Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[Qoass]

I never know quite how to respond to "Have a blessed day."

 

Is being blessed something you can control or should I just stand next to someone devout and fake a sneeze?

Edited April 28, 2015 by Qoass

[Mountainair]

I agree with the grocery store peeves and I'll add one of my own that tends to be an unpopular peeve: people that won't bag their own groceries. Usually, my large chain store has a bagger but if one isn't available I immediately start bagging my groceries regardless of if I have two items or 200. Those people that just stand there and watch annoy the hell out of me and it makes my shopping trip two times longer which I don't appreciate especially because I normally have my two kids with me and can still manage to help the cashier out by bagging my own shit.

[bilgistic]

My sister and I joke that we should respond to "Have a blessed day!" by saying, "Go to hell!"

Yes, Satan is keeping my seat warm; I know. But don't push your faith or whatever on me, and I won't give you a stinkeye when you do.

[smrou]

Usually, my large chain store has a bagger but if one isn't available I immediately start bagging my groceries regardless of if I have two items or 200. Those people that just stand there and watch annoy the hell out of me and it makes my shopping trip two times longer which I don't appreciate especially because I normally have my two kids with me and can still manage to help the cashier out by bagging my own shit.

Whenever possible I avoid doing things like grocery shopping if I'm in any kind of a hurry so I tend to be pretty patient when things take a little longer than expected for whatever reason, but I too get...maybe not annoyed but just plain old puzzled when people stand there rather than bagging their groceries. I mostly see this at Trader Joe's because it's the one grocery store I shop at that doesn't have designated baggers. The cashiers do the bagging, and sometimes a cashier will put the items into bags as they go, but most often what I see them do is just scan all the items and leave them on the counter and then bag afterward. It would drive me absolutely crazy to stand there while my items accumulate when I have perfectly functional hands that I can use to do the bagging so I find myself shocked at the number of people who just stand and wait. They have literally nothing else to do at that time (if they were wrangling kids I'd totally get it!) so why not bag the groceries just to cut the boredom if nothing else?

 

Having said that, however, if I had my way I would always bag my own groceries because that way I could do it the way I like. And I understand that not everybody is as particular about the process as I am, so whereas I see the checkout lane with no bagger as a wonderful opportunity for me to do my own bagging I guess not everybody sees it that way. And again...I'm not in a hurry in these situations, so the fact that I have to wait a bit longer because the person in front of me didn't bag their own groceries is not really a big deal and I'm generally pretty calm about it, but I just don't get it. 

Edited April 28, 2015 by smrou

[Mountainair]

I agree. I prefer to bag my own stuff and I'm not ever in a hurry, even with my kids in tow however the less time I spend in the check out line having to say, "no, we aren't getting xyz candy bar" a million times the better, but it grates when things take longer than they have to because some lazy ass would just prefer to stand and watch their groceries accumulate rather than aid in the process of getting things bagged and the next customer serviced.

[Qoass]

I do not bag my own groceries for the following reasons:

 

1.  I am busy watching that the correct prices get scanned.  I've caught lots and lots of errors over the years.

 

2.  I prefer paper bags which are usually out of reach.  (Yes, I recycle them.)

 

3.  I am concerned that by removing a task from an employee that I may be helping make them obsolete.

[backformore]

I do not bag my own groceries for the following reasons:

 

1.  I am busy watching that the correct prices get scanned.  I've caught lots and lots of errors over the years.

 

2.  I prefer paper bags which are usually out of reach.  (Yes, I recycle them.)

 

3.  I am concerned that by removing a task from an employee that I may be helping make them obsolete.

Yes.  I watch the scanner.  I can't recall ALL the prices, but if I'm buying an item I wouldn't normally buy, but it's at a good price, I want to make sure I get that price.

 

 Also - I shop at a store that hires people with mental challenges to bag groceries.   I was once scolded by a bagger  when I tried  to help, because "I'll do it, it's my JOB!"  She came across as being very proud of her ability to bag groceries, and I didn't want to take that away from her.  

[Mountainair]

Yea. See, I always get lambasted (not that you guys are per say) for this particular pet peeve of mine. I manage to check the price, watch my kids and bag my groceries at the same time. My store is also great about returns,which I've never had to do but I've witnessed other people doing. Obviously if there is a bag person there I let them do their job and do not interfere. Its when there is no bagger and the poor cashier is having to ring up all my items, ask me if its debit or credit, press a button on their keyboard to make my sale final and then proceed on bagging all the while what am aI doing? Twiddling my thumbs? The least you can do is chip in even if they tell you to stop helping. It's common curtesy to me and I would feel like a complete tool to watch my cashier have all my groceries stack up and not at least offer to chip in. If their is a bag person present obviously that is a different story and I'm hands off.

[smrou]

Obviously if there is a bag person there I let them do their job and do not interfere.

Yeah, no kidding. Sometimes I want to interfere because they're doing a particularly crappy job, but I never do because I think that would be rude.

[DeLurker]

Bagging my own groceries:  Depends on the situation.  I normally don't at Trader Joe's as they have teensy counters and my bags usually stay in the cart so the cashier has them.  At regular grocery stores, I might if things are busy and the cashier is clearly shorthanded.  I make an exception to this practice though at stores that consistently do not open enough registers (regardless of baggers).  The Randall's nearest to me is horrible about this - they'll have one of two lines open, no baggers and the checkout line is a couple people deep.  I wait for my groceries to be bagged there although I make a point of expressing my appreciation to the cashier.  I rarely go to that Randall's because of that.  I've complained to the manager on site and reported it through the website but nothing changes.  So I don't go there often.

[backformore]

Yeah my pet peeve about grocery stores is when they have 17 cash registers and only 6 are open - on a saturday, when the store is super busy.   I always want to know how busy does it have to get before they open more registers?  

And - if you go at a time when it's NOT busy - like late at night, thinking the lines won't be as long -  you see that there are exactly 6 customers in the store, and 5 of them are waiting in line for the only open register. 

[harrie]

Yeah, no kidding. Sometimes I want to interfere because they're doing a particularly crappy job, but I never do because I think that would be rude.

 

I'm the rude person who tells a bad bagger I'll take over, thank you -- and I let a good bagger do his/her thing and offer them a heartfelt thank you.  I actually like to bag, and look for a checkout without a bagger (as well as avoiding certain cashiers who toss your food around). Checking prices and bagging isn't a big problem.  My feeling is that I just paid full price for a bunch of groceries and don't like it when they come home dented and squished.  

 

Who knew the grocery store would be such a hot topic!

[Quof]

Where are you people shopping that your stores have baggers?  I haven't seen a paid bagger in years; sometimes the stores have kids bagging groceries in exchange for contributions to some fundraiser. I throw some change in their bucket and tell them "thanks, I'll bag my own."   Otherwise, our cashiers bag the groceries. The store where I shop most often implemented a policy of scanning each item, placing it at the end of the lane, then bagging them all at once.  Now every item gets handled twice.  Who thought this was efficient?

Edited April 28, 2015 by Quof

[backformore]

Where are you people shopping that your stores have baggers?  I haven't seen a paid bagger in years; sometimes the stores have kids bagging groceries in exchange for contributions to some fundraiser. I throw some change in their bucket and tell them "thanks, I'll bag my own."   Otherwise, our cashiers bag the groceries. The store where I shop most often implemented a policy of scanning each item, placing it at the end of the lane, then bagging them all at once.  Now every item gets handled twice.  Who thought this was efficient?

Chicago area - Jewel stores - owned by Albertson foods.   They have baggers, though not one for each lane, they kind of move around to the lanes that need the most help.  

They also sell cloth bags and encourage customers to use them.  I always bring my own bags, most people do at the store I go to.  It does make it easier. 

[Bastet]

Every place I shop has baggers -- an independent market, plus the local Ralphs and Pavilions.  I don't know about Albertson's because I've never liked that store, and it's been so long since I've been to Vons that I don't remember.  The ones at the independent market are great; freakin' speed demons, and nothing gets squished.  The two best at the local Ralphs both have mental disabilities of some kind, so I'm always pleased to see them employed (especially since Kroger as a whole has some ugly discrimination incidents on its record).

 

When I first started shopping at the independent market after moving into the neighborhood eight years ago, they were quite perplexed by the fact I brought my own bags (which I've been doing for about 20 years; I'm such a trendsetter).  And my reusable (mesh) produce bags really threw them for a loop.  But now everyone has to bring their own bags or pay for ones from the store, so they've long since gotten used to it.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Bastet

[Betweenyouandme]

Kids' behavior of.....picking their nose and eating the results. On a Disbey shuttle bus today, a boy about 10 years old did that the whole way, and half the way he was using his snot to draw pictures on the window. His parents let him sit up near the front alone. I wanted to hurl. He'd look you dead in the eye and keep doing it. It was a disconcerting feeling.

When people enter a store, etc during the rain, and they automatically shake out their sleeves/umbrella/ponchos/etc without checking to see first if people are near them.

But, may I say, a pet peeve of mine temporarily (I think) has a solution. My pregnant abdomen area is larger and so my shorts no longer almost fall down without a belt. It's a glorious feeling.

Oh...and I'm definitely buying a leash. I don't know for sure how much I'll use it, but I can say if when I vacation with him or her to places like large cities or to Disney...yes, I'll have a leash. For my child's safety and to keep them from darting out in front of others. It will be: either I wear you, you're going in the stroller, or it's the leash :)

Edited April 29, 2015 by Betweenyouandme

[janie jones]

I have never seen someone bag their own groceries (unless it's an explicit self-bagging situation).  I didn't even know you were "allowed" to.  I can't even think of a place that puts bags where customers can even access them.  But everywhere I go has the cashier bagging as they go along.  Except at Trader Joe's, where they for some reason scan and then bag.  I suppose if you brought your own bag, you could bag your own stuff, but everyone always gives their bags to the checker.

 

I hate poor bagging.  I had someone put a magazine in a bag once.  Just the magazine.  I started going to the self check-out after that.

[Maharincess]

I agree with the grocery store peeves and I'll add one of my own that tends to be an unpopular peeve: people that won't bag their own groceries. Usually, my large chain store has a bagger but if one isn't available I immediately start bagging my groceries regardless of if I have two items or 200. Those people that just stand there and watch annoy the hell out of me and it makes my shopping trip two times longer which I don't appreciate especially because I normally have my two kids with me and can still manage to help the cashier out by bagging my own shit.

I tell the bagger no thank you and always bag my own. I like bagging my stuff according to where it goes in my house. Cupboard stuff in one bag, pantry stuff etc.

Sometimes the baggers get pissed when I tell them I'd rather do it myself.

Plus I'm kinda weird about people touching my stuff. I know many hands have touched my groceries before I bought them but I didn't have to see it.

[smrou]

I suppose if you brought your own bag, you could bag your own stuff, but everyone always gives their bags to the checker.

I always bring my own bags and I just grab them out of the cart before the cashier starts checking (or ask the cashier to hand them to me if I forget to do that), walk to the end, and bag my own stuff while the cashier scans. I'm certainly not alone in doing that--I see other people do it frequently.

 

I can't even think of a place that puts bags where customers can even access them.

Again it's not an issue for me since I always bring my own bags, but most if not all of the places I shop have bags accessible because the bagger stands at the end of the checkout counter (not behind a counter) so in the absence of a bagger I can just go stand right where they ordinarily would.

 

My feeling is that I just paid full price for a bunch of groceries and don't like it when they come home dented and squished.

If I had concerns with my food actually being dented and squished due to poor bagging I might step in, but generally that's not an issue for me. The poor bagging that I experience all the time just has to do with not putting items in bags in a way that a)as much can fit as possible, and b)the bag can actually stand up on its own. Some baggers do a great job but a lot just kind of pile things in--usually at least following the logic that heavy/solid things should go on the bottom and light/soft things on top--and then I end up with bags that, when I put them in the car, fall over and stuff rolls out.  And 5 or 6 bags being used when everything would have fit easily in 3 or 4.  I frequently repack the bags when I get to my car. 

[JTMacc99]

Yeah my pet peeve about grocery stores is when they have 17 cash registers and only 6 are open - on a saturday, when the store is super busy.   I always want to know how busy does it have to get before they open more registers?  

And - if you go at a time when it's NOT busy - like late at night, thinking the lines won't be as long -  you see that there are exactly 6 customers in the store, and 5 of them are waiting in line for the only open register. 

The problem with supermarket staffing is that they treat and pay the cashiers as the lowest of the low. And therefore those employees aren't exactly committed to their jobs in a way that keeps them from calling out sick whenever the hell they want.  Some stores do purposely under-staff, but more often than not the reason the store appears to be 3-4 people short on a Saturday is due to employees just not showing up for work.  And the ones who do feel the wrath of the customers who are annoyed with long lines, annoyed that the computer doesn't have the right price for one of the 11,000 items in the store (as if that were the cashier's fault), annoyed that the person in front of them didn't bag their own groceries, and then waited until all of the groceries were bagged before even starting to write a check.  And so on.

[smrou]

Re:bagging, I meant to mention before, but some places have a system in place designed so everyone bags their own groceries but they can do it while the next customer's food is being scanned. I've definitely seen it in a couple of the big supermarkets in Europe and I think I might have seen it once somewhere in the midwest (possibly a Meijer?) but I might be remembering that wrong. The way it works is that the bagging area has a divider down the middle and a bar that flips so that when one person's food is being scanned the items go to one side of the area and when the next person's food is scanned the bar flips so their food goes to the other side and the first person can continue bagging their own items.

Here's a picture:

[bubbls]

Apparently I'm a big grouch because I've thought of more pet peeves.

 

* Perfectionist grocery baggers. I used to specifically look for a certain bagger to avoid at a local store because he.was.so.slow. He'd REBAG things he thought weren't correctly bagged and/or study the item and the bag (no, he wasn't mentally challenged at all....well, at least not in the traditional sense. Mr. Bubbles is slow due to perfectionism so I recognize the issue.). Just get that shit in there, it's coming right out as soon as I get home!! Yeesh.

 

*Cashiers who don't use the automatic belt advance thing-a-ma-bob. I can't pile on any more groceries on my end of the belt, and meanwhile there's 3 feet of empty belt next to her. I usually very rudely request she advance the belt. 

 

*Store clerks who put me "on hold" IRL to answer the phone and help the phone person. Hey! I'm the one in here spending money. I can't tell you how close I've come to reaching over and pressing the button to hang up and say that very thing. I wish I would.

 

* Groups of vehicles that suddenly slow down to below the speed limit if they spot a cop on the road, who has been amongst them for freaking 10 minutes anyway. It's creating an extremely dangerous situation. I'll slow way down in case the stupid mob piles up as I prefer to not die or be maimed for life this way. 

 

*Last but not the least, Home Depot's new-ish policy that every freaking clerk as to say hi to you and ask how you're doing. I'm not there to make friends. I'm there to get my shit and get out as quickly as possible. Just be available, Store Clerk, if I need help. Otherwise leave me alone. 

[Popples]

* Perfectionist grocery baggers. I used to specifically look for a certain bagger to avoid at a local store because he.was.so.slow. He'd REBAG things he thought weren't correctly bagged and/or study the item and the bag (no, he wasn't mentally challenged at all....well, at least not in the traditional sense. Mr. Bubbles is slow due to perfectionism so I recognize the issue.). Just get that shit in there, it's coming right out as soon as I get home!! Yeesh.

 

I think I've had this person. This guy wanted to bag our groceries so they were balanced (like some heavy stuff on the bottom and a bit of light on the top) in each bag. That's great if he likes his that way, but I like it by health & beauty supplies, laundry & cleaning (don't want cleaning products touching food), and all the cold stuff together (which is how I put the items on the belt).

[FormerMod-a1]

There is an art/science to bagging and baggers  used to be trained in this. I think some still are, but apparently not all.

 

Like items to be kept together - e.g. all refrigerated items together, all frozen, etc

    even sub categories like keeping produce together, all dairy together, etc - depending on how much is in your cart.

Heavy, not easily damaged stuff on bottom, reverse on top - i.e. bread and eggs on top

Each bag should be about the same weight and not too heavy - e.g.. if you have a lot of canned goods they'll get split up

Each bag should be balanced so they don't easily tip over or tear or have things rolls out - this means different things depending on the bag

 

I'm sure there are more rules, I've never actually done this.  But there used to be national competitions even.  Regardless, this can lead to "too many bags" for some as they are trying to distribute the weight properly and not just putting all refrigerated items in one bag if you have lots of heavy items like liquid or meat, etc.  

[bilgistic]

* Groups of vehicles that suddenly slow down to below the speed limit if they spot a cop on the road, who has been amongst them for freaking 10 minutes anyway. It's creating an extremely dangerous situation. I'll slow way down in case the stupid mob piles up as I prefer to not die or be maimed for life this way.

This is my biggest traffic gripe of all: if you are in a fender bender during rush hour, which is 7-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. here, GET YOUR CAR OUT OF THE ROAD. Unless you are trapped in your car and need the jaws of life to get you out, push that shit onto a side road. Police officers and ambulances, that goes for you, too. Don't block the damned road when people just tapped one another. Get them off the main road where people are moving like snails anyway. It seriously makes me blind with rage.

There is an art/science to bagging and baggers  used to be trained in this. I think some still are, but apparently not all.

 

Like items to be kept together - e.g. all refrigerated items together, all frozen, etc

    even sub categories like keeping produce together, all dairy together, etc - depending on how much is in your cart.

Heavy, not easily damaged stuff on bottom, reverse on top - i.e. bread and eggs on top

Each bag should be about the same weight and not too heavy - e.g.. if you have a lot of canned goods they'll get split up

Each bag should be balanced so they don't easily tip over or tear or have things rolls out - this means different things depending on the bag

 

I'm sure there are more rules, I've never actually done this.  But there used to be national competitions even.  Regardless, this can lead to "too many bags" for some as they are trying to distribute the weight properly and not just putting all refrigerated items in one bag if you have lots of heavy items like liquid or meat, etc.  

I swear, every store I go to puts all the heavy things in one or two bags, so my shoulders are being cut into. I refuse to make more than one trip from the car, so I'm carrying four bags, two of which have cans and glass jars while one has a bag of tortilla chips and a loaf of bread. Insanity.

[harrie]

There are rules, and you've covered most of them, Aquarian1.  Some people, like me, even group their "colds" together on the belt and try to set up the belt so the items come to me as I want to bag them.  

 

But in one particular store (where I no longer shop) a bagger once literally tossed my canned goods into a bag; I came home with almost every single one dented.  As I raged in the letter I subsequently wrote to the store manager, if I wanted dented cans, I'd have bought my stuff from the dented can rack. Grrr. This is how peeves that are really small potatoes problems turn into major issues.

 

And I agree with the poster who noted that cashiers/baggers are the bottom rung of the market ladder and treated and paid accordingly.  So I kind of understand why some of them might not give a damn about what they're doing, but still those are the people whose lines I try to avoid. 

Edited April 29, 2015 by harrie

[bubbls]

I totally agree cashiers and baggers probably don't give a damn. I didn't when I was a cashier. I never did a price check, I'd just take the customer's word for it. Especially since in the evenings I watched all the managers socializing instead of inputting the sale items and it was Christmas and no way was I antagonizing that long line of angry shoppers to check the price. This was back in the Jurassic age when you just punched in the generic code for an item and whatever price you wanted. "What? That 5 pounds of cashews is supposed to be on sale for 99 cents but it rang up wrong?" I lean over and peer down a line of 10 hostile customers with buggies piled high with Christmas toys. "Ok, no problem! 99 cents it is!" 

 

Dare I say, I wish Perfectionist Grocery Bagger would adopt some of that Don't Give A Damn attitude. Every once in awhile I'd forget and end up in his line. ARGH!!!

[harrie]

I totally agree cashiers and baggers probably don't give a damn. I didn't when I was a cashier. I never did a price check, I'd just take the customer's word for it. Especially since in the evenings I watched all the managers socializing instead of inputting the sale items and it was Christmas and no way was I antagonizing that long line of angry shoppers to check the price. This was back in the Jurassic age when you just punched in the generic code for an item and whatever price you wanted. "What? That 5 pounds of cashews is supposed to be on sale for 99 cents but it rang up wrong?" I lean over and peer down a line of 10 hostile customers with buggies piled high with Christmas toys. "Ok, no problem! 99 cents it is!" 

 

Dare I say, I wish Perfectionist Grocery Bagger would adopt some of that Don't Give A Damn attitude. Every once in awhile I'd forget and end up in his line. ARGH!!!

 

When I cashiered -- around the end of the Stone Age -- we had rows of punch keys for dollars and cents.  If you had an item that was $12.34 for example, you depressed the $10 key, then the $2 key, then the $.30 key, then the $.04 key, then the Enter key.   After a while you could do it sort of by touch but it was still screamingly slow compared to today's methods.  So yeah, there was occasional freestyle pricing at my station too.

 

[Bastet]

My grandpa bought me one of those at a police auction when I was a kid, because my best friend and I loved to play grocery store.  An old, huge adding machine was the cash register (so we were over the moon when we got a real one) and the coffee table was the conveyor belt, so we'd roll/slide things down to whichever one of us was playing bagger at the other end.  Most things had price tags on them back then, but any pantry item that didn't come with one - we added one. 

Edited April 29, 2015 by Bastet

[backformore]

When I cashiered -- around the end of the Stone Age -- we had rows of punch keys for dollars and cents.  If you had an item that was $12.34 for example, you depressed the $10 key, then the $2 key, then the $.30 key, then the $.04 key, then the Enter key.   After a while you could do it sort of by touch but it was still screamingly slow compared to today's methods.  So yeah, there was occasional freestyle pricing at my station too.

 

Yep - and there was no scanner, each item had a price tag on it.   (and most grocery items  were under $1) 

i recall one small store in town that didn't have prices on everything, but it was OK - the cashier KNEW how much every item was. 

I also remember when a deposit of 2 cents was added to the price of each bottle of pop, and then you returned the bottles to the store to get the 2 cents back.  

All pop was in glass bottles, 6 bottles in a cardboard case with a handle.  Candy bars were a nickel.   I remember how mad we were when they phased out the nickel bars and made some that were slightly larger for 10 cents.  

[Bastet]

You fine people are now in my head when I go grocery shopping, as I did today. 

 

Someone had placed their cart in the corral (which had only one other cart in it, down at the far end), but only just far enough that the front wheels passed over the strip that keeps it from rolling backwards.  So the cart is sticking out into the aisle.  I don't get this.  They walked the cart over from wherever they were parked, but pushing it all the way into the corral was just too much to ask of them?  I guess they had a child with them.

 

(It's possible they pushed it further in than that, didn't realize the back wheels hadn't cleared the strip, and it rolled backward to the position it was in when I came along, but those things start to roll pretty much immediately, plus they make noise as they hit the strip and come to a stop, so they should have noticed.)

Edited April 30, 2015 by Bastet

[auntlada]

I agree with the grocery store peeves and I'll add one of my own that tends to be an unpopular peeve: people that won't bag their own groceries. Usually, my large chain store has a bagger but if one isn't available I immediately start bagging my groceries regardless of if I have two items or 200. Those people that just stand there and watch annoy the hell out of me and it makes my shopping trip two times longer which I don't appreciate especially because I normally have my two kids with me and can still manage to help the cashier out by bagging my own shit.

 

The only two places I really shop are Walmart and the local IGA. At Walmart, the checker puts it in the bag after scanning it. At IGA, the bagger stands on the same side of the counter as the checker. If there isn't a bagger, you can reach across the counter and get a bag and do it yourself, but there's almost always a bagger. If the store is really busy and all the baggers are busy (they also carry your groceries to your car if you need them to), the managers and owner start bagging groceries. It's a good store, and I ought to shop there more often, but I tend to go to Walmart because I can get all the other things I need at the same time as I buy groceries. A lot of people shop there because it's locally owned and the owner is just a really good guy who also donates to a lot of local causes.

 

Re:bagging, I meant to mention before, but some places have a system in place designed so everyone bags their own groceries but they can do it while the next customer's food is being scanned. I've definitely seen it in a couple of the big supermarkets in Europe and I think I might have seen it once somewhere in the midwest (possibly a Meijer?) but I might be remembering that wrong. The way it works is that the bagging area has a divider down the middle and a bar that flips so that when one person's food is being scanned the items go to one side of the area and when the next person's food is scanned the bar flips so their food goes to the other side and the first person can continue bagging their own items.

Here's a picture:

 

That's how they were in Estonia. Every time we went, the first time we went to the store, we'd forget that we were supposed to pick up bags (to buy) before we got to the check-out. The checkers were always so patient with us stupid Americans.

 

I hate it when the baggers try to cram everything into as few bags as possible, partly because the bags are probably going to break and partly because we use the bags as trash can liners (particularly for the diaper trash can when my son was little -- way cheaper than buying a Diaper Genie that may or may not work) and for cleaning out the kitty litter.

[auntlada]

I forgot to mention the people who stopped in the drive at daycare this morning to let the woman (who may work there) get out and take the baby out of the car and go inside. Not under the portico, where a lot of people park, but on the other side, in a single lane between the portico posts and the parking lot curb, where there should be no parking. Where there is absolutely no opportunity to pass, even if it were safe to pass when a woman is unloading a baby in a carseat from a car and putting the carseat on the ground while she leans back in to tell her husband goodbye, kiss him and get her purse and wallet. At 10 minutes to 8. With an elementary school and a middle school just down the road, so it's extremely difficult to get back out on the road anyway during the school year, and you have to hit it at just the right time (or someone has to be nice and let you out). I was late to work, thanks to these people who can't be bothered to use the parking lot (which had open spaces).

 

And then, after she went inside and her husband finally pulled forward, he pulled over to the curb (really into the right turn lane), parked and got out.

 

This was the second day he stopped in that exact place to let her out. Yesterday I was nice. Today I yelled. If he does it again tomorrow, I'm honking. And then I'm going to ask the director to tell people to quit doing that.

[Sandman87]

There is an art/science to bagging and baggers used to be trained in this. I think some still are, but apparently not all.

Which reminds me of a peeve of my own: When you're handing me the change, do not stack the coins on top of the bills and try to hand me the stack! Give me the coins first so I can drop them in my pocket, then hand me the bills. Otherwise I have to try to juggle the two kinds of currency along with my wallet, and there's a good chance I'll end up dropping something, which has the added benefit of pissing off everyone behind me when they have to wait while I search the floor for stray quarters.

This is doubly true if I'm at a drive-up window, because anything I drop will require that I get out of the car to look for it. The people in line behind me always love the extra wait time caused by my groping around under the car. Not.

[pixiestix]

I have found my home. This was really fun to read.  I can relate to the pet peeves about driving, shopping, tipping, grammar, spelling, manners, and pretty much everything else.  I have a couple to add to the list.  Although I am not perfect with grammar and spelling, certain misuse of words bug the crap out of me.  No one seems to know how to spell definitely anymore.  Defiantly, definatly, definantly are what I see now.  Or, people just shorten the word to "def".  Also, people who use the word "weary" instead of "wary" grind my nerves.  It's like they are combining "leery" with "wary", and that makes "weary".  No.  You were not weary of the suspicious situation, unless you were tired of it.

 

My number one pet peeve involves my line of work.  I have been a nanny for 10 years, and I have run into the same situation again and again.  An example:  the parents say they will be home by 5:00 PM.  I have my own family at home, so I plan accordingly.  For example, if I know I will be done with work at 5:00, I give myself the appropriate time to pick up my son from basketball practice at 5:30, while also having dinner in the oven to be ready by 5:45, and then plan the evening activities accordingly.  Time after time, the parents are late, sometimes over an hour late, and they don't bother to call or even text to let me  know.  Most of the time, I end up texting them to ask them where they are, or when I can expect them home.  That's when they say things like "Oh sorry! Had to work late." or "Oh sorry! I'm in line at the store, be home soon." or "Sorry, took longer at the gym than I thought." 

 

Ok, I don't care what you're doing.  You pay me well to care for your children, but please consider the fact that I have a life, too.  I have a child waiting for me to pick him up.  I have a meatloaf in the oven at home that is now burnt to a crisp.  I had plans after work, and you act like my time does not matter.  When you say you are coming home at a certain time, I have the house cleaned up and the kids ready to greet you. (Really sucks to have all the toys picked up, children expecting Mom at any moment, only to have to "stall" for an hour while you try to console cranky children who are ready for Mom to come home).

 

I just find this so inconsiderate.  I don't mind working long hours, as long as I know that ahead of time so I can plan accordingly.  This happens time after time.  Then they come home and say "Sorry! Thank you for being so flexible!"  You know, if you're going to be late, just let me know!! I've had this problem with every family I've worked for. (please excuse me for ending that sentence with a preposition!)

 

Surely there must be other out there with the pet peeve of people being late, right??

[topanga]

 

Surely there must be other out there with the pet peeve of people being late, right??

OMG, pixiestix, you would hate me. Picking up my kids from day care (or after school care), I was always pushing the late envelope. At least once a week, I'd be frantically dialing the day care center begging them not to call DCFS on my children-- I was only five minutes away. Or ten. Yeah, late parents suck. So I apologize to you on behalf of all inconsiderate parents. LOL

 

My pet peeve with school drop off lines? The parents at the front of the line who sit and chat with their children instead of letting them get out of the damn car. It only takes a few seconds to say some variation of "I love you. Have a great day. Don't forget to turn in your homework. I'll be here at 3." If you need to have a longer conversation, then pull out of the car pool line into the parking lot. You had an entire car ride to talk about an upcoming test or a bully at school or the cute boy/girl in your child's class. And of course I'm not talking about younger children or children with special needs, both of whom would almost always require more time to get out of a car or van.

[JTMacc99]

i recall one small store in town that didn't have prices on everything, but it was OK - the cashier KNEW how much every item was. 

 

I also remember when a deposit of 2 cents was added to the price of each bottle of pop, and then you returned the bottles to the store to get the 2 cents back.  

 

All pop was in glass bottles, 6 bottles in a cardboard case with a handle.  Candy bars were a nickel.   I remember how mad we were when they phased out the nickel bars and made some that were slightly larger for 10 cents.  

And back then, I wore an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time.

 

(Sorry. I'm just looking for any excuse to use that line.)

Edited April 30, 2015 by JTMacc99

[auntlada]

Did your nickels have pictures of bumblebees on them?

[Mountainair]

My oldest will start Kindergarten in the fall so I've not had to deal with drop off lines yet. The preschool both my boys go to is 1/2 day, very small. 30 kids total. Maybe. And there is this one mom who just had a baby and she refuses to leave the baby in the car to pick up her older son and will call the preschool teachers cell phone and have her run the kid out to her car. That's not the teachers job. It's obvious this lady can't cope yet with having two kids and how to juggle them but the school is so small, set up in such a way that you could leave the baby in the car for five seconds, run in and pick up older kid and never, ever take your eyes off the car. I'm not a proponent of leaving children in car by any means but when you are putting other people and parents in a position to take their eyes off their own children it bugs me. These are your kids, figure out how to pick one up with out me or another teacher having to babysit the other one. Or better yet, take the damn baby in with you if you are that concerned about leaving them in the car, literally steps away, all windows compleltey visible and it's not like something is going to come up where your kid is left in the car for too long, if that were to happen go get the kid. When my second was an infant I would roll down the windows, park right up front run in and get big brother. Literally, two minutes in and out and back on the road. No need to put anyone out.

Now, I do see tons of people at the grocery store that drop off people at the front. No bad weather, no visible disability and it takes said person ten minutes to get out of the car thus blocking traffic flow. Park the car and walk or be ready to hop out real quick. Said people will also take forever to get out, then go to the trunk and rifle around for something, then talk to the driver, etc. park and walk.

Publix just opened yesterday in my area and I went for the first time today. Very nice store. Someone took the items out of my cart and but them on the belt, someone bagged all my groceries and then someone escorted me to the car and loaded my trunk. I didn't even have the kids with me! It was a great experience however not close enough to warrant me being a reliable shopper there.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Mountainair

[bubbls]

 

Surely there must be other out there with the pet peeve of people being late, right??

 

 

Wonder how your employers would feel if you were constantly late thereby messing up their schedule? Hmmmm. Late people are a huge pet peeve of mine. There was a lady who was constantly late to group meetings I was attending. She'd get mad if anyone called her on it and pull out the "I have kids" excuse, which is another pet peeve of mine; that is, parents assuming everyone else should adjust to the fact that they have kids. No, Parents, your reproductive choices are in no way my responsibility.

 

Anyway, my husband is awful about assuming traffic will be okay, etc., and makes us late a lot. Drives me nuts.

[Qoass]

Oooh, I can so relate to the blocking of parking.  I have a neighbor who feels free to let his guests park in my parking spot and when I tell them to get out they take their sweet ol' time about it.  Makes me want to put broken glass under their tires but then they'd never leave.

 

As for parents driving children, I was taking a walk early one Sunday morning and watched a woman in  her minivan drop her kid off in front of a house.  He walked slowly to the front porch, tossed a newspaper onto it then drifted back to the vehicle.  Super-mom then pulled up ten yards to the next house so he could drop off the next paper.  And again...all the way up the street.  (And this kid was over ten years old in a suburb if that makes a difference.)

 

This is more of a rave than a peeve but I saw on the news this morning that some people are paying thousands (like 80+) of dollars to be in Vegas for the big boxing match this weekend because it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Maybe so but I could live for years off that kind of money and I resent every person in the world wealthy enough to not even have to think about that.

[applecrisp]

Oooh, I can so relate to the blocking of parking.  I have a neighbor who feels free to let his guests park in my parking spot and when I tell them to get out they take their sweet ol' time about it.  Makes me want to put broken glass under their tires but then they'd never leave.

 

This is more of a rave than a peeve but I saw on the news this morning that some people are paying thousands (like 80+) of dollars to be in Vegas for the big boxing match this weekend because it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Maybe so but I could live for years off that kind of money and I resent every person in the world wealthy enough to not even have to think about that.

 

Love your rant. qoass it is sometimes quite hard to coexist with neighbors and at least I, feel like a pain if I complain so it causes me anxiety. I just don't like confrontation. But mostly I fear they will say "who cares" and not listen to you.  Then they don't fix the problem or change their behavior.

 

I want to believe they will but it really can be stressful and I suffer from anxiety bad enough that I filed for disability.  I don't drive so I am stuck at home.  My problem is not the parking but other things.

 

About that boxing match, I think it is a brutal sport and actually would like to see it outlawed.  I, too, resent these people.  

[DeLurker]

Thanks to all the sharing of parking and grocery bagging peeves, I almost had a nervous breakdown running to Trader Joe's for a few items this morning!  To say I was super self conscious of what I did the entire time is an understatement!

 

But I am happy to report that this morning there were no loose carts in the parking lot, I only encountered well behaved children and no mis-shelved grocery items.  They had plenty of check stands open (although they are very good about monitoring that in my experience). 

 

I probably should stay home for the rest of the day to preserve and cherish this positive experience.

[backformore]

Thanks to all the sharing of parking and grocery bagging peeves, I almost had a nervous breakdown running to Trader Joe's for a few items this morning!  To say I was super self conscious of what I did the entire time is an understatement!

 

But I am happy to report that this morning there were no loose carts in the parking lot, I only encountered well behaved children and no mis-shelved grocery items.  They had plenty of check stands open (although they are very good about monitoring that in my experience). 

 

I probably should stay home for the rest of the day to preserve and cherish this positive experience.

Did you forget to take selfies of your shopping experience and post them to Facebook?   

 get back out there! 

[magicdog]

I saw on the news this morning that some people are paying thousands (like 80+) of dollars to be in Vegas for the big boxing match this weekend because it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Maybe so but I could live for years off that kind of money and I resent every person in the world wealthy enough to not even have to think about that.

 

Most of those tickets weren't even available to the general public - they went to VIPs, etc.  The MGM had them on sale literally for one minute on their website before they were "sold out".  The majority of them turned up on Stub Hub where the prices were inflated even further.  I honestly can't imagine spending 100K on a ticket to a sporting event - even if I had that kind of money. 

 

Which leads to another pet peeve:  price gouging due to a major event.  Since the date of the fight was announced, the hotels here have tripled their regular room rates.  Even the dive hotels and motels are charging as much as 500+ bucks a night!   I'm not even going to get into what you have to pay just to watch the fight on CCTV at one of the approved properties.

[bilgistic]

I was reminded of a peeve as I was turning into the shopping center that has the "Mad Vapes" store (reference to another thread).

This may be unpopular, but here goes. I've seen this new phenomenon happening in my city, and just seeing it again raised my hackles. A family(?) was standing to the right of at the stop sign that's just inside this strip center's entrance. The group consisted of a very young mother or older sister and a couple of younger, school-aged kids. I only glanced at them for a second because, you know, stop sign and traffic entering from points ahead and left of me. The woman held a white posterboard that was written in black marker, something about, "Lost my job..." Again, driving, safety, etc. Then, they hollered something at me as I drove by. No. No, no, no.

Here I go:

1) Don't panhandle. I've been incredibly poor (less than $5000 annual income, ill, no outside support) and didn't panhandle. Being poor is terribly hard and people who have never been there cannot possibly fathom it, but the answer is not to ask strangers for money.

2) Don't use your(?) kids to garner sympathy; it won't work on me. A bus ticket to the health department is roughly $2 and condoms there are free. Also free? Abstinence. I've done it four years, albeit because I haven't been dating anyone. I know y'all are surprised.

3) Don't stand at a stop sign at an intersection. You might get hit. You might cause an accident. You will cause me to rant about you online.

Edited May 1, 2015 by bilgistic

[auntlada]

On a related note, bilgistic, the people who start their own online fundraisers really bug me. They're not selling anything. They're just saying, "Please give me money to pay my bills." It's usually medical bills (at least the ones I've seen), and I feel bad for them, but it just seems tacky to start your own fundraiser. If someone else did it for them, I'd probably feel a little differently. I probably still wouldn't give anything, but it wouldn't seem so tacky. Although one woman who started one for herself also started one for her brother, who had been in and out of jail with drug problems. Yeah, I'm giving him money.

 

That particular woman married a young friend of ours who dropped out of college because he didn't know what he wanted to do, which is OK, except now he doesn't have a degree and no skills that will get him a high-paying job. He could go to the local technology center a lot cheaper than college and learn computers or manufacturing skills or welding or electrician stuff or plumbing and get a really good-paying job. Instead he's doing things like working at Walmart. (Heck, in high school, he could have gone to the technology center for free and gotten certifications. Our career and technology education system is public, and high school students can go to the tech center in their area for free as long as their school district belongs to the tech center district. Almost every school district belongs to a tech center district. Full disclosure: I work for the state department, but I thought it was a good system before I started working there.) And I'm not sure she works at all. If she does, it's for minimum wage because she has no skills either. They have a child together, and she has two children from (one or more) other marriages/relationships. I just think they could do things to better themselves and take care of their family besides ask people to donate money online.

Edited May 2, 2015 by auntlada

[backformore]

Another pet peeve. A woman at work showed me how uninformed some people can be.

A group of people talking. The conversation was about the Chicago/Baltimore baseball game being played in an empty stadium. She asked Why? Answer - because of the riots. She asks huh? What riots?

Excuse me? A 40 year old woman with a master's degree. She explains that she doesn't watch the news.

The situation in Baltimore has been on the news, referred to on ads for the news, in the paper, and the top story on any news website you go to. I couldn't check my email without seeing a headline or a photo. I get not watching 30 minutes of news every night. But do people choose to remain ignorant of EVERYTHING?

Earthquake? Really ? Where?

[auntlada]

One of my coworkers asked the other day if there was a war or something going on in Syria. And then she asked what ISIS was. I said, "Read a newspaper, for crying out loud!"

[DeLurker]

I hope these people are among the many who don't vote.