Very British Problems

May 21, 2015 13:28

The supermarket I usually use has a "baskets only" lane, but doesn't specify how many items you can have. I naively assumed that all express lanes were the same, but found out to my cost that they were not. On my first visit to the supermarket across the park from where I now work, I joined the express lane with 11 items, only to get sternly told ( Read more... )

musing

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Comments 9

puddleshark May 21 2015, 17:02:29 UTC
...only to get sternly told by the assistant that it was strictly ten items or fewer. She made me put everything back in the basket and join another queue...

Wow. Things are very different on the Island. The shop assistants much stricter. And more grammatically correct.

I regularly use the basket-only lane even when I have been too lazy to take a trolley and what is technically a trolley's-worth of goods has been precariously stuffed/balanced in the basket. No-one has told me off yet.

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ladyofastolat May 21 2015, 17:08:55 UTC
Actually she said "ten items or less," as did the notice she sternly pointed at. In the circumstances, I decided it was wiser not to argue with the shop's grammar.

I think that if you've lugged around an over-laden basket, you deserve some bonus seconds added to your timer, as a reward for not getting in everyone's way by standing with your trolley entirely blocking a whole section as you dither endlessly over what to buy.

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wellinghall May 21 2015, 17:12:38 UTC
Your "more grammatically correct" comment amused me :-)

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wellinghall May 21 2015, 17:11:46 UTC
One thing I do remember from Maths is that the quickest way overall is not to have an express lane at all.

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ladyofastolat May 21 2015, 17:18:50 UTC
So that's two out of my last three LJ posts that relate (in arcane and mysterious ways) to maths. I'm tempted to issue a challenge: find something maths-related in everything I subsequently post. ;-)

I might have found Applied Maths at A-level rather more interesting had we studied queues and traffic, rather than boys throwing balls and men riding up and down in lifts. (I liked Pure Maths, though... although I fear that I've forgotten absolutely all of it now.)

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leesa_perrie May 21 2015, 18:06:07 UTC
Ah yes, there are some shops were you have to stick to the script, no matter what the situation, in case you're dealing with a Mystery Shopper. So even if I say 'just these items', there are some shops where they'll still ask if I want stamps or to top up. Even if I say 'just these items and no stamps or top up', they still tend to say it!! It's not their fault, it's the owners of the business demanding they do this.

The fact the supposedly fast lane is not fast, however, needs to be looked at!

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ladyofastolat May 21 2015, 19:06:46 UTC
Yes. This particular supermarket seems to have much less flexible script than my usual one. This one asked me if I had a loyalty card, despite the fact that I was already putting it into her hand, and asked me if I needed bags, although I quite obviously didn't. My normal one at least doesn't bother asking about the card if they've been already been given it, and at least varies their bag-related question according to your apparent bag-related circumstances.

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