Discrimination against short people by those who design supermarkets. If something is up high and soft (like loo paper) I just knock it down with my walking pole and catch it. If it's hard or breakable I either grab a passing giraffe, or one of the shelf stackers. Today though I met a new problem - frozen foods deep in one of those long freezers and just out of reach. I had visions of losing my balance and ending up amongst the frozen vegetables - which would have been embarrassing. So I went on an expedition and found a helpful staff member.
At least my local supermarket has friendly, helpful staff.
The local supermarket usually stashes a step stool somewhere in store, and I have been known to find it to get to the top shelves, if I don't climb on the bottom shelf.
Discrimination against tall people in shoe shops. Most tall people have larger feet than average so why are the larger oes on the bottom shelf, forcing us to either bend over to a painful extent or get on the floor (and up again) which is downright awkward?
I'm pretty sure I know why - who wants to look at a row of boats? Hence the small/middling sizes are at eye level.
I’m 4 foot 11 and feel you pain, Huia. I have a lovely library kick stool in the kitchen at home but spend my weekly shop asking strangers for help.
For what it's worth - you're welcome! I'm about 15 inches taller and with my longer arms I can reach things at least two feet further away. Few tall people object to helping out IME.
Yes, I too have occasionally been asked to help get otherwise unreachable items from top shelves, though in all fairness I find our local Tesco staff omnipresent, and ever-ready to assist.
These days, I sometimes need help in getting items from lower down, as I'm not very bendable (rather like one of Tolkien's Ents).
I suppose supermarkets could hardly stock the range of items they do if everything had to be at middlingly reachable heights!
I think in supermarkets customers don't mind in general being asked to help with little things. Elderly people sometimes ask me to read a label for them, because they have forgotten their glasses. When I shop in the reduced aisle, when a staff member is reducing things, there are several customers all crowded round, and we pass things to each other, and sometimes people ask me what something is, and how to cook it, if I take something they haven't heard of - especially in the produce aisle, where unusual veg is often reduced, because no one buys it at the expensive regular price. So I tell them and then they take one too.
Actually, if you're not in too much of a hurry, shopping in a supermarket can actually be quite fun, especially if you're able to interact with others in the way fineline describes!
Yes, I’ve always assumed the shoe order was for aesthetic reasons so that the shoes are in proportion when viewed from above, and so the larger shoes aren’t knocked off the rack easily.
Of course, in the Good Old Days only one example of each style of shoe was on display, the rest were neatly stacked in boxes around the walls or in the store-room. Still sometimes the case (e.g. in Hotter or Moshulu shoe shops, unless it's Sale time).
Public restrooms with no place to hang your purse. I do not want to place it on the floor. I once placed it in the sink to find out to late that it was one that was motion activated to start the water. A simple hook on the wall or door would solve the need.
People who deliver packages to the wrong address.. This morning I found a package as tall as I am just outside my screen porch door. I wasn't expecting anything. The door opens outward, and I had to shove the package out of the way before I could open it.
Since rain was predicted, I wrestled it onto the porch and noticed it was addressed to my next door neighbor. The shipping labels did not give a phone number to contact the shipper.
I cannot find my neighbor's telephone number, and I cannot go to her door because there are steps that I cannot negotiate. The package is sitting on my porch and I assume it will stay there until someone comes to ask about it. It's very much in the way.
The man sitting next to me on the bus today, who seemed to think that his elbow was entitled to half my seat space as he merrily filled in the crossword in his newspaper. Despite my many attempts to move my arm out of the way of his constantly darting elbow, I’ve still ended up with a bruised upper arm.
O I used to get that sort of thing when I commuted by train to London.
One chap elbowed me so much, despite protestations, that I simply stood VERY HARD on his feet (grinding my heel the while) as I got up to leave the train (one stop before the terminus, which was his stop.)
My wife, escorting our son (then aged about 5) for a 9 am appointment at Great Ormond Street hospital, found that that all the commuters were crowding into the lift at Russell Square station and frightening the boy. So she accidentally-on-purpose stepped on one particularly obnoxious man's toe as they ascended.
I’m 4 foot 11 and feel you pain, Huia. I have a lovely library kick stool in the kitchen at home but spend my weekly shop asking strangers for help.
For what it's worth - you're welcome! I'm about 15 inches taller and with my longer arms I can reach things at least two feet further away. Few tall people object to helping out IME.
I ran into one of the few. I asked a tall stranger for a little help with one item at the top. He gave me a cold stare and said, "I don't work here".
My wife, escorting our son (then aged about 5) for a 9 am appointment at Great Ormond Street hospital, found that that all the commuters were crowding into the lift at Russell Square station and frightening the boy. So she accidentally-on-purpose stepped on one particularly obnoxious man's toe as they ascended.
O, I do hope she was wearing nice sharp high heels at the time!
Well-meaning but completely incompetent and oblivious people organising work unit retreats. 4 hours of Lego [of which I have vented before] and 45 minutes planning for next year. Clear what the priorities are.
And there is to be a gratitude wall in which one must pluck a name from a hat and offer up thanks for what they do via post-it note. Dear God.
Thanks that X is very consistent in her/his approach to work, and still manages to be totally incompetent whatever task is given to them.
I am so happy to be working with Y because of the supply of 'medication' this gives me access to without having to hang about on street corners with dodgy people.
Z is definitely the go-to person when I want to know any news about other workers. S/he even knows who it was sneaking out of the supply cupboard on the last social evening, and who was in there with them, (hint, if you knew you'd really be shocked).
The man sitting next to me on the bus today, who seemed to think that his elbow was entitled to half my seat space as he merrily filled in the crossword in his newspaper. Despite my many attempts to move my arm out of the way of his constantly darting elbow, I’ve still ended up with a bruised upper arm.
I consign to Hell bus seats. I'm only 5' 10" but the width across the shoulders, with one pressed hard across the window the other still occupies up to a third of the next seat. Pulling elbows out of the way does not change this, I am that wide bone to bone.
If I am on an aisle seat I get bumped by everyone going past, If I am by the window whoever sits next to me gets bumped. I can't move up, there's nowhere to go. Individually shaped seats are worse as I can't fit into them so sit at an angle for the journey.
This is quite interesting. Back in the 50s British buses could only be 7'6" wide, now they are about 8" wider. The old buses usually had bench seats for two people either side of a central gangway and didn't seem too cramped. So: have people got bigger? Are the aisles now wider? Do we expect to have more personal space? I don't know. But I do CTH people who take up a second seat with their shopping/handbag etc.
Worst of all for me was the seat on the plane, which ICTH. There was no leg room. The very large man in the next seat spilled over into me: his arm, leg, and body. Every movement he made, I made too. Then the man in the seat in front of me put his seat to recline, so that it was in my face. All for a very long 8 hour nightmare journey.
I can never understand why plane seats should recline, especially seeing that your table is attached to the other side! In Business or First Class where there's lots of room: fine. In economy: no! (Perhaps there's something to be said for Ryanair after all - their seats are fixed).
I remember when I was in Canada observing how much wider bus seats were. Ours are definitely too small. Though I would suggest that in the light of that, a big guy with a pointy elbow that is digging into the person sitting next to him whenever he writes could wait the ten minutes it takes to get off the bus and do the crossword at home. I’m fine with a still elbow - but writing extends it a lot and makes it constantly move. My arm is still painful today.
I will add that when I was in Canada, people were generally bigger/wider than I was used to in the UK. Not all of them, of course, but I saw quite a few of a size I’d simply not seen before, sometimes taking up three seats (the sideways seats at the front, where there are several in a row), so the seats still weren't big enough for everyone. I tend to think people in the UK have got bigger over the past twenty years, but maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe it's just that people get bigger as they get older. I've certainly got bigger myself! 😄
I tend to think people in the UK have got bigger over the past twenty years, but maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe it's just that people get bigger as they get older. I've certainly got bigger myself! 😄
According to an article in the "Mirror", in 1954, the typical British male was just over 5ft 7in tall, weighed 11st 6lbs and had a chest of 37 inches and a waist of 34 inches. Today he is 5ft 9in, weighs 12st 6lbs and has a chest of 42in and a waist of 37in. His collar size has also increased from 14 to 16.
I tend to think people in the UK have got bigger over the past twenty years, but maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe it's just that people get bigger as they get older. I've certainly got bigger myself! 😄
According to an article in the "Mirror", in 1954, the typical British male was just over 5ft 7in tall, weighed 11st 6lbs and had a chest of 37 inches and a waist of 34 inches. Today he is 5ft 9in, weighs 12st 6lbs and has a chest of 42in and a waist of 37in. His collar size has also increased from 14 to 16.
Yes, I think empirical evidence shows that, overall, peeps in the UK have indeed got bigger.
I, too, recall the buses of the 50s and 60s (engine at the front, clippie at the back, open platform, heater-if-you-were-lucky, fug of pipe/cigarette smoke upstairs etc. etc.). The 8-feet wide buses did allow for seats and aisles to be a couple of inches wider, though, and some of ours (on the longer routes) even had platform doors !
This more of a call to heck than hell. I was in a queue in the supermarket. There were two tills open. Till A became free, so I stepped forward with 8 items in my basket. However, three of the items were a loaf of bread, a two-pint carton of milk, and a bag of pasta, so my basket looked full. The cashier looked at my basket, and said "I'll just swipe the next person through first." So the person behind me went forward with a newspaper and a packet of biscuits, but then said he also wanted a lottery ticket. While the cashier was faffing with the lottery ticket machine, Till B became free, so the person who had been two behind me in the queue was being served, while I still stood there like a numpty.
I thought the cashier would apologise when she finally put my eight items through, but no.
I couldn't work out whether I was more annoyed at the cashier (who, in fairness, thought the person behind me had two items and probably thought I had more than eight) or the person who happily skipped the queue under false pretences.
Needless to say, I said nothing, smiled politely throughout and fumed all the way home.
Well-meaning but completely incompetent and oblivious people organising work unit retreats. 4 hours of Lego [of which I have vented before] and 45 minutes planning for next year. Clear what the priorities are.
And there is to be a gratitude wall in which one must pluck a name from a hat and offer up thanks for what they do via post-it note. Dear God.
Kill it. Kill it with fire. Take off and nuke from orbit. Then retreat to the other side of the galaxy. At least.
This more of a call to heck than hell. I was in a queue in the supermarket. There were two tills open. Till A became free, so I stepped forward with 8 items in my basket. However, three of the items were a loaf of bread, a two-pint carton of milk, and a bag of pasta, so my basket looked full. The cashier looked at my basket, and said "I'll just swipe the next person through first." So the person behind me went forward with a newspaper and a packet of biscuits, but then said he also wanted a lottery ticket. While the cashier was faffing with the lottery ticket machine, Till B became free, so the person who had been two behind me in the queue was being served, while I still stood there like a numpty.
I thought the cashier would apologise when she finally put my eight items through, but no.
I couldn't work out whether I was more annoyed at the cashier (who, in fairness, thought the person behind me had two items and probably thought I had more than eight) or the person who happily skipped the queue under false pretences.
Needless to say, I said nothing, smiled politely throughout and fumed all the way home.
Comments
At least my local supermarket has friendly, helpful staff.
I'm pretty sure I know why - who wants to look at a row of boats? Hence the small/middling sizes are at eye level.
For what it's worth - you're welcome! I'm about 15 inches taller and with my longer arms I can reach things at least two feet further away. Few tall people object to helping out IME.
These days, I sometimes need help in getting items from lower down, as I'm not very bendable (rather like one of Tolkien's Ents).
I suppose supermarkets could hardly stock the range of items they do if everything had to be at middlingly reachable heights!
IJ
IJ
Since rain was predicted, I wrestled it onto the porch and noticed it was addressed to my next door neighbor. The shipping labels did not give a phone number to contact the shipper.
I cannot find my neighbor's telephone number, and I cannot go to her door because there are steps that I cannot negotiate. The package is sitting on my porch and I assume it will stay there until someone comes to ask about it. It's very much in the way.
One chap elbowed me so much, despite protestations, that I simply stood VERY HARD on his feet (grinding my heel the while) as I got up to leave the train (one stop before the terminus, which was his stop.)
IJ
I ran into one of the few. I asked a tall stranger for a little help with one item at the top. He gave me a cold stare and said, "I don't work here".
Jerk.
Which reminds me - why does my local Tesco put the bagels right down near the floor? Oy vey!
IJ
O, I do hope she was wearing nice sharp high heels at the time!
IJ
IJ
*Sky Harbor is the main Phoenix airport.
Well-meaning but completely incompetent and oblivious people organising work unit retreats. 4 hours of Lego [of which I have vented before] and 45 minutes planning for next year. Clear what the priorities are.
And there is to be a gratitude wall in which one must pluck a name from a hat and offer up thanks for what they do via post-it note. Dear God.
I am so happy to be working with Y because of the supply of 'medication' this gives me access to without having to hang about on street corners with dodgy people.
Z is definitely the go-to person when I want to know any news about other workers. S/he even knows who it was sneaking out of the supply cupboard on the last social evening, and who was in there with them, (hint, if you knew you'd really be shocked).
I consign to Hell bus seats. I'm only 5' 10" but the width across the shoulders, with one pressed hard across the window the other still occupies up to a third of the next seat. Pulling elbows out of the way does not change this, I am that wide bone to bone.
If I am on an aisle seat I get bumped by everyone going past, If I am by the window whoever sits next to me gets bumped. I can't move up, there's nowhere to go. Individually shaped seats are worse as I can't fit into them so sit at an angle for the journey.
Bus seats are just too narrow.
My personal hate are the three abreast train seats which are too narrow: https://tinyurl.com/ya6675pg
Ahh-men... oops.
Yes, I think empirical evidence shows that, overall, peeps in the UK have indeed got bigger.
I, too, recall the buses of the 50s and 60s (engine at the front, clippie at the back, open platform, heater-if-you-were-lucky, fug of pipe/cigarette smoke upstairs etc. etc.). The 8-feet wide buses did allow for seats and aisles to be a couple of inches wider, though, and some of ours (on the longer routes) even had platform doors !
IJ
I thought the cashier would apologise when she finally put my eight items through, but no.
I couldn't work out whether I was more annoyed at the cashier (who, in fairness, thought the person behind me had two items and probably thought I had more than eight) or the person who happily skipped the queue under false pretences.
Needless to say, I said nothing, smiled politely throughout and fumed all the way home.
Kill it. Kill it with fire. Take off and nuke from orbit. Then retreat to the other side of the galaxy. At least.
You were soooo much nicer than I would be.