Grocery Store Etiquette 101

For those of you who don't know, I work at a little farm market grocery store in Penticton. It's not much and every two weeks I wonder how I can live for free at my parents on such little pay but it's all I've got right now. It feels like I'm mostly a cashier but I do have my turn down produce alley -- stocking round things on square platforms (onions are my fav) or trimming lettuce and celery. Every item has a code. You can ask me anything. Come on. Go for it! Asparagus? Easy. 33. Kohlrabi? Never heard of it? Me neither. 187.

Anyway, my purpose here is to let off a little steam with a few things that seem to happen on a regular basis. Three cheers for customer service!

Here we go with Grocery Store Etiquette:

1. Please empty your OWN basket. I may look more than capable, but it's just rude and frankly slows the line down because I have to dig around your pile of food at a very difficult angle. Oh, and while your emptying your own basket and nifty cart, do recognize the urge found deep down that you really should put it back where you found it. Leaving it in the middle of the isle or in front of the door is really unsightly and giving people the wrong impression that it's ok.

2. Please place items on the counter as close to cashier as possible. Do not be fooled that the stainless steel countertop is NOT, in fact, a conveyor belt, nor do my arms fall below my knees giving me greater access to the items at the farthest end of the counter.

3. When given the total amount to pay, swinging your arm up in the air with a card of some description does not actually indicate how you intend to pay. Is that debit? Could it be a Visa? Mastercard? I consider myself fairly talented but I cannot read your mind or read the back side of any bank cards. Since when has society resorted to complacency and lost the ability to converse and say words like, "I'll use my debit card please" or "I'll pay with Visa, thanks". Maybe my favourite customers are the old people who use cash. They take their time, dig out their hard earned money, and count their pennies. It's an effort to spend money -- just like it should be. It's to easy to swipe and run, not to mention, completely impersonal. All this to say, USE YOUR WORDS. I don't care how you pay but it would sure be nice to know so I can push the right buttons on my end to take your money. Oh, and on this credit card business. There is no need to apologize to me for using your credit card. If you are apologizing because you feel bad for putting less than $5 on your credit card then that's your problem and clearly you don't have control of your money. Again, not my problem.

Well, that's just a start. Other things do arise and I'll be sure to jot them down to share. In the meantime, be nice to the grocery people (especially around Christmas time). They're typically decent people (cough cough) not getting paid a lot (gag!) and have to deal with a whole range of people. Be one of the nice ones. Thanks.