the person ahead of me is shopping for a MONTH!!!! Cart or basket FuLL!!! 

WHY??

WTF does this always happen??? I have my item, I just want to get in and get out....but no..I have to wait for the newbie cashier and the godzilla monster shopper buying 1/2 the f*ckin STORE!!!!!

 

WHY????! ????????

[astrodiaper]

Oops. Sorry about that. ??

In all seriousness, I would probably be the latter, especially with the weekly specials at my Kroger store, except I don’t have a whole lot of room to store much of anything. Kinda sucks when Red Barron is on sale for $2.50. 
 

Crap, need to check in and see what’s on sale this week!

[rusty pins]

Not an answer to "why", but possibly a solution to the problem.  Shop at a store that has self scan and check out for your one item.  If enough of us do that, maybe the store will lose enough business to add a couple more checkers.  Some only have one when they expect slow shopping times to save money on paying cashier wages, then when there is a bit of a rush they try and work around it.  The solution is to have extra cashiers working but doing other things in the store like stocking and then jump in to check people out when a line starts to form.  

[Dubious]

I only shop at stores with self checkout, when I can.

So there is only 1 food store I avoid in my area.
Not been there this year.

[DailyDi]

I always get stuck behind the old lady who still pays by check.

[~Brian~]

I seem to always have some sort of problem with the automated checkout, and the person who monitors that has to run to each one and reset it, or VOID out something.  I don't mind  the automated checkouts, but sometimes, it is easier for the cashier to check you out.  That way, the scanning and the bagging are completed by someone, and in my case, they can help me, because I ask someone to place my bag(s) on the back of my chair.  I call the way you do that for me as "Handle to Handle" Across the back.  I have had someone place the plastic bag on ONE handle before, and what happens is that the rear pneumatic tires RUB on the plastic bags like this, and BOOM:  Then, I have a bag with a HOLE in it, and stuff falling out on the ground.  Doing it "Handle to Handle" allows the bags to either be centered in the middle, and resting on my "Go Bag" or BETWEEN both rear tires. 

If done that way, the bag RARELY has a hole in it, and the bag is centered, and that way, when I roll around, my chair is not tipping or uneven.  I usually carry a CLOTH grocery bag with me, and go Handle to Handle, and I have no problems.

Brian

[rusty pins]

2 hours ago, DailyDi said:

I always get stuck behind the old lady who still pays by check.

Methuselah's grandmother?

[Dubious]

1 hour ago, ~Brian~ said:

That way, the scanning and the bagging are completed by someone

Cause you are in a wheelchair, or they do this for everyone?

Mainly blind people get help shopping here, everyone else usually has to carry their own stuff, and bag them.
Yes, you can get help if you need help, but I have only seen blind people having help.

[~Brian~]

43 minutes ago, rusty pins said:

Methuselah's grandmother?

@rusty pins@DailyDi

when @rusty pins said that, it reminded me of a Song by Dj Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - You Saw My Blinker. I post it for reference

 

28 minutes ago, Dubious said:

Cause you are in a wheelchair, or they do this for everyone?

Mainly blind people get help shopping here, everyone else usually has to carry their own stuff, and bag them.
Yes, you can get help if you need help, but I have only seen blind people having help.

@Dubious

The Walmart where I live still has human checkers.  They will scan up your items if you elect to have them check you out, and I usually carry a cloth bag when I do that, so I add that to the back of the chair, and anything that I purchase usually goes Handle to handle across the back, and my "Go Bag" is always centered in the middle.  They bag it, and then I ask them to assist me in making sure that it is attached that way.  It would make sense that blind or Visually Impared people would have help with shopping, bagging and other things, but that can depend on the customer I suppose

Brian

Edited June 16, 2021 by ~Brian~
edit to REMOVE text due to Merging

[Wet Knight]

Get up earlier, go shopping earlier and you'll be out of the shop before there's a queue.

[Little Cub Pants]

23 minutes ago, Wet Knight said:

Get up earlier, go shopping earlier and you'll be out of the shop before there's a queue.

Or you could always do instacart?? Just a thought!?

[Dubious]

3 hours ago, Wet Knight said:

Get up earlier, go shopping earlier and you'll be out of the shop before there's a queue.

Early or late.

I usually shop an hour or 2 before closing.

[~Brian~]

@Dubious

Sometimes, when I was in college, I and a friend would go to the local Price Chopper Supermarket (which is open 24 hours a day) and purchased groceries.  It's a LOT easier when the store is not crowded, it is quiet, and you can get IN and OUT in under an hour.  Sometimes, if i want something, and i KNOW that Price Chopper has it, I will go there to get it, but usually its the local Shaws or Hannafords we use.

Brian

[Crinklz Kat]

The problem we have around here is that they simply don't have anyone to man the checkouts!  It's like everyone just said f'k it, I'm not working and collecting unemployment.   So when I hit up a supermarket, typically I only see 2 registers in operation.  Now, I also don't see huge lines either, but then I also prefer the self-checkout anyway.  But it's really bad going into a Walmart of Target and only seeing 3 registers available. 

[barnburner]

8 hours ago, DailyDi said:

I always get stuck behind the old lady who still pays by check.

OMG this is the worst, and It was even worse if I wanted to catch the next bus home which was arriving in like 5 minutes or Id have to wait an hour for the next bus. Its not a problem for me much anymore, I used to do a whole months worth of shopping because I hated take the bus every week, But I now have an electric bike and I go shopping every week, and with the bike, there is no need for me to rush around the store anymore. Today I did get stuck with a newb cashier who was slow on the change counting, 1 penny! ah ah ah! two pennies! ah ah ah! thats what it felt like to me lol

[square_duck]

ROFL.....Sheesh!!!! I wasn't expecting so many replies!!! Thanks guys! ?

7 hours ago, Wet Knight said:

Get up earlier, go shopping earlier and you'll be out of the shop before there's a queue

Now this makes WAAAAYYYY to much sense!!!! Gotta stop doing that!! ?

 

[Dubious]

5 hours ago, Crinklz Kat said:

The problem we have around here is that they simply don't have anyone to man the checkouts!  It's like everyone just said f'k it, I'm not working and collecting unemployment.   So when I hit up a supermarket, typically I only see 2 registers in operation.  Now, I also don't see huge lines either, but then I also prefer the self-checkout anyway.  But it's really bad going into a Walmart of Target and only seeing 3 registers available. 

They only open registers when its needed.
They also do other stuff, like restocking and light cleaning. 

and I bet they get minimum wage and there is new people all the time, as they find better jobs, or just quits. 

[rusty pins]

Last year at the start of the pandemic, a few local stores had early hours two mornings a week just for senior citizens, 7am to 9am so they could shop without everyone in the world around them, seniors being more suseptable to the virus.  I fit that age and would stop in there with my mask and see people with their teenage daughters and their work out cloths pushing their carts full of groceries with no masks.  Big signs on all the doors stating the special days and hours only for seniors to shop.  I hate it when stores make special rules and then don't enforce them.  It's nothing more than a marketing ploy to get people into the store to shop if they don't uphold those rules they promote.  If it was me I would have had someone at the door saying, "I'm sorry, this day and time is just for people 60 and over.  The store opens for all ages at 9am"  What got me is the people I saw violating the store rules had that attitude so many people in the pandemic have of, "I can do what I want and screw the people and their rules".  No consideration for anyone else.  Why were these maskless 35 year old's and their teenage daughters allowed in when there were specific hours set aside just for vulnerable seniors?  Because stores don't want to lose a customer.  I even brought it up to customer service loud enough to be overheard by many people that it's wrong to set aside a day and time just for seniors to feel safe shopping for their groceries and then let others in, especially without masks!  Stores could be a bit more customer friendly for sure, but the trend has been getting more towards saving on paying for employees and making the customer do the work of employees, and we customers pay for it!

Yeah, I'm old.  I was raised in the era before disposable diapers and wore cloth and plastic pants.  I remember when you went to the gas station and there was an actual attendant who rushed out, pumped you gas and washed your windshield and checked your oil.  You gave him the cash and he would run in and bring you back your change.  You also got S&H Green Stamps.  Now you have to pump your own gas unless you live in New Jersey, and then you are expected to tip the attendant who fills your gas tank.  I remember when you bought shoes, there was a salesman who measured your foot and brought you several styles to try on instead of you walking into Walmart and picking shoes off a shelf.  One of my first jobs was bagging groceries in a grocery store and carrying them out to the shopper's car for them.  Imagine many years later when bigger stores changed to that carousel of plastic bags at the end of the checkout line and the person who rang up your groceries was now the one who had to bag them as well.  Look at how many baggers were eliminated and wages saved by making the cashier do double duty by having to also bag up your groceries.  Anyone who get's behind a shopper with a huge cart full knows it now takes twice as long because the cashier has to bag everything (and the customer has to put each bag in their cart themselves) instead of a person bagging the items as they are being rung up by the cashier!  The stores don't care because they are saving money on employee salaries, and now there are self check outs where the customer has to scan and bag up their own groceries!  Why pay for more cashier wages or open more checkout lines when they can force their customers to do the jobs their hired employees are supposed to be doing?  And do we get any discount for doing the work of checking out and bagging our own groceries?  HELL NO!  This is what life has become over the past 40 or 50 years, and the sad part is as the older people die off to be replaced by younger people, those younger people will grow up knowing only that they are expected to do the work that businesses should be employing and paying their own people to do.  Sad and it's going to get much worse as time goes by.

[wetatnight 2]

it seams like many retailers never have enough cashiers or they don't open more check outs unless they absolutely have too

it drives me crazy 

[Rachel1]

If i have 1 or 2 items i some time's ask the one in front politely. is it ok to check out before you as i only have a few items and it won't  take long. Then i thank them if its ok.

[babymaggie]

I hate shopping in actual stores. However, I doubly hate it when I am in a hurry and everyone else is in my way and slow. When COVID hit, we did even more shopping online which is perfect for me. We only go into grocery stores for groceries, maybe Lowes, daddy's store. When we were in Hawaii, I had to go into box lunch, Disney Store, Hot Topic, and of course Barnes and Noble. Those stores are not crowded so I do okay. I could live in a bookstore. Sorry you got stuck in line and had to wait, it is very frustrating.

[drynot]

I guess we're a bit more fortunate here where I live.  Our checkout lines tend to have multiple cashiers on at most times.  If I have a bunch of items and someone comes up behind me with a few items I'll let them go ahead of me out of courtesy.  Why not eh?  I'm usually wearing a diaper so I'm not really in any rush to go anywhere

[WetDad]

I am starting to buy many staple items on line now. Diapers, coffee, snacks, etc. That way I spend less time on lines at the grocery store. Cheaper, too.

[beallucanb]

On 6/16/2021 at 9:07 AM, Dubious said:

I only shop at stores with self checkout, when I can.

So there is only 1 food store I avoid in my area.
Not been there this year.

Exactly, don't shop in stores without them.

one store I used has 6 rows of self checkout counters, and they are rarely used.

[rusty pins]

Personally I've always liked to shop in stores, including grocery stores.  I can pick out the freshest and nicest looking vegetables, also the marbled cuts of meat I want instead of having a store employee pick them out for me.  You know they will choose the oldest looking vegetables and fruit as well as the fattiest piece of meat, the stuff no in store shopper is going to select for themselves.  I like to compare products and brands in stores including socks, clothes, hardware and just about anything.  I often get ideas for dinners just walking through a grocery store and likewise, Christmas gifts by shopping at the malls or retail stores.  It doesn't put me out at all, I enjoy it and I can't see people being so busy, uptight or personally bothered by the "chore" to brush away shopping for Christmas gifts for friends or family.  My feeling is when you reduce everything to gift cards you spend 5 minutes on-line purchasing, it says you really don't care and are only doing it because people expect a Christmas gift.   You don't care enough to put any thought or personal feelings or effort in choosing a meaningful gift, you do the barest minimum you have to do to get it over with and you figure the person can the buy whatever they want for themselves.  Easy, done, over with and you can get back to spending your time on social media and Facebook.  Very impersonal and it reduces any holiday, especially Christmas as nothing more than a money exchange because people feel they are expected to do so.