What's new

Amateur Hour at the Grocery Store

I cook, I shop. Every day, really.

And then there are those who do "something with food" on Christmas and Thanksgiving. The rest of the year it is microwaveable stuff and takeout and bowls of cereal.

Easy to spot amateurs this time of year. They inconsiderately block the grocery aisles. They are on their phones. They are clutching lists and looking as lost as a rabbit at the dog pound. They stare blankly at displays of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. And my favorite--- they buy frozen 20 pound turkeys the night before the holiday. (If this sounds like you, remember, most Chinese restaurants will be open Thursday.)

:)
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
On phones. Blocking aisles. Stopping in the middle of an aisle. Find this every day at whole foods!

Inattention? Two days ago the express line ran the length of the front. The few other registers had. Long lines. But on circling around and thru the back of the store i see one lane in the middle of the pack with one person in line their stuff on the belt. No closed sign up. I double and triple check no one else is in that line. A guy waiting in a super long line literally at the next register gives me the stink eye but i go for the opening. I even saved .02 cents on prime and out i go. It had to be the fabled "regular" cook line mac was dreaming about?
 

Billski

Here I am, 1st again.
(If this sounds like you, remember, most Chinese restaurants will be open Thursday.)

:)[/QUOTE]

Good joke , Mac. They will be open on Thursday.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
People block the aisles? That must be universal...or world wide.

We already have everything we need for Thanksgiving...just have to cook it.

I am NOT going to the store again.
 
Isnt every hour amateur hour at the grocery store? To be fair though, it isnt just limited to the grocery store. I was at Wal-Mart today and it was the same: lots of people who seem completely oblivious to the fact that they arent the only person in the world with things to do and places to be.
That is one thing that I always liked when I worked nights: I could do all my shopping after work at 3am when no one else was at the stores.
 

shavefan

I’m not a fan
I go during the week around mid-afternoon. No issues. Same with Wally World, Home Depot, etc...

I dread it if I need to run out on the weekend.
 
Mac -
I feel your pain. I, too, love to shop for and cook food. I buy my meat at the meat store and get my vegetables from a farm share or a vegetable store. Like you, I have a problem with the behavior of infidels at the grocery store. Bear with me; this may take a while.

One of the most obnoxious, detestable, unforgivable behaviors at the grocery store involves people who actually push their carts into you while you are waiting in line. I have no idea why they do this... do they think this will get them through the line faster??? This has happened to me half a dozen times. A person pushes the cart into me - I say nothing and move up a little - and then the person pushes the cart into me again!!! The real problem is the cart pusher is usually a little old lady, so I can't invite her to step outside or spit in her eye or some other manly act.

But I have a solution, and I invite you to join me. I call it "taking the charge." You know, how in the NBA some 6'8" muscular physical specimen will flop to the ground when another player barely touches him? That's what I intend to do the next time one of these pushy old ladies rams me with her cart. I'm going down. And I'm going down loud. The moment the cart brushes me, I'll wave my arms and crash to the ground. On the way down, I'll grab the magazine and breath mint display, pulling it all down with me. With my back on the ground, I'll look up and say, "Lady, why did you do that to me?"

Please join me. The people who foul up the grocery store must be stopped.
 

cleanshaved

I’m stumped
The silly season is such a wonderful thing.
I always try and avoid going near any shops in the week leading up to the holiday. I've never paid much attention to others shopping habits, I just hate the crowds. Finding a car park should not be the highlight of your day.
No mater how hard I try, there is always the last minute thing I need to pick up. Fresh cream is not fresh if picked up a week out. :)
For that sort of stuff, I try to go a the crack of dawn.
 
This is why I hate shopping at Walmart and why I won't be caught dead in a grocery store when its busy. I don't like crowds, I don't like rudeness, I don't like children behaving badly all of which are in abundance during popular shopping hours. A lot of meat comes from a couple of butchers I patronize, cold cuts & cheese, etc. come from a German deli, there's a few bakeries I like and when I can I try to go to an Asian grocery story for the vegetables. That said, sometimes I have to bite the bullet and go Safeway or Co-Op and I can usually time it right by going an hour before closing on a Friday night. They've got the shelves freshly stocked for the Saturday AM rush, usually very quite with no waiting for a cashier and best no children.

And my favorite--- they buy frozen 20 pound turkeys the night before the holiday.
A little off topic but this made me think of something that's a Canadian staple during the holidays. Stuart McLean was a raconteur who in typical Canuck fashion delivered his funny stories with a fairly dry tone but, at least in my opinion, very artfully and with class.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
Mac -
I feel your pain. I, too, love to shop for and cook food. I buy my meat at the meat store and get my vegetables from a farm share or a vegetable store. Like you, I have a problem with the behavior of infidels at the grocery store. Bear with me; this may take a while.

One of the most obnoxious, detestable, unforgivable behaviors at the grocery store involves people who actually push their carts into you while you are waiting in line. I have no idea why they do this... do they think this will get them through the line faster??? This has happened to me half a dozen times. A person pushes the cart into me - I say nothing and move up a little - and then the person pushes the cart into me again!!! The real problem is the cart pusher is usually a little old lady, so I can't invite her to step outside or spit in her eye or some other manly act.

But I have a solution, and I invite you to join me. I call it "taking the charge." You know, how in the NBA some 6'8" muscular physical specimen will flop to the ground when another player barely touches him? That's what I intend to do the next time one of these pushy old ladies rams me with her cart. I'm going down. And I'm going down loud. The moment the cart brushes me, I'll wave my arms and crash to the ground. On the way down, I'll grab the magazine and breath mint display, pulling it all down with me. With my back on the ground, I'll look up and say, "Lady, why did you do that to me?"

Please join me. The people who foul up the grocery store must be stopped.

I love that! Although I've never had a cart pushed in to me, next time I trip over someone's cart they have left out in the middle of the aisle I may try that.

It doesn't matter what time of day, or what day of week, there are always people who block the whole aisle while talking or leave their cart on one side of the aisle and block the rest of it while looking at the shelves.

People...if you can't see what you are looking for from across the aisle move your cart over next to what you are looking for and leave a passage way for other people.

Now that I'm getting grey...I've been thinking about getting a squeeze bulb bicycle horn to take and put on the shopping cart when I'm in the store. I'll also carry a cane to whack off anyone who doesn't like it.

 
The wife and i were very surprised yesterday at the local tom thumb... it was around 9pm-ish and the store was nearly empty.
 
Mac -
I feel your pain. I, too, love to shop for and cook food. I buy my meat at the meat store and get my vegetables from a farm share or a vegetable store. Like you, I have a problem with the behavior of infidels at the grocery store. Bear with me; this may take a while.

One of the most obnoxious, detestable, unforgivable behaviors at the grocery store involves people who actually push their carts into you while you are waiting in line. I have no idea why they do this... do they think this will get them through the line faster??? This has happened to me half a dozen times. A person pushes the cart into me - I say nothing and move up a little - and then the person pushes the cart into me again!!! The real problem is the cart pusher is usually a little old lady, so I can't invite her to step outside or spit in her eye or some other manly act.

But I have a solution, and I invite you to join me. I call it "taking the charge." You know, how in the NBA some 6'8" muscular physical specimen will flop to the ground when another player barely touches him? That's what I intend to do the next time one of these pushy old ladies rams me with her cart. I'm going down. And I'm going down loud. The moment the cart brushes me, I'll wave my arms and crash to the ground. On the way down, I'll grab the magazine and breath mint display, pulling it all down with me. With my back on the ground, I'll look up and say, "Lady, why did you do that to me?"

Please join me. The people who foul up the grocery store must be stopped.

That's probably the same person that will tailgate you in heavy traffic outside the store. "Ma'am, those were my ankles you mashed with your cart, and now you've bumped into my fender??"

Yes, next time I might flop!
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Glad I’m not those people. I don’t even pretend to enjoy cooking. That’s why I don’t do it. Notice I said “pretend to enjoy cooking” not “pretend to know how to cook”. Oh, I can cook. I have common sense and I can follow directions. I’ve watched my parents in the kitchen my whole life. I know things. But doing it,...making a meal for myself, let alone other people...hell naw!

And grocery shopping?? Just going places and shopping in general is the worst thing imaginable IMO. If I can’t buy it online then my shopping consists of going to the one store I KNOW has what I want, buying it, and leaving ASAP. Don’t even care about sales or the price. Not going to drive all over trying to find a “good deal”. Nope. Get it and get out.
 
Hmm. Well, I like food shopping. No, not at a Kroger or Meijer, but smaller stores, specialty markets. Know a lot of the employees by name.

Yes, I have been the victim of the cart shove. In a loud command voice I inform the individual an assault on my person will not make the line move faster.
 
This is why I hate shopping at Walmart and why I won't be caught dead in a grocery store when its busy. I don't like crowds, I don't like rudeness, I don't like children behaving badly all of which are in abundance during popular shopping hours. A lot of meat comes from a couple of butchers I patronize, cold cuts & cheese, etc. come from a German deli, there's a few bakeries I like and when I can I try to go to an Asian grocery story for the vegetables. That said, sometimes I have to bite the bullet and go Safeway or Co-Op and I can usually time it right by going an hour before closing on a Friday night. They've got the shelves freshly stocked for the Saturday AM rush, usually very quite with no waiting for a cashier and best no children.


A little off topic but this made me think of something that's a Canadian staple during the holidays. Stuart McLean was a raconteur who in typical Canuck fashion delivered his funny stories with a fairly dry tone but, at least in my opinion, very artfully and with class.

Friday night is the way to go.

f81eac48ceb85ac3312fa53696a1cff3.jpg
 
Friday night is the worst night for the local Walmart. At lease people aren't rude. Okay, so there were those two ladies who got into a fist fight over who was going to be first in line, but that was on Black Friday (and they were the only two at the cash register). Usually, though, everyone is polite, but it's just crowded. It was so bad last week, I'm thinking of just shopping online.
 
Top Bottom