The supermarket check-out enigma.

[molly]

And as for the purse/wallet/card palaver. I can feel people blushing as they read........

[Kaz]

In this town you are lucky if the customers don't have a five minute chat with the cashier after the shopping is packed!!! A delay with paying is the least of your worries I don't generally mind, as long as I'm not in a hurry......

[victor]

here a cashier is just as likely to carry on chatting to the person in front of you even though they have been finished with

best i have had is when i went for a haircut ,the usual girl beckoned me on in ,pointed to a chair ,then walked on out ,for her coffee break !! 10 min and she was back

[JoM]

My pet bug bear in the supermarket is when people stand in a long queue, get served, then start searching through their bag for the money/card to pay with. Why don't they get the money/card ready to hand when they are standing waiting their turn? Grrrr

That annoys me too

[Paddypix]

My pet bug bear in the supermarket is when people stand in a long queue, get served, then start searching through their bag for the money/card to pay with. Why don't they get the money/card ready to hand when they are standing waiting their turn? Grrrr

Oh yesssssssss! Then they spend another minute or so putting the change or card safely away in their wallet and stowing the wallet in their bag, sometimes even have a chat with the checkout person if they happen to know them.

My Tesco doesn't do the random thing WM, but then I do my own packing as I like to make the unpacking at home as easy as possible.

[Aggers]

I haven't noticed what you say, Frank.

We always load up the conveyor belt with all the frozen goods first, so the Mrs A can
put them into her insulated bag, then general grocery, then fruit and veg, and so on,
so that similar goods can go in the appropriate bag.

However, at Aldi, where the goods go through the till at a terrific speed, Mrs A has to
try to get them into the trolley as fast as possible, and we then have to bag them up later.

I think that Aldi's method is the main reason why their prices are so competitive.

[Paddypix]

I've noticed in Lidl that it's awkward to pack the bags because the desk is so short so I just pack everything back into the trolley and then pack the bags at the side. Maybe that's why their prices are so good too. I'm always very conscious of people in the queue behind me having to wait while I faff around with packing so it's easier that way.

[JoM]

At Aldi I just put everything back in the trolley, I would even think of attempting to pack at the till and I don't think that they want you to anyway because it's all about getting the customers through quickly.

[manxie]

I would rather have a friendly checkout operator who chats to each customer and me too.

I am rarely in a rush these days since retired , and even enjoy a mooch at leisure round the aisles.

I also pack my trolley neat when shopping and never heavy items on fruit/veg/cooked meats etc.

Likewise I load the heavy onto the belt first and all in order similar items alltogether then softer items and lastly cakes/bread.

I use the big Bags that most supermarkets sell, Tesco ones are 50p, so I open up two bags on the checkout and two more in the trolley and ask that
the operator goes a bit slower please so I can pack in the required order, the rest of the bags I hang on the hook ready as required.

I too chat to the operator usually first remark is take it easy I can't pack very fast lol if femail I also try to say something especially nice to them, the men too I am fair. I have found it makes them more amenable, usually getting a smile and I always make a point to thank them very much. They put up with a lot of rude customers as I well know.

Manxie xx

[Aggers]

I've noticed that lately the staff at Supermarkets are getting more customer-friendly.

No doubt they have been told to do so because of the current state of the market.

Every little helps !