A story was published on Facebook about how an elderly woman touched all the buns at the counter with her hands — and customers lost their desire to indulge in them.
An eyewitness writes: "Today, a strange and, frankly, unpleasant scene occurred in the store. At the pastry counter, an elderly woman was handling almost all the buns with her hands — without gloves, without tongs. She picked one up, examined it, put it back, then picked up another. She did not react at all to the remarks of the customers — as if nothing was happening.
The sellers did not intervene immediately, and people just started stepping away from the display — no one wanted to buy anymore.
I understand, age, perhaps, habit, but there are basic sanitary norms and respect for other people. After such a thing, even the appetite disappears. Maybe it's time to do something about this?"
In the comments, others also shared observations that there are elderly women who go shopping and poke apples with their nails. "You probably noticed that some apples seem to be punctured by something. With small holes, around which the apple has darkened. So, there are elderly women who entertain themselves this way or check the "ripeness" of apples — and they don’t care that someone will eat the products after them. This is observed in many self-service stores," noted the eyewitness.
Here are some other comments:
"Such characters also poke all the eggs. I asked one — what are you looking for? She replied: none of your business, go away!" — shared Marina.
"So when they saw it, they didn’t want to take it. But when they don’t see such things, they take it. Just think that someone might have touched them a little earlier than you approached," believes Yanis.
"And so, now you won’t buy any products in the store? Where will you get them, are you suggesting collecting croissants in the garden?" — humorously wrote Maris.
"This is the level of culture of society, in this case — our population, as such cases occur often. Of course, we need to contact the management of retail chains and demand that rules be developed and measures taken. Simple debate and outrage on social media will not help. Personally, if I see something like this, I will definitely contact the management. If there are many complaints, then something will change," shared Inna.
"This has been happening for a long time and constantly. It’s better not to take unpackaged goods, it seems. And I believe gloves won’t help — those who touched all the products with their hands will continue to do so, they won’t wear gloves," wrote Galina.
"This is not a problem of some 'foreign' grandmothers or grandfathers — these are our parents, our relatives. They are aging, some develop dementia, others have other mental illnesses. Their worldview, consciousness changes, and, as sad as it sounds, this is a natural process. But the real problem is in the store, which saves on packaging or on staff who could simply hand the same bun to the customer, knowing that no one has breathed on it. I also take the most distant products, it’s annoying sometimes," believes Svetlana.
"I told this grandmother three months ago that it’s not right to do this, that it’s even unpleasant to buy after her. She replied — don’t buy! Then she started shouting. Then the seller told her the same thing — that it’s not right to do this. I think it’s useless to talk to her. I believe buns should be packaged in several pieces, and people will choose how many they need themselves," shared Mara.
"I personally saw an old man in Maxima OPENING YOGURTS AND TASTING THEM WITH HIS FINGER!!! then closing them and putting them back. When I remarked, he literally replied: - I have to know if it’s tasty or not. What if I pay for it and won’t eat it at home?! What to do with such people?" — wrote Arvid.
"In childhood, everyone probably chewed one piece of gum in a crowd, ate with dirty hands on the street, and shared with friends, no one died. Don’t buy unpackaged goods, in any store they can be touched without gloves. Unfortunately, there are no means against people who do this," believes Helena.
"I worked in one supermarket and there was the same story. There was one man, a regular customer, who came with a dog in his arms, petted it, and then touched all the buns, checking them for freshness or I don’t know what else," said Maria.
"Grandma should remember how in Soviet times there were cut papers in front of the shelves with bread to touch and choose bread. And now there are gloves, tongs. She probably forgot," suggests Juris.
"And not only grandmothers touch everything, I saw a five-year-old boy in Maxima put his little hands in the tray with peeled nuts and his mother showed no emotion. Since then, I only buy nuts in packaging," wrote Valentina.
"I have witnessed grandmothers rummaging through a large number of boxes with eggs. When asked: 'What are you looking for there?', they replied: 'Larger ones'. They do not react to remarks," said Irina.
"In Maxima X, a store employee herself touched the pastries with bare hands in front of me. Why do they do this?" — shared Anastasia.
"Well, actually, pastries shouldn’t be on an open counter. For example, we have glass counters for confectionery products in stores, and access is only for the department seller. Because there are many careless people, they touch, lick their fingers, and just talk over the display and spit. Therefore, the store is to blame," believes Olga.
"In supermarkets, you can even carry dogs in shopping carts. And about the buns... Only a counter with a seller who dispenses the goods himself will help. That’s how it was before, and that’s how it should be, to avoid problems," believes Margarita.
