That was strange

6fsn

I'm at Meijer heading to the checkout with ~10 things.  There is 1 lane open and a bunch of self checkout.  The open lane has someone in line and I get there next.  I hate self checkout and the produce in my cart made it an even worse option.

Woman gets in line behind me and says "I have a lot of stuff.  Why don't you use the self checkout?"  She wasn't nasty or anything, but I didn't want to so I just said "No thank you" and waited in line.

I can't decide if I was a b!tch here or not. 

GBCK

I'd be annoyed...

why didn't she use the stupid self check out?

TheMrsC23

She was *behind* you?  As in she'd checkout after you? 

So she was telling you to get out of line so she'd be further up?  That's annoying.

I don't use self checkout unless I'm alone.  Or if DH is with me and can bag.

Wzz

ew. so excuse you, she has so much stuff and wants you to move out of her way so she can get out faster? no. i would be much less nice about it in my head than you are.

Wzz

i love self checkout. i love the supermarkets here that have hand-held scanners so i can scan and bag up my groceries as i shop, and then pay at self checkout. it's not for everyone, though.

6fsn

Yes, MrsC.  She was behind me.  It would have saved her ~10 mins, but would have cost me probably 20.  I'm still a little shocked she asked me. 

TheMrsC23

Now I'm totally on board with having a scanner to take around the store and then only having to bag and pay.

Meijer's self checkout is a pain because the scales on the bagging area suck and always tell you you're not putting your stuff on it, when you are or to remove the foreign object in the bagging area.  Also, their coupon depository sucks.  It never recognizes my coupons and if it's too full, it takes a lot of blowing (<--not dirty) or other methods to get the damn coupon in there and recognized.  AND their computers are always not recognizing my coupons and then someone has to come over.  Pain in the ass.

tawillers

You were not a btch.

DH has the exact same feelings as Bill Burr when it comes to the self checkout.

NSFW - Language

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxINJzqzn4w

TheMrsC23

Hee @ that video Taw.

And I totally get what he's saying about customer service calls.  "Everybody's sorry, but no one can do anything."  Trust me, we as CS people know.  When I say, "I understand your frustration", I really do.  LOL

GBCK

the meijer self checkout is just a timesuck waiting to happen.

I mean, I hit the 'call employee' button when I have a problem and I watch the damn employees turn off the alert at their station and never come over.

and it's a PITA to buy liquor because you have to wait for the employee to come and figure out how to enter it.

Wzz

the self checkout where you actually have to hand scan your items and coupons are often a waste of time. each item has to scan and be placed in a way that the baggage area recognizes the weight. if it sn't placed properly, it takes a moment - then you get an error, "help is on the way". tres annoying. i try not to use it when i have too many coupons because it takes FOR-E-VER to respond.

the hand held scanners? brilliant. i especially love getting randomly audited at the register because i get to prove i am not a shoplifter. it's stupid, but i never want them to get rid of this service.

fmbyo

Um. No. You were not a b!tch. I can't even imagine telling the person in front of me where to take their groceries. It's none of her damn business, and the fact that you didn't cop an attitude  - well it's more than I would have done

DixieNormous330

That's not strange, 6, that's just plain rude of her.

*Barbie*

I probably would have said, "why don't YOU use self checkout?"

i use self checkout if it's open rather than chance dealing with a checkout person who has no clue wtf they're doing... at least i know that my stuff will be bagged correctly. 

Wzz

this reminds me of zsazsa'a baking powder story.

DG1

You weren't rude, but I probably would have felt compelled to explain (totally unnecessarily). 

Zzilla's self checkout sounds awesome. Ours seem to be much better than the others, though - I rarely have problems with the scales recognizing things properly. Probably because the midwest is the last to get anything, so we have the benefit of not having to deal with early adopter problems - the kinks get worked out before we get anything.

I do tend to use self-checkout (as long as I don't have too much stuff, or booze or Plan B or anything else that requires ID) - cashiers are OK, generally, but the PEOPLE in front of you in line doing stupid sht like writing checks drives me insane. And my former couponing self has all but given up on them. It's sad, and I'm sure I'm paying a fortune more than I need to because I don't take the time to deal with the coupons.

Wzz

that is sad, DG. i remember your posts about couponing. it is time consuming, though. i won't lie about that. i try and keep it simple nowadays.

what is worse than people writing checks, which doesn't happen that often, is the person paying at self checkout with exact change. ugh. if you are going to take forever because you're stupid and don't have a firm grasp on being modern, then go to the cashier and do the transaction in the traditional way.

entropicbeauty

Maybe if the situation was reversed and you had 3 cart fulls of groceries and this person only had 14 items....I could see them seeing if you'd let them go first...but how impatient do you have to be to want someone with fewer items to get out of your way?!

GBCK

coupons are a giant time suck.

I love paying w/ exact change--but generally if I"m doing that, it's because I had 1 item and I already had the amt (including tax) in my head and counted out before I got into line.

VarunaTT

I look through the coupons every weekend, but rarely find anything I will use or that is cheaper how I buy it.  I've pretty much given up.  I can almost guarantee my envelope right now only has shampoo, hair dye and deodorant in it, b/c that seems to be the only ones I ever use.

She was rude, 6.  

I turned around the other day and told  a woman and her husband to back up their cart.  They'd already hit me twice with it, trying to crowd me up at the front.  I said, "You're not going to get through any faster, so could you please back up and stop hitting me with your cart?"  The googly eyes would've been funny if I hadn't been so annoyed.  Please, like you didn't know you were crowding and hitting me with your damn cart.  I thought of WW, b/c it seems like we've had a convo about that.

TheMrsC23

The more I think about this, the more I'm annoyed.

When I'm at the store and I get in line, I'm farking *happy* if I get behind someone with just a few items.  There's nothing worse than EVERY.farking.line being 3 deep with people that have a cart full of groceries. 

That woman needed to eff the hell off.  She was the btch.

6fsn

If the kids are in a good mood and I don't have some place to be I will let someone with fewer items go through. 

I like the ecoupons.  I do scan the ads then try to make a list around that.  Frankly, a lot of my shopping is now around milk prices.  Aldi had it for $1.89 so dinners are basic this week. 

V- I've had people load the belt while I'm still loading it.  I just don't get it.  How big of a hurry do you have to be in?  and how much time do they think it saves?

tawillers

$1.89 for milk?!?!  Man, we're paying 3.29 here for 1%.

6fsn

I know Taw!  Obviously not organic, but still $1.89 for whole (we still use that)

VarunaTT

I was excited to see $2.90 for milk @ Sam's.  We don't use it very much (probably a gallon lasts us right at 3 weeks), but I know you ladies go through it.

tawillers

We go through 5 gallons a week.  We should just buy a cow.

6fsn

We were paying $3+ when we were in BFE.  We go through 3-4 a week depending on what I cook. 

Wzz

wow. we go through *maybe* a gallon of milk a week, and i have been lucky that i have been using reward points to buy it. a gallon is about $3.75 or so here. they sometimes last longer than a week, because the kid is in daycare and gets milk there. i can get away with a half gallon a week most times.

SDNY

You know what's also kind of awkward? When you're at the store and the only lane open is the express lane but you clearly have more items than the designated number, so you get in that line and then feel the evil stares from everyone. I hate that so much. 

AuntFlo

I'm starting to really love Aldi's.   I just wish they more convenient for me to get to.  The one closest to me is in a heavy traffic area and is a huge pain to get to.

6fsn

I love Aldi, but I always plan on needing to go somewhere else too.  Things that I rarely find cheaper elsewhere- cheese and baking things.  I love their string cheese.  They also have really good appetizer things. 

The produce is strange because it's such big bags, but they are dirt cheap.  I find myself buying 10 lbs of potatoes instead of 5 then trying to figure out how to use them up. 

Meijer and Aldi are my stores of choice right now.  Kroger isn't very convenient and Giant Eagle just seems to always be a little more expensive.