Just.........why?

[WHShit]

Pointless and confusing:

A few months back, I came over to the tills and saw this lady holding a greeting card in her hand. She goes over to the baskets, puts the card into the basket and then picks the basket up. I figure that she is going to do some more shopping...but no. She carries the basket, with the card inside, over to the counter and wants to pay.

Allow me to illustrate how needless this was.

The lines represent the top of the counter and baskets. There is no space between either, as the baskets are right up against the counter. It is literally 1 babystep to get from the baskets to the till.
The devil is the lady. The questioning face is me.

BasketsCounter and Tills
____________________

Why, why, why did she have to put the single, small, almost weightless greeting card into the rather large, metal, uncomfortable to hold basket? Why didn't she just hand me the card or slap it on the counter? Why????

I know that this doesn't really seem sucky, but it was perplexing and a bit annoying, as I had to put the basket back. Even that wasn't annoying, it was just annoying that she did it. WHY??????? There was no need at all. The basket is heavier and harder to carry than the card!

[mariamousie1]

Apparently she's a complete mixture of lazy and stupid, and thought carrying a card in a basket was less work than carrying the card in her hand.

[cinema guy]

Maybe she was going to the till with the notice that said, 'Baskets Only'.

[Becks]

Maybe it made sense in her own mind.

[Titi]

Or maybe she had a moment like I did once and did basically the same thing. (although the baskets weren't a babystep away. more like a couple of feet. Still close enough that it looked ridiculous and I wondered what the cashier was thinking about me.)

I had picked up what I needed (it was a magazine) and noticed the different sales items and other items that I would like to purchase so I went and got the basket and then I remembered that I was in hurry and had to be somewhere soon, so I couldn't browse the items to see if there was anything that I really wanted. So I ended up with putting a magazine into a basket and walking it couple of feet away and paying for it. (I did offer to put the basket back myself, but the cashier said that they would.)

[Tito]

I could understand it if it was a carriage, because I think that some people find it easier to walk if they're holding onto one of those. But, to put it in a handbasket, which would be heavier than just carrying the card by hand???? Sorry, that's a mystery to me, too.

[BookstoreEscapee]

That is very odd. Not sucky, really, but odd. Maybe she was just distracted and wasn't really thinking about what she was doing. I don't use baskets at all unless I know I'll need it. If I only intend to get one thing, and then end up collecting more along the way, I'll go back for one (that's one thing I love about Target, they have basket stands scattered throughout the store - they must know me ). I usually try to put them back, as well.

[JustaCashier]

Maybe she was concerned that the counter might be wet/dirty from a previous purchase, and you may not have had a chance to clean it up, and puttiing the card in the basket would keep it up off the counter surface?

As far as why she didn't simply hand it to you, I dunno.

If the counter is set up where the are the customer sets down their purchases is inline with a flatbed scanner, and handing the card to you may have to be done beyond the scanner, and she felt odd about doing that?

Mike

[Sparkticus]

Assming that was still in WHSmiffys, then the counter wouldn't have been wet or dirty (unless it had been raining and someone put their umbrella down?) as it's primarily a newsagents with only a few snackfoods on sale as well... and no surface scanner either... probably an upright one?

Assuming it's anything like my local store anyway

[Decker]

Sounds like it could be OCD to me. I've heard of things like that.