Good Afternoon.
This is your Grocery Shopping PSA (Public Service Announcement). This is specifically directed towards all those who feel that it is necessary to shop and cell phone chat at the same time.
We, the rest of the occupants of the store, do not want to hear your conversations. Really, we don’t.
Are you aware that as you stand in the canned goods aisle and talk on your cell phone that the rest of us can hear what you are saying?
Today I most certainly did not want to hear about how the woman in the canned tomato aisle has divorced her husband. How she took over all their credit card debit and he took all the house debit in the settlement but that now the house is most likely going into foreclosure and he is “threatening to take me down with him” if it does.
I am so sorry that you have to go through this but it was not necessary to talk about it in a voice that carried all the way over to the frozen foods.
You could have heard a pin drop in the dairy aisle as people were most certainly leaning in to see what would be said next.
Nor did I need to hear the teenage conversation about what she did over the weekend that her mother does not know about.
Believe me, THAT conversation was very TMI and conducted at
VERY LOUD DECIBLES
Perhaps she has been listening to Lady Gaga a bit too loud.
So people lets put our gray matter through it’s paces and think about what we are doing when we are shopping and chatting. Take a look around and be aware of where you are. If you must, and I have been known to chat and shop, please be aware that you are not sitting in your own home. I am in the cereal aisle with you. All I want is to get some oatmeal. I don’t want to know how horrible your mother-in-law is.
This has been your Grocery Shopping PSA for the day.
Thank you for your time and attention.
I was actually in a (long) line at Walmart once and was forced to listen to both sides of a conversation because the woman behind me had her cell phone's speaker on!! I couldn't help but wonder if the person at the other end had any idea we all could hear her. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree but I've also been the guilty party. Normally it's a volunteer and they expect you to answer (or expect me at least). I have had some uncomfortable discussions in Target regarding my 17 yr old's kidney stone and bloody urine but you've got to talk when the doctor call or it will be another 24 hours. I try to be discreet.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
Thanks! I will admit that I have been known to talk on the cell phone while in a store but I try to talk quietly and I NEVER talk on the thing when I am checking out.
DeleteI will talk on the phone while shopping... but I don't think my conversations have ever been THAT personal. If something personal does come up I'll say it in a whisper.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm a little righteous about being able to talk on my cell phone where I am... (but not in line at checkout, not in an office, and not in a restaurant) because while you may have the luxury of seeing your best friend (husband) when you get home... my best friends and my family are scattered around the country - and the opportunity to talk to them is as rare as getting to speak to your doctor about test results! A couple ladies hrrumphffed and complained when they could hear me talking on my cell while shopping and I thought... "Gee, you're shopping with YOUR friend and having a conversation. Why can't I shop with MY friend?"
Another time, I made a Starbucks date with my friend in San Fran (I'm in Denver) and we both got our coffees.... and I smiled and nodded to the man at the next table who looked up when he heard me talking... "I'm having a coffee date with my best friend." He smiled and left me to it.