Unpleasant Incident

[lathany]

I had something of an unpleasant experience shopping in my local Tesco store today and I'm still wondering if I handled it right.

Now, I've always had a big thing about personal space and have never liked the people who move beyond the (cashier) end of the conveyor belt. The ones that particularly annoyed me were the people who stood far enough forward that I couldn't use the signing counter for signing. However, I've never said anything about it.

I will also add how much I hate the new pin machines in Tesco (and everywhere else). I don't feel that they are secure enough and always stoop over them in a protective fashion when typing in my pin. (Yes, I suspect you can already see where this story is going...)

Right, back to today. There were two men behind me in the queue and neither of them were staying back behind the stopping point on the conveyor belt. One of them was wandering back and forth around the aisle (the other cashier point behind me was empty) and the second one was standing right opposite the cashier. I handed over my card, heaved shopping into the pushchair and heard the cashier ask for my pin. I straightened up and looked around meaningfully. This worked, not at all. The one opposite the cashier still was. The other one was now standing directly behind me.

So, I asked them to stand back because I wanted to type in my pin. Needless to say, they were both very offended and rude (although they did actually stand back).

I felt rather guilty about the whole thing for several reasons (even though I keep justifying it).

i. They were both looked the sort of unshaved, unkempt types that television always portrays as the bad guys. (Although, I believe I would have said the same had they been anyone else.)

ii. I probably could have typed the number in without them seeing what it was. (But only probably; with them situated at different angles and both close it would have been difficult.)

iii. I was all but accusing them of trying to steal my pin. (Although, I really couldn't think of a better way of putting it.)

What would you have done? If it happens again, is there any other way of dealing with it? Or am I simply underestimating the security "sides" of the new pin machines?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_alanna/]

With so much credit card fraud around at the moment, I shouldn't be at all worried about offending some (rather rude) people's sensibilities.

It constantly amazes me how little consideration for other people is taken as the norm nowadays. You weren't out of line at all - they were... although they probably never realised it. I think that's what annoys me the most about that sort of person - you can glare as much as you like, and they still won't have a clue that they're being rude!

[lathany.livejournal.com]

It constantly amazes me how little consideration for other people is taken as the norm nowadays.

I know. Of course, much I think they should have been standing elsewhere, there isn't concrete evidence stating as such. I wish there was actually a line on the floor in supermarkets (and other shops) these days like there is at (at least at our local) cash points. Saying "stay this side of the line until you are served" or similar. I guess such things will come in eventually.

[venta.livejournal.com]

They have a notice up in our local postoffice asking you to stand back from the counter until it's your turn - I'm not sure if this arrived at the same time as the type-your-PIN-in boxes for people doing banking things at the PO.

Someone stealing your PIN by looking over your shoulder is my biggest worry with chip'n'pin cards - though actually, I haven't been chip'n'pinned anywhere yet, which slightly surprises me.

Hopefully awareness of things like standing back from a PIN-typing-place being the correct thing to will rise as the machines become more common.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

And a new social phenomenon was born - the where to look when a PIN is being entered? question. Give it a few months and there'll be columnists likening it to the dilemmas faced by men in urinals ;-)

[lathany.livejournal.com]

So maybe pin-entering booths should look like urinals?

<pauses>

OK, that last thought was definitely a mistake.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

Glad to see I'm not the only person weird enough to have thought of that :o/