"Get some icing sugar", she says, "oh, and some ready to roll puff pastry. And don't forget the crackers for the cheeses. Make sure you get a good selection of those for Boxing Day, nothing with that blue mould in it though, we don't like that.".
We? I don't buy or eat cheese. I also never buy pastry or icing sugar. This is a big store we are talking about, and whereas one usually has an idea of either where most of the shopping list is situated or what it looks like, instructions like this leave me scrambling for clues after vainly attempting to find the stuff myself (I found the cheeses OK).
The only thing to do is ask the staff, it used to be quite straightforward. They'd tell you it was in the same aisle as 'so and so' or give you the aisle number to look for.
Now, though, asking such a question means that you are considered incapable of independent thought. Numbers are apparently too difficult to comprehend, so you must be led there.
You could be in aisle 32 asking for a product in aisle 4, but the employee has been told to instantly forget the job he is currently doing, in order to walk ahead of you and point at the item you were seeking.
Listen guys and girls in the supermarket industry, please just give us directions. We really aren't that fucking stupid. It's demeaning to you to be some Sainsbo sherpa, just as it is hideously annoying to be presumed so vacant as to not understand basic instructional information.
It's not customer service, it's just irritating.
