You’re out shopping with your significant other. One of the stops is specifically for your SO; this store has nothing that interests you whatsoever. There’s nothing else nearby. Your SO just has to get a couple of things (or so they say).
Do you go into the store with them, or do you wait in the car/outside?
Wait. The last time I went in a store with Mr.Wrekker it was ‘Bass Pro Shop’, never again!
I tend to go inside the store with my wife. It’s boring in the car, even with smartphones, and I like to know exactly what’s going on, rather than sitting in the car wondering what’s taking so long. Plus, if I’m outside there will surely be dilly-dallying.
I’d probably go in - unless I really felt I’d prefer a nap in the car. (I don’t use my phone for recreation).
Generally, if we are running errands together, a big part of it is us being together. We’ll chat on our way to/from the store, and in the store if looking for an object, waiting for service, etc. Sometimes one of us will want the others’ opinion. And we an generally find SOMETHING to interest/amuse ourselves with in just about any store.
It depends. In general I’ll go with her, but I’ve also sat on a bench outside of Sephora for ages (I can’t deal with the level of volatiles in the air there).
May I be of assistance?
It depends on our mood. If I’m going shopping with my girl friends on a simple “expeditionary mission”, the last thing we want is a guy under foot. So, that’s simple.
If an SO is buying his lady a present, it gets more complicated. He needs to escort her so that, when she is finally done, he can pay the bill and then say, “Happy birthday”, “Merry Christmas”, whatever.
The thing is, when you accompany a woman on a shopping trip, it can get tricky. You need to seem interested, but you can’t get underfoot or appear to be rushing her in any way. Often, your woman will cue you: “You can wait in the car or hit the sporting goods store, if you want. I’ll text you when I’m finished.” My brother likes to find a place to sit down and just play with his phone. This way, he is out of the way and in no way hinting that he’s in a rush, yet he is readily available when wanted.
A cute story my brother shared with me: My brother was with my SiL at the Orland Square Mall and, luckily, there was a small lounge area right outside of “JJills” where he could relax. Well, he fell asleep for 45 minutes and, upon waking up, quickly checked for his wife. He couldn’t find her anywhere so, anxiously, he asked a sales lady about her. She told him that she was in back changing and asked, “Should I let her know you’re here?” He gave exactly the right answer; “No, I don’t want her to think I’m rushing her.” He then went back and dutifully sat down.
You can always be of some assistance, like holding potential purchases, looking for stuff, holding her purse while she tries stuff on, offering an opinion (“no that doesn’t make you look fat”), etc. Maybe someday she will return the favor. And sometimes it would be helpful to remind her that you really are not interested in anything from this store. (“Yes, the pink sweater with poodles in the clearance bin is very cute and thank-you for thinking of me, but I’m not going to wear it.”)
My husband and I alternate grocery trips. He goes to the lumber yard alone. I go to the feed store alone. As for the rest we pretty much shop on line. About the only stores we go into together are bookstores.
On one of our very first dates we went wandering around in downtown Albany (California; it’s the town next to Berkeley) and he went into a stereo store. Something like 90 minutes later after I’d waited and then had a cup of coffee in a cafe by myself and then taken a walk and came back, and he was still absorbed in speakers, I told him I was going to go home without him, so he reluctantly dragged himself away. Can’t believe I married him a couple years later.
This reminds me of something I saw on Facebook the other day (it was either this or something very like it).
Going with someone else while they shop is my idea of Hell. Or at least Heck. I’ll just wait here in the car. Yes, of course I brought something to read.
As Sartre said, Heck is other people shopping.
Shopping with the SO is why they invented smart phones. I rarely wait in the car but I typically see if there is something I’d rather be doing or at worst a good place to post up out of the way and browse my phone.
Sneed’s Feed and Seed (formerly Chuck’s)?
I stay at home playing video games or I go to the bar.
I got in trouble once for waiting in the car.
The previous evening my GF at the time cooked us this wonderful meal. Great food, wine, stimulating conversation and romance.
The next day, as I was driving her home, she asked me to stop by 7-11 so she could get a cup of coffee. So I pull in and park, and just let her go in by herself since I didn’t want anything.
I soon came to regret that decision. According to her, the very least I could have done was go in and buy her that 80¢ cup of coffee considering all the money she spent on the groceries for last night’s meal.
I’m single now. 
Of course, if you had done that, she would have been offended at the implication that you treating her to a cup of shitty coffee was an appropriate quid pro quo for the meal.
I haven’t had a SO in a decade and a half, but if I was going to be on the shopping trip with them, I’d go inside with them. Sitting in a car doing nothing doesn’t do anything for me.
Go with them to make sure they don’t run up the credit card! If we are going somewhere that I might buy a present for her I’d at least like to get a hint of what she likes there. Then I can go back and spend the money I saved by accompanying her on regular shopping trips.
I wait in the car. I’ve got the Kindle and Nook apps on my phone.
There is a reason I have a stack of undone NYT crossword puzzles tucked in the door panel.
mmm
If I had an SO at the moment, I would vote “3”. Shopping in groups is incredibly inefficient, even if two people want largely the same thing in the same store.
If I go shopping, I research what I want first. I’d rather not waste time going to a store without knowing how much something costs and where I can find it in the store. Needless to say, much of my shopping is done online. I’ve measured myself, so I know what my sizes are and don’t need to “try on” clothes; instead I can buy them online.
Shopping is like a military operation. You identify the target, you locate the target, and you secure the target. That minimizes time spent shopping.
