Viewers are conflicted after a Target shopper called out an elderly woman for not following store etiquette.
Certain situations call for specific etiquette, like how you should let people on a train exit before you board, lowering your voice when talking on the phone in a public space, and staying on the right side of the stairs or escalators so people in a rush can pass you on the left.
But it seems this woman didn’t get the memo on not taking up an entire store aisle, and there may be a logical reason why.
Mom calls out fellow Target shopper
In a viral video with more than 572,000 views, mom Dean (@deanofdogs) explained that she was in the baby food aisle when she noticed she was blocked in.
Usually, people stick to one side of a grocery or store aisle so fellow shoppers can easily pass. If they are taking up the entire aisle, people will usually move right on over when they notice someone else is trying to get through.
But it seems this woman didn’t get the memo.
In Dean’s video, an older woman has her shopping cart taking up half the aisle while she’s covering the rest of the aisle with her body, trying to grab something.
“This is why I don’t shop in public,” Dean said, seemingly annoyed at the predicament.
“I was just trying to buy some baby food,” Dean said.
In a series of comment responses, Dean added that her issue wasn’t specifically with the older woman.
“It didn’t matter that she was older. It was just about people in general,” Dean said. “I would have recorded anyone who blocked the aisle like that.”
She added that she actually backed up in the aisle to let her in and recorded the video once she saw how much space she was taking up.
Why was the lady blocking the aisle?
While the woman was definitely in the way, commenters pointed out that she may have been struggling to see what she was reaching for.
“Keep in mind some of these older people are our grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Maybe she was having trouble seeing. Let’s give them a little grace. They could be us one day you know,” a person wrote.
Judging from the video, it also seems like she was using the shopping cart as support to stabilize herself while looking at items that were higher up on the shelf.
‘Total lack of situational awareness’
People in the comment section ranged from also being annoyed by the woman to telling Dean that she could have just politely prompted the woman to move.
“So instead of recording you could’ve said ‘EXCUSE ME!’ And you would’ve been fine,” a top comment read.
“I think the point is that even having to say ‘excuse me’ shouldn’t be necessary. it’s the total lack of situational awareness in not seeing you’re barricading an entire aisle that’s the issue,” a commenter wrote.
@deanofdogs I was just trying to buy some baby food #shopping #onlineshopping #introvert ♬ Welp, Didn’t Expect That – Yu-Peng Chen & HOYO-MiX
“Last time I said excuse me’ to a lady at the store she was so rude and still didn’t move out my way. That don’t always work and half these people do it on purpose,” another shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dean for comment.
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