Venting : store check out etiquette

[Shanna-like-Banana]

What is up with people and personal space ?

I was taught that store check out etiquette means you give the person ahead of you a "bubble". Ya know enough room to move about the counter, load the bags in their cart and pay. Akin to the space respected at a walk up ATM.

Several time just this week, I have had to directly ask the person in line behind me to move back when attempting to pay. They advance so far forward in the line that they are now standing in front of the pay station instead of me. Sorry but if you are close enough to make a comment about how cute my Disney credit card is, then you're too close. I mean a few times its almost close enough to be like standing shoulder to shoulder.

I don't want to open up my wallet and have another customer be so close that they can see directly into my wallet ( possibly see how much cash I do or don't have). Of course me being sassy as I am, have made scarcastic jokes to the cashier that it looks like my lucky day, that the next customer is paying for my order ( only when the person is so close that they are hovering over the credit card swipe )

Ok done venting

 

[robinb]

I accidentally encroached on someone a couple days ago. I was on autopilot when the woman in front of me moved out of the way toward the end of the checkout I moved to the cash register. THEN she came back to pay. Whoops! Sorry. Of course, the lady behind me had also moved up so I was stuck right next to her.

 

[jrmasm]

OP, I agree! Back it up people!!

If you or the front of your cart is more than halfway down the belt, you are too close!!

 

[PrincessJo]

Agreed! I had someone all up in my space recently at Target and I 'accidentally' dropped something so I could bend over and bump into her. She moved back... yeah that's right... get outta my space. If I can't turn around or bend over, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE!!

 

[clutter]

Watched a poor guy try to check out at the self serve at our local supermarket. They have the really long conveyer belt to the bag end, and if you go down there, you will get encroached on, especially if you don't have a cart. This day, it was a little girl, maybe 3 or so, that decided that she needed to scan in the bottle of juice she was drinking while the man in front of her was still scanning his items! The dad managed to stop her, but from then on, he and his dd stood almost to the scanner. Past the point where the first guy's groceries were, and he had to practically reach around them to finish up. Tried my patience just to watch. But I would have had no problem asking them very nicely to give me more room. This poor mad didn't. I wasn't even in the mix, and I got claustrophobic. That's close!

 

[krcit]

Ughhhh, one of my biggest pet peevs!! Some lady was practically in my pocket a few weeks ago. The check out girl actually asked her to back up!!

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thats hilarious!

Agreed! I had someone all up in my space recently at Target and I 'accidentally' dropped something so I could bend over and bump into her. She moved back... yeah that's right... get outta my space. If I can't turn around or bend over, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE!!

If someone is too close behind me (which seems to happen way too often!) i will look back at them and give them the "what the heck?" look, then move up. If they follow me and move up as well, thats when i ask them to back up. If there's no space in front of me to move up, I will shift to the side instead. Either way, they can clearly see im annoyed. I hope!

 

[SMD]

I feel the same way about the pharmacy line. Breathing down my neck while the tech reads off my prescriptions is not going to get you your drugs any faster. Plus, I might be contagious, which you won't find out until it's too late.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That is why I have the cart in behind me. It is a space blocker.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I as just going to say the same thing! The cart is my safe haven in line!

 

[jrmasm]

That is why I have the cart in behind me. It is a space blocker.

I as just going to say the same thing! The cart is my safe haven in line!

I can't picture this. How does the checker/bagger put your bags in the cart? Do they hand them to you?

 

[msmayor]

Its worse when the person behind you starts unloading on to the belt BEFORE I am done emptying my cart.

Uh...excuse me...do you SEE how much stuff I still have to put up on the belt? Wait until I put the 'spacer bar' up to end my order.

 

[anniemae]

I have encountered this at the grocery store. The guy behind me was so close and inspecting all my groceries. He kept looking up at the screen as the cashier was scanning my items to see how much I was spending. I was so annoyed I wanted to scream, "Back Up!! Why are my groceries so important to you!"

 

[cheerful chickadee]

this happens to me a lot and happened just this past sunday at wegmans. The lady behind me had her cart so close to my backside that I felt the wheels on my heels when I moved my foot. I turned around and gave her the eye hoping that would make her move back but nope, it didn't. My purse kept touching her cart and I could hear her do a heavy sigh every time that happened. I was like "really?" and to top it all off, there was no one behind her, no reason to be all up on me like that.

I also don't understand putting the cart behind me, how does the casher handle the bags? At wegmans they bag your items for you and put the bags in your cart for you.

 

[ZuZugal]

This happened to me at Sam's Club just this morning. I never say anything but this guy just got to me. Stood on my heels the ENTIRE time!!

He was literally breathing on the back of my neck when I was swiping my credit card so I had had enough. I whipped around and said "excuse me can I help you? I am checking out and you are in my personal space!"

He was quite embarrassed; seemed like a jittery guy the whole time the way he kept pacing and then standing directly behind me.

I think I looked like a B, but I really don't care. Maybe he'll think twice about standing directly behind someone next time.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

Someone was encroaching in my "checkout bubble" at Walmart yesterday
and the cashier told him "please step back, this customer isn't finished yet."
I was astounded that the cashier said anything but I appreciated it.
The man stepped back, sort of embarrassed. I think he was just preocuppied and didn't notice what he was doing. More and more common these days.

 

[htmom]

Lol. I work in retail and this is one thing that drives me nuts. I hate it when it happens to me so I am sure my guests feel the same way. We are not allowed to say anything but it stinks from the other side as well, often the person behind pushes their items up as well, and where I work it is like a long counter space so no conveyor. I feel bad asking over and over, is this item yours?

 

[MissMichigan]

This is one of, if not my biggest, pet peeves. I'm very people-claustrophobic, and it really just drives me up the wall. Not just at grocery stores, either. Any time people line up for anything, there will be people like this. I don't care if I'm waiting to scan items, pay, get on a ride, use a restroom...there is NO VALID REASON for me to be able to feel your breath on the back of my neck.

There's also no reason for your ponytail to slap me every time you turn your head, for me not to be able to lift my arm without elbowing you, or for the toes of your shoes to be scraping against the backs of my ankles.

I remember one time i was in a line for a ride at DLR, with my hand resting on the railing right next to me. Every time we moved up, the kid behind me would scoot up so close that he'd put his hand on top of mine. Parents never said a thing.

I'm also a user of the "cart buffer" method for the checkout line. I just keep the cart at the end of the belt/counter while i'm loading, and once i'm done and ready to move up, I pull it around in front of me.

 

[KBoopaloo]

Ugh. I hate this. I work in a place where we sell tickets and constantly have to deal with people passing their money to me OVER THE SHOULDER of the person in front of them while they are gathering up their own tickets and putting away their wallet, etc. So rude. I always smile brightly and say "Please wait just a second while I finish up with this visitor." Makes me crazy.

 

[DVC-Don]

I once was unloading my cart from the front and the lady in line behind me started unloading MY cart from the back. I had to ask her twice to back off. Her reply? "I'm in a hurry". Then when I was swipping my credit card she pushed by me and pulled my cart out of the isle.