Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Attention, able-bodied shoppers!
Yes, you, the one trying to decipher your spouse's grocery list. And you, with a cart piled so high you can't see over the top of it. And you, who shop wearing athletic gear and armed with a stopwatch. And you, with five children in five aisles all shouting for your attention. And you, with the tunnel vision of an intense bargain hunter. And you, wandering aimlessly out of sheer boredom. I would like to address all of you.
I realize you are all valued customers, and the stores rely upon the generous spending of your money. But some of you need to be reminded that you are not the only shopper in the entire store, at least most the time you aren't. And because of this, some of you would benefit with a short course in shopping etiquette, or at least some suggestions.
From time to time, the other shoppers surrounding you might not have your ease and grace. Some may have canes or walkers or maybe a cast on their leg. Some may be using a regular shopping cart for support as well as to hold their groceries. And more frequently, you may encounter shoppers in wheelchairs or using electric carts. These are also people upon whom the stores rely for the generous spending of their money. But when you are thoughtless, cruel or simply uneducated as to how to treat these other shoppers with reasonable consideration, you may be keeping them from completing their shopping as they intended. And that is unfair.
The simplest way for an able-bodied shopper to be considerate is to be aware of his or her surroundings. Think of a shopping aisle as a road and your shopping cart as an automobile. Just as you would not read a map without keeping your eyes on the road, please do not read your shopping list while pushing your cart. You are not watching where you are going, and you risk running into other shoppers. If you need to consult your list, please pull your cart over to one side of an aisle and stop. This enables the other shoppers to go around you if necessary. And look around you before proceeding, in case someone is indeed trying to get around you.
And just as on a highway you would not want to slam on your brakes without reason, please don't stop suddenly in the middle of an aisle. The other shoppers are not mind readers, and not everyone is as capable of stopping as suddenly as you can. This is particularly true for people driving electric carts. Many of these carts have no ability to slow down; they either propel forward or backward or stop completely. When you stop short in front of them, they must release the lever that makes them go forward, and the cart jerks to a stop, which can be quite painful for the driver, similar to a whiplash effect while in an automobile. Some drivers of electric carts may have slow reflexes, which further hampers their ability to avoid running into people who stop suddenly in front of them. And whatever you do, don't back up without checking if the way is clear! Neither able-bodied or disabled shoppers are expecting you to do that, and someone could get hurt.
And if you are trying to decide between items on either side of an aisle, please do not park your cart crosswise filling up the whole aisle. No one can get around you. And please do not wander away to another aisle leaving your cart behind blocking the way. That is just rude. That forces people to either move your cart for you so they can get past (which they would probably rather not do), or forces them to turn around and go back down the aisle. When an aisle is narrow or has center displays or posts, turning around can be quite difficult for someone in an electric cart. Many electric carts move unpredictably in reverse, causing chaos and embarrassment when they clip a solid object. How would you feel if you accidentally knocked over a center aisle display because you were trying to get around an abandoned shopping cart?
Please do not park your cart next to an end cap display if there is no room to go around you. This is especially true when the checkout lines are backed up all the way to the end caps. And for heaven's sake, don't abandon your cart there. Other shoppers with carts of any kind might not be able to see around that end cap and may run into your cart, you, or people in the checkout line.
Just as you would not drive a car when you can't see over the steering wheel, please do not pile a cart so high with small items that you can't see where you are going. If you run into something, you'll be spilling your potential purchases all over the place, which does not make anyone happy. If you are purchasing a large item, please at least look around the sides of the cart and go around the end caps carefully.
Shopping is not generally a timed event unless you are on a game show. So if you are in such a hurry that you feel the need to run through the store, please come back either when the store is less crowded or when you can complete your shopping at a more leisurely pace. If you are rushing, you are probably not mindful of the other shoppers. Cutting people off in the grocery store is just as rude as doing so on the highway. And the very height of rudeness is pushing past a disabled person purchasing only a few itemss to get in the checkout ahead of them with a full cart. While it may be saving you some time, you may be unintentionally causing the disabled shopper extra pain and fatigue by making them wait. That extra pain and fatigue may keep them from going to another store that day, or it may make them decide not to shop at that particular store ever again. And remember, the store doesn't just want able-bodied people's money, it wants money from the disabled shoppers as well.
Parents of small children, please keep track of the kids' whereabouts. Children running pell mell through aisles are seldom watching where they are going and present a hazard to both the other shoppers and the products on the shelves. If your child knocks items into the aisle, please either pick them up or have a store employee do it. Another shopper might slip and fall or simply might not be able to get around the mess. Same applies if you take a large item off a shelf and then decide against buying it. Don't just leave it sitting in the middle of the aisle. Either put it back or get it out of the way of the other shoppers.
I realize that bargain hunting takes time and perhaps a great deal of label-reading. That's fine. But if you are particularly indecisive, you might want to look about you from time to time to see if anyone else is trying to get to the section you are standing in front of. Shoppers in electric carts can't necessarily climb conveniently past you to grab what they want. And please, if you see you are blocking someone's way, don't just stand there and ignore them. Would you want someone to do that to you?
I would like to end here with praise for those of you, shoppers and store employees, who have gone above and beyond to help me. Yesterday, a man realized he had started unloading a cart full of food in the "10 items or less" line. While the checkout clerk said he wouldn't have to move, he did notice I was behind him with only two items, and he generously allowed me to go ahead of him. Last week, a grocery store employee allowed me to drive the electric cart into the parking lot to my car (I was so fatigued that it showed), and she drove it back to the store for me. And a couple of weeks ago, when the cart I was driving stalled, a valiant Target employee personally towed the cart to the checkout line with me riding in it. Please rest assured that the disabled don't usually forget kindness shown them, and I have been blessed enough times that it makes up for the rudeness I encounter the majority of the time.
But a little more awareness on the part of the thoughtless people wouldn't hurt.
I realize you are all valued customers, and the stores rely upon the generous spending of your money. But some of you need to be reminded that you are not the only shopper in the entire store, at least most the time you aren't. And because of this, some of you would benefit with a short course in shopping etiquette, or at least some suggestions.
From time to time, the other shoppers surrounding you might not have your ease and grace. Some may have canes or walkers or maybe a cast on their leg. Some may be using a regular shopping cart for support as well as to hold their groceries. And more frequently, you may encounter shoppers in wheelchairs or using electric carts. These are also people upon whom the stores rely for the generous spending of their money. But when you are thoughtless, cruel or simply uneducated as to how to treat these other shoppers with reasonable consideration, you may be keeping them from completing their shopping as they intended. And that is unfair.
The simplest way for an able-bodied shopper to be considerate is to be aware of his or her surroundings. Think of a shopping aisle as a road and your shopping cart as an automobile. Just as you would not read a map without keeping your eyes on the road, please do not read your shopping list while pushing your cart. You are not watching where you are going, and you risk running into other shoppers. If you need to consult your list, please pull your cart over to one side of an aisle and stop. This enables the other shoppers to go around you if necessary. And look around you before proceeding, in case someone is indeed trying to get around you.
And just as on a highway you would not want to slam on your brakes without reason, please don't stop suddenly in the middle of an aisle. The other shoppers are not mind readers, and not everyone is as capable of stopping as suddenly as you can. This is particularly true for people driving electric carts. Many of these carts have no ability to slow down; they either propel forward or backward or stop completely. When you stop short in front of them, they must release the lever that makes them go forward, and the cart jerks to a stop, which can be quite painful for the driver, similar to a whiplash effect while in an automobile. Some drivers of electric carts may have slow reflexes, which further hampers their ability to avoid running into people who stop suddenly in front of them. And whatever you do, don't back up without checking if the way is clear! Neither able-bodied or disabled shoppers are expecting you to do that, and someone could get hurt.
And if you are trying to decide between items on either side of an aisle, please do not park your cart crosswise filling up the whole aisle. No one can get around you. And please do not wander away to another aisle leaving your cart behind blocking the way. That is just rude. That forces people to either move your cart for you so they can get past (which they would probably rather not do), or forces them to turn around and go back down the aisle. When an aisle is narrow or has center displays or posts, turning around can be quite difficult for someone in an electric cart. Many electric carts move unpredictably in reverse, causing chaos and embarrassment when they clip a solid object. How would you feel if you accidentally knocked over a center aisle display because you were trying to get around an abandoned shopping cart?
Please do not park your cart next to an end cap display if there is no room to go around you. This is especially true when the checkout lines are backed up all the way to the end caps. And for heaven's sake, don't abandon your cart there. Other shoppers with carts of any kind might not be able to see around that end cap and may run into your cart, you, or people in the checkout line.
Just as you would not drive a car when you can't see over the steering wheel, please do not pile a cart so high with small items that you can't see where you are going. If you run into something, you'll be spilling your potential purchases all over the place, which does not make anyone happy. If you are purchasing a large item, please at least look around the sides of the cart and go around the end caps carefully.
Shopping is not generally a timed event unless you are on a game show. So if you are in such a hurry that you feel the need to run through the store, please come back either when the store is less crowded or when you can complete your shopping at a more leisurely pace. If you are rushing, you are probably not mindful of the other shoppers. Cutting people off in the grocery store is just as rude as doing so on the highway. And the very height of rudeness is pushing past a disabled person purchasing only a few itemss to get in the checkout ahead of them with a full cart. While it may be saving you some time, you may be unintentionally causing the disabled shopper extra pain and fatigue by making them wait. That extra pain and fatigue may keep them from going to another store that day, or it may make them decide not to shop at that particular store ever again. And remember, the store doesn't just want able-bodied people's money, it wants money from the disabled shoppers as well.
Parents of small children, please keep track of the kids' whereabouts. Children running pell mell through aisles are seldom watching where they are going and present a hazard to both the other shoppers and the products on the shelves. If your child knocks items into the aisle, please either pick them up or have a store employee do it. Another shopper might slip and fall or simply might not be able to get around the mess. Same applies if you take a large item off a shelf and then decide against buying it. Don't just leave it sitting in the middle of the aisle. Either put it back or get it out of the way of the other shoppers.
I realize that bargain hunting takes time and perhaps a great deal of label-reading. That's fine. But if you are particularly indecisive, you might want to look about you from time to time to see if anyone else is trying to get to the section you are standing in front of. Shoppers in electric carts can't necessarily climb conveniently past you to grab what they want. And please, if you see you are blocking someone's way, don't just stand there and ignore them. Would you want someone to do that to you?
I would like to end here with praise for those of you, shoppers and store employees, who have gone above and beyond to help me. Yesterday, a man realized he had started unloading a cart full of food in the "10 items or less" line. While the checkout clerk said he wouldn't have to move, he did notice I was behind him with only two items, and he generously allowed me to go ahead of him. Last week, a grocery store employee allowed me to drive the electric cart into the parking lot to my car (I was so fatigued that it showed), and she drove it back to the store for me. And a couple of weeks ago, when the cart I was driving stalled, a valiant Target employee personally towed the cart to the checkout line with me riding in it. Please rest assured that the disabled don't usually forget kindness shown them, and I have been blessed enough times that it makes up for the rudeness I encounter the majority of the time.
But a little more awareness on the part of the thoughtless people wouldn't hurt.
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