Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[Katy M]

3 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

He always says the window shoppers and looky loos waste more of his and his staff's time than several paying customers put together and that's just a hobby shop.

I try not to go into store that I have NO intention of buying something (OK, I admit I did it once because I really really wanted to get out of the rain for a couple of minutes).  That doesn't necessarily mean that I will buy something, of course. But, yeah, every person that walks into a store costs some kind of resource.

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I try not to go into store that I have NO intention of buying something (OK, I admit I did it once because I really really wanted to get out of the rain for a couple of minutes).  That doesn't necessarily mean that I will buy something, of course. But, yeah, every person that walks into a store costs some kind of resource.

Exactly and just getting out of the rain doesn't equal handling merchandise, asking a million questions, wasting staff time and generally just being in the way. My mom used to own a design studio and people would come in and sit around in the showroom and just hang out like they were sitting their own living room. She would ask them to leave and they would say things like "Well, you're open to the public so..." And she would reply that she owned the building and her business was not the public library, funded by their tax dollars.

[Welshman in Ca]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

My husband manages one of the largest model railroading shops in the country. He always says the window shoppers and looky loos waste more of his and his staff's time than several paying customers put together and that's just a hobby shop. Gas stations do not need customer relations. A lot of people still need gas and they're going to buy it regardless if they let people use their squeegees for free or not.

If it's only model railroad stuff then I would imagine a lot of people would come in to ask questions & investigate if there were other models, I know I would. I can't resist looking in model shops if I see one, most of us have fond memories of model planes etc hanging from our bedroom ceilings and I even had a couple of very expensive rc cars once I had adult money to throw around. Apologies to your husband in advance if I ever come across his shop because I could spend an hour or two just looking around if it's that big.

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Welshman in Ca said:

If it's only model railroad stuff then I would imagine a lot of people would come in to ask questions & investigate if there were other models, I know I would. I can't resist looking in model shops if I see one, most of us have fond memories of model planes etc hanging from our bedroom ceilings and I even had a couple of very expensive rc cars once I had adult money to throw around. Apologies to your husband in advance if I ever come across his shop because I could spend an hour or two just looking around if it's that big.

We live in a lakefront community, it's kind of a tourist destination. People just wander around downtown and when they get sick of dealing with their kids they go "Oh look! A toy store!" Then they bring their kids in and just let them run wild. Then you have your old guys who had trains as kids and just want to spend hours reminiscing about them. Meanwhile, the phones are ringing, real customers are trying to talk to the repair dept. but they can't because the repair dept. has been deployed to the front to deal with people asking questions and trying to corral maniacal tots running wild through the shop.

[janie jones]

2 hours ago, Welshman in Ca said:

If it's only model railroad stuff then I would imagine a lot of people would come in to ask questions & investigate if there were other models, I know I would. I can't resist looking in model shops if I see one, most of us have fond memories of model planes etc hanging from our bedroom ceilings and I even had a couple of very expensive rc cars once I had adult money to throw around. Apologies to your husband in advance if I ever come across his shop because I could spend an hour or two just looking around if it's that big.

Yeah but there's a difference between "just looking around" and  occupying employees' time with no intention of buying anything that day or in the future. I imagine people in most establishments don't mind people just looking around, if isn't going to cause more work for the employees.

[Colleenna]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Then they bring their kids in and just let them run wild

Pet peeve of mine. One day I was in a small local organic  grocery store (back before  Whole Foods) and a mother came in with two older children.  The kids were 9-10 ish, certainly old enough to know how to behave,  but mama was letting them run wild. I said something to them gently,  but mama got all huffy. "Some people just don't like to see children having fun!"  "Oh, I like to see kids having fun----at a PLAYGROUND. This is a grocery store. "

Yeah, I'm that asshole.  

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

Pet peeve of mine. One day I was in a small local organic  grocery store (back before  Whole Foods) and a mother came in with two older children.  The kids were 9-10 ish, certainly old enough to know how to behave,  but mama was letting them run wild. I said something to them gently,  but mama got all huffy. "Some people just don't like to see children having fun!"  "Oh, I like to see kids having fun----at a PLAYGROUND. This is a grocery store. "

Yeah, I'm that asshole.  

I don't blame you a bit. What is it with people who think it's perfectly fine to inflict their miserable brats on everybody else, especially around people just trying to do their jobs.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Pet peeve of mine. One day I was in a small local organic  grocery store (back before  Whole Foods) and a mother came in with two older children.  The kids were 9-10 ish, certainly old enough to know how to behave,  but mama was letting them run wild.

[Prevailing Wind]

Once, when I walked into a department store through the men's furnishings dept, a pair of little boys were having a tug-of-war with a pair of socks. They were pulling on the socks while jumping up and down, screaming, in the middle of the main aisle. I stood there as they blocked my way, and said (rather loudly), "You HAVE to do that right here?"  It scared the crap out of the kids and they quickly stopped and ran to their mother, who glared at me. Tough shit, lady. Keep your kids off caffeine and under control. Apparently, nobody ever told them what inappropriate behavior is.

[Bastet]

Even the most well-raised kids melt down sometimes, especially the young ones, or do things they know they shouldn't do, so I do not automatically judge a parent if their kid is acting up in a store or restaurant.  But I judge the hell out of them right quick if their response is to ignore it.  I agree with "don't parent other people's kids" for things like butting in with commentary because the kid is eating junk food.  But, yeah, I'm going to say something when I can't get down an aisle past someone's misbehaving kid.

[Bruinsfan]

I had a run-in at Walgreens with the unconcerned mother of a hyper preschooler who was running around knocking things off shelves. I said "calm down, kid" to him in a normal voice and immediately had a pop-eyed harpy in my face telling me not to speak to her child. We got into it and when she yelled "ARE YOU INSINUATING I'M NOT A GOOD PARENT?!?" I had the pleasure of looking around and asking "where'd your kid go? Was anyone paying attention to him?"

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I had a run-in at Walgreens with the unconcerned mother of a hyper preschooler who was running around knocking things off shelves. I said "calm down, kid" to him in a normal voice and immediately had a pop-eyed harpy in my face telling me not to speak to her child. We got into it and when she yelled "ARE YOU INSINUATING I'M NOT A GOOD PARENT?!?" I had the pleasure of looking around and asking "where'd your kid go? Was anyone paying attention to him?"

LOL, oh, my god, that's great.

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

Even the most well-raised kids melt down sometimes, especially the young ones, or do things they know they shouldn't do, so I do not automatically judge a parent if their kid is acting up in a store or restaurant.  But I judge the hell out of them right quick if their response is to ignore it.  I agree with "don't parent other people's kids" for things like butting in with commentary because the kid is eating junk food.  But, yeah, I'm going to say something when I can't get down an aisle past someone's misbehaving kid.

This. 

It was so frustrating when I worked retail and parents would let their kids run wild through the store, or would just take off and leave them there for far too long. My parents would let me be alone for a time when we'd mill about a store on occasion when I was a kid, but that was because a) they knew I would behave myself and stay in the book section just quietly reading/skimming books, and b) they didn't leave me alone for a ridiculous amount of time, either. If they did want to check out something else, they still remained close by. 

But I remember parents just leaving their kids there and being gone for far longer than they needed to be, or letting their kids run about and leave stuff strewn about the store. We've already got enough stuff we need to do at work, we're not going to babysit and clean up after your kids* for you, too. And yes, if your kid is acting up in public and you're not doing anything to stop it, don't get mad when people call it out. These are the same sorts of parents who'd complain if their kid got hurt at the store and somehow make it the store's fault. 

*Same applies to the adults, for that matter. You'd be amazed at how often people would leave half full drinks or food wrappers right on the bookshelves, despite the fact there was a trash can literally right outside the store. And if they had stuff they had yet to pay for and thus were hesitant to step outside the store to throw something away, fine, I can understand that...but then why not just come up to the front counter and ask us if we can toss their wrappers or cups or whatever for them? We had a trash can underneath the counter, too, and one in our break room. 

But nah, totally better to just leave the stuff on the shelves and risk getting a spilled drink or greasy wrapper on the books and magazines we have sitting out.

We're not even going to get into the people who thought it was so cute and funny to leave adult magazines sitting out on the tables in the children's section. 

[crazycatlady58]

I don't know what worse, the parents who let the kids misbehave and do nothing or the ones who tell the kid " You better behave or that lady will get ( meaning fuss at you) you." I had a parent do that in my store and I just looked at him and said "I am not allowed to discipline your child". 

[Prevailing Wind]

8 hours ago, Annber03 said:

My parents would let me be alone for a time when we'd mill about a store on occasion when I was a kid, but that was because a) they knew I would behave myself and stay in the book section just quietly reading/skimming books, and b) they didn't leave me alone for a ridiculous amount of time, either. If they did want to check out something else, they still remained close by. 

When grocery shopping, I always went to the magazine section and sat down on the bottom shelf to read comic books. "still remained close by" ?  Not in my case. My mom & Nana were halfway home when Nana asked, "Where's the kid?" and Mom had to turn around, go back to the Food Fair, and stand at the end of the aisle, calling my name and saying it was past time to go home. (Like it was MY fault for letting her go home without me.) Nana never let Mom forget it.  LOL.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

TDIL the many uses of the Crown Royal bag.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

My parents would let me be alone for a time when we'd mill about a store on occasion when I was a kid, but that was because a) they knew I would behave myself and stay in the book section just quietly reading/skimming books, and b) they didn't leave me alone for a ridiculous amount of time, either. If they did want to check out something else, they still remained close by. 

Same. Occasionally I would wander over to the toy section and look around, praying that none of my school friends would see me. That was until I realized that if they saw me looking at toys, then that meant they were in the toy section too. God, the ridiculous stuff you worry about when you're a kid.

[Bruinsfan]

I too was a quiet read-the-books-or-comics-while-parents-shop type kid once I was old enough to read. Though I've been told an earlier tale of giving my dad the slip in the mall and prompting a panicked search before I was found in a dressing room making funny faces at a mirror.

Little kids are going to do annoying stuff; up to a certain age I don't blame them for behaviors they lack the maturity and brain development to control. Likewise attentive parents if they're at least making an effort to rein them in, even if that effort is unsuccessful. It's the oblivious parents and the ones who willingly ignore misbehavior that get me steamed. You're an adult, you should know better!

[Welshman in Ca]

35 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

 It's the oblivious parents and the ones who willingly ignore misbehavior that get me steamed. You're an adult, you should know better!

They do know better but they don't give a fuck because the world revolves around them & their child and you're the issue for not getting the memo as far as they're concerned.

[dleighg]

re: at home UTI tests. Yes they exist and seem to work reasonably well. Where to get? Amazon, where else. 

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

re: at home UTI tests. Yes they exist and seem to work reasonably well. Where to get? Amazon, where else. 

Thanks. I wonder if my doctor would believe them or make me come in anyway. I will have to ask her.

[Crashcourse]

When I go to the store I see more people--usually younger--looking at their phones and I assume it's their grocery list.  I still write mine down the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, but today I lost mine.  It must have fallen out of my pants pocket.  I panicked, LOL, thinking I wouldn't remember what I was going to buy.  Thankfully, my memory wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  However, I might consider putting the list on my phone from now on.  

[peacheslatour]

16 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

When I go to the store I see more people--usually younger--looking at their phones and I assume it's their grocery list.  I still write mine down the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, but today I lost mine.  It must have fallen out of my pants pocket.  I panicked, LOL, thinking I wouldn't remember what I was going to buy.  Thankfully, my memory wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  However, I might consider putting the list on my phone from now on.  

"We will make a list. We will keep it in a safe place. If we have time we will make a copy of the list in case something happens to the first list. If we lose the list, we'll be ruined"

Whenever my husband and I go to the store, one of will ask "Do you have the list?" and the other will say "If we lose the list, we'll be ruined." We're weird.

Edited June 22, 2022 by peacheslatour

[Prevailing Wind]

I used to make my list on the back of an envelope and put the appropriate coupons inside the envelope. I do insta-cart now.

[Bruinsfan]

I do my principal grocery shopping through the Kroger website, whether for pickup or a with a list I can consult on my phone as I walk through the store. Smaller purchases at other stores I rely on my Swiss cheese memory, but then I'm unlikely to forget toilet paper and I can live without most all the other fill-in items.

[madmax]

I've recently started using the local grocery's website/pick-up.  I'm hooked.  Why waste my time going into the store for the basics?  There's no charge for it. They have not only the recent things you purchased online, but things you actually purchased in store, if you used your rewards card.  Occasionally, I still need to pop in for random items, but the pick-up option is the best thing to come out of the lockdown.

Edited June 23, 2022 by madmax

[Prevailing Wind]

Grocery shopping online definitely cuts down on impulse spending.

[Colleenna]

6 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

When I go to the store I see more people--usually younger--looking at their phones and I assume it's their grocery list.  I still write mine down the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, but today I lost mine.  It must have fallen out of my pants pocket.  I panicked, LOL, thinking I wouldn't remember what I was going to buy.  Thankfully, my memory wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  However, I might consider putting the list on my phone from now on.  

I used to use a spiral bound notebook,  until the day I accidentally left the notebook in my buggy when I returned it to the buggy pen. 

There are a TON of grocery list apps available. 

[Bastet]

I write out my grocery lists on scratch paper (I don't have a smartphone, so I couldn't put it on my phone even if I wanted to), so there's other information on there as well.  The one and only grocery list I've lost (either in the store or parking lot, after I'd done my shopping at least) also happened to contain the full names and notations (e.g. "youngest kid" or "the one who works on computers") of everyone in my neighbor's house, because they were great at remembering my basics but I had trouble keeping them all straight so looked them up online and wrote down who was who.

Thankfully, none of them were murdered.  On general principle, of course, but also because if they had been, and someone had found that paper, noticed the name, and turned it over for fingerprint analysis, I'd have needed to establish I was not a stalker.

[Haleth]

I write out a menu plan for the week on one side of a piece of paper and put the grocery list on the other side.  If I lose it we'll starve.  I think a shopping app is probably a good idea... unless I forget my phone.

About the all over super duper antiperspirants, my daughter got married on a beach in Mexico when the temp and humidity were both about 99.  My hair was soaking wet after a couple hours.  I had to digitally mess with the photos so it didn't look like I had jumped in the pool.  I wonder if these products work on scalps. 😄

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

I write out a menu plan for the week on one side of a piece of paper and put the grocery list on the other side.  If I lose it we'll starve.  I think a shopping app is probably a good idea... unless I forget my phone.

About the all over super duper antiperspirants, my daughter got married on a beach in Mexico when the temp and humidity were both about 99.  My hair was soaking wet after a couple hours.  I had to digitally mess with the photos so it didn't look like I had jumped in the pool.  I wonder if these products work on scalps. 😄

I do the same.

[SnarkySheep]

23 hours ago, madmax said:

I've recently started using the local grocery's website/pick-up.  I'm hooked.  Why waste my time going into the store for the basics?  There's no charge for it.

I'm disabled, so my pride didn't let me do this for quite some time. Then COVID hit and I decided to give home delivery a try. 

After, when things got a bit better, I switched to curbside pickup. That way I can still feel part of the process but it's definitely physically easier on me than going through all the aisles after a full work day. At this point, I am definitely willing to pay someone to do things that may seem small to many, but are quite taxing to me. There's no point in using my limited strength and energy unnecessarily.

In case anyone wants to give curbside a try and has a Stop & Shop nearby, they recently released a promo code for free pickup on Wednesdays with a purchase of $30+ - SSPICKUPFREE -  until August 31.

[AnnA]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:43 PM, SnarkySheep said:

I'm disabled, so my pride didn't let me do this for quite some time. Then COVID hit and I decided to give home delivery a try. 

After, when things got a bit better, I switched to curbside pickup. That way I can still feel part of the process but it's definitely physically easier on me than going through all the aisles after a full work day. At this point, I am definitely willing to pay someone to do things that may seem small to many, but are quite taxing to me. There's no point in using my limited strength and energy unnecessarily.

In case anyone wants to give curbside a try and has a Stop & Shop nearby, they recently released a promo code for free pickup on Wednesdays with a purchase of $30+ - SSPICKUPFREE -  until August 31.

I've been using Stop and Shop's home delivery (Peapod) for years and I love it.  I had several surgeries a while back and grocery shopping wasn't something I could do.  I still have issues so I get my groceries delivered.  Their service is fabulous, their deliveries are on time and the drivers are friendly but professional.  

Edited June 25, 2022 by AnnA

[cynicat]

On 6/22/2022 at 4:30 PM, Crashcourse said:

When I go to the store I see more people--usually younger--looking at their phones and I assume it's their grocery list.  

I think they're likely Instacart shoppers.  As they shop, they check off each item in the app so the buyer can watch live to see if they get the right things, or they can ask a question if that product isn't available.  

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I switched to delivery and pick up.  Under the pandemic these options expanded greatly. Also, I had neck surgery, low back surgery, and a serious fall in which I fractured a vertebra.  I find most of them are quite good.  Where they can fail is in purchasing meat, fish, and poultry products.  If it is something that is packaged at a regular weight, there is no problem; e.g., 1 pound of ground turkey.  For other products, it can be hard to get them to choose the one that is on sale and not purchase an expensive alternative.  So I tend to go the store to get meat/poultry/fish. 

[madmax]

7 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Where they can fail is in purchasing meat, fish, and poultry products.  If it is something that is packaged at a regular weight, there is no problem; e.g., 1 pound of ground turkey.  For other products, it can be hard to get them to choose the one that is on sale and not purchase an expensive alternative.  So I tend to go the store to get meat/poultry/fish. 

This has been my biggest struggle, but it's not necessarily the shopper's fault.  I put an order in yesterday and there were steaks on sale.  The photo on the website showed 2 steaks, so I assumed (HA!) it was a package of 2 steaks, so I ordered one.  I got one steak.  

[Gramto6]

I just can't vision someone picking out food for me . I have tried Hungryroot and had throw out half of the food they sent as it was thawed out and not safe to eat.   I want to select  the food I want to eat, The only delivery services that have worked for me are Hive.com which is basically a pantry restock service (jarred foods/dry foods} and Azure.com which comes once a month with a huge refrigerated truck which delivers to a local place all your orders  cold or frozen as needed. It is chaotic and takes a long time, but food is properly saved and delivered. I just need to figure out how to order monthly.  

Fresh food I need to order on my own...

[mmecorday]

Quote

So I tend to go the store to get meat/poultry/fish. 

I am really picky about these grocery items so I feel better going to the store and choosing them myself. I'm funny about fresh produce too.

[Crashcourse]

I'll continue to do my own grocery shopping until I get too old/infirm to do so.   

I'll just be careful with my list and make sure I don't forget it or lose it. 😄

[Welshman in Ca]

3 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

I am really picky about these grocery items so I feel better going to the store and choosing them myself. I'm funny about fresh produce too.

My wife uses doordash & the fresh produce is the biggest issue I've seen. Having been a produce manager for a few years it's always the first thing I look at and my advice would be that you should get your own fruits for sure. There were actual seasons when I first started in the UK and I could have told you when things were available, now it's all there all year.

Meat we tend to get at costco unless we need ground beef, had a bad experience with theirs once & I don't give second chances with meat. Yes I was a butcher for 2 years when I was very young, more by accident than anything else & I have the scars to prove it. 🤣

[peacheslatour]

7 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I'll continue to do my own grocery shopping until I get too old/infirm to do so.   

I'll just be careful with my list and make sure I don't forget it or lose it. 😄

Don't lose the list. You'll be ruined.

[Bruinsfan]

I'm happy enough when I let the store shoppers handle meats like fish, chicken, and bacon. My options for specifying seem to avoid most complaints for those. Steak or roasted turkeys, I've got to see the available selections in person.

[Leeds]

On 6/2/2022 at 7:06 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

When grocery shopping, I always went to the magazine section and sat down on the bottom shelf to read comic books. "still remained close by" ?  Not in my case. My mom & Nana were halfway home when Nana asked, "Where's the kid?" and Mom had to turn around, go back to the Food Fair, and stand at the end of the aisle, calling my name and saying it was past time to go home. (Like it was MY fault for letting her go home without me.) Nana never let Mom forget it.  LOL.

When I was suffering from post-partum exhaustion, I once started to drive off with my baby in its car seat on the roof of the car.  Fortunately I realized before I'd done anything more than put the car in reverse.  Took a long time for my heartbeat to get back to normal.

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I am really picky about these grocery items so I feel better going to the store and choosing them myself. I'm funny about fresh produce too.

I'm picky about produce too and find the Instacart shoppers tend not to be (I'm not blaming them; I'm sure they're poorly paid and under pressure to get through as many orders as possible).

Edited June 27, 2022 by Leeds

[Colleenna]

12 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I just can't vision someone picking out food for me . I have tried Hungryroot and had throw out half of the food they sent as it was thawed out and not safe to eat.   I want to select  the food I want to eat, The only delivery services that have worked for me are Hive.com which is basically a pantry restock service (jarred foods/dry foods} and Azure.com which comes once a month with a huge refrigerated truck which delivers to a local place all your orders  cold or frozen as needed. It is chaotic and takes a long time, but food is properly saved and delivered. I just need to figure out how to order monthly.  

Fresh food I need to order on my own...

I'm the same way.  I don't want other people picking my food for me. I want to see and smell the produce. I'm picky about my brand of tofu and plant-based meat substitutes. And coffee (8 O'clock Dark Italian,  whole bean only.) 

[Prevailing Wind]

5 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I'm the same way.  I don't want other people picking my food for me. I want to see and smell the produce. I'm picky about my brand of tofu and plant-based meat substitutes. And coffee (8 O'clock Dark Italian,  whole bean only.) 

InstaCart requires you to be picky about brands. If they don't have the specific item you request, they let you know it's unavailable and do you have a substitute to approve or do you want a refund?  If you were in the store, the item wouldn't be there, so getting the refund instead of alternative item works out just the same.

[Haleth]

For some time now I've been doing basic grocery shopping at a basic grocery store, but buy meat and produce only at Fresh Thyme.  Choices are more limited but the quality is so much better.  

I haven't checked out the local farmers' market this year.  Only went once last year because most of the vendors bailed due to covid.  I'll have to make a note to myself.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:52 AM, millennium said:

I just saw that spot.   I'm always a little let down because those glasses make you think something shocking's behind them.  

[Haleth]

[Colleenna]

I, for one, am so happy to see all sorts of people represented in commercials: various races, fat people,  thin people,  average people,  differently-abled folks; gay couples, straight couples, single parents.  It's about time that advertisers actually represented their target audience.  (My takeaway from ads for certain resorts is that only young, thin, pretty people are allowed to vacation there.)

That being said, I do believe that interracial couples are over represented. It seems as if every other ad portrays one. It's become a joke between my husband and me: "Oh, look, the obligatory interracial family!" 

[mmecorday]

There's an ad for Trivago that I just can't stand. Two women are checking out of a hotel. One woman's rate is $129. The other's is $99 because she booked through Trivago. My beef with this is that the desk clerk actually says the rate out loud. I worked at a hotel for 13 years and we knew better than to announce the rate of a room. We were just supposed to circle it and show it to the guest. Also, the lower rate could be for a less fancy room.

[janie jones]

Also, you're told your rate when you check in/make the reservation, not when you check out.