Minor things that bother you

[DenverBrian]

I love how everyone's solution is to just leave out information.  That's not exactly a solution.

Is it a minor thing that bothers you?

[kirbykart]

 People who walk too slow.

[roadman65]

I love how everyone's solution is to just leave out information.  That's not exactly a solution.

Is it a minor thing that bothers you?

It's just like the fast talking mumble at the end of a car ad on radio.

[mgk920]

I love how everyone's solution is to just leave out information.  That's not exactly a solution.

Is it a minor thing that bothers you?

It's just like the fast talking mumble at the end of a car ad on radio.

Or ads where the disclaimers take up more time and/or space then the pitch itself.

Mike

[GaryV]

I love how everyone's solution is to just leave out information.  That's not exactly a solution.

Is it a minor thing that bothers you?

It's just like the fast talking mumble at the end of a car ad on radio.

Or ads where the disclaimers take up more time and/or space then the pitch itself.

Mike

You mean like most pharmacological ads? Especially in insert magazines like Parade. They show a picture of happy healthy people, presumably after using their product. Then the next 2 pages are disclaimers and warnings. "This stuff is great unless it kills you."

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Kwik Trip is headquartered in La Crosse, WI, so I would expect them to have a fairly heavy presence in southeastern Minnesota (ie, Rochester, MN).

They did have a longtime legacy presence in southeastern Minnesota in small cities like Rushford, Spring Valley, and Harmony among others prior to their rapid expansion into the rest of the state. Only 10 years ago or so they had all of about two Twin Cities regional stores (I-494/County 6 in Plymouth, and I-35/County 19 in Stacy, which is on the northern fringe of the metro.). They've remained exclusively outer suburban despite their heavy advertising presence and partnerships with most major local sports teams.

[thenetwork]

I love how everyone's solution is to just leave out information.  That's not exactly a solution.

Is it a minor thing that bothers you?

It’s just like the fast talking mumble at the end of a car ad on radio.

Or ads where the disclaimers take up more time and/or space then the pitch itself.

Mike

You mean like most pharmacological ads? Especially in insert magazines like Parade. They show a picture of happy healthy people, presumably after using their product. Then the next 2 pages are disclaimers and warnings. "This stuff is great unless it kills you."

I love it when they say, "Do NOT take.Dammitol if you are allergic to Dammitol". 

If you never took it, how do you know?  If you HAVE taken it before....Then, DUH!!

[kphoger]

People who walk too slow.

People who walk too slowly right down the middle of the aisle.  And then stop for twenty seconds while they figure out which way they're supposed to go.

I love it when they say, "Do NOT take.Dammitol if you are allergic to Dammitol". 

If you never took it, how do you know?  If you HAVE taken it before....Then, DUH!!

I used to think that, and every so often I hear someone joke about it.  But then I got to thinking...

Imagine you had some sort of condition that caused excruciating pain, dizziness to the point of occasionally losing your balance, and an uncontrollable urge to insert an entire can of Vienna sausages up your nose (the contents, not the steel container itself).  After two years of this condition, not only are you on the verge of suicide because you can't seem to catch a break from the pain and dizziness, but you're also Jewish–which means inserting Vienna sausages into any bodily orifice is a huge religious no-no.  Now imagine there's a drug that relieves all of your symptoms except an occasional, mild dizziness if you don't keep your blood sugar level high enough.  The only downside is that you're allergic to this medication:  it gives you nausea and diarrhea, a mild case of itchy skin, and a slight feeling of breathlessness.  But every so often, you decide that the tradeoff is worth it.  You'll take the nausea, itchiness, and breathlessness–because that's better than the pain, the dizziness, and violating the Mosaic Law.

[abefroman329]

I used to think that, and every so often I hear someone joke about it.  But then I got to thinking...

Imagine you had some sort of condition that caused excruciating pain, dizziness to the point of occasionally losing your balance, and an uncontrollable urge to insert an entire can of Vienna sausages up your nose (the contents, not the steel container itself).  After two years of this condition, not only are you on the verge of suicide because you can't seem to catch a break from the pain and dizziness, but you're also Jewish–which means inserting Vienna sausages into any bodily orifice is a huge religious no-no.  Now imagine there's a drug that relieves all of your symptoms except an occasional, mild dizziness if you don't keep your blood sugar level high enough.  The only downside is that you're allergic to this medication:  it gives you nausea and diarrhea, a mild case of itchy skin, and a slight feeling of breathlessness.  But every so often, you decide that the tradeoff is worth it.  You'll take the nausea, itchiness, and breathlessness–because that's better than the pain, the dizziness, and violating the Mosaic Law.

Well, there's also a non-zero chance that the side effects will fade over time (when I started taking Zoloft three years ago, I had the same ED/lack of desire that MMM is having with his meds, but, uh, not anymore).

[MultiMillionMiler]

Actually desire rampantly increased but it gave me performance issues, which is much more of a conflict than if it lowered libido as well.

[JayhawkCO]

People who walk too slow.

People who walk too slowly right down the middle of the aisle.  And then stop for twenty seconds while they figure out which way they're supposed to go.

There's a special place in hell for the people who walk into the grocery store with a cart and then immediately stop to determine which direction they're headed next. Also, those who stop at the top of an escalator.

[kphoger]

There's a special place in hell for the people who walk into the grocery store with a cart and then immediately stop to determine which direction they're headed next. Also, those who stop at the top of an escalator.

I always walk well past the entrance, sometimes halfway into the produce section of the store, before stopping–just to make sure I'm not in anyone's way.  My wife has gotten used to it.

[JoePCool14]

I could probably write an entire essay on irritating habits I saw customers at my store do. Some were done by several people. In other cases, it was just one person.

- Leaving carts wherever they want. In front of the door, in the front of the checkout, two feet from the cart corral, etc.

- Leaving frozen or refrigerated items on random shelves, which if not caught quickly, meant the food had to be trashed.

- Leaving the checkout to grab another item while they're checking out and the lines are full behind them.

- If a customer was having their groceries loaded into their car–extremely common where I worked–sometimes their car would be a train wreck of a mess and difficult to get the bags in without them toppling over or crushing whatever they already had.

- Talking on the phone while checking out without even so much as acknowledging me or my bagger at all.

I still enjoyed my job and took most of these issues in stride.

[kphoger]

- Leaving frozen or refrigerated items on random shelves, which if not caught quickly, meant the food had to be trashed.

*ugh*  Would they want someone coming to their house, grabbing a refrigerated item, and then leaving it on the porch in the sun for a few hours?

[US 89]

People who walk too slow.

People who walk too slowly right down the middle of the aisle.  And then stop for twenty seconds while they figure out which way they're supposed to go.

There's a special place in hell for the people who walk into the grocery store with a cart and then immediately stop to determine which direction they're headed next. Also, those who stop at the top of an escalator.

Yep. Also those who stop right at the top of a ski lift.

[JoePCool14]

- Leaving frozen or refrigerated items on random shelves, which if not caught quickly, meant the food had to be trashed.

*ugh*  Would they want someone coming to their house, grabbing a refrigerated item, and then leaving it on the porch in the sun for a few hours?

Exactly. And it was really sad too, because they would leave things on the candy racks right next to us. Literally, if they just would have handed it to us, we would've put it back for them, no problem.

[JoePCool14]

People who walk too slow.

People who walk too slowly right down the middle of the aisle.  And then stop for twenty seconds while they figure out which way they're supposed to go.

There's a special place in hell for the people who walk into the grocery store with a cart and then immediately stop to determine which direction they're headed next. Also, those who stop at the top of an escalator.

Yep. Also those who stop right at the top of a ski lift.

This one is probably the worst because people will get hurt if you do this. So dangerous. I always try to make a concerted effort to move away from the lift, including pulling people with me away too.

[abefroman329]

Last Thursday, as I was rushing to board our flight home from London, I was on an escalator and the woman standing in front of me just stopped dead in her tracks at the bottom of the escalator.  I ran straight into her, as I had no choice, and the people behind me would have run into me if she hadn't moved.

I don't know if she was unfamiliar with escalators or had special needs, or something else entirely, but it's not something I've seen an adult do before.

[JayhawkCO]

Last Thursday, as I was rushing to board our flight home from London, I was on an escalator and the woman standing in front of me just stopped dead in her tracks at the bottom of the escalator.  I ran straight into her, as I had no choice, and the people behind me would have run into me if she hadn't moved.

I don't know if she was unfamiliar with escalators or had special needs, or something else entirely, but it's not something I've seen an adult do before.

I actively make sure I have several stairs worth of room from strangers on escalators for this very reason (at least in front of me, which I can control).

[kphoger]

- Leaving frozen or refrigerated items on random shelves, which if not caught quickly, meant the food had to be trashed.

*ugh*  Would they want someone coming to their house, grabbing a refrigerated item, and then leaving it on the porch in the sun for a few hours?

Exactly. And it was really sad too, because they would leave things on the candy racks right next to us. Literally, if they just would have handed it to us, we would've put it back for them, no problem.

I'm sure they do that because they're too embarrassed or ashamed to hand it to you:  it avoids the direct interaction entirely.

[Scott5114]

- Leaving the checkout to grab another item while they're checking out and the lines are full behind them.

Someone leaving the counter mid-transaction resulted in their transaction being voided and them having to go through the line again when I was a cashier. I don't know how practicable that would be in a grocery store, but I think it's reasonable to assume the customer leaving kills the transaction–what if they never come back?

When I realize I'm missing an item mid-transaction, I'll finish the transaction, move my cart somewhere unobtrusive, then purchase the item as a separate transaction in self-checkout or the express lane. (Or, more frequently, shrug and add it as item #1 on next week's list, if it's not a must-have.)

[J N Winkler]

Someone leaving the counter mid-transaction resulted in their transaction being voided and them having to go through the line again when I was a cashier. I don't know how practicable that would be in a grocery store, but I think it's reasonable to assume the customer leaving kills the transaction–what if they never come back?

When I realize I'm missing an item mid-transaction, I'll finish the transaction, move my cart somewhere unobtrusive, then purchase the item as a separate transaction in self-checkout or the express lane. (Or, more frequently, shrug and add it as item #1 on next week's list, if it's not a must-have.)

I suspect customers get more grace at a grocery store (which some then abuse) because unpurchased merchandise has to be returned to the shelves and there is a hassle factor associated with doing so.  (I likewise handle forgotten items by buying them in a separate transaction if they absolutely must be included in that week's shop.)

[thenetwork]

People who walk too slow.

People who walk too slowly right down the middle of the aisle.  And then stop for twenty seconds while they figure out which way they're supposed to go.

There's a special place in hell for the people who walk into the grocery store with a cart and then immediately stop to determine which direction they're headed next.

You can also thank the grocery store for placing the stand with disinfectant wipes for the carts and COVID masks right next to the IN door.  The germaphobes will do everything right at the door blocking others.

[webny99]

Someone leaving the counter mid-transaction resulted in their transaction being voided and them having to go through the line again when I was a cashier. I don't know how practicable that would be in a grocery store, but I think it's reasonable to assume the customer leaving kills the transaction–what if they never come back?

When I realize I'm missing an item mid-transaction, I'll finish the transaction, move my cart somewhere unobtrusive, then purchase the item as a separate transaction in self-checkout or the express lane. (Or, more frequently, shrug and add it as item #1 on next week's list, if it's not a must-have.)

I suspect customers get more grace at a grocery store (which some then abuse) because unpurchased merchandise has to be returned to the shelves and there is a hassle factor associated with doing so.  (I likewise handle forgotten items by buying them in a separate transaction if they absolutely must be included in that week's shop.)

I can think of at least a couple times when this happened to me when shopping with my parent(s) as a kid. One time was due to accidentally picking the wrong size (or brand?) of an item that was on a really good sale, and another time was due to forgetting one of the free items on one of those "buy meat product x, get v, w, y, and z for free" deals. In both cases, I stayed at the checkout with our other items. I can't remember for sure how the cashier handled the transaction, but it was rather awkward and embarrassing to say the least.

(Anyone from NY can probably guess what grocery store this occurred at: the BOGO capital of the world (aka Tops))

[Scott5114]

It's definitely more acceptable if there's one person there to continue the transaction while the other goes to retrieve the item. At least that way there's no risk the person will just leave the store without completing the purchase or anything, and there's an obvious reason the line is held up rather than the cashier having to stand there awkwardly not doing anything and not make eye contact with the angry customers in line behind them.

About the closest I've been to this situation was one time the cashier discovered one of my items was already open and asked me if I wanted a different one. I said yes and ran off to grab one. When I got back the cashier said he had been planning to have the sacker go get it for me but I had taken off before he could suggest that. Whoops. (Having the sacker do such runs seems like it would be the best solution–they probably know the layout of the store better than the customer and thus could retrieve the item more quickly, and if the cashier runs out of items to scan they could busy themselves with sacking the groceries while they wait for the sacker to return.)