I finally counted how many times I say 'behind you' in one shift

Last Saturday was slow so I kept a tally on a sticky note. 142 times in a 6 hour service. That's like once every 2.5 minutes just telling people where I'm walking. I found the stat by accident because I was bored and had a sharpie. Anyone else ever track something silly like that during a quiet shift?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_perry246d ago

Started noticing this same thing at the grocery store the other day. People just dont look before they move or back up, so you're constantly having to warn them you're coming through with a cart. Makes me wonder if everyone just walks around in their own little bubble these days, not paying attention to what's happening around them. 142 times in 6 hours is wild though, thats basically your whole shift spent talking to thin air.

mason_reed476d ago

I used to think people who complained about this were just being dramatic or having a bad day, but after reading your story and pat_murray53's count, I think I was wrong. Getting to 142 in one shift is too high to be an accident or bad luck, it shows a real pattern of people just checking out of their surroundings. You changed my mind on this one, I'm definitely going to start paying more attention myself when I'm out in public so I'm not the guy blocking aisles and ignoring everyone.

pat_murray536d ago

haha yeah betty's totally right about people living in their own little bubble. I work at a warehouse store on weekends and I started counting how many times I said "excuse me" to folks just standing in the middle of the aisle staring at their phone. Got to 87 in four hours before I lost count. It's like nobody checks their surroundings anymore, they just stop wherever and expect the world to flow around them. The "talking to thin air" thing hits home hard cause half the time they don't even acknowledge you said anything anyway. You just keep moving and hope they don't spin around into your cart. Makes you wonder if 142 is actually low for some shifts cause I bet on a busy day it'd be double that easy.