why do old people take so long in supermarkets?

Question

im on a limited timescale whereas they have nothing better to do, so shouldnt they just get out of my way?
and they always go to the 10 items or less checkout and because no one wants to upset old people, no one says any thing! and when told how much it has come to, they quibble over it and want to know what cost what, AND they pay with discount vouchers!!!

very funny lynn, i cant watch eastenders because of bloody comic relief! i thought id spread my joy this way instead

what i mean by limited timescale is my lunchbreak when it seems like all the old people in the world are out!

i dont know why people have this idea about old people being sweet and friendly, most old people are miserable old buggers who poke you with their sharp little elbows when you try to get past them

Answer 1

Why do they need to go to my local tescos (which is open 24/7) at peak times when people have just finished work and are rushing home to cook for their families.

And dont believe they are nice and polite either - one pushed me with her walking stick out of the way of those perfect sized and wheeled trolleys (you know the smaller ones) so she could probably put a tin of tuna and a loaf of bread in it. And no one say that she is infirm and couldnt manage a basket - she managed to push me out the way with a walking stick for f*cks sake!!!!

They take ages if they are in front of you and expect you to let them in front of you. Ive been queue jumped a couple of times by these old b*ggers.

Answer 2

That was me I ad me vouchers cos the gas as gone up so much I ave to now get em out the papers so I can afford me stuff. I go to the 10 items checkout cos my feet hurt and I have to get to the bus stop which is a mile away and if I get through the check out quick I can manage to only have to stop once for a 10 minute sit down. Otherwise I have to get another sit down on the way and that's in the tea shop but then I have to get a cup of tea which is 5 times what it cost to make and I can't afford it. I have to go at lunch time cos my village only has two buses a day so I have to get there when i can and finish shopping at the right time else I would have to get a taxi.

Anyway deary have a lovely day. You looked so bright and young and able to just skip about if that was you in my supermarket. Only thing is you didn't smile and It made me wonder what with all your youth, what you didn't have to smile about.

Answer 3

Oy you! My father died in October aged 84. He couldn't get about much anymore. He served in Kohima in the war, which was the turning point of WW2 against the Japanese, as they managed to keep them out. (Kohima is in India by they way). My mother is turning 80 this year, and when my father was posted to Cyprus in the 1950's, my mother chased some boy on a bicycle down the road because he threw a bomb at her. Goodness knows what would have happened to the little sod if she had caught him.

Dad also saved all the lives of his army men on a dhow, as he argued the toss with an officer, insisting they all wore lifejackets. (He was a sergeant) The dhow capsised. A fact not emerged until his funeral.

If you bother to get to know older people, you will learn they were once young, and did the most incredible things.

Why should'nt they have dioscount vouchers, they are the generation who went without so their children could have a decent meal and shoes. What do today's young generation do? Get £1000's in to debt for a lifestyle beyond what they earn or deserve. To the eldery debt is shameful.

And yes, I know some use it to their advantage to be rude, I work on a checkout, and most people are usually patient when they are slow.

Answer 4

Wow. How can you be so heartless? Older people are slower because their bodies do not work as well as those of a younger age do. Also, they do not have to rush around as much as the younger people do. They can stop and smell the roses. Have you ever thought that some of them are lonely and live by themselves.......to someone like that, being out and about is an event. Even if it is just going to the grocery store. They like being around other people.

I think Americans have an appalling lack of respect for their elders. In Japan and other countries they are revered and highly honored. Guess what? We are all going to be old people someday, God willing. How do you know how you will be then? Will your body work like it does now? How do you think you would feel then if a younger person was rude, pushy and aggravated with you because you walked slower or, God forbid, dared to shop when they wanted to shop!

Look around. The life expectancy in this country is climbing. There are more and more elderly living to an older age. Put yourselves in their shoes and practice the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Try to remember the older person you see is just that...a person. They have feelings too and they deserve respect.

Answer 5

Oh, aren't we a selfish little person? It might be the only time that 'old person' gets out all week, of course they're going to make the most of it.

When you get older, your muscles don't work as well, you walk more slowly. they may be well aware that they are holding you up, taking your precius time away from you.

Pensioners do not have a lot of money, they want to make sure they get the best value they can for it, they will search for the best offers the shop has.

Anyway, it should be our pleasure to make way for these people, they have given us the country we have. Even if we are destroying it in return. Depending on their age, they may have fought one of the greatest evils of the modern world. I'm a carer in a residential home and as I tell my ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to do everything I can for them.

Please, just be a little more patient and hope that when you get old, someone has patience with you.

Answer 6

I used to work on the checkout of the supermarket. When I was serving the elderly customers and someone like you was waiting behind them, I used to be very naughty and take my time!!! I loathe people like you with a passion you would not know possible.
Some of the elderly people I served in the village supermarket were only able to get out to shop once a week. Not because they couldn't manage, but because there is only a bus from their village to ours once a week.
The supermarket ends were used on that day as a meeting place. If someone was missing they would ask if we knew why. If someone was in hospital, they had collections for flowers. They all shared a sense of friendship and community.
Queueing at lunch time for your snack/sandwich shows a lack of orderliness and time management IMO. Make your own lunch before you go to work, take it to work, and then you won't have to get so worked up by ordinary people doing ordinary things during their organised days. Go supermarket shopping on pay day like everyone else does. Then see how irritating that can be.

Answer 7

Respect the elderly even when they seem to be a nuisance. Not only is that good etiquette, but it's a humane thing to do.

Hopefully when you become old and doddering, those around you will not try to degrade you for being physically slow and slightly mentally impaired.

How about this piece of advice. Shop when you are NOT on a "limited timescale" and then you won't be so stressed at how long the task takes.

Keep in mind, as you seem so concerned about etiquette, that it is the height of presumptuousness and bad manners to believe that YOUR time is any more important or precious than anyone else's.

Answer 8

Going to the grocery store is scary to old folks.Most of them are on a limited income and every penny counts.A lot of them just out and out don't feel well.They know that they have to go home and lots of them live all alone and don't have anybody,so they make a big production of going out to the grocery store.Sometimes it is the only thing they have to look forward to.And as their minds are not as clear as they used to be they move and talk slower.I know this cause I had several elderly aunts.In their day things were different than now.Younger people showed respect to older folks.I do not expect to get one vote having said what I said....but that's more than cool with me...Have a great day.

Answer 9

I've got three words for you: BOO HOO HOO.

Someday YOU'LL be the old woman in the 10 items lane. You'll have achy joints and a bad back, which will make you cranky and slow. The pain will make you want to get in the quick line so you do not have to stand around too long. You'll have hearing problems, making you slow to understand people when they talk. You'll have trouble with your sight, making you look extra carefully (and slowly) at your receipt, often making mistakes about what you see. You will have been taken advantage of so many times, because a LOT of people take advantage of old people, that you will be less trusting. Then you'll start questioning the prices of your items and everything else to protect yourself. Likely you'll be short of money because people are living longer now and retirement and/or social security just doesn't go as far as it used to. This will make you even more paranoid. In addition to this, you will have mood swings from chemical imbalances in your brain, which could be treated if you could afford the outrageously expensive medication. You might even have alzheimer's disease.

Get over it. You'll be there, too, one day.

Answer 10

To do what? Fart? Urinate? Suck their teeth - that's the tiresome cliches out of the way. Or are you just envious of old'uns who will still brave the bollocks of the young (i.e. under 50)?
One of the reasons why some the old are miserable is that they have to deal with scum who think anyone over a certain age should be locked up. What's your next question - 'Why do half the cars in Liverpool have no wheels?'.

Answer 11

What a miserable twit you are. Comic relief is a way of making money for the unfortunate people of this world and that includes the UK. If you had been watching it and not been on your vice of doing ANSWERS and moaning about the worst soap on the TV you might realise that there are some needy people about and the needy are not always as tight fisted as you are.
Older people do their shopping based on years of experience of being ripped off, short changed and poor service. It is the attitude of the older shoppers that helps to keep the supermarkets in check and not push up the prices when they feel like it.