Here's One Etiquette Rule To Never Break When Buying Groceries

Snacking on food you haven't purchased yet is just one of the things you should avoid doing at the grocery store checkout line. But before you reach the cashier, there's another etiquette rule to never break when selecting products from the shelves: putting items that you no longer want in the wrong place.

While leaving a box of unwanted cereal in the diaper aisle might not seem like a big deal, there are several reasons why you should endeavor to put things back in their designated spot. Firstly, having to locate and take items back to their correct site creates a lot of extra annoying work for the staff and is inconsiderate of their time. Leaving items on the wrong shelf can also make it tricky for other customers to see and grab what they need.

Items, including milk, cream, and chilled ready-meals, should always be put back in the nearest refrigerated section without question, as these perishable goods can quickly spoil or go rancid. Packaged meats and deli items hidden on the wrong shelves can also go rotten if not found quickly, which can create unwanted smells and add to food wastage. Frozen products, such as ice cream or water-packed vegetables, are likely to melt and drip onto the floor, creating a hazard for other shoppers and a mess for employees to mop up.

Wasted food that would otherwise be perfectly fine to purchase if it was put back in the right place ends up in landfills, which is harmful to the earth (particularly if packaged in materials that aren't biodegradable). It squanders resources and results in financial loss for the supermarket too. If these losses aren't absorbed by grocery stores, they are passed on to the consumer. That means your regular basket of groceries could end up costing you more over the long term. Being familiar with the layout of your local supermarket is useful if you want to grocery shop in 30 minutes or less, and doing so could also prevent you from grabbing items you don't need and stashing them in the wrong place after changing your mind.

Failing to be considerate of the personal space of other customers ahead of you is another bad grocery store move. Always stand a distance away to give people room to place their groceries on the conveyor belt without hindrance. Some supermarkets even have their own customer policies that you should adhere to. For instance, Trader Joe's is known for its generous returns policy (the store will even accept partially or completely consumed beer and wine), but this doesn't mean you should abuse its code. Trader Joe's etiquette rules also include being polite when returning goods and avoiding bulk-buying seasonal items.