Supermarket Pet Peeves

I miss 24 hr grocery stores. When my kids were small I always used to go in the middle of the night. The music was usually better too. Sunday mornings around 3 am the cookie aisle looked like a war zone.

5 Likes

In the area of NYC where I live, the cashiers leave two plastic 1 pint take out containers, one inside the other…the bottom one has some coins and a few dollar bills…the top one is empty for you to give them a tip… even if I have cash, I uses a card, so there is no pressured obligation to leave them something.


Why would I tip at a grocery store?

5 Likes

I’ve never seen a grocery that allowed tipping! Some even post signs in the parking lot which state that bringing your groceries to your car is part of the service and tips are not permitted.

2 Likes

I complained at one market, that I was calling the Fire Marshal because they were impeding the egress of the people shopping incase of a an emergency…
When two carts cannot pass each other in the same aisle, that is a fire code violation;
(As a side bar, many of the markets here in NYC are mush smaller then elsewhere in the country…)

1 Like

Market shopping is a fact of life…Now that I am semi-retired, I can shop at say 10:30 in the morning on a Thursday, clearly never a crowd…so now I pick and choose, but that was not always the norm… I do enjoy going to the market now, un-rushed.

I love checking out every market in every country I visit, more that the local souvenir markets…
I much rather bring home a special condiment than an refrigerator magnet!

9 Likes

I see it all the time…because the person who just put items a bag and asked you to swipe your card, wants to receive a tip!..because!

1 Like

Come to my part of NYC…Queens and you see it all the time…

1 Like

Are these indy spots are chains?

1 Like

My wife and parents are baffled that every time I travel, the photos I bring home on my phone are about 50% grocery store shelves.

I am not even traveling outside of the country - I just find the regional variety fascinating.

9 Likes

No grants, but more anecdotes… I notice this on the bus all of the time. I usually pay at the front and then ask the driver if I can board in the back. There are almost always seats in the back, because people stop and block the aisle at the articulated portion where the aisle widens out.

At a software conference, I attended an hour long talk about queuing theory and resource optimization. As the talk let out for lunch, I saw most attendees gather in hallway-blocking clusters, arms akimbo, backpacks jutting out. I guess the lessons hadn’t sunk in yet.

3 Likes

I should ask for a tip
Groceries placed on the checkout belt with
Wine bottles laying down so when the belt moves they don’t tip over.
Items placed in groups .All vegies together, same with canned goods , etc…
Grocery divider for the person behind you placed .
Hand basket placed with others so no one trips .
Reusable bag ready for the bagger .
Debit card out and ready .
Just a small hello to the checker .
Make the purchase and leave .
Keep the line moving .
Thank you .

13 Likes

That was my neck of the woods for a long time! I miss the bagels and chinese food. I moved to Westchester in 1994. Before then, no tips cups at the markets. And I’ve never seen them here.

1 Like

I have never seen this in the part of Queens where I have lived for 20 plus years. OTOH Queens is a big borough, so I am always learning new things about it.

I also find it confusing because when I look at the photos the containers look like they’re on top of a washing machine or maybe a dishwasher (controls that read wash/temp, delay/start, dry etc. ) What store is this?

Two of them are local chains… Food Bazar and Trade Fair. I am not sure of the ethnicity of the owners, but I see everyone shopping there.

The picture to give a visual of the issue is on my kitchen counter, next to my dishwasher! very perceptive of you !(LOL).
Food Bazar on Northern Blvd, two blocks east of Steinway Street.

2 Likes

No this is a recent issue perhaps in the last 10 years or so. About 10 years ago I moved back to Queens, from East Hills (Roslyn) Long Island and never saw this practice… but it is there. I will follow up with actual photos the next time I shop there .

1 Like

If it were only coins I would have just assumed it was the bit of extra change sometimes left for people who don’t have quite enough for their purchase.

Why two cups instead of one?

1 Like

I have the same question. I think it is to encourage paper bills without tempting people to take them or to have them blow away. It is a fairly shallow container so paper bills could get unwieldy. A less cynical explanation is that some kind customer but the bills in the container and the busy cashier put the other container on top to keep them from flying away.

3 Likes