Proper Grocery Basket Etiquette

I have really noticed since becoming a mother and having to make a regular grocery store trips with my three young children that people in general are not demonstrating proper grocery basket etiquette (PGBE). Proper grocery basket etiquette is not leaving your basket in the middle of a major traffic isle to go grab a sample of your favorite salsa and chips. This is one of my favorite rude basket behaviors. Recently, I was walking down the food thoroughfare at my local Wal-mart when suddenly the shopper in front of me stopped unexpectedly and left her basket in the middle of the isle. As she headed toward a sample tray, I muttered, "Oh, you're kidding!" and then I proceeded to move her basket so that I might pass. Never once did she turn around to see if her basket was in the way of other shoppers. How rude! I should have loudly exclaimed, "Excuse ME!?!" but not wanting to get into an altercation in front of my two year old and four year old, I walked on by....

Do people think that "sharing the road" does not apply to shopping? I always park my basket to the side as far as I can to make it easier for other shoppers to pass by while I look for a particular product. I manage to do this politely while trying also to wrangle my three young children. A majority of the time I find it is the individual shoppers whom lack the PGBE. Apparently, because they are unattached they feel they get free reign. For those of us who demonstrate good basket behavior, I believe there should be a reward system. We have all seen the lights that are sensor activated in the freezer section at many grocery stores. Sensor boxes should be placed on the baskets, detecting the placement of the basket in the isle. These sensor boxes would be able to tell if the basket was left unattended in the middle of an isle or if the basket was properly placed to the side when needed. Another part of this sensor box would be to collect points or deduct points depending on the shopper's basket etiquette. At the end of their shopping experience, the sensor box would disperse a money saving coupon for good behavior and perhaps make an embarrassing sound notifying the entire store of their bad basket etiquette. It would change the face of grocery shopping experiences everywhere. A safety system could also be put to use, utilizing a beeping sound when carts turn corners notifying others of their presence. Or perhaps lights that signal shoppers when it is safe to turn the corner.

During this crazy shopping season, we should all try a little harder to be cheerful to the cashiers, retail clerks and fast food employees, as they really have it rough. Thankfully, I am on the shopping side of the retail industry this year. Take a moment during your next grocery shopping trip and watch other people's behavior when it comes to PGBE. Observe the inconvenience that it causes many people when one person leaves their cart unattended in the center of an isle. How much less stressful would this holiday be if we didn't spend half the time complaining because of the lack of PGBE there is on the shopping floors of America! Good Luck & Merry Christmas!