Checkout frustration

[abstibus]

Does anyone else belong to that unlucky group of shoppers who always finish up at the slowest supermarket till?
You know what I mean - the cashier does the job efficiently, shoppers pack their bags in a very leisurely way, and then, oh my goodness - they have to pay! Then they start hunting in their pockets, purses, handbags for the money, and count it out as slowly as possible, using all their pennies or asking their shopping partner to hunt for theirs.
Or in Lidl - they stand and wait for their bags to be packed.
The checkout operators must want to strangle them sometimes - I know I do.

[Craftypig]

Nobody should have to queue when it comes to spending money. I dont have the answers to get around having to queue, but yes it is frustrating.

[ChuckFickens]

I find it's little old ladies that are best at this. they stand there waiting until everything has been put through the till and the cashier says "that will be £19.45 please" and then look shocked that they have to pay and spend ages looking for their purse..... get your bloody purse out ready, you must have been in a shop enough times by now you know the routine!

I think they are the same group of people that get caught out by the fact red traffic lights change to green and take ages to sort themselves out and pull through the lights..... here's a handy hint, red traffic lights will pretty much always turn green, this shouldn't come as a surprise, you should be ready for it!

[starone]

Often! I stood behind a young couple once who had both relied on the other to bring their credit card. Neither had - the whole transaction had to be declared null and void, and the manager had to be involved. Another time I stood behind a woman who had brought the wrong card. Apparently it was due for renewal and she had cut up the wrong card. She stood there crying and being comforted by her friend while everyone else stood there fuming. Poor woman - it could happen to anyone, especially if I am stood behind in the queue.

[sometimesit]

This used to get to me - but I have managed to tune it out and switch off.
One thing that really does get me is how leisurely the person in front is then you are rushed through fast. Also people behind pushing/nudging you with their trolly. (just 2 example of a long list). But I just wait till the drama is over and try and keep happy. :)

[factor-fiction]

Yes. Usually the shopper seems to be caught by surprise when asked to pay and then hunts around for a purse. And then there's a hunt for the Nectar/Clubcard?

Whwn I'm trying to buy a train ticket and my train is due any minute the person in front always starts buying a season ticket or is asking all sorts of questions about the times of connections and the best routes.

I don't have much luck at airports either. I usually have a frustratingly long wait behing long a queue at the check-in desk, so this year we paid for Express check-in passes. What a waste of money. There was a 10 minute queue at the express desk as the couple in front seemed to have all sorts of queries and the attendant took them away somewhere to sort it out. Meanwhile there was no queue at all at the standard check-in and people behind us were leaving the express queue to check in normally.

[starone]

P.S. for chuck. I am a little old lady and I always have my card ready to pay, even anxious to pay. I resent being classed as incompetent as well as old. There are plenty of young inefficient ones about. (see above) And I know you didn't mean it personally chuck. You just didn't realise I was behind you in this queue.

[snags]

The alternative is to use the Self Service checkouts... and what a brilliant idea they are: hoards of people aimlessly standing about waiting for help with item scanning from the lone checkout assistant. At times like these shoplifting can seem a viable option...

[starone]

On-line shopping is good. No queues and (up to now) no problems. And delivery when you say. Brilliant.

[Frank97]

The ones that get me riled are the people who go straight to the till in my local shop for say fags or whatever then as soon as they have been rung into the till walk off to get other things from the shop while I'm left standing there waiting for them to come back!

[factor-fiction]

Yes- I often use self-check out but there always seems to be a problem of "unexpected item in bagging area" because I find it so awkward to open their bags to insert the items. And of course if you are buying alcohol someone needs to come over to authorise it.

[ChuckFickens]

It was of course a huge generalisation on my part SBone.... I realise not everyone in any group is the same :)

Although little old ladies do seem to have the monopoly on thinking that smack bang in the middle of a shop doorway is a good place to stand and have a chat (the last couple of people I came across doing this I politely asked them "is this a private doorway, or can anyone use it")

[B00]

"The ones that get me riled are the people who go straight to the till in my local shop for say fags or whatever then as soon as they have been rung into the till walk off to get other things from the shop while I'm left standing there waiting for them to come back! "

I have been known, on numerous occasions to void the transaction when customers wander off like that. They either queue up again, or bog off elsewhere, either way, makes no odds to me.

[snags]

"unexpected item in bagging area"

That'll be the dismembered head of the aforementioned lone checkout assistant...

[mickrog]

and then theres this........Thats £22 .71p please..says the checkout girl
would you like the odd 71 pence says the customer in front of me as she hands over a £20 note
then minutes are spent counting and searching for small change
I shouldnt go shopping ...it makes me grumpy lol
.....going off topic for a moment theres the people squeezing the bread for freshness....hey people have gotta eat that

[vulcan]

I must remember that Chuck, standing in doorways is one of my pet hates.I have recently come across a variation of this, people standing at the top of an escalator in shops and not moving before the next person coming up cannons into them.

[AB Editor]

I take perverse pleasure in paying with exact change.

[snags]

Oh right... you're the annoying lady veg holding the rest of us up then... just get your damn debit card out and save the shrapnel for the homeless guy outside...

[mickrog]

lol......so it was you Ed that caused me to miss my train last week

what is worse imo is when the bill is £34.68 for example and the customer hands over say 2 £20 notes and then starts looking for what they call the odd 68pence

[starone]

I reiterate - on-line shopping is the answer. No hassle, no people irritating you and you still get the special offers etc. The extra cost for delivery is well worth it. And someone else has to walk round doing the 'picking' and no doubt getting their ankles bashed by other shoppers and their trolleys. What more could you want?

[mickrog]

starbuckone......you are right and no screaming kids either..lol