People who write checks at the grocery checkout. I understand some (mostly elderly) people don’t seem to trust/understand debit cards, but if you must write a check, AT LEAST have the store name and date already written on there. That would save a few precious seconds of time.
Last week, this was made even worse for me by an old lady who had at least 30 items in her cart in front of me in the express lane, and she had the audacity to bitch at the cashier about the store not having enough registers open. The poor teenage cashier kept her wits, and explained to the woman that they had had several call-ins that morning, and I immediately looked at the old lady and said, “Well, this is the express lane anyway.” The cashier looked at me and gave me the greatest “thank you” smile I have ever received, and the old lady was jabbering about the fact she doesn’t normally do that, but she didn’t wanna have to wait so long at the regular registers. You know what? I don’t want to have to wait for her slow ass writing a check after violating the express line rule either. Anyone with me?
My personal pet peeve #2–people who have multiple pet peeves when the term itself implies that that there should be one overriding peeve that sets itself apart from all of your other peeves. A superlative peeve that is, indeed, your “pet” peeve
I feel your pain, I am standing next to the old woman writing the check with the 30 items in the express aisle! She is very impatient about waiting in lines and figures at 89 no one is going to say anything. People do… She also has to update her check ledger and then put her wallet back into her purse and zip it before the cart moves.
She has been told not to do this and just doesn’t give a damn if she holds people up as long as it isn’t her? Since I work for her I just stand there feeling like a moron. At Walmart they have a machine that fills out the check but she doesn’t trust it so she fills in the check herself.
How do you teach an 89 year old to get with the program?
In times like that, I always wonder what I won’t be able to do when I’m old.
So far I’ve been able to keep up with technology, but only because I want to. I know that people not too much older than I am have a lot of trouble with anything involving computers, so I feel lucky I wasn’t born any earlier–things still come easy to me.
I hate, hate, hate trying to coordinate things with people who can not or will not learn how to use email.
What surprises me isn’t when I find someone older than 50 who is good with technology…what still surprises me is when someone older than 50 isn’t good with technology.
I’m talking about situations where the use of current technology is expected. If someone wants to keep doing things without computers, I don’t give a rip. But I’m totally understanding of someone who would like to learn new technology but it’s very difficult because they didn’t grow up with computers. But I also know people younger than I am who aren’t any better than someone three times their age.
Word. What I will never understand is why they don’t “pre” fill out the check so all they have to do when the total is flashed is write it in. Seriously, what the hell are you doing while the checker is scanning all your crap? Why don’t you quit staring at her all slack jawed and start writing your f’n stoneage check! And don’t sit there balancing your register either. Do that shit at home, it’s not like the amount is going to change from the store to your kitchen table.
Pet Peeve #67: People who think that because I don’t **use **a debit card, I don’t understand a debit card. I understand it perfectly. I have one. I know the PIN. I simply don’t choose to use it because I find the tissue paper copies of checks are a great help in maintaining careful control of my balances. I don’t choose to go on line to check my balances. I don’t choose to risk overdrafts. The slightly slower process of payment has benefits for me. Get over it.
I heartily salute your confrontation of a person of any age who clogs up the express lane with excess purchases. But the 30 seconds to write a check shouldn’t be an issue.
I’m also puzzled by lezler’s idea that one should be multi-tasking during the checkout process. Don’t you keep an eye on the scanner and the prices? In my neck of the woods, there are occasional scanning errors/price problems. If you don’t watch, you don’t catch them.
Since you can check your balance online, you’re fair game. If by “don’t choose to”, you mean, “I don’t have home/reliable internet access”, then fine. Hell, even if you use a debit card you can still carry around a check register and write in the amounts. It takes 5 seconds to write “$42.60” or whatever, not 45.
Do you remember the price of every item in your shopping cart? Anyway, they give you a receipt at the end of the transaction. Get out of the way and you can take all the time you want to review it.
The errors are so rare and so small that it’s not worth my time to stand there and scrutinize the numbers. If one is concerned, it’s possible to scan the receipt after the fact.
At the grocery store my wife and I shop at, there occasionally is no one available to bag your groceries, which means the cashier does it after they’re done scanning. Some people stand around waiting for this to happen, which means an extra couple of minutes’ delay for everyone else in line. Me, I jump down there and bag my own groceries while the cashier scans. Partly as a courtesy to everyone else standing in line, partly so I can get out of there sooner.
I don’t mind the writing the check part. MOST check writers are pretty fast about it. (Now, those people paying by any method who are always shocked and amazed when they realize, shit, I have to pay! Those people can go fuck themselves.) What I hate is after the damned check. Oh, yes, I have to sit here and write it down in the little register, because the FUCKING RECEIPT doesn’t say how much I spent or anything. Then I have to zip up my Old Lady Wallet. Then I have to fit it back in my purse. And it doesn’t fit. Then I have to collect all the rest of my shit that fell out of my Old Lady Wallet. Then I have to pick everything up. JESUS FUCK MOVE IT OR LOSE IT my god it makes my blood boil.
