Supermarket etiquette: a guide to modern manners
The story of a Sainsbury's employee who refused to serve a customer until she got off her mobile phone illustrates the complexity of supermarket etiquette: talking on your phone at the checkout is both unacceptable and allowable. Sainsbury's has no policy against it, so in this case both customer and employee were wrong. How does one navigate this modern social minefield? The following primer may help:
1. A trip to the supermarket is an out-of-body consumer experience, best attacked alone and with your brain on standby. That's why it's OK to ignore people you know or, if need be, to hide from them. This is actually a courtesy, so don't be offended when someone does it to you.
2. If you must chat with a neighbour or acquaintance, keep it brief and don't stop moving forward. If you're standing still, you're in the way.
3. It's fine to accept a free sample of some horrible new cordial, or a bit of cheese on a stick, but bear in mind that the person handing them out does not value your opinion. He's just there to stop you taking too many.
4. It's important to say "Thank you," when the person ahead of you in the queue places a divider on the belt between your shopping and hers, but eye contact is by no means mandatory. You're shopping, not speed-dating.
5. There is nothing arch in the way the robotic female voice at the self-checkout bay keeps saying: "Approval needed." She doesn't care how much wine you're buying, so don't talk back.
6. Occasionally an exotic or unfamiliar item will confuse a new checkout employee. You may choose to see this as an opportunity to indulge in some quiet middle-class self-loathing, but the person behind you - me - is in a hurry. Under the circumstances it's OK to say: "It's fennel."
7. No matter how many times you've been asked it, it is not acceptable to answer the question with the words: "No I do not have a fucking Nectar card."
Source: THE GUARDIAN
