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Hillery Smith Shay / AP
Getting accidentally bumped by other shoppers can trigger an urge to get the heck out of a store.
Retailers might want to rethink the seasonal strategy of cramming stores so full that customers can barely squeeze down the aisles.
Researchers have discovered that consumers hate rubbing elbows with other shoppers so much that they’ll cut short shopping missions –- or sometimes just stomp out of the store -– when they’re accidentally bumped.
And, as it turns out, it’s not just women who don’t like to be bumped by strangers while browsing, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Men don’t like any stranger -– male or female -– to brush up against them.
“Men do not like being bumped into by women they don’t know,” says Brett A.S. Martin, a professor of marketing at the School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations at the Queensland University of Technology Business School in Brisbane, Australia. “But if it is a man they don’t know, they’ll leave the store fast.”
Figuring that nobody likes to be crowded, Martin set up an experiment with the help of 144 volunteers to look at the impact of customers brushing up against one another.
Martin sent the 72 men and 72 women into the store and asked them to shop as they normally would. The volunteers were also asked to check out a particular purse that was being displayed in the middle of the store.
Unbeknownst to the volunteers, Martin also sent in two confederates -- both relatively attractive people in their mid-30s -- to casually brush up against half of the volunteers as they were looking at the purse. Martin made sure his helpers understood they were to blend in with the shoppers in the store and to only lightly brush past the volunteers, touching just the shoulder area.
Martin kept track of how long each of his volunteers was in the store. He also had them fill out a questionnaire that asked what the volunteers thought of the store and how much they thought the purse should cost.
No matter whether volunteers were men or women, the ones who were bumped left the store much more quickly than those who’d shopped unhindered. Bumped people also were more likely to set a lower price for the purse and to give the store a bad rating in their evaluations.
Martin’s advice to store owners is simple: “Managers can be tempted to maximize floor space by narrowing aisles and offering as many products as possible. This research suggests that where customers interfere with each other -– even if accidentally -– it can result in lost sales.”
Leave a Comment:
I never bump into anyone on the internet.
Agreed.
There's really almost zero reason to actually go to a mall anymore assuming you can bring yourself to start shopping prior to the 18th-20th.
Online shopping....best thing since E-ZPass!
First, I HATE shopping!
I do not like buying my food and shoes at the same place.
I tried using coupons once but I was in the store, twice as long and did not find most of the products, for which I had coupons.
I try to buy locally because, I want local businesses prosper. I know exactly where everything I want is placed; I get it, pay for it and get out.
Mostly, I cringe when sales people jump on you, the minute you enter the store. Even if you decline their help, they follow you around, like pack hounds, looking for their prey.
I shop on line.
I'm a Purchasing Agent, not a Shopper.
For me it is always knowing what I want. They have it or don't. I take it or don't. And I don't try on things in stores...what a hassle that is.
Loved shopping when catalogs came out...and even more when I could do it online.
If I do go to a store, I go alone. Hate to listen to all the comments, etc from others with me...then they want to go have lunch and 'think' about whether or not they should've bought what they just saw...which ends with going back to stores you just visited.
Purchasing Agent, online/catalog, or shopping solo...only way to go.
The one HUGE drawback to on-line shopping that will NEVER be eliminated: You have to spend money on the product just to know whether or not it is of any real quality, or if it is even close to what you REALLY need.
The ONLY time I ever get anything on-line is when I know EXACTLY what I am looking for and EXACTLY what the product is and EXACTLY what kind of quality that product is supposed to have. And because to every rule there is always at least one exception, I break my rule ONLY when the product I am looking for is available ONLY on-line.
Too many on-line stores find it too easy to say "Oh, we never received your e-mail" when you have a LEGITIMATE complaint. I just got off the phone with someone at an on-line store's "Customer Service Department" about supposedly "lost" e-mails.
I prefer to do my shopping in real, physical stores -- not on-line.
I don't mind bumping into people, not that I can remember the last time I've been in one of the "Black Friday" mobs, but I do HATE the idiots who park their shopping cart strategically in the middle of the aisle and then wander aimlessly comparing the price of brand name "French Style Cut Beans" and the generic brand.
And then, God forbid you touch their cart, they act as if you're trying to steal their contents in the cart.
I rather shop in Real Stores. Ever went thru the hassles of an online return.
Versus being able to b!tch out the people at the Store, don't laugh, my 3rd Career was Retail Sales before I got Recalled to Active Duty again. So I know how therapeutic that can be for customers.
The primary reason I hate going to a Real Store. Having been trained in Epidemiology, is everyone has seen that inconsiderate extremely ill person that looked like they came off the cast of the movie Contagion, the one's coughing and sneezing on everything along with their children also coughing and sneezing and touching everything within their reach.
Another major annoyance is when stores pack the clothing racks so tight you can't see anything, or get anything off the rack. It makes the product look cheap. I have left stores for that reason.
I will go into the store to check the product out then I will go home and find the product cheaper online.
If retailers would sell at a more reasonable price I would buy it there.
Shut up M.Forrest. Peddle your @!$%# somewhere else. "Pro Shopper" you.
Oh for heavens sake. Just say "Excuse me."
Whatever happened to simple manners?
I always say "Excuse me" if I accidentally get bumped into or if I accidentally bump into someone.
Grow up. There are seven billion people on the earth now. Just grow up.
I agree with AVI-IVA...the use of manners has declined in direct relation to growing laziness and obesity. Kids don't use manners anymore, adults don't teach their kids manners anymore, schools aren't allowed to try to teach kids how to use manners anymore... A "pardon me" or "excuse me" or "i'm sorry" goes a long way, unless that person who hears "excuse me" thinks you're being rude to them by politely asking them to move. Then they're just being arrogant.
@Letusreaon: Have you seen www.peopleofwalmart.com? THAT'S the reason I detest Wal-Mart...WOW!
Hate to say that seems self evident. It's one reason why a lot of folks I know won't shop at Wal Mart.
Seems self-evident to everyone but the store owners/managers.
I can't take WalMart. The aisles are so narrow you have to back out if someone is coming the other way.
The crowded aisles are definitely a drawback to shopping at Walmart - you get all the frustration, anger and rudeness of a freeway traffic jam without the benefit of an automotive glass-&-steel buffer. That place never fails to put me in a foul mood.
And people wonder why I'd rather shop at Target than Walmart. At least in Target you can get through the store pretty much unhindered.
I absolutely despise any store where they have so many end caps and free standing merchandise in the center of the aisles that I can't maneuver my cart or have difficulty walking through. If I can't move freely then I will leave my cart where it stands and walk out - loaded or not - don't care. I am tired of it. Christmas is the worst - they have more cr** in the aisles and make it virtually impossible to move. I don't like crowds either -- so combine the two and it gets ugly fast. I won't shop black Friday, won't shop the day after Christmas, etc. It isn't worth the fight. Most people lack basic manners any more which makes it worse. Sorry - I'll either keep my money in my pocket, go to the bank and by a Visa or MC gift card (not much of a line there) or shop on line.
I like going to Walmart usually late at night or early in the morning just for some cheap entertainment watching the shoppers.
When you are Deployed to the middle of nowhere, you do kind of miss full store shelves and crowds of people.
There are so many reasons not to shop at WalMart that I can't even list them.
Half of my reasoning for going to Walmart is the people watching. : )
The grocery store, both Weis and Giant, cram their aisles full of crap and make navigating the store a complete nightmare.
Ah, you must be from somewhere in PA!! Yes, Giant is a big offender of that, and it's usually stuff I don't want to buy in a grocery store!! Take that crap away and give me more groceries!!!
This is why I quit shopping at walmart. Clogging the aisles with pallets combined with shoppers too stupid to know better than to stop in the middle of the bottleneck made it a hassle to move around the store.
Are the folks at Walmart supposed to just carry one item out at a time when they re-stock the shelves? As for the people who will "stop in the middle of the bottleneck", perhaps they are a bit too self-centered -- but so are you if you simply cannot be bothered with going around the other way.
What about the people that let their children run amok while they go shopping? I refer to them as free range children. They terrorize through the store reeking havoc wherever they go.
I think this depends entirely on what the woman bumping into you looks like....if it is some cow at Walmart grazing into you sure....
is that how you would talk about your mother or sister? and I wonder just how fit your mom is really. don't call people cows anyway. I weigh 112 but I still respect people even if they're big, some big people serve the military and law enforcement and do a great job.
BE AWARE OF COW FARTS !!!!!! They will kill you. It is also impossible to pass two V W Beatles side by side in an isle !!!!!
Gentlemen: and I use the term loosely. If the best you can do is liken women to "cows" based on your rating systems, best leave the outdoor activities to others...I'm guessing on a scale of 1 to 10 there is a 0 percent chance of you needing anyone significant to buy for.
Must be pretty easy to lift your wallet Mike.
Unfortunately, the country seems to have the "herd" mentality these days. If you aren't rich, famous, incredibly good-looking, or some combination thereof, you are nothing. It's sick, sick, SICK!
Damn it Mike! The term is "Bloody fat cow"!
Hey Mikey, I wonder how much YOU weigh -- and how much you pay that personal trainer you must have to not be a "cow".
Nope. President Obama already sent out his criteria for his Reduction In Forces of 27,000 US Military, being Obese is a criteria.
Being Obese has also been one of the previous QMP (Qualitative Management Program) criteria.
Fact of the matter, is that the US does have an Obesity Epidemic.
For the record I am 20lbs overweight and my mother is on the heavy side....what does that have to do with the fact that this study is stupid? A heterosexual man would not mind an attractive woman bumping up against him in a store. That was my point.
Onto the cow comment, if you are an average height woman/man with an average build and you are over 300lbs you are a cow. Stop eating so much and then blaming some medical condition on why you are huge. It amazes me that just recently when so many people are morbidly obese that suddenly so many thyroid problems are to blame....did something change in the last 20 years that screwed up so many people's thyroids?
People are fat because they are lazy and eat too much all the wrong things, and terrible food is readily available to you everywhere you look. Hell 7-11 stores now peddle large pepperoni pizzas as you stop in for gas and a big gulp. I know because I am a part of that trend, but instead of playing victim I joke about it. Could I lose these last 20lbs I need to become "average" weight for my height? Sure. But that would take effort, and many Americans don't want to put forth any effort, they want to pop some Hydroxycut while laying on the couch watching TV.
WOW, Mike, I'm glad you're not opinionated or anything! And certainly not biased against heavier set people! You have such a non-judgemental way about you:
Did it by any chance occur to you that many of these "thyroid problems" have been around for many years, but with the advance of medical science they are being diagnosed now, while they weren't before?
It seems to me that you took the opportunity of this article about crowded store aisles and people bumping into each other to vent on what is clearly one of your favorite pet peeves.
By the way, I think this study disproves your theory about men not minding being bumped into by attractive women . . . it learned that neither men NOR women care to be bumped into by anyone--of either sex.
Ok Kirigami, explain why obesity is just now recently in the last 20 years an epidemic. It has nothing to do with medical conditions being diagnosed, if that were the case just as many people in the past would have been obese, they just wouldn't know why they were since they weren't diagnosed. It has to do with people being lazy and eating mass quantities of terrible food. I mean look at kids now...so many obese kids around....I guess they just all have medical conditions and it has nothing to do with mom and dad feeding them chicken nuggets and pop tarts while they veg out in front of the TV watching Sponge Bob...
Look I get it, fat people need an excuse why they are fat. They can't blame themselves, so they have to blame someone or something or sue McDonalds for making them fat. My original comment was just a joke, then people jumped on it and now I am explaining myself. I have been there, I was skinny as a kid, then in my teens/20's I was 260lbs at my biggest because I had an awful diet and rarely, if ever, exercised. The ONLY way to lose weight is to limit your caloric intake and remain active.
If you want to stay fat that's fine, it is your life, and it doesn't bother me at all. What does bother me is when people use excuses for their problems or make their kids fat by letting them eat the way they eat.
As for the study proving me wrong?...bullsh!t. Unless you can provide pictures of the women in the study my point stands.
I absolutely refuse to shop in stores that cram the aisles with racks and stacks of merchandise during any time of the year. During Christmas especially, I shop on the internet just to avoid the crowds. I have walked out of stores that were too crowded and stores where I'd have to wait an hour just to pay. Nothing is worth that hassle, especially when I can usually find a better deal somewhere in the internet.
Bet you would if it was Packer gear!!! ;-)
Nope, buy it all online!!! :o)
I KNOW he'd wait in line fifteen hours just to get into a Packers game. And I really do not see any difference.
I hit the bricks too whenever I find a place that's crowded...plus check to see that my wallet is still in my purse...
Finally, an article that validates what I've been saying all these years! I've been emailing retailers, supermarkets and other stores, begging them NOT to cram the aisles, and also to turn down the volume on the "music."
Shopping has become a nightmare, and I've either been doing it online, or simply arriving as early as possible. I don't know who or what marketing corp. does their research, but obviously they are way off the target.
Shoppers hate having to inch their way along shopping carts, narrow aisles, running kids or oblivious shoppers blocking the aisles. Do these retailers really believe that we'll slow down and look at their products? NO! We simply get angrier and try to get the %$## out ASAP! It's a frigging nightmare!!!
I always try to keep or tell my kids to get out of the way of another person in the aisle - which ends up wasting a lot of my own time in the store. Interestingly, no one ever says anything to me about it bothering them or even a "thank you" for trying to make way.
If having to wrangle your kids while shopping in crowded stores wastes so much of your time, and no one else appreciates it, I have a simple solution: Don't take them with you. Leave them with a friend or family member while you do your shopping. Problem solved.
Wow, bumpitybump's post explains so much that I never understood about people with kids. People with ill-mannered, uncontroled children seem to be a lot like people who smoke right next to a building's entrance: completely unconcerned that their actions are negatively impacting everyone else around them. I guess I should demand a thank you whenever I use my turn signal or hold the door an extra second longer for someone who is coming in right behind me. Common courtesy is practiced because you appreciate your fellow human beings, not because you deserve a "cookie" for doing something that you should have in the first place.
Wait, so you want a thank you for keeping your little rugrats out of my way? Newsflash, if they were properly raised you wouldn't have to go through all that energy corralling them.
Oh yeah because heaven knows you are infinitely better behaved the average 2-year old. Clearly. Newsflash.
People, parents need to take their child or children to the stores with, how else is the child suppose to learn to function in public. When they grow up they will need to shop, and to do that they need to practice. Children are not something to be avoided. They are people, just smaller than grown ups. As a grandma, I love seeing the children when I am out and about.
Kids should be left at home when shopping at the mall or Walmart. They get in the way, scream, yell, run around, and make shopping even more deplorable than it already is. Seriously, leave'em somewhere else.
.
Ok you're ASSUMING they're ill behaved because she's having to tell them scoot over. That is not necessarily true. When you have a woman cramming a cart down the aisle, about to run over your kids who are just standing there because she obviously doesn't care or inst looking, and you ask your kids to scoot over so she can pass easier, the other person is the problem not your kids. You can't make assumptions about her kids behavior just because she had to ask them to move over. My kids are older and very well behaved and I still have to watch out for other people running them over in stores and parking lots.
Mike: clearly you are not a parent. Hire a babysitter just for a shopping trip? So that your delicate sensibilities won't be impacting by having to actually see a child? Seriously. Why don't you just do society a favor and stay in your home and shop online? one less unpleasant encounter for all.
Yes, leave those kids at home. They're unsightly nuissances. God, it's amazing that our race continues when we have folks with opinions like yours: (don't feed your baby, either, OMG, boobsRevil!) Also, I don't have the time / money to waste on a babysitter (wait for babysitter to show up, etc.) just to go shopping. And not everyone have family nearby (who better have nothing better to do themselves, of course) to help with the child hiding, I mean child rearing you propose... Get over it. Like you were never a kid yourself. (Hopefully, though, you won't have kids yourself!)
I'm going to qualify my comment by letting you know that I've recieved many compliments on how well behaved my kids are in public. I refuse to let them run around like maniacs. Just because someone has to remind their kid to look out for other people doesn't mean they are not minding their kids or that their kids are heathens. The fact they took the time to notice that their child might be a hinderance to another is proof they are actually parenting rather than being wrapped up in their own little world. This is what is wrong with the world, no one has any tollerance for minor annoyances anymore. Your life isn't going to end because you had to listen to a crying baby. You don't know what others are going through. Quit being so judgemental because you were temporarily inconvienced.
I agree with justsaying. If people like mike want kids to be well-behaved in public, they kinda have to learn how first! My kids get rambunctious at times, especially with the decorations around the holidays, but they are obedient and courteous for the most part. Heck, I've even got them trained to pick up stuff that has fallen to the floor and put it back on the shelves. Most adults don't even do that! Kids have to learn to be courteous to others. Something that mike's parents clearly didn't teach HIM.
I don't expect anyone to say thank you, unless they happen to be my kids. I was using that as a situational example because I rarely get a response one way or another. What does it say about you in that you obviously got all bent out of shape about what you assumed I meant? "Up ur anus" indeed!
My husband works very hard to support our family, the least I can do is get the groceries done so there is a full fridge and a hot meal when he comes home and a little better after the crap he goes through at work. I do that out of love, not because someone said it's my place. Not everyone has the same luxury of support around them in times of need, otherwise there wouldn't be welfare! I don't trust just anyone to watch my kids (how many kids have been molested by caretakers/family!?).
All I want for Christmas is a little consideration!
The sad part is that there is no way NOT to block the isles because they are to narrow in the first place.
Mike757, if YOU were "properly raised", then YOU would not be such a boorish and self-centered fool.
Dont have kids, too many little (future diabetic) calf's out there already!
You must be one of them.
NOPE!
Why is it that with all the statistics about how fat the population is, we still have idiots defending them? Did I miss a huge gland infection that struck the population and rendered (as in fat) all these people obese???????????? I think not.............they are fat, fat, fat, fat............pigs.............
You must have missed that article about the link between low income and obesity. Cheap foods have lots of preservatives/additives. These chemicals are not meant to be put in the body.
I see this as a cyclical argument going nowhere.
Hey johnny, when was the last time you had to choose between going to the gym and FEEDING THE FAMILY with the few dollars left after paying the rent, electric, water, gas, etc?
Oh, right, you don't have a family, so you must be able to afford food that "happens" to be 100% "Organic" and totally free of high-fructose anything. Congratulations on being a Grade-A judgmental ass-hat.
Do like my sister in law. Leave the kds with Mama, disappear for hours, especially around meal times, or dump them on anyone dumb enough to keep allowing it.
behaved when my mom took me shopping as a kid. Her shopping cart was like a f'ing magnet. I was spoiled as a kid but I behaved because my mother would have it no other way...and she was a single parent.
I have no problems with good kids going with their parents shopping, it is impractical to get a sitter while you go out. But I live in the real world where kids run around stores like they are possessed. Grabbing things, throwing them, knocking stuff over, screaming when mom won't buy they a toy or candy at check out....
I see it everyday...and therefore I stand by my statement.
Stores would keep me shopping longer if they didn't have the heat turned on so high. Once I start to get hot, I am out of there as quickly as possible.
Are you sure you're not confusing that with hot flashes? ;)
My husband is a space heater so he's always "hot."
I think its wonderful that he is your husband and you still think hes hot! Good for you!
THIS JUST IN: People hate loud noises, traffic jams, and discomfort in general! Stay tuned to MSNBC for the latest updates!
Slow news day?
Well, your the one stating the obvious to a dumb a$$ story
Not "your" the word you are seeking is "you're".
ren -
Not "your" the word you are seeking is "you're".If you're the grammar police then I'm the grammar FBI. Your sentence(s) should read:
Not "your." The word you are seeking is "you're."
; )
Actually, "Not "your"" is not a proper sentence, so it would be: It's not "your." The word you are seeking is "you're."
--Grammar NSA
"If you're the grammar police then I'm the grammar FBI." Your sentence(s) should read: If you're the grammar police, then I'm the grammar FBI.
:)=
Oh God, another English lesson.
This little thread was way more entertaining than the actual story! I am a grammar freak, that's probably why I liked it.
Good grief: you people have too much free time!
Ok that was the end of my work day laugh. Thank you.
Julia, if your a grammar freak, then you're happy.................LOL.........omg I think that is wrong...............hahahahahahahahahahahhahaha
Jist say y'all and get over it
I wonder if retailers forget humans shop in their stores. Good for MSNBC to remind them...
mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
How old are you, johnny? Your words here show that you are about 12 years old.
The Quacked One,
I am not laughing at johnnynuke; because in Retail, especially during the Holidays "Flock Mentality" is a considered Factor to increase overall Sales.
Instead of mooooooooooo. It would be more like bbaaaah, bbaaaah. The sheep dog is that Retail Sales person guiding the customers (about 3 to 6) with the lost look to the merchandise (usually taking them to the farthest location first so they pass by everything else as potential additonal sales). Worked really well for me during my 3rd Career Retail (Management) before I got Recalled to Active Duty again.
Marie485962 - I wonder if retailers forget humans shop in their stores.
It is usually not the local retail manager it is usually the Corporate Headquarters fools that never were in the "trenches" at one of the stores, that come up with some of the most asine ideas, like changing the locations of everything once in a while, so that the customers have to search thru the whole store just to find what they want, this costs money to move everything and only pisses off the customers. In some cases the retail manager does exercise their management responsibilites and actually decides not to do certain stupid things required by the Headquarters; however, they usually do not last very long.
David-475776, Very interesting. Walmart where I live changes things around. Those infrequent purchases that you "know" where to find them the next time. And your right, it is upsetting.
I just hate crowds. Doesn't matter where I am. You can't go anywhere these days without having to jostle along with hundreds or thousands of other people. We are becoming like sheep or cattle. Shuffled along at a snails pace. I for one do all I can to just avoid crowds. I shop on off days. Go to the beach or the slopes on off days as well. Sure, often that means working on the weekend, but let me tell you, skiing on a completely empty mountain on a Tuesday, or heading to the beach on a Wednesday, when there are zero crowds, is AWESOME!!!
And yet, when you get into one of those situations, just start mooing like a cow, and see what it gets you. The two fattest women within reach will start beating you with their handbags, and there's a 40% chance one of the men in the throng will produce a bullwhip, and start cracking it!
besides the normal shopping season of christmas, there is always the option of country living. but then again it is more expensive to live rural. there's pros and cons to everything in life.
Really? Then why am I paying MORE to live in a city than I ever did while "living rural"? No charge for water -- it's from a well; no charge for heat -- my rural house had a wood furnace and I cut/split the wood myself; property taxes were about $1,200 per year -- in-town property taxes for the same size house/acreage is more than $2,000 per year (IF you can manage to find 40 "non-developed" acres in a city at all); cost nothing but electricity to wash clothes -- unlike a laundromat where it costs a MINIMUM of $2.50 PER LOAD to wash and a MINIMUM of $2.25 PER LOAD to dry. Just try to find a city apartment that has enough room for even a washer.
Just how is "living rural" more expensive?
I hate crowds too, it's interesting to watch the battle of the wills in who will give way in the aisles, like a game of "chicken."
I wish they could have included in this story why some of those people seem to not be aware that they are in your personal space or that they bumped you?
Pardon my rant... I take my son to an activity with other kids and there are a couple mom's there who seem unaware of anyone but herself. One time, one mom was standing in the walkway to get to the door and couldn't seem to grasp that she was literally hogging the entire space and you had to ask her to move in order to get by. Another time I was sitting on the risers and another mom sitting behind me put her foot up so it was literally on my purse.
What is the deal with people like this, are you so self absorbed that you don't care that you are being inconsiderate?! I would rather deal with personal space invasion in Asia where at least I know it's not done on purpose but just the culture.
That's the entitlement mentality people have been raised with for the last few decades. No one is taught common courtesy anymore, or how to apologize for being a jerk, because that would be a hit on their self-esteem. Gads. If I had behaved like that as a teen, my mom would have grounded me for life.
It's not that they are self absorbed, they are TOO DAMNED STUPID to pay attention to anyone else.
It is the "I am the most important person in the Universe, Me, Me, Me First and Foremost, screw everyone else they have to stay out of MY way" mentality. Wall Street is over-full of people with that particular mentality.
Dollar stores are NOTORIOUS for their cramp isles! I try to avoid these Hell holes unless it's absolutely necessary.
a dollar store is cheap and they probably keep costs down by cramming as much as possible into as small a store they can afford. the bigger the place the higher the maintenance fees. Dollar stores shouldn't really be considered in this study, I think normal grocery stores and above should be more what they are studying, not the cheapest stores that mainly serve the poor or almost poor, no offense.
Bed Bath and Beyond, need I say more?
Retailers are JUST figuring this out now? Wow.
some urban places are used to cramming a lot into a little, they get used to it at some point. But I do think a lot more people like open spaces, I know I do.
Count me with the others who say that this research needs to be shoved in the face of every retail CEO on the planet.
I absolutely hate shopping in stores that narrow the aisles to the point where you can barely turn around in them. One of the fastest ways to get me to hate visiting a store is for one bad experience where I run into a crowded aisle. I try to write off stores that don't understand that we are humans, not cattle.
Crime, disease, traffic, parking, standing in line, dirty and smelly people, panhandlers, disgusting and rude retail workers, filthy, slimy and stinky stores. Why, Why, Why would anyone shop in this type of environment when you can get all you want with better prices on the web.
We're an instant gratification society. We want things NOW! When buying things online, you have to wait for them. Why wait when you can just run up to the store and get the product you need or want right then and there. That's something online shopping can't replace.
The only problem I have with shopping online is that I have to "FEEL" the product before buying (unless it's a retailer I REALLY trust, but even then it doesn't always work). Too often they have inadequate or inaccurate pictures of the product to make a correct assessment. If I'm spending $$, i want to know I'm getting something worth it!
I'm a picky shopper, I would rather have nothing than settle for something subpar.
The whole rant given by Bighorn is nothing but a self-centered, egotistical and elitist whine, and I changed only a few words to show it, too.
I think Kohls is horrible. They cram so much into their space and I'm tall and thin and still bump into everything there. Espcially when they have all their clearance racks set up. Ugh.
Kohls is sub-par, sometimes even to Walmart. Their prices are outrageous and the quality of the merchandise is only so-so. Why pay $80 for jeans that won't last more than one year, when you can pay less than $20 for jeans that will last two or more years?
I needed a new pair of sno-pacs (winter boots for extreme cold conditions). Kohls had some boots "on sale" for about $70, and they were of such low quality they would have fallen apart within a month; the rubber WILL NOT stay flexible in sub-zero temperatures. Walmart, sad to say, had boots at a "regular" price of about $40 -- and they're still keeping my feet warm two years later.
It is just best to avoid aisles with fleas.
It is just best for people such as yourself, Calm425, to remain isolated and out of Society.
Cows have fleas................................
Dogs have fleas, but you know this already -- since you have fleas. Do the Universe a huge favor -- go win the Darwin Award.
Thank you The Quacked One and Johnnynuke for your reply to my post. I turned the article title around a bit to see what kind of comments it would generate. I found out.
I was curious after reading the Dec. 14 Chicfila article and the 2nd comment had nothing to do with the article but turned the comments onto a totally different subject.
Dear The Quacked One. You judged me and I will in turn just suggest to you to get a sense of humour.
I went to human resources at work & raised hell because my supervisor at work was always standing too close behind me at work! So what makes anyone think I want a guy I dont even know that close up on me? I can wait till the blowout sale is over if it means having my nutz in tact.
It says "men don't like being bumped into by women they don't know." Well, depends on the woman as far as I'm concerned.
It can get annoying when people bump into you. They should at least say "sorry" but some of them don't.
Parking tops my annoying shopping pet peeve. I can tolerate people bumping into me for so long, but if I need to look for a parking spot for more than 10 minutes and deal with aggressive, rude drivers down the parking aisles, I WILL turn around and go back home or find another mall. I think people bumping your ankle with the shopping cart wheel and not even apologizing is another one of those "ugh!!!" moments.
When he was a teen, my brother worked for a grocery store at a stocker/cart boy. They had a name for the front bar of the cart. Ankle busters. I HATE getting hit with those darn things!
Ever consider parking farther away from the store and WALKING a little more? Or would that be just too bothersome for someone as "Hot" as yourself?
As for the rude and aggressive drivers, let 'em be rude and aggressive. The store management has ZERO control over who decides to be a complete jack-wagon behind the wheel.
I left Walmart yesterday faster than normal because of the crowds, it was after 9pm and still packed. I hate crowds even though I hang out at theme parks a lot with the kids, we always look for the least crowded things. It's mainly because there's a lot of rude people and we can only take so much abuse in many cases. even yesterday a bunch of obnoxious teens were abusing one of the costume characters at Seaworld and then started on the younger kids around them. It makes you want to leave after filing a complaint.
Instead of just "filing a complaint" and then leaving -- how about laying into the kids who are causing all the problems? Or is it "somebody else's responsibility" to TEACH those kids that what they are doing is not ok?
I do a lot of shopping online or during the off-hours of a store. At this time of the year, I know that stores will be crazy, busy and the aisles packed. I accept that fact going in to the store. What gets to me is that the majority of shoppers just do not show common courtesy to the other shoppers. They leave their carts in the middle of the aisle while they look for something on the shelves, they meet an acquaintance and stand with their carts next to one another as they talk away, they race past you to get in the row/line before you, etc. That's what sends me over the top with frustration and gets me walking out of the store as soon as I can.
Stay away from all shopping malls, they are the bane of civilization, hell on earth and need to be made extinct......
yeah....good luck with that.
gee nyc...or you could just stay away. Wouldn't that be a bit simpler?