As my first "holiday" shopping trip in a semi-packed store this holiday season came and went today, I came to the realization (again. Same time every year.) that I was going to need my wits and possibly a stiff drink in order to get through every other shopping trip between now and Christmas Eve. I don't want to go through yet another Christmas season of coming home in a bad mood because people checked their manners, their humanity and/or their brain at the electronic doors in the front of the store. So I ask... pretty, pretty please:
1. Please do not leave your cart in the middle of the isle. The ten thousand people trying to get around you will appreciate it.
2. If you're distracted, I get it. We all do it. If someone has to say "excuse me" or you realize you are in the way, say "I'm sorry". Don't just give the other person trying to pass the evil eye and move your cart angrily to the side. We're all in this together and a small gesture of an "Oops" goes a long way.
3. If you see someone in the store you know and want to stop and chat, pull it over to the side or, if at ALL possible, take it to a less crowded isle. Please don't stand in the middle of a crowded isle talking to your next-door neighbor about the botched potty training lesson from last night.
4. Please realize that the person working in whatever particular area you need help in is not your personal punching bag. They can't help that the store just ran out of what you needed. They have feelings and dignity just like you do.
5. Give a random person some eye contact and a big smile. You just might be making someone's lousy day better.
I know there are more and I need help to add to this list.
What tip would you add?
*Though tempting, please don't brandish the stroller as a weapon.
*Be AWARE of the space around you.
*Yes, you may BE really, really awesome, but right now, you're just another cog in the wheel, so, guess what? NO, you don't get to go to the front of the line!
:)
Oh I just howled at this!! So funny!! And so necessary. I wonder if I can print this and just drop it in everyone's cart I see?!?!
I love the people that will laugh and joke with you. I loathe the people that think they own whatever aisle they are in and apparently never leard the words "I'm sorry."
Maybe we should drink together after shopping?!?! It's awful! :)
ETA - maybe I'll wait for everyone's responses to print, since the one's I've seen so far are fabulous!! LOL
6. Say excuse me when passing in front of someone shopping.
7. Sort your items on the belt. (frozen with frozen, cold with cold, dry goods, and keep non food items together). This makes life easier for the cashier and the line MUCH faster.
8. Remove your hangers from your clothing while you wait in line and make the tags accessible.
9. Don't leave your empty cart just anywhere - return it if possible (unless you have small children you can't leave in the car...you get a pass)
10. Let the pedestrians WALK across the parking lot without mowing them down. Remember, you are a lot warmer and dryer in your car while you wait on them.
11. Keep some loose coins handy so your kiddo can donate on the way in or out.
12. Remember that your kids are watching how you respond to the craziness. :)
Happy Holidays!
I want to add a don't"
Don't purposely run your cart into someone, especially when they are having a really bad and stressful day. They just may kick your cart and yell, "If you would have waited a damn second I would have moved!"
Yes, I was having a bad day indeed.
My tip:
If you can't pay attention to your surroundings, get off your cell phone. If I see you texting or talking and not paying attention, I'm not moving out of your way. You will get checked into the nearest display.
Love this. Especially number 5. I still remember a random woman who smiled at me 4 years ago in a grocery store after a really horrible day. I think she was an angel.
How about "If you're talking on your cell phone and not walking in a straight line, please understand that you're making it difficult for the pregnant mom behind you to navigate her cart around you."
This didn't happen to me during holiday shopping, but one time when I was about 8 mos pg with twins, I was pushing my cart in Costco and there was a lady on her phone in front of me walking erratically. She gave me an evil eye when my cart brushed against her as I was trying to go around her and I could hear her saying to her friend on the phone "yeah, someone just bumped into me at Costco - it happens to me all the time". Ummm, yeah, and were you on the phone each time it happens? Maybe shopping carts need little signs that say "Hang up and shop!"
My all time favorite is:
Please don't wait until your ginormous order is done being rung up before you start digging through your even bigger purse for your credit card and coupons. Have that ready when you proceed to the check out aisle.
My tip is shop online. :)
I agree with you guys. Shop online at www.coliryan.com and get paid for it. Up to 50% cash back on all your purchases. Refer a friend and earn .5% of their purchases. Store don't have the over head when selling online so they can sell things cheaper. It seems crazy but it's true. I got a sweatshirt from Old Navy that was $24.99 in the store and $11.99 online. Same sweatshirt, same day.
Need any help finding deals let me know. It's what I do for a living. :)
Register....it's free.
More money in our pockets rather than the large retailers works for me.
I love this!
To add: I know you are in a hurry to finish up and get out of the store, but when you're at the check stand please stay OUT of my personal space, and for god sakes, stop whacking me in the hip with your cart, it will not make me able to check out any faster!
LOVE the tips! I have one...IF at all possible, leave the little ones at home (if you are going at a prime time of shopping! Or if they are grouchy!) If there is no one to leave them with (which I understand is the case sometimes) go when it's less busy and make sure they have had a snack and bring something to keep them occupied! I know, I know....I am a mom...sometimes, this is easier said than done! Best of luck to all you shoppers!
Oh I have one to add. How about not cutting in front of the people who actually had to wait 3 hours in line simply because the boyfriend of the daughter of your neighbors friend is in line and you think that gives you the right.
I have a tradition of stopping for a drink before and after the big shopping trip.
My tips are
1) rather than trying to ram your cart down the toy aisle, park it at the end, out of the way, and walk down the aisle to browse or get what you need. Take your purse, but leave your cart. We cant all fit at once.
2) go during off peak times if at all possible. go to walmart only after midnight. Any other time is shopping cart roller derby followed by lines longer than the water park.
Take your cart out of the check out line even if you can carry the items you bought in your hand. Dont leave it there in everyone elses way. It wont roll itself back to the front of the store.
Buckle your purse into the cart so no one can grab and run with it.
Buckle your kids into the cart and dont let them stand up or sit on the edge of the cart. Do you know how gross it is to see their brains all over the floor in the toy department?
Use hand wipes to clean the cart before you use it to avoid germs, and AFTER to clean up your germs and the chocolate, or candycane you gave your kids while they were in the cart. Also their snotty little hands and noses touched the cart and the next kid doesnt need the germs to take home.
Remember drivers cant see you very well when its raining or snowing and windows fog up, so watch out while walking thru the parking lot.
Jill F has great suggesstions including keeping cons ready to donate to the Salvation Army kettle. I let my kids, grand daughter, put them in the slot and it teaches them to give and share.
Smile at the cashier and ask how their day is going. Be understanding when they are frazzled and exahusted. You are having fun shopping and can go home when you are worn out. They wish they were shopping too and cant go home or they lose their job.
Ha ha! Wonderful tips! I was at Costco this afternoon, and the spirit of Thanksgiving was nowhere to be found. Luckily, I was in a pretty good mood despite all of the short tempers.
How about this: If you want to pull into the parking spot next to me, please wait until I can get out of the way. I had a guy screech into the spot next to me while I was taking my infant out of the car. He almost hit me. And there were plenty of other spots nearby.
While I'm at it, if you are going to hold up parking lot traffic to wait for a spot to open up when there are plenty of other open spots less than 50 feet away, you are lazy and inconsiderate.
Put your flipping cart back in the cart corral. It is NOT nice to leave your shopping cart in the middle of a parking space, taking up that space, waiting to roll & hit someone's car. Is it really THAT hard to walk your lazy arse the 5 feet to the corral? I just really don't get it.
Oh yeah, please take the time to park IN BETWEEN THE LINES!! No one cares that you're driving a tanker or a luxury car, nor are you more important than everyone else.
Don't run in to me with your shopping cart. I have fibro its already not pleasant and I don't need you bumping me becuase you aren't paying attention.
Great tips! Love all the contributions – especially Jill's reminder that our children are learning from out habits and behavior.
I visited another culture once where standing in line had broken down so completely that crowds of people simply mobbed cashiers, ticket booths, etc. It had become a case of strongest people win. Never mind the fragile, the young, the old. If they can't get tougher, they lose. Even more horrifying, even traffic lanes broke down during heavy traffic. A four-lane road would morph into six or seven lanes of weaving traffic, with perhaps only one lane threading along against the main flow. Accidents were rife. And fights.
We can individually choose to stay more civilized than that. Polite, considerate behavior, and remembering that other people are tired and in a hurry, too, will go a long way toward keeping everybody's experience happier.
I would add:
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Give a courtesy to others and let someone with less in their basket ahead of you. What goes around comes around ;)
Take the time to treat others kindly and use this opportunity as a time to give to others and to use yourself in a way that is positive.
Purchase toys/clothes/bath products etc for needy folks who can't afford to shop right now.
Remember what the holidays are about....giving to others, health and happiness.
SMILE--- and pass it along!!!!
I think some people forget their manners when the holidays roll around---there is ALWAYS time to smile, give an encouraging word or gesture, make someone a meal and leave it on their porch, be a listening ear to a stranger, invite someone to church with you etc. Be the example that you want your kids to model.
Great question--thanks for posting Lil Birdie!
M
I would add avoid the situation all together - do the bulk of your shopping in November and try to shop early in the day. I try to buy everything and get it in the mail before the first weekend in Dec. Makes life much easier.
