When did it become okay to eat in every store?

[notalwaysright]

Seriously, when I was little I didn't just eat any old place. My mom didn't give me gummy bears which then got crushed and turned into sticky streaks across the floor. She didn't give me crackers which I then crumbled and left in a Hansel and Gretel style trail. And the grownups are even worse. In addition to the above, here's a rundown of what I've found:

-Grapevines
-Apple cores
-Peach pit
-A bag with a sticker saying "chocolate chip cookies" that someone had removed all the chocolate chips from and left them in the bag.(??? This will haunt me for a long time.)
-A kid eating a fast food meal while riding in the shopping cart. Complete with fries, soda, and a burger leaking ketchup.
-A woman eating cheezits then rubbing her hand on fabric (this is why I always prewash)
-lollipop sticks
-deli bags with the wooden things that go in corn dogs
-countless drink cups

I hate shopping for any length of time, so if I'm hungry I take that as a hint to leave. And I know some people have medical issues where they need to eat, but that doesn't mean they have to leave their garbage littering the store. If your toddler is getting fussy, there are things that aren't messy, like those apple sauce pouches. Plus, let's be honest, we don't sell anything critical for life. It's not like these people are waiting in the DSHS office, or in a doctor's waiting room. But people just really like making themselves at home, like that weird month were I kept finding people sitting on the floor with their projects surrounding them. They were just contemplating, while blocking a whole aisle.

Yeah, I know people are short on time and have to make things work, but the people I'm complaining about don't show any sign of being in a hurry. These are people who linger, who browse while on their phone, who don't have clear ideas of what they want. These are people who end up leaving without buying anything. These are people who make weird loud comments to their kids, but really they want all the people around to hear. Picture a fussy baby/toddler, and the mom will say "oh, I know, life is hard!" or "so many feelings!" And then will look at me (or whoever is closest) and say "sometimes I just have to laugh, because I can't do anything else. *sigh*"

I don't get it. Will stop now, I'm rambling.

[XCashier]

Oh, I know, I was always finding half-full coffee cups or leaky smoothies stashed on our shelves. Gee, thanks for attracting bugs and giving us a mess to clean up. Remind me to do the same for you some day.

Haven't been back to the fabric store since I dropped off my uniform shirts. I miss my coworkers, but I sure don't miss the customers or their messes.

[Pixelated]

I agree, even though (ironically) we offer samples of our teas and I read a post a couple of years ago from somebody who was not terribly happy about little sample cups being left all over their store ... oops ... more than likely, those cups are ours .

I think it started with the concept of "Make yourself at home!" that stores seemed to be pushing at one point. I know a lot of my coworkers refer to our customers as "guests." I flatly refuse. "Guests" come to my home at my invitation -- people off the street are not welcome to wander in any old time. And once the "guests" have arrived, I don't try to sell them the living room furniture. So no, the people in the store are customers.

And the customers in our store leave behind candy on the floor, crumbs on the floor, and we have a kiosk not too far away that sells popcorn (and pretty darn good popcorn it is too). Everytime I see some kid come in stuffing his or her face from a bag of popcorn, I know I'm going to have to get out the broom and dustpan after they've left -- though to be fair, it's not just the kids. Popcorn is messy, I understand that. So take it home and make your mess there, 'mkay?

[Jay 2K Winger]

Do you want ants? 'Cuz THAT'S how you get ants, people!

[Trixie]

There are two fast food places near my store and there are usually customers with drinks from there coming into my store. We also have a lot of people that walk in the neighborhood so we do get people coming with food. I can kinda see that since that's all right there.

The ones I don't get are once with coffee from Big Coffee Place or even ice cream. Finish that stuff first before you come walking around and shop. I don't understand that, I've never been one eat or drink on the run. When I'm done with my stuff I throw it away, even back in my mall rat days. I might take my drink as we were walking around but lots of stores didn't allow food so into the garbage it went.

[bainsidhe]

And while we're at it, since when has grazing been considered an acceptable thing? You want to eat those grapes? No problem! Just pay for them first. Coming through the line with a bag of mostly stems, partially glaring at me, daring me to ring you up for more than the remaining weight? Not cool. And getting all huffy when I ask if you paid for those chicken wings you scarfed from the deli counter is also not cool. People who paid are quick to point out they've already paid, or they wave their receipt. If you try to hide the plastic tub while I'm ringing through the rest of your groceries, I won't believe your half-hearted lie when I call you out on it. Not that I'll do anything about it though, because that's how our store rolls.

[Pixelated]

Do you want ants? 'Cuz THAT'S how you get ants, people!

But the ants are not in their own homes, so it's not their problem.

Although they would be the first ones to scream bloody murder if they saw ants (or worse) in the store.

[taxguykarl]

I once ducked out of waiting for Mrs. TGK at a clothing store by pointing out that I had a beverage. That one conveniently (and correctly IMO) did not allow food or drink.

[Monterey Jack]

My store offers free clementines and bananas for under-10 kids, which of course means tons of peels and rinds left in carriages and on random shelves. And when the summer rolls around again, the ones left in carriages are going to attract plenty of bees.

[CyberLurch]

Do you want ants? 'Cuz THAT'S how you get ants, people!

Points for the reference. Which I happen to be binge-(re)watching while recovering from pneumonia.

[Marmalady]

My store offers free clementines and bananas for under-10 kids, which of course means tons of peels and rinds left in carriages and on random shelves. And when the summer rolls around again, the ones left in carriages are going to attract plenty of bees.

This, so many times this ^^

The store where I work had the idea of having a basket at the entrance of the store, with free fruit for parents to take for their kids to snack on while they shop, Supposedly it's to encourage healthy eating, which I'm all for but it's become the bane of my life. There's a bin provided for the waste, but why bother with that when you can leave little bits of clementine peel / banana skin / apple core all over the shop floor?

I didn't get given anything to eat when I was a kid out shopping with my parents. And I don't remember ever passing out from hunger before we got home.

[Sulhythal]

I am reasonably sure some parenting magazine reccomended carrying snacks for the kids into stores to cut down on screaming and scene making. Without bothering to find out what the store thought of it.

Honestly, the screaming kids weren't bad, the screaming adults had more lung power.

[Trixie]

Points for the reference. Which I happen to be binge-(re)watching while recovering from pneumonia.

I got it! Not sure if it's really okay to share but I know it!

But to stay sorta on topic. I've had people stand in line a few minutes and just as it's their turn open up their drink and take a guzzle then walk up to the register. All while staring at me while they do it.

[Pixelated]

This, so many times this ^^

The store where I work had the idea of having a basket at the entrance of the store, with free fruit for parents to take for their kids to snack on while they shop, Supposedly it's to encourage healthy eating, which I'm all for but it's become the bane of my life. There's a bin provided for the waste, but why bother with that when you can leave little bits of clementine peel / banana skin / apple core all over the shop floor?

I didn't get given anything to eat when I was a kid out shopping with my parents. And I don't remember ever passing out from hunger before we got home.

I will admit up front that I have no kids. However, I have to wonder why the parents don't let the kids snack in the car (ha ha, I don't really wonder about that) or, alternately, ensure the kids have been adequately fed before going out to browse. OR sit in the food court to eat.

Kudos to the stores that will actually risk pissing off a customer by asking them to leave if they or their offspring have food and/or drinks!

[Dreamstalker]

My 'store' has a few restaurants on the premises. Two are table service and technically the 'piazza' area in the center of the store is as well, but I have seen people wandering around with plates. The quick-service counters...while you're not supposed to wander and eat, I see it regularly. Since the DC mixed up/lost a big part of our grocery order last week, some of the endcaps have--despite our best efforts--been empty or nearly so...cue customers using them as tables if they can't find one by the QSR counters