Hat tip to Tom Blackford who has informed me of six great queuing stories in today’s Guardian.
Following yesterday’s news that Ben Bradshaw wants shoppers to leave all wasteful packaging at the supermarket till, six guardian reporters do just that.
They’re a good read and have everything we have come to expect from a good queue story; the dread of old ladies tutting, the hurt caused by raised eyebrows and the stomach clenching anxiety of making a fuss.
Although causing a scene terrifies me to my very core, I think that this is a brilliant idea. I do not know if I am brave enough to do it myself, but I am definitely going to consider it when I am next at the supermarket. And as fellow Brits know, consideration is quite a big step already.
If anyone manages to do this at their supermarket please send me a report and I’ll post it up here on Standinaqueue. Hell, I’ll even make and send you a free Standinaqueue T-shirt.
November 15, 2006 at 7:55 pm
What a great story. I think those people are very brave. I hope the point is taken before I have to consider such outrageous behaviour.
November 16, 2006 at 2:35 am
We have too much packaging here in the U.S., too. I would love to leave all my trash at the store like that. I’ve got three kids, so we go through a lot of groceries — and bags and bags of garbage that consists mostly of cardboard and plastic wrap.
– Corrine in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
P.S. As you know, we never say “queue” here. I always say “stand in line,” but lately I’ve been hearing more and more people say, “stand on line.” Unless there’s an actual line painted on the floor that I’m not seeing, I think that’s wrong.
November 16, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Is that, perhaps, the same line that some Americans dance on?
November 16, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Rosey, it is a great story, and the printed edition had a few more pictures of disgruntled looking supermarket workers. Brilliant.
Corrine, I used to live as a student in Albuquerque NM, and while there we discovered that a brilliant way to cut down on trash and food bills was to eat while in Walmart.
It is the only way to eat their just cooked chicken.
November 17, 2006 at 8:42 am
lol
April 15, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Dumping the packaging at the counter is a great idea! After all,as customers, we are the ones who have to pay for the packaging, cart it home and dispose of it. We should say no to this.
We’ve been photographing some of the more ludicrous examples of over-packaging and posting them online. End the waste!
TotallyWasted.org