Supermarket Checkout Etiquette

I have previously written a blog post about people who jump the queue to pay for petrol, and thinking about it, there's so many more things people do at a supermarket checkout that they just shouldn't be allowed to do. Here is a run down of the top 5 things that should be banned at supermarket checkouts...

1. Coin Counting
People that spend ages at the tills counting out coppers to "get rid of their shrapnel" or because that is how they intended to pay all along. If you're going to do this, at the very least be getting the money ready in your hand before you get to the till or while the shopping is being scanned. Don't wait until the very end to start arthritically plucking out each penny until you reach the total.

2. Going back to get something else
No. Once you reach the checkout, that's it, your shopping is finished. People who have forgotten something and have to run back into the store to get it, while the cashier and the rest of us stand there waiting for your forgetfulness to catch up, no, no its alright, we'll wait while you reserve your space at the front of the line and continue your shopping. These people should be told they have to queue up again, or go without whatever the missing item is. Similarly if you leave the queue to go and get something, you can't expect to re-join at the same place.

3. Paying by more than one way (cash/card/voucher) in one transaction.
Yet another thing that slows down the whole process for the rest of us, people who want to pay for their bog roll in cash, get 3p off their coffee with a voucher and then put the rest on their card. I don't know why people have to pay half with cash and half with card, perhaps they don't have enough cash? In which case they shouldn't be overspending anyway. If you don't have the money, you can't have it... that's basic stuff.

4. Asking to check the price at the tills.
If you can't remember what the price was when you picked it up, or if you can't add up things when you're on a tight budget, tough. You either want it or you don't. This request is often followed by an extreme faff of the customer trying to work out whether to sacrifice the turkey twizzlers or the family pack of doughnuts so that the bill totals something they can afford.

5. Forgetting your pin number.
People that have multiple guesses, or have to stand there racking their brains, inevitably fail and then have to work out how they are going to pay. It slows it all down for the rest of us. If you can't remember a simple 4 digit code, you can't use your card, and if you can't use your card, and don't have cash to pay, you can't eat. It's natural selection of the modern age.