Waiting in line at the supermarket

[sergio]

Take a book with you when you are waiting.

 

[EvergreenGal]

What amazes me is that people will stand in line and wait here forever and for everything...groceries, banks, and the like....but get them behind the wheel of a car and look out...NO patience!!!! Gotta get there....gotta get there NOW!!! Horns honking....weaving in and out of traffic....first off the stop lights....

Just hit me as funny....

 

[Napoleon]

What amazes me is that people will stand in line and wait here forever and for everything...groceries, banks, and the like....but get them behind the wheel of a car and look out...NO patience!!!! Gotta get there....gotta get there NOW!!! Horns honking....weaving in and out of traffic....first off the stop lights....

Just hit me as funny....

I love this one!!!!!!!!!

This one, when the ladies with the carts who keep hitting you in the back until you push back with you butt, turn around, glare, and then say "BASTA! No me tocas!!" (I'm bald so it's a little scarier. It tends to work for me.)

And I also love the "cambio" said a just above a whisper. Sometimes this is said 2 to 3 times. Then the 45 second to 2 minute wait before a manager comes over to hear the story of needing cambio like it's the first time they've ever seen any cash register EVER actually need cambio.

Then the slow walk to either another cash register or the safe to get maybe AR$2 of cambio rather than AR$10 or more.

There is a COTO on Viamonte b/n Parana & Montevideo that is packed during the day. And the whisper of "cambio" is amazing. And then the look of "hhhhmmmmmmmmm... why do you need cambio?" when I'm thinking... "There is an effing bank or two across the street!! It's open right now and you've got 3 to 5 people standing around flirting with each other. Why don't you send each one of them across the street with a AR$100 bill to the 'commerce line' and have them get camio?!?!?!?"

Add to all of this the fact that I bought AR$188 worth of groceries Wednesday at a DISCO with a Citibank CC (10% discount day) and I didn't get my discount. I seriously think that you have to have a retarded gene if you want to work in a supermercado in BsAs. But fortunately for all of the stores, hay un montón de gente que tiene este gene.

That's why, when you want a few things quickly, you just go to the China where the service is extremely fast AND you get monedas back. There's NEVER a problem with cambio at the Chinese supermercados.

 

[soulskier]

Waiting in line is the national past time, along with not paying taxes, drinking mate and futbol.

 

[BlahBlah]

I think the Chinos are part of the cambio network

 

[mersal]

I stopped going to Disco a long time ago -- they are notorious for slow checkout. I find that Jumbo has a pretty fast checkout process (and a lot more cashiers than a Disco). I walk the 20 minutes to Jumbo every couple of weeks just for the nice experience, and of course great variety in products. And the Vea in Palermo Hollywood is pretty quick too.

 

[tangobob]

Try waiting for half an hour at the information desk when there is no price on an item, then when you finally get service they sat "no tengo stock"
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
I just keep clear of Coto and Jumbo now, I understand that they do not take lightly foreigners coming in and KILLING all the staff.

 

[amat]

ha ha! this is the one thing that really drives me crazy about living here. I've never seen lines go so slow anywhere else in the world.
And why does every item need to be put in a separate bag?!
I wish they'd introduce the same system they did in Ireland - either bring your own bags or pay for plastic ones. it seems so wasteful..

 

[katti]

I prefer shopping in BA : all you have to do is

1.fill the cart
2.wait in line (and read a book - good idea!)
3.put everything on the counter
4.pay
5.sign
and a few hours later all your stuff is delivered right at your door!

No :
putting it back in your cart
go to your car
load it in
drive home
load it out
carry it upstairs. (how many floors?)

I gladly take the waiting as a 'time to rest'
always look on the bright side!!

 

[mini]

ha ha! this is the one thing that really drives me crazy about living here. I've never seen lines go so slow anywhere else in the world.
And why does every item need to be put in a separate bag?!
I wish they'd introduce the same system they did in Ireland - either bring your own bags or pay for plastic ones. it seems so wasteful..

Sadly it's because they will break otherwise. I have a couple of my own bags I carry in my handbag.

Disco & Jumbo both sell their own branded bags. I haven't noticed if others have them too.

At Dia you have to pay per bag so people use less of them.

Having said all that, my bags get used as trash bags & doggie toiltet necessities. So they are at least used twice.