Emerg Services Grocery stores

[SinkorSwim]

I hate people. I just want to get in and out. Some people are so oblivious to everyone around them that they take up the whole middle of the aisle. I hate asking people to move their cart so I can get through. I don't have a loud voice so half of the time they don't hear me.

 

[Neverthesame]

But I still don't know why they move stuff around...

I can answer this one, having worked in grocery stores:

• Forcing you to search for what you want, so you can see other products you might wish to purchase. Such as "Cock Soup, Cock sauce and Cock oil." (These are real products. The company I work for carry these in the retail side. It's imported from Thailand with an unfortunate translation for "Rooster". I actually pulled a muscle laughing the first time I saw that product line.
• The constant change in products. Products are regularly discontinued (The cheesecake with bits of candy cane mixed into is one I remember:yuck:), leaving holes in the shelves that need to be filled with new products. The packaging of the replacement product may have very different dimensions, requiring raising or lowering of shelves. This can mean a bit of rearrangement to get everything to fit snuggly without too much space between the product and the shelf above it. (Makes it look like there's more stuff.) Existing products are also known to change packaging from time to time.
• The number of facings a product is allocated (how many rows side by side a single product has) varies with sales figures.
• Individual departments may be relocated or phased out, so relevant products may be moved to a more intuitive location for the flow of customers. (Most people generally take the same "route" around the store when they shop. It's a weird phenomenon. We actually do move in herds.:hilarious:)

That's why they move things around the grocery store. Even knowing why, I still hate it when they do that.

 

[blackemerald1]

people to move their cart so I can get through. I don't have a loud voice so half

I know..and they drive the same way too. There should be a law against stalling in the middle and we should have horns so we can blast them back to the right side of the aisle. Or do what a lady did to me two years ago and just run right over the top of them. (She dragged my skirt off me)..her trolley wheels got caught in my err skirt and it ripped right off...:x3::laugh: That was a hit and run!

Cock oil." (These are real products.

That is unfortunate.....:giggle::hilarious: Imagine asking for that at the service desk??:roflmao:

 

[EveHarrington]

Don’t even get me started on the music. I don’t listen to country music so I had never heard that song that uses a ton of 9-11 clips with George W Bush and news castors and such..... I heard it for the first time in the grocery store and it freaked me out! It sounds like news so yeah, if you don’t realize what you’re listening to, you’d think our country had another attack. It’s totally ridiculous given that ALL music is hand selected for listening in their stores. What corporate moron picked that song?!? Even for those not affected by that date, who wants to be reminded of that horrible day when deciding on chunky or creamy peanut butter? Let’s say I hardly shop there anymore.

 

[Neverthesame]

@EveHarrington Oh God, that sounds awful.
The store I worked at, has one of those satellite radio stations with 25 pre-approved "family appropriate" songs, set on random.
I don't know who does the approval thing, but we had to hear "This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like a Mother f*cker" 4 Times a shift for a year straight. Uuugghghhh.....
Yeah. Totally something I'd want my kids listening too.... :spitdummy:
If I had any that is.
That, and whatever that Beeber song with the irritating pan flute interludes is called.
That one was just f*cking annoying. :banghead:

 

[scout86]

I get my groceries in a small town grocery store. (600 people) I try to go Sun morning, before church lets out.

There are a lot of pluses. First, this is a third generation, locally owned store that cares about the community.

Second, I don't know most of the employees, but I recognize them. They seem safish.

No one gets groceries before church. The store is usually empty.

Stuff stays in the same place. (Not sure why. There are a lot of old people who shop there,, maybe for their benefit?)

And, now that I think about it, the aisles are fairly wide and it's not as much like walking down a narrow hallway as most stores.

 

[Mach123]

Ok it's sexism. I'm only half kidding. Stores, grocery included, are made for women to poke along slow. "Get out of my way I have something to accomplish" is how I shop. I don't poke along and look at things and touch things and take things off hangers. Some people may want us to think men and women are "no different." The people who do marketing and design the stores know better. (just in general ok I know we are not all like this!)

 

[blackemerald1]

Stores, grocery included, are made for women to poke along slow.

Then I must be an exception. I am a hysterical shopper. I get it, grab and go. But I do pay on the way out.:oops:

No lingering for me unless I cannot find it because it's been moved!!:wtf:

I hate shopping. I hate shops.:p

 

[FragileGlass]

I can go to many different grocery stores. At least here in Canada I find that most people follow the circle pattern and I don’t get hit with the chaos. I feel fortunate there.

However, Costco and Walmart! That is hell on wheels for me. Sheer pandemonium and no sense of pattern or control. I wind up with my back to the aisle with eyes to either end for escape. I’m hypervigilant, over cautious, hyper aware and always panicking.

I find I’m always profiling people for potential break downs. Looking for the tell tale sign visual cues of mental health disorders, drug + alcohol influence, physical demeanour, potential motive for their next move etc... the list goes on. I’m always ready to take someone down as necessary and according to my job training.

I started boutique shopping! More expensive. The savings on sanity. Priceless.

 

[Freida]

Words of wisdom from the guru of all things ptsd...

I'm whining to him about how grocery stores suck and he looks at me and says...
It's because you are afraid and feel out of control. So. Look for weapons and exits

I'm like..huh??? He went on to explain all of the reasons everyone has listed are why they freak me out. But it's the feeling that I am not in control that is what is really undoing me. So he told me to start looking for weapons and exits...

Walk in - id the exit. Keep them in the back of my mind. Notice who is between me and the exit. Is it someone I will have to fight or someone I can push out of the way?
As i walk down each aisle look for weapons.
Cans to throw = ouch and tripping hazards
Bottles = things to throw or break and use as stabbies
frozen food = missiles
when all else fails - grocery cart that I'm pushing becomes a tank. Ever been run over by a grocery cart? Those things hurt!

He said to make it a game as I shop and it really did make it easier. There ares still harder trips but now I have something to occupy my mind that makes me feel safe.

 

[FragileGlass]

@Freida

Some very good advice. I always do pay attention to what is around me. The biggest question has always been. In the event that something might happen would I be as smooth and efficient as Jackie Chan or cause mass destruction like Jason Statham to find my exit or Jim Carrey my way out of the situation. I lean more towards the Jim Carrey possibility. LoL

 

[LuckiLee]

@Freida, you're officially a PTSD guru. Congratulations. I know you don't feel like it but your advice is so useful. Thanks for all you do. XO