Before you go to the supermarket, one more word in your ear: you have been shopping in the supermarket all wrong.
Yes. You.
How? According to etiquette guru William Hanson’s book, Just Good Manners, you’ve been shopping at the wrong times, picking up items in the wrong order, and making a U-turn with your trolley, to name just a few mistakes. But don’t worry, because in the tome he gracefully outlines how to shop with courtesy.
The King of Politeness says, “In the hunt for bargains, consumers are spectacularly making common sense mistakes, leaving staff and other customers short of the currency of politeness.
“Many are on retail autopilot, taking actions and making choices that are so ingrained and routine that they rarely pause to think about them and the consequences.”
The most civil time for shopping
William says that for ‘less anxiety’ shop ‘between 8am and 10am on a Monday morning, if you’re shopping in a major city’, adding: ‘For those outside a metropolis, the evenings tend to be the quietest.’
The right trajectory
William Hanson has revealed how to shop graciously in his new book Just Good Manners
William above says: ‘In the hunt for bargains, consumers are experiencing a spectacular lapse in common sense, leaving staff and other customers short on the currency of politeness’
“Most British supermarkets have an unwritten flow,” says William. “You should start your store in the aisles closest to the entrance, where the fresh produce is often found.”
The trolley U-turn
Don’t make U-turns with your trolley, William warns, or “you’ll face the silent, passive-aggressive wrath of the British.” He adds: ‘It’s much better to go back to the beginning of the supermarket and start again.’
Don’t block aisles while you scroll
William warns: ‘Block all aisles at your own risk while browsing social media on your phone.’
William’s new book, Just Good Manners (Penguin Random House), is out now
Acknowledge the staff
‘All the shop staff you pass must be recognised. Preferably with a verbal greeting, but at least make eye contact and smile,” says William. ‘No Cheshire cat grin needed, just an acknowledgment that they are human too.’
Don’t talk to two people sitting next to each other in the aisle
William scolds people who clog the aisles with their carts and chatter.
He says, “A few carts parked two abreast make it virtually impossible for anyone to successfully navigate that aisle.”
He suggests meeting up with friends you meet afterwards in the coffee shop.
Eat before you pay
Is it okay to eat the food you selected before paying? Absolutely not. William says: ‘Crumbles of the white baguette you feed yourself, otherwise your child will fall to the floor, attract vermin, look ugly and give the impression that you think you are somehow above the rules stands.’
The cash register distributor
On the supermarket belt at the checkout, “if you don’t put a ‘next customer please’ divider at the end of your wares, the customer behind you will imagine your slow and painful death,” notes the Merlin of Manners in the book.
For more information from Mr. Hanson, visit his TikTok And Instagram profiles.
Just Good Manners – A quintessential guide to courtesy, charm, grace and decorum (Penguin Random House), is out now. It is billed as ‘a witty and authoritative guide to British etiquette’.