AITA? Today At Costco

Should I have waited? AITH (am I the *ss)

Normally, I like to go to Costco on a Wednesday in the early afternoon. The eager beavers are done shopping, the lunch rush is over, and kids aren’t out of school yet. But yesterday was nuts. I got there about 1pm and the parking lot was packed, there weren’t a lot of carts, and even the entrance area was crowded. But hey, I’m here, I’ve been running errands for an hour, and I’m already hot and sweaty. Let’s do this. 

I’m on a mission to get in and get out. But there are dozens of senior citizens just standing in the walkways, milling about, and looking at stuff from the center of the aisle. They are standing in the doorway of the walk in produce fridge, going the wrong direction, and fussing because the blueberries aren’t “from America.”  I pointed out that the label says they were picked in Delaware, but didn’t stay for a conversation.  

I’m looking for my vegan cheese that they seem to move at least once a month and there’s a sample station. Surprisingly, there isn’t a crowd around it, but there is one woman (who is another sample employee from another station) standing next to it in the middle of the aisle. I can’t go left, right, or back because there are people with giant carts around me. I waited for her to pick up her snack, but she didn’t walk away. She just stood there looking at the food for probably 15-20 seconds. So I used my bright, chipper, killing-them-with-kindness voice and said “excuse me, can I pop through?” OMG. She came alive then and snapped, “I’m eating!” She did step back and I just went through and said “thank you.”

Should I have waited for her to finish eating? Is it reasonable to stand in the middle of traffic and eat your sample? In my mind, you take your sample, thank the person for feeding you, and get out of the way. So AITH?

The conversation in Canada would go like this:
cart person: oops sorry, I'm just going to sneak* by you there. (sneak, scooch or squeeze are all acceptable)
sampler person: oh I'm sorry
cart: no no that's ok
sampler: sorry, I was just off in lalal land (light hearted laugh)
cart: no problem I do it too (also light hearted laugh)

Nope, you got this one all wrong. She might had just had a quick chance to check out the sample. Me, I personally don’t chew that quick either— especially a sample. I want to know if I like it well enough to buy it. I might have to ask the person doing the sample preps about varieties or specials or coupons. Then I move on. I do try no to block the aisle though. Maybe she was trying, maybe you didn’t sound as nice as you thought so she didn’t respond as well. The world doesn’t revolve around either of you. Suck it up an move on! And senior citizens aren’t always early birds, remember their generation s invented sleeping in!

No, I said I would have tried to not block the aisles. Had I been OP, and in her place, I would probably just turned my basket around and went down a different aisle to get to where I wanted. I wouldn’t have gotten bent over it. How do you know this lady wasn’t just trying to shop and taste and didn’t mean to block? You shop sometimes after you get off. If I am gonna be an sss the other pea would be questioning at all!

NTA. So many people are going through life in their own bubble , acting like everyone else is an NPC in their life. Pisses me off to no end.

Blocking aisles, driving a buggy on the wrong side (usually gets a "are we shopping in London" under my breath) and blasting out of the end of the aisle without checking to see if there is any cross traffic are some of my biggest pet peeves when shopping.

I do give grace to mothers who are in the very center of the aisle to keep little hands from grabbing stuff into the buggy. I did that for many years, and I understand how stressful it is shopping with little ones.

Like you, I would have used the super sweet voice and maybe added a bit of extra magnolia in it. DH wouldn't have been nearly as nice, he would have given a sharp "EXCUSE ME" and maybe a snarky follow up.