Grocery Store Etiquette: 10 Signs You're A Bad Customer & 10 That Show You're A Respectful One
Grocery Store Etiquette: 10 Signs You're A Bad Customer & 10 That Show You're A Respectful One
Be A Supermarket Hero And Not A Grocery Grouch
Whether you’re shopping on an empty stomach or you’re in a rush at lunchtime, there’s no excuse to be a rude customer. We’ve all experienced the aisle hoggers and the produce squeezers, but it’s nice when we bump our carts into a polite shopper. If we all shopped with some etiquette, our trip to the supermarket would be a pleasant experience for everyone.
1. Blocking The Aisles
Shoppers need to treat their shopping carts more like cars. Ignoring the rules of the road causes cart crashes and traffic jams. People think they can park their carts wherever they please, creating obstacle courses in the aisles. Don’t wander away from your cart, keep it close, and stick to one side of the aisle.
2. Shopping At Closing Time
Those people who start browsing the shelves ten minutes before closing time have no respect for employees. They have a life outside of the supermarket too! If you’re desperate for a last-minute run into the shop, don’t dawdle, and apologize to the cashier for keeping them past closing time.
3. Hogging The Shelf
Those customers who loiter in the aisles and create awkward shelf blockages are being ignorant. If you run into your friend, don’t have your conversation while blocking the shelves. If you need to read the ingredients on a product label, do so out of the way of other customers.
Marie-Michèle Bouchard on Unsplash
4. Full Carts Through The Express Lane
C’mon people, don’t take a week’s worth of groceries through the lane with a 12-item limit! The express lane is there for shoppers who need to run in and out quickly or only need a few items. You’re not helping the flow and you’re not impressing the people waiting for you to check out.
5. Snacking Before Purchasing
Unless you’re at Costco, snacking while shopping is a big no-no. Cashiers don’t want to handle your half-eaten muffin and it’s technically stealing if you haven’t purchased the item yet. Here’s a tip–– don’t shop on an empty stomach. It’ll also save you from overbuying if you’re not hungry.
gold touch nutrition on Unsplash
6. Handling All The Produce
Sometimes you need to give an avocado a gentle squeeze to know if it’s ripe for guacamole but there’s a limit. Other people don’t want to purchase bruised peaches or tomatoes either. It’s not appealing to shop for fruits and veggies after you’ve watched someone touch them all with their germy hands.
Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash
7. Throwing Unwanted Items On The Wrong Shelf
The cereal does not go with the pickle jars. If you change your mind about an item, don’t place it randomly wherever you please. Employees work hard to organize and stock the shelves and you’re not doing anyone a favor. You’re especially rude if you place a fridge item on a regular shelf–– that’s wasteful and lazy.
8. Leaving Garbage In Your Cart
Your shopping cart is for loading and unloading and should always be left empty. Don’t treat your cart or basket like a trash can, other people want to use them too. There are usually bins and entrances and exits so there’s no reason to make someone else clean up after you.
9. Arguing With The Cashier About Prices
Cashiers must love it when they get blamed for inflation when it’s completely out of their control. If you’re a grumpy shopper because the price of your milk went up, remember that the cashier probably isn’t happy about that either. They also have to buy groceries and they don’t decide on the prices of them.
Johann Walter Bantz on Unsplash
10. Not Returning Your Basket
It’s the last step that many people don’t seem to make. If everyone just took the extra minute to return their buggy or basket to its appropriate spot, the world would be a better place. There are conveniently built shelters in parking lots to house shopping carts, it’s pretty straightforward to park them there.
Alright, let’s stop raging about the rudies and move on to those customers who don’t make our grocery shopping a chore.
1. Let Someone Cut In Front Of You
Patience is a beautiful thing. When you have a full cart and someone stands in line behind you with only two items, it’s nice to let them go ahead of you. They’ll only take a minute and they don’t have to wait for you to unload your large stock.
2. Returning Abandoned Carts
You deserve a gold star if you’re a shopping cart angel that returns them to their allocated spots. You deserve 5 stars if you return lazy shoppers’ abandoned carts too. You’re helping the staff and clearing possible parking hazards.
3. Help With The Heavy Lifting
Be a supermarket hero when someone is in need. If someone looks like they're struggling with a sack of potatoes, ask them if you can bring the spuds to their cart for them. That tall person who helps the shorties with the top shelf is using their limbs to the best of their abilities.
Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash
4. Help Pack Your Stuff
It’s efficient and polite to pack your own bags or help the staff out. Unless you’re not physically able, you don’t need to stand there and watch somebody else put your stuff away. You put the items on the conveyor belt so we’re sure you can put them in bags too.
5. Converse With The Cashier
A few kind words can go a long way. Customers who treat cashiers like fellow humans are the kind of people we want to be. Asking them how their day is or answering them when they ask you are simple social skills that make a positive difference.
6. Shop With A List
You’ll help yourself and others when you’re organized. A shopping list helps you become more efficient and less likely to ponder in the aisles. If it’s a busy time to shop, you’ll save yourself from traffic jams if you know where you’re going and don’t have to run back and forth across the store.
7. Give People Space
You know not to burst someone’s personal bubble unless they invite you in. Respecting a person’s space is a rule to abide by in and out of the supermarket. People that wait for their turn instead of rubbing shoulders to get by show true respect.
8. Organize Your Items
Do you ever look at how people pack their carts before deciding which queue to jump in? Not only will the cashier be thankful, but the customers in line behind you will be grateful for your organized conveyor belt. Checking out is a breeze when you don’t have loose items rolling around and all of your produce is grouped together.
9. Acknowledging Other Shoppers
When a stranger says hello or passes by with a smile you believe there are good people in this world. It’s a sign of etiquette to apologize to someone if you’re in their way or accidentally bumped their cart. Bonus points if you start a conversation while you’re waiting in a queue at the checkout.
10. Lend A Dollar
Some stores require a coin to unlock their shopping carts but these days we don’t always carry pocket change. We admire those people who give someone a coin if they need one. It doesn’t cost much and it makes somebody’s shopping experience a whole lot easier.
