Supermarket Checkouts

26 Mar 2006

Why oh why do I always get it so wrong? confused

You know how it starts. You've just finished shopping and deciding which checkout queue to join.
As well as checking out for the obvious (number of people in the queue, number of items they have) I also look out for:
Old people - who seem to have all the time in the world and like to stop for a chat
People with lots of fruit and veg - all that weighing takes time
People with tokens in there hand- all them 1p off a can of beans tokens are so slow to process
People who've picked up loads of cheap reduced stuff - you just know those bar-codes aren't going to scan and they'll have to be keyed in manually
So I think I've made the right choice as I get in line behind a professional looking woman, in her mid thirties, with lots of tinned stuff and ready meals. :thumbup:
All seems to be going well until she decides to pay by cheque. WTF??? mad

The 12 year old boy behind the counter looked at it like he'd never even seen one before.
The sign lights up for him to get someone to help him. Then there's lots of writing of numbers and printing.
Whilst this is happening I look over at the adjacent queue:
The old dear has finished discussing the weather and packing her little trolley on wheels
The couple with loads of veg have had everything weighed and collected their tokens for schools
The other woman who was choosing her queue at the same time as me is now looking over rather smugly as she's just paying for her shopping :kick:
So now I've had my little rant, here's what I want to know:
1. Is it just me?
2. What signs do you look out for and what should I be avoiding?
3. How the fluck still pays for shopping with cheques and why? dunno

26 Mar 2006

I always look at the cashier - If they look like they'll struggle with basic requests or are moving at the speed of a dead tortoise, I avoid them like the plague.
Little old women/cheques/vouchers are a doddle to the competent super wonders who woman at least two of the checkouts in our local store, so I tend to go to them regardless of the queue size, as I know they'll cope no matter who is in line and will do it quickly as well.
Jas
XXX

26 Mar 2006

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
1. Is it just me?

Yes :giggle:

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
2. What signs do you look out for and what should I be avoiding?

Dunno but I'm avoiding the queue's you're in :giggle:
drinkies

26 Mar 2006

HLB
You stay at home, with a nice mug of coffee or similar and send DB instead lol

Problem solved :lol:
Ok runing and hiding
bolt

26 Mar 2006

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
Why oh why do I always get it so wrong?
You know how it starts. You've just finished shopping and deciding which checkout queue to join.
As well as checking out for the obvious (number of people in the queue, number of items they have) I also look out for:
Old people - who seem to have all the time in the world and like to stop for a chat
People with lots of fruit and veg - all that weighing takes time
People with tokens in there hand - all them 1p off a can of beans tokens are so slow to process
People who've picked up loads of cheap reduced stuff - you just know those bar-codes aren't going to scan and they'll have to be keyed in manually
So I think I've made the right choice as I get in line behind a professional looking woman, in her mid thirties, with lots of tinned stuff and ready meals. :thumbup:
All seems to be going well until she decides to pay by cheque. WTF???
The 12 year old boy behind the counter looked at it like he'd never even seen one before.
The sign lights up for him to get someone to help him. Then there's lots of writing of numbers and printing.
Whilst this is happening I look over at the adjacent queue:
The old dear has finished discussing the weather and packing her little trolley on wheels
The couple with loads of veg have had everything weighed and collected their tokens for schools
The other woman who was choosing her queue at the same time as me is now looking over rather smugly as she's just paying for her shopping :kick:
So now I've had my little rant, here's what I want to know:
1. Is it just me? Ranting about OAP >>> YES I am one
2. What signs do you look out for and what should I be avoiding? an MT aisle maybe :?:
3. How the fluck still pays for shopping with cheques and why?
Now this one you have me beat on whats a Cheque :?:

Phredd >>>> a very modern and hip OAP. biggrin

26 Mar 2006

Quote by Dawn_Mids
Dunno but I'm avoiding the queue's you're in :giggle:

Remind me to get you a jar of marmite next time I go shopping wink

Quote by Sarah
HLB
You stay at home, with a nice mug of coffee or similar and send DB instead
Problem solved :lol:

Genius!!!
Now why didn't I think of that? :thumbup:

26 Mar 2006

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
Remind me to get you a jar of marmite next time I go shopping

I guess I asked for that :doh:
:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

26 Mar 2006

i tend to go for the one with the cute female behind the till

26 Mar 2006

I think some folk still use cheques to buy themselves a couple of three days extra time between presenting it and getting it cashed, I guess its more prevalant near the end of the month, just prior to pay day dunno

I did read a bit where the Co-Op are experiamenting with finger print recognition as a means of payment, if they work it the same way that the fingerprint recognition works on the time machines at work, then you will have to register your print which I then assume is linked to your debit card thereby making payment with the touch of a finger in an instant. Don't know how secure the thing is and I'm not sure it would be any quicker.
We use the self service tills when we can as these still scare a few folk, and the queues are normally shorter....(thats numbers of people and not a height restiction)

26 Mar 2006

the worst is when the OAP's forget their pin number and u hear 'i will have to fone my son or daughter for them to remind me wot it is', then they forget the number they are supposed to be ringing, then when they do get in touch with their daughter/son they go thru the polites of the day (weather and how they are feeling etc) and forget wot they are ringing them for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So no HLB it is not u, i have been there as well and wot was supposed to be a quick run to the shop turned out to b an hours adventure for a loaf and a couple of pints of milk
love n licks
chesty
xxxx

26 Mar 2006

Quote by chesty_bird
the worst is when the OAP's forget their pin number and u hear 'i will have to fone my son or daughter for them to remind me wot it is', then they forget the number they are supposed to be ringing, then when they do get in touch with their daughter/son they go thru the polites of the day (weather and how they are feeling etc) and forget wot they are ringing them for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So no HLB it is not u, i have been there as well and wot was supposed to be a quick run to the shop turned out to b an hours adventure for a loaf and a couple of pints of milk
love n licks
chesty
xxxx

It is not just the OAP's = its young mums as well who can not remember wether its the Family Credit number, the Charge Card number or the Cashpoint Card number.
Not knocking a particular group, just pointing out the we (US) the genral public are all alike; lol

phredd = Thank you all I get a free travel pass soon wink

26 Mar 2006

I shop online :thumbup: would recommend it to anyone. As I work full time, my weekends are for ME not to wait in shopping cues :shock:

26 Mar 2006

Quote by hisandhers
I shop online :thumbup: would recommend it to anyone. As I work full time, my weekends are for ME not to wait in shopping cues :shock:

i dont recommend that...did it twice from 2 different supermarkets and both times the food that i got from there was rubbish. Meat that was full of fat, dairy products that ran out in a couple of days, cans full of dents and a broken bottle of whiskey.....so for me both of my online shopping sprees were not good ones
love n licks
jax
xx

26 Mar 2006

cashier say , so I give them note then 10 pence coin. They look at me I've already said you gave me basic maths seems to be beyond him so he gives me , looking at the 10p. as if it were poison.
Is it just me, or does this happen to others,

26 Mar 2006

it`s the idiots who dump their shopping on the conveyor belt then wander off and come back 5 mins later with another armfull of stuff that wind us up!!!!!!!!!! mad

:x :x
or the ones who havent got enough to pay and have to run off to the cashpoint!!!!! :x
the till roll normally runs out just as we get there too............

26 Mar 2006

Quote by chesty_bird
I shop online :thumbup: would recommend it to anyone. As I work full time, my weekends are for ME not to wait in shopping cues :shock:

i dont recommend that...did it twice from 2 different supermarkets and both times the food that i got from there was rubbish. Meat that was full of fat, dairy products that ran out in a couple of days, cans full of dents and a broken bottle of whiskey.....so for me both of my online shopping sprees were not good ones
love n licks
jax
xx
Never had no probs - meat always lean, fruit & veg fresh. Suppose it depends on the supermarket

26 Mar 2006

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
Why oh why do I always get it so wrong?
You know how it starts. You've just finished shopping and deciding which checkout queue to join.
As well as checking out for the obvious (number of people in the queue, number of items they have) I also look out for:
Old people - who seem to have all the time in the world and like to stop for a chat
People with lots of fruit and veg - all that weighing takes time
People with tokens in there hand - all them 1p off a can of beans tokens are so slow to process
People who've picked up loads of cheap reduced stuff - you just know those bar-codes aren't going to scan and they'll have to be keyed in manually
So I think I've made the right choice as I get in line behind a professional looking woman, in her mid thirties, with lots of tinned stuff and ready meals. :thumbup:
All seems to be going well until she decides to pay by cheque. WTF???
The 12 year old boy behind the counter looked at it like he'd never even seen one before.
The sign lights up for him to get someone to help him. Then there's lots of writing of numbers and printing.
Whilst this is happening I look over at the adjacent queue:
The old dear has finished discussing the weather and packing her little trolley on wheels
The couple with loads of veg have had everything weighed and collected their tokens for schools
The other woman who was choosing her queue at the same time as me is now looking over rather smugly as she's just paying for her shopping :kick:
So now I've had my little rant, here's what I want to know:
1. Is it just me?
2. What signs do you look out for and what should I be avoiding?
3. How the fluck still pays for shopping with cheques and why?

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: ........ :bounce:
Excellent post.....No, it's not just you....I can relate to all the above...!!
My mates shop online and I can see its attraction....but I love shopping..!!
CC..... cool

26 Mar 2006

Quote by davej
I think some folk still use cheques to buy themselves a couple of three days extra time between presenting it and getting it cashed, I guess its more prevalant near the end of the month, just prior to pay day
I did read a bit where the Co-Op are experiamenting with finger print recognition as a means of payment, if they work it the same way that the fingerprint recognition works on the time machines at work, then you will have to register your print which I then assume is linked to your debit card thereby making payment with the touch of a finger in an instant. Don't know how secure the thing is and I'm not sure it would be any quicker.
We use the self service tills when we can as these still scare a few folk, and the queues are normally shorter....(thats numbers of people and not a height restiction)

Oooh.......you must have an interesting job - DaveJ Timetraveller extrodinare!! wink

Les x

26 Mar 2006

HLB - you should thank God the till roll didnt run out as well !!!

26 Mar 2006

Also look out for anyone with cloths or alcohol cus most supermarkets seem to supply the divices to remove the tags at a rate of 1 in 10 tills.
I have just used the self service tills twice in the last 2 days, total waste of time. Everyone takes ages some codes dont scan, if you bu accohol por a CD an assistant has to come anyway to de-tag it. In Asda where I went today people couldent find thier change the notes anyway as it comes out low down and away from where you put the money in.
As for online shopping it matters not about the shop but more about who packs your shopping, the nice older lady or the sweaty man in a rush to get home as its his last order of the day lol

Years ago Ben Elton did an excellent stand up piece on the ques at post office counters, this thread reminded me of that. Anyone ever seen it?
Mr Tweeky

26 Mar 2006

Bing back FINE FARE says I along with Green Shield stamps lol

phredd

26 Mar 2006

Quote by Medic_1
Bing back FINE FARE says I along with Green Shield stamps
phredd

I'll agree with that one.......FIneFare held fantastic christmas parties for the children of staff members........and Santa always turned up to them as well!
They also used to let Staff members take home any damaged tins and sesonal goods......always remember my dad coming home with bag fulls of chocolate hearts after Valentines day..........wasn't always good though......remember being forced to eat some tinned orange segments that I said "tasted funny" .....then my mam ate hers and ran to checkk the tin.........it was damaged and the fruit was off...........I'd ate mine as she thought I was just being "awkward" and didn't want fruit for dessert.
Les x

27 Mar 2006

Quote by Medic_1
Bing back FINE FARE says I along with Green Shield stamps
phredd

:laughabove: :laughabove: :laughabove: :laughabove:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
nice one phredd. i think ive still got a couple of half filled stamp books somewhere :lol:
mr and mrs dpg xxxx

27 Mar 2006

Quote by HornyLittleBlonde
Old people - who seem to have all the time in the world and like to stop for a chat
People with lots of fruit and veg - all that weighing takes time
People with tokens in there hand - all them 1p off a can of beans tokens are so slow to process
People who've picked up loads of cheap reduced stuff - you just know those bar-codes aren't going to scan and they'll have to be keyed in manually
Who the fluck still pays for shopping with cheques and why?

I thought I heard some loud tutting coming behind from me in the queue............but i was too busy writing a cheque to look up and see who it was ................................ redface

:lol:

27 Mar 2006

Quote by Nomad_Soul

Old people - who seem to have all the time in the world and like to stop for a chat
People with lots of fruit and veg - all that weighing takes time
People with tokens in there hand - all them 1p off a can of beans tokens are so slow to process
People who've picked up loads of cheap reduced stuff - you just know those bar-codes aren't going to scan and they'll have to be keyed in manually
Who the fluck still pays for shopping with cheques and why?

I thought I heard some loud tutting coming behind from me in the queue............but i was too busy writing a cheque to look up and see who it was ................................ redface

:lol:
It was HLB with her loaded trolley at the ""baskets only"" check out.
:lol:
Phredd

27 Mar 2006

I once picked up hump

the cashier at our local supermarket - good thing there was no one behind me as they wouldn't have got served :twisted:

27 Mar 2006

HLB , if you want to exact a bit of revenge on the OAP then slip a packet of three ribbed and some baby oil into her basket or on the conveyor belt and watch her and the shop assistants face for shock and amusement. PRICELESS lol

27 Mar 2006

one of lifes frustrations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i get it wrong in asda,morrisons,kwik save aldi ,waitrose .... etc etc the queue is small when i join it soon grows while the ones i walk past go very quickly,its been frustrating me for years and i am only just coming to terms with it...though hanging around in supermarkets does have its bonus' wink

27 Mar 2006

Quote by mick_r
HLB , if you want to exact a bit of revenge on the OAP then slip a packet of three ribbed and some baby oil into her basket or on the conveyor belt and watch her and the shop assistants face for shock and amusement. PRICELESS lol

Don't forget the squirty cream and bananas :twisted:

28 Mar 2006

Sorry but the worse place on this planet has to be B & Q
No trollies in the carpark, so you go in looking for one, you ask a person in a bright ornage shirt , who replies, sorry I dont deal with trollies, you ask, who might ??? emmmmm dont know try customer service (long q, so forget that, will carry what I need
You cant find what your looking for, so you hunt for another memeber in an orange shirt (only 2 per superstore) this time they tell you they are tools so they cant help with paint or gardening.
you make your way to the checkout (only 2 out of 8 are working) 1 cant find the barcode for something and the other is getting grief cos someones card wont swipe
you get outside thinking lucky escape only to be acosted by a kid flogging dvd's
tend to have a ruk everytime i go, give me Wickes anyday