"Why Do People Have To Follow Me Into The Charity Shop?"
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
July 10, 2012 2:33pm CST
This is what Mum said to me earlier when I rang her up.
The other day she was a bit bored so decided to visit her local charity shop called Cat's Paws.
She told me that there was "no-one in" when she first set foot in the shop. However, as soon as she started rifling through the clothes rack "a dozen pensioners descended on the place and started invading my space."
After 5 minutes of this torture (hands in front of her face, that kind of thing) she exclaimed, "F*ck this!" and stormed out of the shop. She told me, "I'm sure the shopkeeper heard me but I don't care."
Haha!
Does this ever happen to you? It doesn't have to be a charity shop, it could be anywhere. You walk in; no-one there but after 5 minutes loads of people have followed you in and before you know it..you're back out again due to stress and being too hot having all those people round you in close proximity!
Does this ever happen to you? It doesn't have to be a charity shop, it could be anywhere. You walk in; no-one there but after 5 minutes loads of people have followed you in and before you know it..you're back out again due to stress and being too hot having all those people round you in close proximity!3 people like this
13 responses
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
10 Jul 12
Even though I tend to go to stores that aren't generally crowded, I have still managed to have that issue before. I'm not much of one for crowds, so there is only so long that I have patience for it before I leave. Although, I don't think I've ever shouted, "F*** this!" as I exited--grumbled it, perhaps, but not shouted. 
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157545)
• United States
10 Jul 12
In those situations I find I am overwhelmed by the numbers of choices and so do not want to choose anything. Then I find myself wanting to say rude things to people or extend my foot to trip running children, etc. When I start muttering, if hubby is along he makes sure that we get out of there before I commit an assault.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
Well, you're a saint!
Mum doesn't normally swear like that but she got so mad she had to let it out..not to anyone in particular..it's just that she may have punched someone if she hadn't lol.
Mum doesn't normally swear like that but she got so mad she had to let it out..not to anyone in particular..it's just that she may have punched someone if she hadn't lol.1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jul 12
"Extend my foot to running children." Haha! How I've LONGED to do that many a time so you're not on your own!
I have been in places (usually big clothes stores) that have different music playing depending on which area of the store you're in.
1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
10 Jul 12
HaHaHa! Your mom sounds like me. I swear whenever I'm shopping it happens too. I can be in the grocery store looking at cans of tomatoes or something with no one in the aisle, and the next thing there is 3-4 people next to me looking at these stupid cans of tomatoes. People tend to congregate for some reason or another.
When I worked retail and I was stocking an item, people would HAVE to come around and stand right where I was working and get in the way. I could have been stocking worms and they would be there. So weird!
1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
10 Jul 12
No, you can't say that to customers but you can sure think it. I really think some of them do it on purpose and that makes it even worse. They just like to get you aggravated because they get a kick out of it. Not all of course, but quite a few.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jul 12
The older generation are the worst culprits! A friend of Mum's is in her 90s and she often left her trolley at the end of aisles and wandered off, bringing the food TO the trolley. She wasn't at all bothered that the trolley was in the way of other customers!
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
So annoying isn't it? I wouldn't like to stock stuff and that happens like it did with you..I mean you can't say, "Get out of the f*cking way!" to customers can you?
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157545)
• United States
10 Jul 12
Oh, I have been known to get that way in Wal Mart. Usually then it is because of kids and youth, but not always. A real trigger for me is to be overly tired to start with. Sometimes it seems as if we have a group herding instinct and all of us end up in the same place together, even when we do not plan to.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
I know what you mean; nothing worse than being surrounded by people AND being overtired at the same time. You just want to get in and get out again in the shortest amount of time don't you?
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
10 Jul 12
I have noticed this happening too in certain places. I think it is that herd mentality of the consumer. They see people in a shop and figure subconsciously that it must be worth checking out. When I have held car boot sales to get rid of excess household stuff, I have noticed it too. You either have no one at all at your stall or a massive crowd!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
11 Jul 12
Maybe you and your mum have a special aura that people find irresistible!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jul 12
That would be acceptable if it were MEN following us into stores. I could cope with that!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
Why do they follow both me and my Mum in though? I've lost count of the times there has been no-one in a shop and once me and my Mum are in there...BOOOM! In they all trudge!
It's no surprise I prefer shopping on the internet. Less stress!
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
10 Jul 12
This is something like what I experience at Walmart. We rarely go to Walmart anymore because of it. We go at an hour when it shouldn't be so busy, and we start out with it not being too crowded. But before we are done we are in a literal traffic jam with our carts. If there are a lot of kids hollering and running around, I end up having a meltdown. I have bad anxiety with lots of people.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
I can identify with that. Kids have a very low boredom threshold and they normally get in my way when they do!
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
10 Jul 12
It's kind of like Murphy's law. You know, you walk into the store (usually clothes stores, well, at least there it happens to me the most), I see a nice rack of clothes, and in that minute I start heading towards the rack, out of nowhere, come thousands of people to that particular rack, and I can't even get close to it :D.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
I've lost count how many times that has happened to me!
@BarBaraPrz (45484)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
11 Jul 12
Happens to me all the time. The corollary of this, is shop clerks nowhere to be found when you need one but all over you when you're "just looking".
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
10 Jul 12
hi Janey yes but it was a grocery warehouse and at first I and
a few others were shopping then suddenkly I was p anicked as there were hundreds and bumping me and knocking vegetables on the floor.
It got to me and I was in panic mode, my hubby rescued me and paid for the food, then got hot coffee and sandwiches for us. he sat there an talked to me softly tell I realized I was okay.but for while my heart was pounding, my palms were sweating and I thought I could not catch my breath. I never had a panic attack anywhere else
but there I had.It was embarrassing and I just hoped nobody had noticed I was so scared.once outside the huge warehouse I was fine and normal again.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Jul 12
Awww Hatley, that must've been a terrible ordeal for you. It was good your hubby was there at the time and I'd like to think mine would've behaved the same way. I don't like getting lost in stores either, especially if I'm on my own and some are really badly designed, like Marks and Spencer. They've had loads of attempts at the layout but still haven't got it right..and they're all the same, no matter which store you go in!
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
12 Jul 12
LOL this is funny but it is very true and at the time it is happening it frustrating! I think it is worse for me in places like thrift stores and the Good Will shop. It seems that you can be in a section all alone and all of a sudden people are coming out of the wood works.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
Mum has described herself as "The Pied Piper" before now lol.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
11 Jul 12
This is actually a funny story, especially the part where you said that she cursed loud enough that the store owner would have heard her. For me, I find that I never enter into a place where there are not other people already in the store so it is not something that really bothers me.
The thing that does have a tendency of really driving me nuts is the fact that the stores never seem to have enough checkout lanes open.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jul 12
Tell me about it! I was in the ASDA supermarket earlier today and there was just one check out open. Unfortunately for me it's the one checkout where people go to buy their lottery tickets. Only two people in the queue in front of me but the guy being served must've had half a dozen lottery tickets. I'd have been in and out of that store in just a few minutes if he'd had food on him like everyone else!
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
11 Jul 12
Your Mum started with the aim of relieving boredom only to be wet blanketed by the pensioners .It was rude for them to completely disregard of how your mum felt and crowd her out.I wonder if they were snapping up a bargain.
@ForSouls1234 (720)
• United States
11 Jul 12
This happens to us all the time too. The exact kinds of things you mention. There will be NO one until we get there, pull into a parking lot, enter a restaurant or look at a particular item in a store. And this was tested to the hilt for me last week at Walmart. I was looking through the findings section. This is a section all the way in the back against a back wall by the pet food and notebooks and stuff.
I swear to you, I have never in my year of shopping there did I ever see a single soul look at that rack. I was looking for a belly chain to make. Well a middle aged woman decides she needs to look at that rack at that particular moment I was there and she totally got too close to me and invaded my space. I'm thinking, are you kidding me? So I left, looked back and she left too.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jul 12
How annoying that must've been for you. I swear that some people park up outside stores and go elsewhere..only to appear once I'm in them.
@BabyCheetah (1911)
• Australia
11 Jul 12
Yep like someone else has mentioned it's just Murphy's Law. Your mum should have told them to get out of her personal space, I hate that too but only when people clearly have enough room. If it's a huge crowd which I hate too then you can't blame people for nudging you and getting in your way. But damn old pensioners these days just getting into everything
