Bad Habits of the Modern Grocery Shopper

I'm a relatively sane person, but crowds drive me crazy. I don't like people walking or driving closely behind me and I tend to have panic attacks in situations like this one.





I thought when I became a full-time writer, my issues with grocery stores would end. I could shop when nobody was around...no crowds, no problem. Nothing makes me happier than an aisle completely free of people.



Is it just me? It feels like I can breathe. But here's what I've learned: When you shop after work or on weekends, shoppers do stupid things like blocking aisles. When you shop when nobody else is there, the aisles still aren't free. Do you know why?



Yep, shelf stockers. They don't move out of your way, either. So good luck getting to the cheese curls. But lately, something else has been bugging me. It happens at checkout. You know how you put all of your items on the conveyor belt, then put up a divider so that the next person can load his groceries? Some people don't put the divider up. 



I get that. That's not me, though. It isn't my pet peeve, either. That's the cashier's problem to work out. What bugs me lately are the people who start unloading their groceries onto the conveyor belt WHILE YOU'RE STILL UNLOADING.



At that point, you have a choice, you can say, "Excuse me, but I still have some things to unload." At which point you end up in an altercation similar to the one the woman details here. (Warning: it has profanity.)

Or you could avoid confrontation and play a grocery store version of Tetris to stack your groceries on top of each other without crushing anything.




I'm sure the person probably doesn't realize she's jumping the gun. (It's always been a "she" so far, sorry to say.) I just don't know how to handle it any more than I know how to handle the person who stands in front of the butter section for a half an hour, trying to pick out the perfect tub of butter.




What are your top grocery shopping pet peeves?