My FIRST PLACE award for "most annoying" goes to one of my regular lunchtime haunts, English Gardens, a garden center. Yesterday, I was about ready to leave screaming and tearing my hair out. Why? It was this local garden center chain's (about 8-10 stores in Detroit area) decision to wire all of their stores and play music, LOUDLY, over a PA system. And, not just any music, but music that sounds like it hasn't seen the light of day since June was vacuuming in her pearls and we all liked Ike. I go there quite frequently on my lunch break, and they shocked the heck out me the one day when they played Andy Gibb's 'I Just Want To Be Your Everything' --- from 1977, it was at least 10 years newer than ANYTHING else I'd ever heard them play.

I would speculate that the demographic of gardeners as a whole skews older than the average age of the population,l but I know I see people of varying ages in there, and not all of their customers are the Lawrence Welk set.

I would no doubt drop dead on the spot of shock were I ever to walk in there and hear something by contemporary artists such as Coldplay, Train, or Adele playing. I wonder if they play this old, old stuff because it is no longer under copyright and they don't have to pay royalties to the artist and record company???

My Second Place award goes to Meijer, a regional supercenter chain here in the Great Lakes. Meijer is open 24/7, but seems unable to figure out that it would make a lot more sense to stock their grocery shelves AT NIGHT when the store is quiet, rather than in the middle of the day. I am not speaking of the occasional random employee putting up a few cans. EVERY aisle, practically, has 3-4-5 employees with large carts or pallet jacks of merchandise being stocked. It makes navigating and shopping very difficult, especially because these are large, popular, and very busy stores. Add in the customers, and it can be a real nightmare. And, if you do go at "off" hours, such as very early, well, BARE SHELVES because they didn't stock yet!

Finally, my third place goes to Lowe's and Home Depot, because, no matter what you need, that is always the ONE aisle in the store where the staff has blocked off the aisles with barricades and is using a forklift to raise and lower pallets from high above. Of course, they always tell you they'll be done in only 20 or 30 minutes.

For home items, I'll say TJ Maxx. I love TJ Maxx, but can you imagine if you ever wanted a set of something they have in the home department? I swear, if they get six of something in, they send one each to six different stores.

The dollar store plays music ... and in the aisle where it is at I do not want to shop because it is so loud. Course this is a chain store with, again, part time young people. Don't know what the music is, definitely not from "my day".

:)

Of course when his mom pulled the cart around the corner he picked back up at it--around two years old, screaming because he wanted to ride on the bottom of the cart. Threw a major fit and nothing happened to him. That's what happens when you don't correct children at six months to a year. I never once had a child that screamed and threw a fit like that; they knew from very early on what was acceptable behavior and what was not.

Last night a friend and I grabbed a quick bite before a storm hit us, where you order soups, salads and sandwiches and they bring them to your table. The "music" was extremely loud instrumental jazz. My friend asked that it be changed or turned down, and they did indeed turn it down AND changed to something a little less offensive. Most people wouldn't want Rachmaninoff blasted at them either, as much as I love it, certainly not while trying to converse over a salad.

Loud music, cold air blowing from vents, drive me nuts.

Not having enough checkers and checkers that stop and stare and what the other checker is talking about with a customer, or zone out while trying to check you out, or talk with other checkers, are somewhat aggravating.

I agree with the OP about blocking the aisles stocking, and I don't like how some employees respond when you bother them to ask a question or ask them to move carts when they're working in the aisles.

All in all, these minor annoyances are just that--not worth wasting time to get upset. I try to think that perhaps I have avoided being in an accident because I've been delayed by someone else's incompetence. Anyway, I'm able to drive, have the money obviously to buy gas to drive, and I have eyes and legs that work. And a brain to process all of this. That's more than some. :)

There was a group of Heucheras I picked up Stainless Steel new to me Herc. All the Hercs in that area was marked 6.99. Stainless Steel did not have a price. When they charged 8.99 and I asked why they said it was new intro so it was higher. Real convenient that you did not mark that one. It all felt like bate and switch tatics.

When you ask for a price for a plant they look at you and you get the feeling they are giving you a price as to how much business they got that day and if they like you.

After this long bit&ch response I bet you are asking yourself why do I continue to give them my business. Well...Now that I have got them to know me and like me. I get the best deals in town. Plants that every one else pay 25.00 I get them for 5.00 - 10.00. Annuals I get them for 1.00 or free just throw them in for being a loyal customer. Free delivery of big trees I have brought for a discount price that will not fit in my Jeep.

Most restaurants in this city play their background music way too loud, in my opinion. And despite high summer heat and humidity, most restaurants also run the a.c. more than they need to. I can't enjoy the meal if I am shivering and can't hear the conversation at my table.

I personally find that the AC is never high enough, and often in the summer, it can be quite warm in some stores. I get warm easily so this is aggravating. It's worse in the winter - stores have the heat blasted so high it qualifies as a desert and drives me crazy.

Our local WalMart has TERRIBLE long lines. I've seen it as bad as 14 people deep. We used to go there but I absolutely refuse to do so now. My time is money, too. We contacted the store manager and we worked with her but nothing changed so we don't shop there any more. Three times I either abandoned my cart or simply dropped my items in the middle of the aisle when I saw how long the lines were. I refuse to deal with that aggravation.

Air conditioning that's way too cold.

I don't so much mind screaming kids in a large store, but the few times we are able to actually go out to have a nice dinner, there's nothing worse than a screaming child, or one running all over the place, disturbing other customers. I love kids, too... but where have parenting skills gone?

And I hate it when I finally find a product I like, and the store stops carrying it for some unknown reason. And it's the only store that had it in the first place!

I also have a pet peeve about a check cashing place I use on occasion when the bank is already closed. They have 11 stalls for customer reps ... but they must be waiting for some sort of international banking crisis, because I never see more than 2 employees working at a time, even on Friday [typical payday and a big spend day] nights. Except at the payday loan area, there, they always have around 4 or 5 employees doing absolutley nothing except gossiping loudly. But they are opened 24 hours a day, so ... still better than having to wait til the next day for the bank to open when I plan poorly.

As long as we're ranting my latest sour shopping interval was provided by what plant geeks have long considered to be the best garden center style place in the area. I used to include them in a loop through other stops in the city to the west but then the bridge between was made into a tolled one - which I do not want to bother with. During a prior visit one of the owners affirmed that this change has taken a big bite out of their traffic, you'd think they'd be bending over to keep the remaining customers coming. Instead I was kept waiting so long on the phone when I called to make sure they had what I wanted - before I made the long drive down to them and back up again, through a busy corridor - that I assumed the connection had been lost and hung up. When I immediately called back the same clerk answered, and made sure I was reprimanded for hanging up. When I got out there I found the items I was interested in were on display not 10 ft. from where we would have been talking on the phone - and that the assortment present was not quite the same as depicted. At one point I had not yet discovered all three kinds for myself, asked a woman working that section where the color I wanted might be. As we are talking about them and walking over to where they were, a female shopper starts talking to the clerk with me from about 20 ft. away - at which point I am abandoned.

At the checkout I made a point of greeting a longtime employee I knew, who responded by making fun of my attire and then helping a woman who thrust her petunia pot between me and the employee why I was still talking.

As soon as he began processing her purchase I was tuned out. Other clerks were standing right there who could have helped Petunia Lady instead.

I'm noticing an increase in shoppers lately - so far all of them women, for whatever reason - who barge in on other patrons at stores, as though these other patrons were invisible, and numbers of clerks who apparently are unwilling or unable to indicate they are "currently with another customer".

Given today's normal and expected rude attitude, I almost dropped face first on the floor! I thanked him profusely, hurried to finish my purchase, and thanked him again before hefting my milk and leaving... some people still care about the next guy. It was a nice gesture!

I still hold open doors for elderly, wait patiently, and try my best to be courteous to other shoppers and clerks. I'm not sure whether I'm more amazed at the nice ones, or at the rude idiots.

They're owned by the same company; I find the stores are neater than TJ Maxx. The only difference is they don't have jewelry, but then I don't generally shop for jewelry at TJ Maxx (although I do have a nice pair of gold drop earrings I purchased there several years ago).

Older, less messy people tend to frequent the Marshall's stores I think--the young people love TJ Maxx. At least my observations have held true at many different stores in different states.

What about the sales people that make you think they're going to lose their home if you don't buy something or fight over who is going to check you out and get the commission when they didn't do a thing to help you?

We have a chain of department stores that is familiar to those throughout the south. I have a friend that worked there for a short while and she said the sales meetings were brutal--lowest sales in a department made people get prepared to get booted.

I was casually looking at handbags for my older daughter's birthday, which wasn't for a few weeks. The older lady (looked 60s, 70s) was trying her best to talk me into a bag, and I nicely told her at this point I was only looking, getting ideas. She wouldn't leave me alone. Finally she said with almost tears in her eyes, "I am going to lose my job if I don't sell enough handbags this month." I wondered if she was telling the truth, I couldn't see much in her tired old eyes, to be honest. I took her card and told her if I decided on a bag I would make sure I came back and buy it from her.

I did, about a week later. She didn't seem to remember me and wasn't particularly excited about the sale.

As I don't shop that much anymore, I haven't seen her in awhile--several years. But I was in that store a few weeks ago and there she was, still kicking, and still selling purses.

I knew I had been had--it was a gimmick, poor old lady about to lose her job, please buy a purse and come back and buy from me.

ANOTHER thing, I just thought about--today I stopped by a grocery store that I usually don't frequent. Sitting out front was a 20 something mom and three little boys, from about 4-9. They had a poster board with baseballs drawn on it. The middle child, a cute little red head like all of them, came running up and asked me if I would "donate."

I asked him to what.

He said, "a baseball trip."
I asked him to tell me about the trip, why he needed money and what he was going to do with it.

He looked to his mom and his older brother said they were going to "finals" in Florida. They had a photo of a baseball team glued on the poster board, but no name of the team. I asked the name of the team and got no answer, so I asked if was from XXX town, where we were, and he looked at his mom and she said, "yes" and smiled.

So I gave him $5 because that's all I had in my wallet, I left my purse in the trunk. I wished them success and told them to have a safe trip.

Then I wondered what society is now teaching our children--don't wash cars, don't sell cookies, don't wash windows, don't work together as a team to earn the money to go, just ask a stranger for cash.

Now, sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. Perhaps parents had to come up with the money and just didn't have it. That's okay, if I'd had more with me I probably would have given him more. But part of me wonders--if you don't have the money and don't want to earn it, is it right to just ask strangers for money to go to Florida?

I also see people holding plastic buckets with homemade signs saying, "send us to sports camp" or something like that. They're always teenagers/early twenties--boys, no uniforms or school identification, hustling cars at intersections. I don't give to them.

I don't really begrudge the girl scouts hanging out at the grocery store, although I don't eat their cookies. I do not like being hit up going and coming, though.

I suppose it's a "community" thing, and is okay with me most of the time. Doesn't matter, it's the grocery store's business.

Salvation Army is the only charity I'm happy to see and always give to them. My dad had an office next door to them for years and as people down on their luck were always mistakenly coming into our office, I often took them next door. I saw what good work the Salvation Army did, and have always supported them.

I do most of my regular shopping late at night. I started when the children were small after seeing the problems small children could cause other parents. Even the best behaved have melt downs and energy explosions, including my own. They are kids they get tired or bored easily. They are better off at home, asleep, with their dad watching TV.

The shelves are being stocked at night and there are clerks and stockers everywhere. They are happy to move their boxes and carriers out of the way. They know me now and greet me with a smile and the requisite question, "Are you finding everything" or "Do you need any help?". There are no lines and someone will always be ready to load my car.

On occasion the floor cleaners will be in the section I want. I shop another section until they finish. If I have a comment or complaint, the employees actually listen even if they are busy since they don't have 10 people or tasks demanding their attention at once. The electric cart is always fully charged. I always have a handicapped parking space in front of the door. There are no children running in the parking lot to give me a heart attack.

Fresh fruits and veggies are stocked mostly in the morning and bakery items are stocked around 6 for early drop-ins on their way to work.

The only time I have to go during the day is if I need to go to the service desk. That is very rare. Convenience is a personal decision.

When I do have carbs, I just love Red Robin's Teriyaki bonzi burger - just love it - it's huge and I'll save half for later and it's still fairly good later!

But I haven't eaten in that restaurant for five years, the music is so loud that it will knock my shoes off. I once asked them to lower the decible and the poor young waitress told me they weren't allowed to, it was company policy to play it at a certain loudness and confessed that when she finished her shift she was very tired and miserable from the loudness of the place - hard to take orders in that music decible.

I would suspect that the very loud restaurant music is geared to a much younger crowd who have been listening to music via earbuds for most of their lives. Background music for ambience is an idea they just wouldn't get! ;)

I can't stand the lighting of a jewelry counter. It makes everything look four times nicer than it actually is, to the point where I kind of think it's a deceptive advertising/selling technique.

I get so angry at the long lines at obviously busy hours. I put the number of that store's manager in my cell phone. When the lines are long and there are only five check out lanes, I call the manager and tell him I'm in the store and to please go out on the floor, look at the long lines of shoppers waiting to give Wal-Mart some money - and to please open some new lines right away.

It works EVERY time, people. Every time. If a store you must frequent often doesn't have enough lanes open too often when you are there,I suggest you get the number of the store manager and put it in your cell phone. Most numbers are listed somewhere in the store, at the bottom of your shopping receipt or even in the phone book.

I got that idea from a person in front of me in a long line about five months ago, who whipped out her cell phone and was speaking to the manager within just a minute. It worked that day, too! :)

Yes, Demi, I like Marshall's too. I go to TJ's more since it's in the neighborhood of other stores I frequent. Actually our Marshall's is very near the dreaded Walmart I was at tonight, but they were closed when I was in the area. Our TJ's is very clean and not messy except the rug aisle sometimes is. I usually buy most of my gifts there. Son and SIL's birthdays were the last few weeks and all my gifts to them were bought there. Both got Ralph Lauren shirts $12.99 and the manufacturer's price on them was $52.

Jodi.. I always hold doors open for people and even find at the gym young guys and girls will always hold the door for me, and of course I do the same and always say thiank you.

Trader Joe's has updated their play list to include U2. Choosing olive oil seems a much more dramatic decision with Bono in the background.

I'm not much of a shopper so I don't really have any favorite haunts -- except the thrift shops near the farmers' markets.

People that take up two parking spaces when a large parking lot is packed.

Thank you. I take my granddaughter everywhere I go shopping when visiting her.

What drives me nuts while shopping are adults who judge what they know nothing about. My three year old grandson apologizes for her by telling inconsiderate adults, "she can't help it, my sister has autism."

Thank you Five Guys! Your consideration and attention to a gluten free meal provides a fun meal place for my granddaughter.

Chipotle on Tremont, Columbus. You are totally awesome!

Thank you Scott's Garden Center. You are so cool to kids with disabilities.

Thank you, Rita's in Powell, Ohio! Your place is all about children! Typical or disabled, you love them all! We enjoyed our visit....again!

Sorry but there is no reason to allow a disturbance to continue in a public place. Everyone would feel compassion for a special needs child but the fact is it is up to the adult to be able to remove the child from the area. And most kids acting out in public aren't doing so because they have special needs. They are doing so because they are being cranky,unruly children. Children need adults who take charge when they are acting out. The key word here is adults!! They need to be in control of those they are responsible for. It is not the other customer's obligation to have to put up with it. No. I never judge the child. Behind every child is an adult who either takes their responsibility seriously or doesn't. Too many parents today don't.

Do you have any idea that many other people have a special need also? Many of them elderly? It is a hidden disability. It's called recruitment hearing. A screaming child is much louder to those folks. It can't be ignored. It leads to such mental fatigue that it may take hours for the person to recover. I suppose that person who is bothering no one at all should be the one to leave? Bull.

So don't be so self centered. A toddler whatever the reason can be picked up and removed. Calm them or do whatever it takes elsewhere. Or bring someone along who can. An autistic child does not NEED to be in Target throwing a fit. There may be other places it is unavoidable to take them but taking a child to the store is a choice. Taking a child to a restaurant is a choice.

So the root of the disturbance should be removed. One of my own was a tantrum thrower. I suppose by today's standards he might be ion the autism spectrum for all I know. I've looked at the guidelines and I could make them fit if I choose to. But when he threw a fit we removed him. My best friend has a now grown son with several disorders some undiagnosed, autism more than likely one of them. back in the day they didn't know. He would throw such fits he would kick and bite her. She used to remove him. It's called parental responsibility.

BTW the powers that be tried to take this child away from her. Said he should be institutionalized. Her husband had left her. She fought to keep her son. He attended special classes. He was finally main streamed in his last two years of high school. He now lives independently under a special program that assists him with the glitches of day to day life. The experts were wrong. her instinct to not coddle or overprotect were correct. She gave him life and saved him from a life of being locked in. So as she would say...cry me a river. She and I often talk about personal responsibility. Subjects like this often come up. I've known this woman for 22 years. her DS was 12 and going through a very rough period when I met her. She says I am one of her rocks. She in turn is one of my heroes.

So please stop with the excuses. Parents have been coping forever with difficult children. This is not a new thing to a new generation. What is new is expecting everyone to accommodate them.

This is why we buy more and more products online, buy used, or just opt out of buying altogether.

So then I stopped by Marc's with my grocery bags and informed the clerk I had my own, I swear she had a sour lemon in her mouth never once spoke and "threw" my bags on top of my purchases. No they do not have "pack your own".

The first is IMO unexcusable, the second I passed off to a bad day and smiled and said thank you and have a nice day.

Some days it is not worth "sweating the small stuff".

:)

Eggs don't go on the bottom, nor do soft products that can get crushed. A single bag can only hold so many bottles or cans, etc...

And why is the little plastic string that holds the pointer for signing credit and debit card purchases always too short and attached to the right side? It makes signing the thing a bit difficult for left handed persons. Wouldn't common sense tell the manufacturer to attach the pointer in the middle? Makes more sense to me to accommodate both left and right handed persons.

I have to agree with Wildchild regarding children... part of parental responsibility is removing a screaming child from a public place where he or she is disturbing the other customers. It doesn't matter what the issue is. I would agree that parents have been coping with difficult children since forever.

My own brother occasionally threw tantrums in stores, church, where ever the urge hit... and instead of ignoring him, or expecting everyone else to put up with it, my mother or father would simply pick him up, apologize to the people around, and take him outside. It was their responsibility. Of course people feel for those with disabilities, but it is the parent or guardian's responsibility to care for them, and not allow them to run wild in public. Well said, Wildchild.

I really don't get this new thinking pattern that the world should bend over backwards to accommodate others when the issue is not theirs.

I hate to say it, but this sort of reminds me of the debate over whether the severely obese should have to buy one or two plane tickets due to seating... or where a person has eaten themselves into a position where they are now eligible to collect disability. I can understand completely if this is a secondary issue due to a medical condition... but if it isn't, why is it considered a legal disability? Where's the personal responsibility in this?

I have come to the conclusion that part of our society is all about "me". It does not allow for common courtesy or manners toward anyone else. People throw trash everywhere, ignore the person walking behind them and just let the door slam in their face, rush to be first in traffic, take out their bad day or poor mood on everyone around them, etc...

Please and thank you don't take very long to utter... and they go a long way in making others feel good.

With six pets, Petsmart is my friend, and I do like the store. But one surly cashier can ruin your day. Last week I bought quite a few items and I had multiple coupons including a couple I printed out on their website. You would have thought I was handing her counterfeit money. She examined each one, sighed and threw my stuff in the bag..said nothing as I said thank you.

Seems like aside from screaming children and checkout lanes, one thing most people dislike is loud music.

I am a classical music lover, and will not spend any time in stores that play loud rock or metal or whatever it's called. I also understand that my choice of music is definitely not in the majority and I shouldn't expect hear it in a store. THEREFORE: I suggest silence. Nothing wrong with it. It might be a welcome relief after hearing all the wailing we sometimes have to listen to.

I also will give a cheer to Publix, who can almost make spending a lot of money a pleasure. Where I shop the staff is always very pleasant and helpful, the store is clean, and I don't even notice if there is music playing or not. I'll have to check it out tomorrow and give them feedback.

Service matters. Our favorite Italian place has a great waitstaff. Friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. However one stood out and we began to ask for her by name. She waves to us and brings our bread and tells us our mussels are being done. She doesn't even take our order. We always get the same thing..her favorite dish as well. She tells the kitchen to throw in extra chicken in the soup and always puts a loaf of bread in our take home bag. We tip her very well, and I have called the restaurant and praised her to the manager. She's a hard worker and a great server. She sure beats the staff at Fridays who chirp..."Hi guys..whadda it be?"

Since screaming children seem to be high on the list I wish this could be a handout to all people with kids as they come in the door.

When I read that it made this old one think back and remember the parents would give you a look and you stopped doing whatever you were doing. You did not run around screaming and make a fool of yourself.

I actually am generally pleased with my Wal-Mart. I have a more difficult with check out lines because I want to get behind somebody. I want all my groceries on the belt before things are rung up because I like to check prices as they are scanned. My biggest complaint there are the inexperienced checkers who put too few things in a bag. I have enough plastic bags at home as it is.

I used to be bothered by incompetent retail employees, wait staff, counter people, but I try not to let most things bother me, partially because I understand that they are not even making enough money at those jobs to pay the bills.
Instead, I try to smile, call them by their first name,and treat them with dignity and respect. These minimum wage retail employees wage don't get much respect from their employers or the public, so I would suggest that more of you show some patience and understanding and treat these workers with some respect and show your good will.
Try to make their miserable jobs just a little less tough to take.
Those who have not worked those kind of jobs in their lives probably cannot empathize with workers. They make themselves into angry customers who think the world owes them respect just because they have money to spend.

HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR STEAK COOKED.....
They have to describe the meat rare/medium/well because 90% of the customers will say rare and then want it Well, they say Well and then say it is too done. I worked with people when we went out as a group I cannot tell you how may steaks were sent back because they did not understand rare and well.

Some of the restaurants make the waiters pay for the steaks if they cannot cook it more to get to Well. If it is cooked Well and they want rare the waiter have to pay that would entail starting with a fresh steak. So give them a little slack they do not make a lot and to have to pay for a steak that will come out of their money they need to try to make it clear.

Back in the day, it didn't pay very well, either... I don't know what the going rate is today.

I've never had a staff member at Outback sit down at our booth, and I've eaten there several times within the past few years. I do like the fact that the manager or supervisor comes to find out how your service is, though. Most places don't ask. We usually ask to be seated in the same section with the same server when we do go there. There's a waitress that's about my age, so she's very understanding of what we want, and since myself and my gardening partner have both worked in the industry, we understand what she goes through, so we cut her some slack if she's busy. It's a tough job to have.

It's actually one of the only places I can go to eat and not feel sick the next day... I suppose it depends on what a person orders, though.

As for stores... I remember a time when the customer was always right. Now, it's attitude, or the clerk can't help you because they don't where anything is located within the store, or it takes forever to find a person who works in the department you need help in...

Quality is down in many areas of life... quality control in industry, quality in service...

Who is designing parking lots lately? Some of them are a real challenge to navigate through. You have to go all the way around to get out because they won't put as many cut thrus as they used to. By the time I'm out, I'm pissed.

I agree about the parking lots. There's one particularly bad one near me, I have no idea how crashes don't happen daily. They just make no sense compared to the "old" style. Frustrating indeed. Everyone just ends up cutting through the vast empty parking spots;

And when they don't ask for feedback and you volunteer that something irksome has presented itself unwelcome responses ranging from circling the wagons to bending over backwards to make amends (see Monty Python Restaurant Sketch) can result. This probably motivates quite a few people to keep quiet.

I've got a clerk at a large garden center near here (a store which I frequent primarily due to convenience of location) who has taken lately to giving me baleful looks and not speaking to me no matter how near to one another our paths may cross. I have no idea what brought this on, and I think it is interesting, once again that people working retail nowadays feel they have permission to be overtly rude.