# Personal Pet Peeve #2 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485 "2010-04-17T21:40:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/61 "2010-04-23T13:05:22Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > See [tragedy of the commons:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons) you alone reap the benefit of scrutinizing the scans in real-time, while the rest of us bear the bulk of the cost. Thanks. I reserve the right to take my turn when it’s my turn, and to fully let my transaction process. If you want to believe that I’m purposefully taking the time alotted to me just to piss you off, hey, it’s your ulcer. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/62 "2010-04-23T13:11:19Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > As my parents slipped into their dotage they became those kinds of dithering bumblers who would hold people up in grocery store lines. Sometimes after a trip shopping one of them would call me, either angry or hurt, to tell me some rude thing a person in line said to them. It was tough on them because sometimes shopping was the highlight of their day and they had looked forward to their little outing. > > What could I do about it for them? Not much, but I came up with a solution. I could give other old people I encountered daily a little patience as they continued to insist on participating in a world which was rapidly becoming confusing to them. You know, treat them like I was hoping others were doing for my parents. > > A lot of those people aren’t doing it on purpose to irritate those behind them who are in a hurry. Their minds work more slowly and are sometimes cluttered with so many memories and daily trivia that they are easily confused. > > I might add, that pressuring them to hurry sometimes only makes them feel more confused. > > This method of self-soothing when you’re feelig rushed and hampered only works, of course, if you have consideration for humanity in general and aren’t too self-centered. > > If that is the case, give 'em a shove and mutter, “Die already! I got important stuff to do.” 😉 I hope everyone here reads this and acknowledges the wisdom and humanity therein. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/63 "2010-04-23T13:17:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I hope everyone here reads this and acknowledges the wisdom and humanity therein. Thank you. I sometimes run out of patience here at work, especially when I’m in a bit of a hurry to get from point A to point B. Some people just walk way too slow, and they’re holding me up from getting where I want to go. They piss me off! Then I remember that I work in a hospital, and a good many people who walk slowly are just doing the best they can. I can only hope that if I’m ever that old or infirm, I’ll able to get around at all. And then I remember last year when I broke both of my feet. I walked, but I wasn’t winning any speed races. And I remember how nice and patient everyone was with me. Giving that back is the least I can do. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/64 "2010-04-23T14:23:03Z")
> [@](#): > > What is it that makes check haters so squirrely and twitchy? Fear of paper? fear of pens? fear of numbers written out in print? :dubious: Most check-writers are old people, and most old people are incredibly slow. When I see an old person whip out their checkbook, I clench my teeth and hope and pray that they’re not the slow, obtuse kind. People who are fast and/or start filling out their information ahead of time don’t take much longer than a cash transaction. > [@chela](#): > > As if CC’s are so much faster, :rolleyes: swipe, wait, press yes, wait, press credit or debit, wait, pin code, wait, sign, wait, Uhoh FAIL. Startover, repeat. FAIL uhoh your magnetic strip is boinked, got another card? :rolleyes: In most cases, they are. Just like checks, you run them through the machine while your items are being scanned. In all but the lowliest mom and pop places, authorization is instant. Some places for small transactions don’t even wait for authorization and don’t even require a signature. Definitely faster than cash in most places, especially old people who use cash who want to dig into the bottoms of their purses looking for pennies so they can have the exact change part of the total price. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/65 "2010-04-23T14:47:38Z")
Oh, let’s not even get into the change shit. Nobody under the age of 70 ever gives the cashier six pennies, a dime, a quarter and a half, and a piece of eight so as to get back a Kennedy half dollar and some Confederate scrip! And then snots off at the cashier when she has no idea that he’s tacitly asking for a dubloon and six rupees in change! God, I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/66 "2010-04-23T14:49:39Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If you want to believe that I’m purposefully taking the time alotted to me just to piss you off, hey, it’s your ulcer. Enjoy. You appear to have reading comprehension difficulties: I have never suggested that slow folks are being slow for the express purpose of irritating the people behind them in line. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/67 "2010-04-23T14:52:09Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > You appear to have reading comprehension difficulties: I have never suggested that slow folks are being slow for the express purpose of irritating the people behind them in line. No, but the way some people react (in this thread and in real life), one could certainly draw that conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/68 "2010-04-23T16:26:42Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Oh, let’s not even get into the change shit. Nobody under the age of 70 ever gives the cashier six pennies, a dime, a quarter and a half, and a piece of eight so as to get back a Kennedy half dollar and some Confederate scrip! And then snots off at the cashier when she has no idea that he’s tacitly asking for a dubloon and six rupees in change! God, I hate that. “Nobody” is an absolute, and so you’re right, but _predominantly_ it’s old hags that dig for change (and many are under 70!), and younger people that don’t. Plus, there’s a big, big difference between having your change in your pocket, and digging for it in the bottom of a danged laundry-bag sized purse. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/69 "2010-04-23T17:27:35Z")
“Oh wait, I think I have sixpence and some Reichsmarks in here somewhere! Let me see.” ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/70 "2010-04-23T17:33:26Z")
I used to get annoyed at having to wait in line. My husband went to visit some of his deceased mother’s relatives back in the “old country” in what used to be part of the USSR. One aged relative asked him what he grew in his garden. He told them, oh a few tomato plants, that’s about it. “Where do you get your food, then?” When he described our pretty ordinary local supermarket the relative did not believe him. There could not possibly be a store open 24/7 where you can buy any kind of food you want. After that I stopped worrying about waiting in line at the grocery store. I mean, there you are with a huge cart full of food, and more all around you in incredible variety, and you’re worrying about waiting an extra 5 minutes? Heck, there have been times and places in the former USSR where if anyone saw line of any kind they automatically added themselves to it, not even knowing what was being sold. Could be toilet paper, could be potatoes, anything. You were probably out of it. Put things in perspective, and don’t get so easily irritated. It’s not good for you. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/71 "2010-04-23T17:34:30Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > “Oh wait, I think I have sixpence and some Reichsmarks in here somewhere! Let me see.” 😃 classic. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/72 "2010-04-23T19:24:02Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > After that I stopped worrying about waiting in line at the grocery store. I mean, there you are with a huge cart full of food, and more all around you in incredible variety, and you’re worrying about waiting an extra 5 minutes? You didn’t realize that people in poorer countries live in worse (or at least less quick and convenient) conditions than people in the U.S. until then? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/73 "2010-04-23T21:17:58Z")
Then again, in a lot of poorer countries labor is so cheap that even middle class people can have people go to the grocery store for them! Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/74 "2010-04-23T23:42:29Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > You didn’t realize that people in poorer countries live in worse (or at least less quick and convenient) conditions than people in the U.S. until then? Of course I did. It’s just that the comparison was especially evident. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/75 "2010-04-23T23:56:17Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Of course I did. It’s just that the comparison was especially evident. I see. I suppose the thought process “Some people experience far greater inconveniences than I, therefore I shall never be annoyed by an inconvenience” is not one that I have. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/76 "2010-04-24T14:31:17Z")
So I was in Costco yesterday, buying stuff for a party we’re having today. I was immediately annoyed by the slow biddies that were leisurely ambling about throughout the isles, stopping their carts suddenly without looking around to see who was around or pulling their carts to the side, parking their carts side by side to chat with their fellow shoppers ect. Thinking about this thread, I told myself to take a deep breath, gain some perpective and chill the fuck out. And it worked! For a whole 2.5 minutes I was calm, cool, and collected… Then I rammed my cart right into grandpa’s shins and told him to move the hell out of the way.\* 😃 - I didn’t really do that. But 2.5 minutes was as long as I was able to last without wanting to kill someone. But I tried, honest. My hats off to all of you who manage to have an amount of patience I just don’t possess, no matter how hard I try. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/77 "2010-04-24T15:18:37Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > You appear to have reading comprehension difficulties: I have never suggested that slow folks are being slow for the express purpose of irritating the people behind them in line. > [@tdn](#): > > No, but the way some people react (in this thread and in real life), one could certainly draw that conclusion. I don’t think that slow people are slow just to irritate other people, but some people just don’t seem to realize that they are inconveniencing other people. I walk slowly, but I am aware that I am taking up space, and if someone wants to read the bookshelf I am scanning, I will make an effort to move to one side, in order that both of us can check that shelf at the same time. Or if I’m waiting in line at the deli or butcher’s department, if someone wants to look at the price of something, then I can frigging move out of the way. Usually just a movement of a foot or so will be more than adequate. And I don’t park my buggy on the left side of the aisle while I browse the right side, so that I effectively block the whole aisle and people can’t get past me. It’s not the SLOWNESS of some people that aggravate others so much as the obliviousness. It doesn’t take much foresight to pull your checkbook or wallet or debit card out of your pocket or purse and start filling in a check while waiting for the person ahead of you to check out. It’s even possible to load your purchases on the conveyor belt and then pull out your payment, while the other person is dealing with the checkout process. You WILL have to pay for your purchases in some way. I learned this when I was in grade school. By the time you’re an adult you should know this, and be prepared to pay for your purchases when you get to the cashier. It’s even possible to do this while keeping an eye on the scanner. I’m not the most coordinated person, and I can do this. It just takes a little recognition of the purchasing process, and acknowledging the fact that MOST people don’t want to spend any more time in the checkout line than absolutely necessary. Being slowmoving is one thing. Being a hindrance is another. One doesn’t need to be slow to hinder, and being slow isn’t necessarily being a hindrance. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485/78 "2010-04-24T15:35:57Z")
My 86 yr old dad does not have an ATM card. He doesn’t have an actual bank, just his investments that he can write checks off of. He has a paper check register. He cashes checks at the grocery store service desk. Win-win! (There is no on-line with him. He had trouble with the basics of double click! He’s just not interested in learning about computers.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-pet-peeve-2/536485.md?page=3)