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(42 posts)

Rant: People in Checkout Line on Their Cell Phones

Started 1 year ago by yamanb
Latest reply from todd_

yamanb
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Guy and his friend in line tonight at the Jefferson Square Safeway. I politely ask if you are in line as you are straddling two lines while talking on your cell phone. You proceed to keep talking on the phone as you argue with me that I should mind my own business.

What's with people being inconsiderate of others as they blab on their phone and blame others when they're called out to pay attention to what's going on around them? I can't even imagine what it's like when these same people drive and talk on their cell phone. Oh wait, that's supposed to be illegal now...

Posted 1 year ago #
pigeonmom
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Oy! Don't get me started on this one. :-<
I've seen tons of jerky cell phone chatters at the ferry dock. Including some of my co-workers! Grrr.
The world apparently revolves around them.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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Thursday in PCC I watched as a woman made the cashier wait for her while she finished her phone call before paying. Unbridled lack of consideration. These things seem to bring out the worst in us.

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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I really hate to see parents with their toddlers in strollers going for a walk and they are chatting away on their cell phones... "So he said blah blah blah and then I said blah blah blah." Please hang up and talk with your kid. His intelligence and success depends on your interactions.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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i agree about the phones, but grocery lines bring out the worst in people, too.

what's up with standing too close to me, then muscling in as soon as the cashier hands me my change? can i please have a second to get my affairs back in my wallet? [because cashiers are also less-than-courteous these days, and insist on handing coins, bills, and receipt in a pile, then turn immediately to the next in line. we used to call that "the bum's rush."] believe me, i don't intend to camp there, and i'm in a hurry, too. i just need some space for like 10 seconds, people. i paid for it, after all.

it seems that patience and courtesy are increasingly antiquated notions.

Posted 1 year ago #
Smitty
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"what's up with standing too close to me, then muscling in as soon as the cashier hands me my change? "

*Major* pet peeve of mine. I always give space to the person in front but never get the same consideration in return. Drives me nuts!

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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I am not condoning crowding at the register..
but i get it.

here's the problem...

you can't check the register tape if you aren't standing in front of it and the cashier isn't waiting to check your items through...

i hate it too.
I have actually asked the cashier to wait until i can see the register before starting my order.
they don't.

some stores have a second little "desk" down where groceries are bagged for you to put stuff away.... but most don't.

i sure miss the days when a clerk waited for you to check your change before you left the register.

i think the idea is that the further they get you away from the register the less likely you are to take the time and effort to check and complain about an item that is inaccurately priced or incorrect change.

I want a friendly responsive polite clerk where i buy my groceries...
I don't want to check myself out and wait for the lone clerk while the machine beeps because something didn't go well...
and i don't want the bums rush.

I often choose the morgan thriftway or met market or PCC for that very reason... but i always spend too much in those stores. It seems i can't resist temptation and those groceries have it in spades:(

i am beginning to think shopping online may be the answer for pantry staples...

and Tony's.
they are closing for the season soon.. if they have't already.. and i will miss them.
February can't come too soon.

Posted 1 year ago #
yikes
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LOL, Smitty! We lived in Europe for awhile and many Northern Europeans have very little sense of personal space. My neighbors would stand in line so close to me at the stores that they would sometimes touch me. It drove me crazy! Then I realized they were all doing it... and I was the weirdo wanting space. I loved Europe, but that is one of the things I was really happy to return to... Big grocery stores! big parking spaces! and big personal space!

Posted 1 year ago #
Smitty
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Europeans are way more attractive so it didn't bother me as much over there.

The other thing about Europe is they appear to not have any ice! I ordered a fanta with EXTRA ice and by the time it came to the table their was one piece spiraling out of existence! Ice, freeways and Targets, baby!

Other than that - Europe kicks our butt.

Posted 1 year ago #
Kimberley
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That's funny, I think Americans are more touchy-feeling and stand to close to me whilst in the checkout line than Europeans back home standing in line at Tesco's.

Posted 1 year ago #
dgirl
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I saw an amazing one the other day at the Admiral Met Market. A woman was in the "Express" lane with about 30 items. As the checker checked her out, he politely reminded her that next time she should go through the regular and not the express line (it was a very crowded day). The woman was irate and informed the checker that he would NEVER be telling her that if Safeway hadn't closed!! Nasty and amazing...!

Posted 1 year ago #
yikes
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OMG, Smitty! I am an ice freak, too. I lived in England, Germany and Belgium and Belgium was the only country that served ice. It has something to do with getting value out of the drink, not having it watered down. That's why they mark the glasses, too.

And... I'm with you on many of the aspects of Europe. Not so fond of how many of them are less than friendly toward the handicapped and minorities.

However, I raised my daughter there, and their family policies put ours to shame.

Nice to meet you!

Posted 1 year ago #
Kevin
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Two techniques that I have used in the past for the folks with no sense of what personal space is.

For the ones that are closer than I would like but not that close, I will sometimes turn around and start engaging them in pleasant face to face conversation. That will sometimes make THEM uncomfortable.

Another one that I have used when someone is actually is touching me, is to turn and ask them in a fairly loud voice, "are you trying to pick pocket me?" and if their response is anything other than a simple apology, I will respond back with "you know, people usually only stand that close to someone they don't know when they are trying to pickpocket them." Fortunately I have only had to use this one rarely, but it does get the point across.

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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smitty ..wonder what the taxes are in Europe to make it the way you like it ;->

Posted 1 year ago #
Smitty
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"smitty ..wonder what the taxes are in Europe to make it the way you like it ;->"

Very high, from what I hear! No causation, however!

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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kevin: nice! i like it, and i'm going to use it.

with your permission, of course.

my personal theory is that most americans have some kind of social disorder that makes them want to be too close to people who may or may not have washed recently.

but the phone thing is disturbing, too. i don't think that you or your conversation are as important as you think they are. so whose self-entitlement wins? your right to yell a conversation in public; or my right to relative peace - even in public?

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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I've always felt that mobile phones come with voicemail for a reason...and that more people should take advantage of it. :)

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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Smitty...

on the contrary.. there is direct causation bectween taxes and what most Americans love about Europe.

Most of the buildings we love to gawk at in Europe were the direct result of taxation.

Those public transportation systems.. not privatized.

the autoban.. public money there...

those manufacturing jobs... subsidized by taxes..

that well educated populace that is so much fun to talk with ... taxes :)

and the list rolls on....

Posted 1 year ago #
yikes
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JOB:

Taxes are correlated to much of the benefits they enjoy in Europe, but those are things and not all of what I admire.

Among the things I appreciated the most was how the Germans care for their elderly... in their homes. And many live in multiple generational homes where grandma to grandkids live. I love their family focus... don't know if I could live like this, being brought up in our less close culture, but I think it is a very good model.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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Yikes...

the medical care and other financial support that the elderly get in Germany is one of the contributing factors in that multi-generational family focus you mention..

it is paid for by taxes.

In fact.. wellness health care instead of critical health care is the largest contributing factor contributing to the elderly and disabled remaining in their homes .. even when those homes also house extended family.

not to mention the available childcare and eldercare that makes it possible to leave children.. and parents and grandparents ... in safe and nurturing environments while at work.

While i am sure there are some who choose not to have parents and grandparents in their home or nearby because of a need for personal space...

most of those i know now struggling with those decisions find the financial burden and lack of supporting services far more onerous.

The sad truth is that they find parents or grands or greatgrands or disabled spouses or siblings are actually going to be safer and get better care in an assisted living facility.

I am guessing you are not of an age to be making those kinds of choice yet... but they turnout to be far more complex than they seem.

Posted 1 year ago #
yikes
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Actually, JoB, I am of the age to make these decisions... both as an individual and as the child of parents... I plowed my way through the system this year as both my parents died at age 94. And what I know to be true is that they wanted to be home, surrounded by family in the last year of their lives. It was horrendously expensive, because our system tends to prefer to support them in group settings but they stayed with family in a home setting and had a good passing.

I don't think that anything can substitute for the presence and love of family, no matter how great the assisted living situations can be... and many are very good in Seattle. My dad died in his favorite barco lounger, surrounded by us, and, of course nurses.

That is the spirit that I saw in Germany... that family took care of family and all members were a part of that.

Posted 1 year ago #
luckymom30
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What people who stand in line waiting to use the public restrooms and talk on their phones.

Posted 1 year ago #
pbgirl423
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What's the difference between someone on their cell phone or just talking with a friend in person? If that person is clueless, they'll stay that way whether they're on the phone or not. The phone is not the problem. The person is.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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yikes..

i am glad you had the resources to make that happen for your parents. Not everyone does... at least not here.

and therein lies the rub :(

Posted 1 year ago #
saney
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my grocery line checkout pet peeve....when the cashier is having personal conversations with his/her co-workers while ringing up my groceries.

Posted 1 year ago #
pam
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Wasn't thrilled this weekend when my husband was getting a CT Scan and the technician took a personal call to talk about where to take the kids trick or treating.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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pbgirl: a two-person conversation is an activity that requires the participation and attention of two people. yes, when the conversation is loud, it's annoying.

one person talking on a phone while trying to do other things - like get through a checkout line - or drive - is annoying to the point of being dangerous, because that person is distracted from the things he is expected to be doing normally, and he may do things unexpectedly, seem rude, or consciously act rudely because he is paying more attention to his conversation than his physical surroundings.

no, the problem with phones isn't a hands-free argument: it's a head-free argument. even people with the goofy blue star trek thingy hanging off of their heads are distracted by their phone conversations and cannot concentrate on their physical surroundings.

i heard recently that illinois has a law that states that you cannot have a cellular conversation while driving. period.

i like it. i like it a lot. so how soon can we amend washington's new law?

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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Pam's is the first example here that I have an inherent problem with; all the others are just people being inconsiderate, but taking a personal call while you're supposed to be paying attention to a client, customer, or patient strikes me as unprofessional and rude.

This is heretical in my profession (I'm a librarian) but I actually don't mind people talking on cell phones in the library, as long as they aren't disturbing others. It's the disturbing others I have a problem with, and I'll tell people to quiet down whether their loud conversation is with someone else who's physically present, or at the other end of a phone connection.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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datamuse: awesome avatar!

hey, at least libraries are designed like giant playpens: it's hard to physically hurt yourself or other people in there, even if you're having a phone conversation.

and it can never hurt to remember that everyone is someone else's weirdo.

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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Thanks Redblack! It's from here: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html . I love Hyperbole and a Half.

I WISH libraries were designed like giant playpens. That would be AWESOME. Maybe if we get some more beanbag chairs...

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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get a lot of 911 calls to the SPL, do you? :)

seriously, though, when i was a kid i loved going to the library because they actually had beanbag chairs in which i could lounge while mulling my selections.

also, i find that libraries induce peace and calm, are usually carpeted and quiet, and are devoid of thugs.

also, too, funny stuff at hyberbole + 1/2. "clean ALL the things." indeed.

Posted 1 year ago #
yamanb
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Wow, I did not intend on eliciting this time of response when I first posted...Glad everyone feels as strongly as I do about this though.

Also have to say nice avatar to datamuse.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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thanks to all of you ...

today i thanked the woman in line behind me who took a call and asked to call back in 5 minutes...

she appreciated the thank you so much that she is going to do the same....

maybe we can start a movement ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
Al
Member Profile

It's positively shocking how many people I see on cell phones while driving...and scary.

Just a note about the taxes in Europe issue too. Think of it this way. They are paying their "share" up front and it's divvied up as the govt sees best to do so, to make sure the entities get their share. We on the other hand, pay after the fact for the most part and some people pay more of a share than others depending on who knows how many factors (location, income, health issues, education debt, etc). And if those people default or can't pay our current taxes have to cover their debts - in various ways.

Both the US and Europe are experiencing economic upheavals but they still get access to health care, education, child care, etc. All of which makes their standard of living much higher than ours.

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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Well, Redblack, I don't know...I don't work for SPL. :)

We did recently get some beanbag chairs and the kids seem to be diggin' em. It's generally pretty peaceful...except during finals week anyway!

Posted 1 year ago #
josie2006
Member Profile

If I'm on my phone at the store, I always make it a point to either call back or ask my caller to hold on while I interact with the cashier, if I'm just getting an item or two. I guess some would still consider it rude that I'm on my phone at all, but sometimes those moments at the grocery store are the only time I get to make a call, when juggling work and kids. But I believe it is possible to be aware of one's surroundings while on the phone and to still be polite to all. It can be done. I know many will disagree but I agree with the pp who said the problem is the person, not the phone.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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We apologize in advance if we ever answer the phone and are in line with you at the store. It's our business phone, it's mobile, and our business is to answer it 24/7 because it might be about a crime or fire or something else urgent ... but we do have to go to the store once in a while, and sometimes that's when news happens. (Like the Highland Park fire a couple weekends ago ... had to take the item out of the cart, put it back on the shelf, and run for the exit.)

Posted 1 year ago #
metrognome
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WSB: I for one am shocked at your behavior -- I assumed award-winning journalists such as yourselves had minions to perform those mundane tasks for you!!! And, if you are taking the time to eat, not to mention to shop, you clearly aren't working as hard as you imply in some of your posts.
Seriously, it doesn't surprise me that you take the time to put something back on the shelf before you flee the store for a story; that pretty much exemplifies the care and standards that are reflected in the way you run the blog. A small thing, no doubt, but the small things truly reflect the larger values at work.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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okay. i'll grudgingly make an exception for the press. (as long as it's not anderson vanderbilt from CNN. then again, if he's at the thriftway, i probably have other things to worry about.)

and cops, EMT, and firemen.

and cardiac surgeons.

but that's it!

Posted 1 year ago #
WesCAddle
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...and what's the deal with checks? In this day and age are we still really paying for items with checks? I have a feeling that the same people on here that are moaning about people behind them hurrying them up, are them same people that consider a grocery purchase a major bank transaction. I love when they wait for the total to be announced and proceed to dig through their purse until they find their gigantic check register. They then don their green accountants visor, dip their feather pen in the ink well, and proceed to scribe a novel into their checkbook. After they proudly tear the inscribed note from it's booklet, they present it to the clerk. They will then pull out their other wallet and begin the process of locating their drivers license so that they might confirm their identity and seal the transaction. After the purchase is complete, it's time for the inevitable "recording of the proceedings" wherein the purchaser scrawls notes into their register regarding time, place, amount, weather conditions, etc. Then it's time to return all of the accessories required for this epic purchase to their proper receptacles, pockets, and storage bins....locate the keys to the car......and button up the coat for the long trek back to the parking lot.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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author! author! funny and well-written, wes.

i sometimes write checks (my wife and i have a joint account that i am not allowed to carry the card for because she doesn't want to cover my beer money) pre-filled-out with date, payee, signature, home phone, and DL number. i can fill in the amounts - numeric and long-form - in as little time as it takes to swipe a card, enter a PIN, confirm the amount, request or decline cash back, and receive a receipt and possible cash back. i fill in the register later.

if i'm feeling daring, i'll wait until my groceries are being bagged to fill out the entire check. i usually have time left over to file my nails.

and i bring my own pen. (ball point, not quill and ink.) if it makes you feel better, i'll start carrying a backup.

Posted 1 year ago #
todd_
Member Profile

Nice to see so many feel the way I do. I've said before that common courtesy and common sense don't seem too common anymore. I hope those terms don't leave our vocabulary.

I thought I was the only one who felt uncomfortable by people standing too close. The pickpocket line is a good approach. Try these on for size (at your own risk) -

Are you looking for a date? or thanks but I'm married.

Posted 1 year ago #