How to be middle-class: being a total hypocrite about the supermarket conveyor belt separator system
Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 10:48AM 
At the supermarket checkout, it never fails to amaze me that people don’t understand the rotational system of the conveyor belt separators: the person in front picks it up and places it behind their shopping on the belt. Simple. But week after week, it seems, I have to stretch over someone’s shopping to pick it up myself – and nobody ever apologises! A bit of common sense wouldn’t go amiss.
However, I have been known to slip up myself… My mind wanders or I’m sorting out the kids who are running around at the crucial moment and I forget to place the separator behind my laid out shopping. And there’s a terrible moment when the person after me in the queue goes and picks up the separator and plonks it down for me. But, funnily enough I find that instead of feeling embarrassed, defensiveness kicks in and I just tut to myself about people being so bloody impatient. One rule for me…!
Reader Comments (5)
The Professional Middle Class Supermarket Warrior uses the self-scanning gadget and so avoids ever being in this situation. (Except when something won't scan or you are asked to 'declare this item [Brussel sprouts] to the cashier' in which case I make a joke about there being an age limit on the purchase of dangerous vegetables introduced by the EU.)
In Australia it's considered somewhat rude to separate your shopping from someone else's in that way. What do you think? They're shopping is going to contaminate yours? Or someone might think that tinned mince is yours? Get over yourselves.
Can I just add to the supermarket shopping checkout debate. Never mind the separating of one's shopping from the next person's - there is a whole etiquette there that I agree needs some finesse which some people don't appear to have.
My issue is with the speed of some checkout operators in scanning through products. Having established that I don' t need any help with my packing, they then proceed to scan/beep through products at speed, I have no chance to keep up in the packing into bags area. They finish scanning well before my bag packing is complete, (and I am very well organised) announce the amount due, and then sit, arms folded, waiting for me to finish. This whilst asking how many bags of my own I have used, would I like school vouchers, petrol vouchers, do I have a loyalty card - slightly smugly. Worse still, commenting on my purchases.
Is there a supermarket kpi for the fastest throw through scanning? Honestly people, I am not going to pay you, until I have finished the packing, so why don't you gauge my packing speed with your scanning process - then we can all get on
Can I just add to the supermarket shopping checkout debate. Never mind the separating of one's shopping from the next person's - there is a whole etiquette there that I agree needs some finesse which some people don't appear to have.
My issue is with the speed of some checkout operators in scanning through products. Having established that I don' t need any help with my packing, they then proceed to scan/beep through products at speed, I have no chance to keep up in the packing into bags area. They finish scanning well before my bag packing is complete, (and I am very well organised) announce the amount due, and then sit, arms folded, waiting for me to finish. This whilst asking how many bags of my own I have used, would I like school vouchers, petrol vouchers, do I have a loyalty card - slightly smugly. Worse still, commenting on my purchases.
Is there a supermarket kpi for the fastest throw through scanning? Honestly people, I am not going to pay you, until I have finished the packing, so why don't you gauge my packing speed with your scanning process - then we can all get on
It gets worse of course, if the person behind insists on almost pushing you forward. I simply love it of the move as far forward as to be level with the checkout operator when I am packing. This gives me a great chance to ask them if they would like to pay for my shopping. This is only the tip of the supermarket fun which can be had.