What do you hate the most about the grocery store?

Zanne · April 2003

I couldn't stand to not see any activity in this area. So...I got to thinking about my trip to the grocery store yesterday evening and decided to see if it was universal - Everybody Hates The Grocery Store.

I hate it because the store I go to boasts that they are "full service" and will offer to take your sacks to the car AND they have pick up for when it is raining.

You actually get a surly teenager who bags your stuff in wimpy plastic sacks without asking, and when you do ask for paper sacks, he gets even by balancing a dozen eggs on top of the bread, and masterminds it in such a way that the sack topples over in the back of the car. Result: broken eggs, smashed bread, and an unwillingness to ever ask for a paper sack again.

Your thoughts on hating grocery stores?

Zanne

PS My apologies if any of you are grocery store HR directors. I'm sure this isn't your store.

Leslie · April 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 04-22-03 AT 12:42PM (CST)[/font][p]My favorite grocery store has gotten on my nerves of late.

Last Thursday around 8 p.m. walked in and the shelves were empty - especially of the pounds of butter on sale. So I figured I'd get 'em, and went in at 10 a.m. Saturday - to the same empty butter shelves. Arrgh. xx(

Whatever · April 2003

The store I shop in recently eliminated the quick check counter with a clerk. Now if you have under 15 items, you are suppose to go the self-checkout area or wait on line forever for a personed checkout counter. Every time, I've done self checkout, a wrong price is rung up. Try getting that corrected if there is no one around.

Rockie · April 2003

I usually try to avoid the Super Wal-mart Hell grocery store, but I do have to go there on occasion to get some stuff that can't be found anywhere else.

I hate the various "crap" they have piled up to the rafters in the aisles and then having to contend with the people who don't observe the "rules of the aisle" - that is parking the damn cart in the middle of the aisle and then walking halfway down the aisle in search of whatever. Or when you have two people who know each other and block the entire aisle carrying on a conversation and then have the nerve to look offended when you say "excuse me", trying to get by.

Another thing is these little baby carts and carts that parents have with their kids hanging off all sides. Whoever invented these things needs to be shot. Not only do you have to contend with the parents, but then you have to avoid their offspring lying in the aisles, crash landing into your legs with their baby carts or grabbing at stuff on the shelves, spilling it into the aisles while hanging off the carts.

Lemme see what else...Oh yeah, when you get to the checkout counter and this person in front of you has been perusing all the scandle sheets and the magazines they are too cheap to buy while waiting for the total. They then proceed to pull out a bottomless purse and dig around for the ole checkbook, don't have a pen and then proceed to write out a check. They could have done this in the half hour they were waiting in line.

That's just my impression of Wal-Mart Hell. I usually try to go to other grocery stores where it's easier to buy "just groceries" and get in and out in a reasonable amount of time with a little sanity left over.

I always say there could be a nuclear holacaust and people would still be going to Wal-Mart for their "recreational mindless shopping" excursion.

Now..aren't you sorry you asked?

cowboy · May 2003

I REFUSE to shop at Wal-Mart, Super or otherwise!!!

HRsage · April 2003

Thank you for putting something here, I was getting a little surly myself without my daily dose of Hr de har har.

I hate going to the grocery store or even a warehouse store and dealing with people who don't have shopping cart etiquette. You know, the people who just leave their carts anywhere causing traffic jams. Or they go so slow that they are practically walking backwards and you can't get around them. Or what about when they have the free samples at the end of the aisles and people crowd around like they haven't eaten for days. Whew! That felt good, thanks.

Parabeagle · April 2003

Oh, this is an easy one for me: I hate people in the express checkout line who obviously think you need to have AT LEAST nine items, not a MAXIMUM of nine items and still get checked through. Second pet peeve is someone who (a) forgot their food club card; (b) their spouse has the bank card and she's over looking at the greeting cards "just-a-minute-I'll-run-get-her."

Hence, I have my groceries delivered now. Much less aggravation and it's worth the $7.95 charge.

Whatever · April 2003

You forget the person ahead of you on line who asks you to save their spot (not to mention push their cart) while they go get the item(s) they forgot.

Don D · April 2003

I love to 'get even' at grocery stores. Super K Mart, no wonder they're bankrupt, has these huge signs hanging from the ceiling proclaiming that they will open additional lines to accomodate a crowd. The store here one night had 3 lines open and at least 4 customers with full carts. I waited 30 minutes before asking a manager to open another line. He said no. I said he could pay somebody minimum wage to put all the crap in my cart back on the shelf, and walked out with the ice cream dripping through the cart.

Second is Kroger. They had this PMS woman with a bad hair day who exclaimed to me "Don't you see the 12 items sign right there above the register?" A line full of people glared at me. I told her to call a manager and she did. I counted the items and they came to 12. I told him he should fire her and also that he could restock all 12 of my items. He apologized as I walked past him. Then he headed for her....probably for a counseling session.

ray a · April 2003

Grocery stores? Not a problem. I always send my wife.x}>

ritaanz · April 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 04-22-03 AT 02:01PM (CST)[/font][p]Ahhhhhhhh, Wal-Mart the store we love to hate. My husband, recently, did the ultimate in getting even. He had a cart full of stuff. All kinds of items, socks, hardware, car parts, fishing lures, etc. As he was standing at the checkout, he noticed a new Road Atlas. The price on the tag hanging on the rack said $2.98. There was no price on the atlas, just numbers. When he got through the checkout, the last item to be rung up was the Raod Atlas at $9.98. When he pointed out the price on tag to the cashier, she said it was wrong and he would have to pay $9.98 if he wanted the atlas. He asked for a store manager. When the maanger arrived and was told of the situation, he walked over to the rack, removed the tag and told my husband, $9.98. My husband shook the manager's hand, thanked him for his time and told him where he could put the purchases laying on the checkout counter and left the store. The sweet taste of revenge....

We haven't been back since. I wonder if there's a picture of my husband on every cash register? x:o

Rockie · April 2003

Hee Hee....I love it. I think I will go this weekend, get upset at something, fill a cart full of frozen ice cream bars (the expensive ones!) and then quietly leave.

On the other hand.....it would be my luck to get the refrozen ones that I am sure they put back in the freezer case.

HCCADC · April 2003

It's Walmart's policy that it is the fault of the store (i.e. a wrong tag on the item, stand) that they give you the item for that price. You should have pushed that to the Manager. If you wrote to the Corporate office with the location of the store, I am sure they would have something to say about that! (I was a cashier for them for 5 yrs) Have a good day!

Sorry to be different from everyone, but I actually like to grocery shop. I like to look at all the different meals you can make. (Although, I am not a really good cook-I guess it is daydreaming for me!)

Sunny · April 2003

Hate the grocery store - how do I count the ways? Of all the necessary evils of life, I think grocery shopping is the worst. (Especially since I gave up ironing.)
First of all, I have a passionate hatred of Winn-Dixie. They recently instituted one of those discount card programs which was just an excuse to raise the prices on everything in the store then make you use your card to get the stuff at the original price and brag about how much they saved you. After having my blood pressure go up dangerously high after talking to the manager of the store and telling him what I thought, I just quit shopping there.

Then there are the folks who (unlike Don D.) line up at the 12-items-or-less counter with an entire cart-full - and the clerks who allow them to do it.

Of course, I'm a transplanted yankee and when I first moved south I went nuts waiting on the grocery store line while the clerks chatted and showed pictures of their grandchildren. I've mellowed, a little, but waiting on line still infuriates me.

And then - I'd better stop - I really hate the grocery store.

Yahoo · April 2003

My favorite - open up a "self-checkout" line where you don't have to worry about checkers with bad attitudes and then when you've rung up all of your items & swipe your credit card you get the message "please wait for a supervisor to check your ID." When I asked why they have to check my ID at the self-checkout I was told there have been too many thefts, so unless you stuff the thing with cash, you're waiting every time. So much for making the process quicker........

cebudragonlady · April 2003

Why does the customer ( me ) have to ask for paper bags ? A lot of markets don't even use paper bags. Instead we get this cheap plastic that doesn't hold much. Remember the old days when ice cream was put in paper "ice-cream bags"?

Chari

Human Resources Manager · April 2003

I hate how our local "warehouse" grocery chain has to rearange the entire contents of the store on a regular basis so that you can't just go straight to what you want, but have to walk past all of their "specials" just so you can find where they hid the @#$!% peanut butter this time.

Katjha · April 2003

Ah! The perils of hunting and gathering! For the most part, I enjoy my grocery shopping... I go about twice a month... with all of my coupons and cut-outs and rebate offers and shop like a demon for about two hours... Not only do I love the money I save, but I love to annoy the heck out of the under 18 check-out chic that couldn't make change without looking at the register to save her life... and half the time gets it wrong anyway!

Aside from the standard gripes: bad cart etiquette, screaming kids, squeeky carts and items that are either out of stock or ring up incorrectly, my worst peeve is getting to the checkout, finally, and then being totally ignored as the 17 year old check out girl carries on life's most important conversation with the bagger (bread on bottom, please) boy all about "this guy... and then this party... and then this test... and what a drag!" Argh! And what is even worse than not even getting a 'hello' is when they don't even give you the total... but just stand there slack-jawed waiting for you to magically know how much you are to pay.

Deep breath...!

Katrina Hutchins

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible..." ~ Walt Disney

annie1992 · April 2003

Maybe I'm over-stressed at work, but I refuse to get annoyed at the grocery store. I don't mind the slow elderly people, because I'll get old myself someday. I don't mind the teenagers gossiping, because I was a teenager and was the same way. I expect children to act like children.

When I'm waiting in line I file my nails or balance my checkbook. If the person in front of me in the express lane has 15 items instead of 10, I don't care. It's just not worth getting worked up over.

The one thing that DOES annoy me is going to buy some specific item which is on sale and highly advertised to find out that the sale started Monday morning and they were out of that item in 2 hours. Grrr, because I know the premise is to get you into the store and have you spend more money, which I probably will, but they should at least let me buy the original sale item too.

Annie

mikicini · April 2003

I rarely go to the grocery store any more. I shop on-line with Peapod.com which delivers to your door. It is serviced by Giant Food here in DC. THe produce and deli items are usually fresher than in the store. I can order 6 cans of kitty litter and 8 bags of cat food and other heavy items. The delivery guy brings it to my house and into my kitchen!!! I love to grocery shop now. ps. I can also buy other things there as well. The delivery is next day at a time that you pre-arrange ... you can be home or not, as you wish. Sorry for you if you do not have this kind of service in your town. What a time and money saver ... (very few impulse buys of unnecessary fatting items!)

Cindy Hanna · April 2003

Mikicini you are very lucky. I wish we had something like that in Wisconsin. I really hate grocery shopping. My husband and I go every week. I am pretty lucky my husband comes along.

Sally · April 2003

Okay--you all are going to hate me for this but I can't think of anything I hate about the grocery store.
I usually go early on a Saturday morning within the first hour they are open, so I have the day ahead of me to do whatever I want or to get my youngest son to a baseball game. I admit I'd rather sleep a little later, but getting up at 6 is sleeping in from my weekday schedule of getting up at 4:30.
I've shopped the same store for years, and have gotten to know the people who usually work Saturday mornings. The same young man has bagged my groceries for over a year, so I don't have to tell him what goes in plastic and what goes in paper. And even when he isn't at the check-out and I have to tell the bagger, that person happily does what I ask.
By going early, the aisles are fairly empty of other shoppers.
There have been a few times when the meat case hasn't been as fully stocked as it is later in the day, but there are still plenty of choices.
Hmmmm. Maybe that grocery chain would pay me to do a commercial for them?!?!

System · April 2003

Guess what Guys! I AM the the H.R. person for a grocery store and used to be the Customer Service trainer. Also,I started out here as a cashier and I have a few complaints about customers. Since I have worked in just about every department in my store this has been my experience; people get surly when they have to pull out their wallets. I have seen customers reduce cashiers to tears because they are having a bad day, I have had candy thrown at my head, a cashier had a cockroach thrown in her face, cashiers have been spit on, the list goes on and on. A cashier has to provide service to hundreds of people a day and keeping a pleasant attitude for each and everyone of them is an enormous task especially when the very first customer of the day screams at you because the bananas are too ripe, which is of course ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!!

On the flip side, I am apalled at bad customer service. For instance, if I see a Gocery clerk being asked where something is and vaguely pointing a finger in the general direction of the product, they receive a lecture from me pronto.

I am with all of you who hate Wal-Mart. We have one a block away from our house and due to convenience sake we go there alot. I have so consistently received terrible service there that I am now the hostile customer.

You know those ads for Wal-Mart where all the employees are smiling and happy and quick to help? Maybe we can get Wal-Mart for false advertising?

JAM · April 2003

>
> We have one a block away from our house and due to convenience sake we go there alot.

Is there anyone who doesn't have at least one a block away from their house?:)

globex · May 2003

How about the check out person who is talking on the phone to her (or his) date for the night? Or comparing how the date last night was? I sometimes tell them they should be doing this on their time, not the employers.

AprilShowers · April 2003

My job through high school was as a bagger at a grocery store! While I have some sympathy for cashiers, baggers and store managers who care about their jobs and actually try to work hard, the sad reality is that the majority of these employees really don't give a cats tail about you or your groceries. You should hear the things they say about US the shopper when We leave the store! (Not that most of you care after reading your posts)

I was always offended when customers would tell me not to squish their bread! I took pride in my "bagging" and was darn good at it if I do say so myself. It was one of the funnest jobs I ever had! But now that I am on the other end of the conveyor belt, I have a whole new understanding for why customers were as uptight as they were! When I shop I try to get in a stress free zone where I just focus on my list and all the wonderful food to choose from, grocery shopping can be a good experience, I promise!x:D

I will say one thing though I would much rather spend a couple hours in the grocery store than one minute in a MALL on the weekend!!!! xx(

April

sonny · April 2003

I'm with Sally. . don't mind it, often enjoy(probably the compulsive thing about marking things off lists). .go at off hours. I've been surprised and amused reading the posts here. Never knew so many people harbored all this anger at stores

. Also, liked Deez jumping in with the other side of the story. I will admit to a strong dislike of Walmart, unless it is 4 a.m. HOWEVER it is the only place I can find chocolate covered graham crackers (to which I readily admit my addiction) for 88 cents. You can ask me about my trip to Hallmark last night. .After looking for the sales people for 5 minutes I found the two teenage girls on the floor, under the counter. One was reading a fashion magazine, the other doing homework. It went all down hill from there

HS · April 2003

Grocery Store, what's that x:-/

Seriously, I buy certain items in Bulk at our local BJ's, order takeout quite frequently and go to the grocery store rarely. Hard when you live so far away from work that you just don't have the time to really "cook" anything. It's good that it's just me and my husband.

Trinity · April 2003

I have to say I have my days where it's a pain, but more the most part I don't mind the grocery store. My apartment builiding is right down the street from 3 grocery stores, but my favorite one is a big new HEB. I love it, because they always have fresh produce and a deli with great meat for sandwiches and meals. I also like the layout with big aisles and very clean shelves and have never had a problem with the cashiers or baggers being anything less than super friendly. In fact they always ask me if I found everything I needed and one time when I forgot an item, the bagger went back to get it while the girl finished ringing me out. They also always have all their lines open so I never have to wait that long. So all in all, I really have an enjoyable expereince there. Now the Wal-mart is definitely another story. Being a minister's wife, I have to shop Wal-mart, because they are the cheapest around, but I HATE having to try and get out of that place, because they NEVER have enough lines open.
I prefer the super Target for service, but Wal-mart has a cheaper and bigger variety of the things I need, so I guess I am stuck with them..which is probably the same story for others as well.

WOCO Frank · April 2003

I like grocery shopping. It's a good thing, because my wife is lousy at it.

Sally · April 2003

I will admit to having complaints about the grocery chain where I used to shop--and that is the operative phrase. I no longer shop there for many of the same complaints already listed in this posting. Plus I would frequently find perishables still on the shelf after their expiration date. My husband still stops in there to pick up ocassional items because it is just a couple of blocks from our house. A coule of years ago he ran in one morning to pick up a package of lunchmeat. When he got it home I saw it was three weeks past the sell by date. I immediately took it back to the store and was told I'd have to come back an hour later to talk with the manager about it if I wanted my money back. They offered me a replacement--which I declined. I tossed the package on the counter and informed the cashier I didn't want the money that badly, and their old food and poor customer service is the very reason why I stopped shopping there!

What do you hate the most about the grocery store?

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