Monday, March 26, 2007

Supermarket Checkouts...

Things were going so well. In my lunch break I had rushed out to Argos to buy my neice a guitar stand for her birthday, and this had gone perfectly. As I left I decided to pop into Asda to get her a card and also to grab something for lunch.

Zoom! In was in like Flynn, grabbed a card, some hot Southern Chicken fillets, a couple of bread rolls and off to the checkouts.

I cruised along looking for the shortest queue and found one with a couple who only had about 3 items left to be scanned. Aha!

Wham! I unpacked my 3 items onto the conveyer belt and waited. And waited. The couple were still packing items and it was what seemed like an eternity before one of them actually paid for their shopping.

OK, a slight blip on my progress, but hey I was next. Meanwhile, someone else who had been playing the same game as me (ie looking for a short queue) moved in behind me. My fate was sealed.

Bleep, bleep, bleep. My shopping went through. Then the girl paused and smiled sheepishly.

"That is not right, is it?"

I looked at the green numbers glowing, mockingly, on the till.

£321.97

"No", I agreed.

So then we had to wait for a supervisor to come over and cancel the sale so we could start again.

Bleep, bleep, bleep.

£1.98

"Now that isn't right either", I said. The card alone was £1.97! Curse my honesty!

Back comes the supervisor, eventually, who seemed to be having a very long private chat on her mobile phone. Sale cancelled. Items entered into the system manually, ie very slowly. The woman behind me rolls her eyes, while I shrug helplessly.

Finally I am asked for the correct amount and I am able to leave, already late for work!

Am I the only person to suffer from this? Is it tempting fate to look for the shortest queue? I see others joining stupidly long lines and getting out way ahead of me! Do they know something that I do not? Is that why some checkouts have very short queue - because those who know better are avoiding them like a half cooked chicken at a barbeque?

9 comments:

Stacy said...

No you are definitely not the only one. I scope out the checkouts and try to pick the shortest one but always manage to pick the slowest one.

The eternal struggle.

Logzie said...

Me too!! I always look for the shortest and yet always end up in the longest!!

Terri said...

Was the lesson here about getting out of the store quickly? Because what I got out of it was that you, John, a MAN, did the shopping for a niece's birthday present! This is not a familiar practice at my house. If I sent Mark to buy a present for a niece or nephew... well, suffice it to say he wouldn't be up for the task. He'd come home with beef jerkey or something like that.

Ali said...

That is the curse of being impatient I guess - a curse which I have been dealt in abundance. My impatience is legendary, and in fact I have pitched a fit and walked out of stores because lines took so long.
You are a much calmer person than I, my friend.

Logzie said...

Oh my gosh, I was thinking the same thing Terri...I was QUITE impressed that John was shopping for a birthday present for his neice and then even remembered the card! Impressive John!

P.S.-beef jerkey...LOL...FUNNY!!!!

Rock Chef said...

Hm, I guess I am quite domesticated. Where we used to live our next door neighbours thought I must be gay because I could do the laundry without turning everything pink!

mr zig said...

a couple of years ago I lost it in a long line and then something snapped inside my head, and now my shopping stresses are no more. I no longer look for the quick way, but instead just accept that it will always take longer than I want. Now I just pick any line, don't care if its long, short, quick or slow. After all its not something we can control - this new "not caring" attitude has also made christmas shopping enjoyable again...

Rock Chef said...

Mr Zig - I am normally laid back like this, but sometimes, mainly when I am trying to squeeze things into my lunch break, it just goes wrong and really gets to me!

mr zig said...

I hear ya John - trust me, I'm not always cool and collected. Even with my new attitude I still sometimes swear and throw stuff... its fun. (well ok, not fun, but its funNY afterwards)