To think when you arrive at the supermarket checkout, you have finished shopping

[frogspoon]

I was queuing up at the supermarket checkout this morning, when the lady in front of me (with a small trolley sized shop) disappeared (cashier was still processing person in front of her). She arrived back 5 minutes later with a new full basket of shopping, which she proceeded to dump on top of her existing shopping. This increased the amount of items in her shop significantly.

To give her some credit, she did smile and apologise to me, and also she didn't shove my shopping backwards to fit her additional items onto the conveyor belt.

Now I will occasionally pop back to fetch one or two items that I had forgotten, whilst waiting at the checkout. But never a full basket load. I wasn't in a rush, but I did have frozen food in my shop, and I was anxious about it melting whilst I was waiting.

AIBU to think that when you arrive at the checkout you should have completed the majority of your shopping? Going to get one or two forgotten items is not unreasonable. But I think bringing back an additional full basket of shopping is.

[LadyVoldemort]

Aye it was a bit cheeky of her but there's no harm done from it. Not that big of a deal tbh

[bonzo77]

I think it depends if going back for a second round holds anyone up. If it does then YANBU.

[thermalsinapril]

YANBU. It's lazy and it's not like she just made a mistake and popped back for one thing. She was clearly trying to jump the queue and beat the system. If everyone just put one thing on the conveyor belt to reserve a place and then went off to shop, there would be chaos!

[EverSoYoni]

It is a bit odd, kind of like she was using her trolley to save her a place in the queue!

You might have picked a checkout with a smaller queue if she had been there in the first place with so much stuff.

[MidniteScribbler]

Drives me mental! Finish shopping then line up.

The only time it is acceptable to go back is if you realise something is broken or damaged and you run back to replace it while the rest of your order is being scanned (because it's usually quicker to go back yourself than wait for staff to faff around and find it).

[tethersend]

YABU. Shop online

[frogspoon]

The additional items did make the wait a bit longer, had her shopping originally been there I would have probably chosen a different queue.

In the checkout next to me a lady who arrived a couple of minutes after me was gone before the cashier had even started processing my shopping.

[frogspoon]

tethersend, we usually do, this was a quick mini-shop as we were short on a few basics and couldn't wait until next delivery

[LadyVoldemort]

Do you ever think about how different your life would be if someone hadn't made you wait an extra few mins at a check out? You know like the sliding doors thing. You might have been doomed for a fate worse than death, but her waiting an extra few minutes knocked it all out of sync and saved your life. You do realise you should go and apologise to her now? [wik]

[frogspoon]

LadyVoldemort but equally by the same logic:

Maybe, had I had an extra 5 minutes I would have bought a lottery ticket and won the jackpot. This woman is completely responsible for me not winning the lottery. I want my money!

[SwishSwoshSwoosh]

You were anxious about frozen items melting? In the additional few minutes?

YABU. Shop at midnight when the shop is empty?

[SwishSwoshSwoosh]

Do you think she suddenly decided to make, ooh, a lemon tart, and went to get all the things? That is the sort of thing I could easily do actually.

[AssamAndDarjeeling]

I HATE this!! Drives me insane!

It's usually done by the kind of self-obsessed women that think their disorganisation and flappiness make them all kooky and cute instead of just a massive pain in the arse.

Show some consideration to the people queuing! It puts the checkout person in an awkward situation, too.

If I for some (highly unlikely) reason realised that I had forgotten to get half my shopping while queuing, I would remove myself from the queue and rejoin it when ready. As should any reasonable person.

[kinkyfuckery]

Was she so long that the checkout staff had to sit waiting for her to come back, or was her shopping still being scanned?

[SwishSwoshSwoosh]

But what difference does it make, if you are not the person being served your stuff is just sitting there surely? I wouldn't if I was next but if I was gonna wait for a while, I might.

Some people are very uptight, live a little, try the illicit thrill of making a last minute dash for a bottle of lemonade sometime.

[blameitonthecaffeine]

she must have been quick to go and get a whole new basket of stuff.

I might have been mildly annoyed but I doubt she planned to do it, it's quite odd.

[SwishSwoshSwoosh]

But then I am the sort of crazy reckless person who lets someone with three items ahead of me, rather than adhering rigidly to queuing protocols.

[LadyBeagleEyes]

I've often gone back for stuff I've forgotten and come back with more that I saw on route so to speak.
Did she get back by the time the checkout was ready for her Op, or did you have to wait?

[MansView]

some years ago I went shoppibg after work - I hadn't passed my driving test (and lived in a rural place) so I was in a bit of a rush to catch the last bus home...I just had enough time and placed my items on the conveyer belt when everything just ground to a halt...and the till lady was chatting to a customer... :(

sadly I ran out of time and had to leave everything on the conyerbelt and dash for the bus...I never glanced back to see see the chaos tho...haha..!

[LadyBeagleEyes]

I agree with LadyVoldermort, unless I'm rushing off to an appointment when time is tight, I'm very laid back in queues.
An extra five or ten minutes is not going to make a huge difference in my life, though I must admit I've changed since I got older and learned not to sweat the small things.
It's a bit like drivers on the road speeding and overtaking to save themselves a few precious minutes.
What's the point?

[TumbleWeeds]

Serioulsy?
You were worried about the frozen stuff because you had to wait what? a couple of minutes more.
And you would have chosen another checkout that would have allowed you not to wait ... another couple of minutes.

Were so much in a hurry that 5 minutes difference at most made a huge difference in your day?

As long as she didn't make everyone behind her wait (and from what you said, this was NOT the case), I can't see the issue.

[ParadiseChick]

Ahem, I think you'll find my flappy, disorganised ways are cute!

[Bearbehind]

PMSL at 'but I did have frozen food in my shop, and I was anxious about it melting whilst I was waiting'

What if the woman hadn't gone to get more shopping but her card had been declined or one of her items didn't have a barcode or if the cashiers changed shifts or something- would you have been distressed for your fish fingers then?

Don't sweat the small stuff- an extra basket of shopping is hardly going to make a difference to your frozen peas!

You didn't have to wait for her to come back- that would piss me off- so I really can't see the problem.

[LineRunner]

Depends what she bought. If it was tampons, sanitary towels, paracetamol, chocolate and ice cream, then I'd let her off.

[Voodika]

I am guilty of running off to get one item sometimes but not a basket load and it makes no difference to the time- sorry. It's normally something I see in the trolley of the person behind me.
What does annoy me though are the tokens, it takes so long for the poor cashier to scan them all and see which will work. Why do they send so many? I'm definitely still going to use them though.