Supermarket Etiquette

Is there such a thing as Supermarket Etiquette? If not, I think there needs to be.

There are some people out there who should go grocery shopping perhaps five minutes after the supermarket opens…or maybe some other time when they can have the place to themselves. These are the people who are seemingly oblivious that there are other people traversing the aisles as well shopping for sustenance.

In my humble opinion, I think some things should be observed in order to facilitate easy shopping flow and low blood pressure levels. 🙂

1. The Road Code – When pushing a trolley you stick to a side of the aisle. Think of it as driving and observe the same “road rules”. Some countries drive on the left and others on the right. I’m not aware of any country where it’s the norm to drive your vehicle down the middle of the road.

aisle blocker

1. Tailgating – If you are pushing a trolley behind of someone, realise the onus is on you to avoid colliding into the back of the hapless shopper. Until some technological advance occurs which allows us to have a 360 degree view, we’re just going to have to assume that the person facing forward can’t see behind them and thus be able to move out of your way to avoid being clipped on the ankle by your trolley. So back up, swerve and allow a few feet of space between yourself and the shopper in front of you. No one likes a trolley tailgater.

2. The Ghost Trolley – This is the cart that seems to be without an owner. It is at a stand still in the supermarket with items inside. Usually, this cart can be seen standing right in front of the section you’re trying to get to. You don’t want to be accused of touching someone’s “stuff”, so you approach slowly…hoping that by the time you get to the section, the owner will have returned and pushed it out of your way. The closer you get, the more you look around to see if anyone is nearby who could possibly own the items in the trolley.

Groceries hanging out in the Ghost Trolley

*The Ghost Trolley has also been sighted in the cash queue (fully loaded) with no owner in sight. I usually wait to see if the groceries are going to pay for themselves and just how long the queue is going to get before someone calls the Ghost busters. 🙂

1. The Conscientious Consumer – This is the shopper who gives (usually unsolicited) advice to you while you’re trying to decide whether or not you really need this item or while you’re reading the label. They have no idea of your dietary needs or health situation but will proceed to tell you why you should or should not get that item. Of course if they’re telling you that you can get it cheaper at “X,Y,Z” then we welcome such information. 😉

2. The T.G.I. (Trolley Goods Inspector) – We’ve all encountered one of these shoppers. They usually hang out at the cash queue but can be found in front of the frozen goods section, toiletries, baked goods or meandering through various aisles. The T.G.I. looks at your trolley with such intensity you wonder if they’re judging you based on your eating habits or if you have some prohibited item placed carelessly among your purchases. No one likes a “Nosy Nelly”…keep it moving!

3. Wonky Wheel – This one is for the supermarkets. What IS IT with the wonky wheeled trolleys? Please fix these trolleys or put them out of commission. You don’t see us driving on the road with a tire that is going in a direction opposite to the others so why should we try to push one of these trolleys with an errant wheel? Nothing is more annoying than picking up the only available trolley only to find that when you push straight ahead it veers off to one side like a car that needs alignment. The Wonky Wheel trolley is a terror to push and is a good reason not to “tailgate”. Being clipped by one of these beasts is not fun.

Come on supermarkets! With all the business we give you on a daily basis, the least you could do is have those wonky wheeled trolleys fixed.

Should we all utilise a little supermarket etiquette…grocery shopping can be a much more rewarding, stress-free and incident-free experience. 😀