Flipping woman

Gosh..... I'm amazed by the amount of frustration and stress expressed here. Don't particularly like shopping but I do try to select a time which might be quieter since time is what I often have nowadays. This is a bit of an eyeopener to me and I plan to pay more attention to what's going on ahead of me in future. I just kind of live and let live. People are just plain quirky and sometimes irritating. I must resolve not to be one of them!

I avoid one of our Aldi stores ever since one of the cashiers started scanning before I had unloaded trolley, he was huffing and puffing as he then had a pile of scanned items before I'd got the trolley down. Cashier then decided to push the goods into the trolley - result smashed eggs dripping onto floor and a split bag of flour needless to say he wasn't happy and couldn't continue to serve until things were cleaned up. I now go to another Aldi, staff far more pleasant

i shop online and have the grandaughters handy when it's delivered. hate shopping [any shopping] at the best of times and grocery shopping is the worst.

Mamacaz Like I said, DH and I are a pair of grumpy old gits. I understand people have difficulties.

Simple way of this not happening. ..Online shopping!!

I was twice allowed through in front of someone the other day, first in Home bargains then in Lidl, as I didn't have much. That was sweet, but the first guy allowed two ladies to go in front of him and he only had 4 things himself!

Scan and shop - 'nuff said...

I always shop alone since I lost DH. I put a card or a purse in my pocket. Easier to take it out than to open a handbag and dig for it. I move the things into the empty trolley as soon as I can and pack properly after I have paid. As I have no car now, I have to carry home everything I buy, so I don't buy a lot at a time, but if I did I would have one of those sets of trolley bags to put the different categories into and to avoid packing tins on top of cream cakes.

Well, I must say after 16 odd years in France I do find UK shopping on a par with road rage. I'm sure other GNers in the Hexagon will agree with me. This is the scenario at a French supermarket ..... Madame (sorry ladies, but men hardly ever do this) watches the contents of her shopping trolley (could feed a smaĺl 3rd world country for a month) being zapped, transfers, in a leisurely fashion, the groceries into multiple bags in her trolley, opens her handbag, ruffles through her cards like a Mississippi gambler, selects one....... then remembers she has various money-off vouchers, so they all need to be discussed, quibbled, finally accepted, and oh,hallelujah. .. the bill is processed. There then follows an intimate conversation if you are unfortunate enough to be behind a shopper who knows the cashier. And finally your groceries are being scanned by a stroppy check-out assistant who reminds you that the shop will close in one minute,so you will have to wait to be let out, and gives you the sort of glare that says......' Brits have no idea about a lunch hour'.
But it's even worse if the one in front of you is paying by cheque ( still a totally acceptable method of payment ). And ..... no-one in the queue, however long, complains ....... unless you are an expat!

KatyK: If someone is shopping on their own, at what stage would you expect them to have their money out ready to pay? I only ask because this is something I personally struggle do until last minute. If I get my purse out once I have put my shopping on the conveyor, I end up having to put it down (risky!) or back in my handbag while I bag things. By the time everything is bagged the cashier is waiting for me to pay. Is there better way i could do things that would avoid this last-minute grabbing of my purse, removing my debit card etc?

I've got Aldi off to a fine art. I have quite a few bottle carriers - not just for wine . All bottles including things like bleach, olive oil, milk cartons, hairspray etc., go into the bottom of the trolley first. I then drop my large hessian bags on top (they stand up on their own) so flattish packs of stuff like meat, cheese, cereal etc., go straight in the first one, leaving enough room at the top for squashable things like bread and salad. Hard veg goes in the bottom of the next one and anything like cat/dog food, cleaning stuff and loo roll gets thrown on top.

After paying....(ana ) I go to the shelf and lift out the hessian bags. I then pack all the bottles in the carriers which doesn't take long as everything else is out of the way.

Everything is then put in the car in the order I want DH to take it out at the other end

Our nearest Lidl is very good about opening extra tills, unlike Morrison's (don't get me started)!

I have found that by letting people with only a few items go in front of me, I have time to organise my shopping on the conveyor belt so packing is easier

Of course, there is the added benefit of them thinking what a lovely person you are!

We do shop and scan, put shopping straight in bags and pay I'm so glad we have it as I get really het up with the scenarios above.

The worst I have seen is a lady who piled her shopping onto the conveyor from a cardboard box. The cashier rang it all through. The bottom of the box fell through so she nipped outside for a trolley, realised she had left her purse in the car, went back to the car park, got the purse, got the trolley, stacked it up and eventually paid while the queue stood waiting!

Well count that as done! You don't need to move the bags again to pay. .
Just make sure after all this hassle that you don't completely forget your card PIN number.

Aldi and Lidl keep their prices down by minimising the number of checkout staff, so you are expected to put everything in your trolley and pack at the window shelf type area, not too difficult once you are told know. That way I can take my own time to pack as I want rather than hurtle it all into bags. I do agree with the surprised payers comments though, i generally tuck my bank card into the back pocket of my jeans as I unpack on to the conveyor, that way it is easily found and stuck into the machine. I only do fairly manageable shops now, if I need a massive one involving bulky stuff i order it online.

No mention of payment, I notice, Nelliemoser?

How to do your food shopping.

1 Take goods off the shelves and put into the trolley.
2 Take goods out of the trolley onto the belt.
3 Take goods off the belt and into your bags.
4 Put your filled bags back in the trolley.
5 Take your filled bags from trolley to car.
6 Take your empty trolley back to the stand and retrieve your pound coin.
7 Take the goods out of the car and into the house.
8 Take shopping out of the bags.
9 Put the goods into cupboards or fridges etc.
10 Put the bags back into the car or wherever you keep
them for next time.

If you try to arrange your goods neatly at every one of these stages no wonder you get stressed.
I just put my stuff in the trolley and my bags so that nothing squashable gets squashed.

This is how ALDI once mangaged to serve so quickly before every beggar else in town decided to shop there.

I was once at the unloading onto the belt stage and a fella started placing his goods onto the belt before I had finished loading , I asked him to stop but he didn't , so I moved it for him. He picked it up and put it back in his basket and stood their looking quite sheepish while I finished my transaction.

What riles me is people who get on a bus at same time every day then rummage through their bag for change for fare.

I find myself getting a bit edgy as I realise its time to start packing. I just can't keep up, and end up with triangular shaped bread, and everything squashed where I've thrown it in.

I have to admit to being slightly annoyed by those people who watch the groceries being scanned and don't start packing until everything has gone through and once they have packed then start searching for their purse or card!

I'm with you, harrigran - whether in Aldi or any supermarket.

Those people who have to pack every little thing before even thinking about paying really get on my nerves...

delta, I think in shops like Aldi and Lidl one is expected to chuck everything back into the trolley and pack afterwards at the tables beyond the tills. However, I have never seen a notice stating this, so how are we to know other than by being told by 'tutters' in the queue!

Aldi is designed for speed shopping, you park your trolley and scoop everything in as fast as humanly possible, the spaces for packing are quite good so no excuse. I always have my purse out and loose change in my hand so as not to inconvenience other shoppers.

I am with the pack it at my own speed and refuse to get riled brigade!