Published on 12, July, 2020
Thanks to Number in another thread (root beer) I've been thinking of the many things I've just 'not got' and done wrong.
Usually the clue that I'm not 'getting it' is the look of wonder on the faces of other people.
I'm suspecting now this may be autism related.
There are countless examples during my life but here a few.
McDonalds: I don't really understand McDonalds and I don't spend time in them without another person.
My mum used to like them so I'd take her there for lunch sometimes.
One of the 1st times she asked me to collect a menu for her and some cutlery.
I couldn't understand why these weren't on the table.
So, I went to the counter and asked for these things.
After this initial trauma, I then had the trauma of trying to understand what you are supposed to eat off of and with.
Doh.
McDonalds is a particular thing with me I think.
I was with my autistic friend on our way back from visiting his mother and we went to a McD.
He asked me to get him a 'root beer'.
So, I asked for such at the counter only to be asked what that is.
I said 'I don't know' so no root beer was presented to my friend.
Another prime example is going to a spa and swimming baths in a hotel.
I'm not a swimmer or a spa goer.
So, the 1st thing I did was put my make-up on before going there.
Then, I couldn't understand how the lockers worked and had to get assistance.
Then, I eventually found the toilets but couldn't find my way back to the swimming pool so I walked through reception soaking wet in my swimming costume.
I was also in a church once when a service began and loads of people sat around me.
I had gone in there because I was in a strange city and cold and was using the church as a refuge.
I thought I could just sit there whilst the service took place.
I hadn't anticipated communion and although I'm not a Catholic or a church goer, and although I didn't understand what I was doing, I felt obliged to follow everyone up and take communion.
There are so many examples I won't continue.
Is it just me or are there other people here who just don't 'get it?'.
Self-service checkouts. I have no idea why, but they seem to have all been designed by people to whom logic is a foreign concept. They ask gnomic or ambiguous questions and offer options that seem irrelevant to what I want to do; I never know which option to press. I'm a former scientist who operated complex computer-controlled machines like mass spectrometers, but self-service tills defeat me every time.
'Unexpected item in the bagging area' .. how did that piece of volcanic rock get in there?
"Unexpected item in the baggage area" = The words that we never want to hear, especially when we know damn well that there isn't.
No, I'm with you. I prefer not having to interact, but the flip side is, for some reason, the self service area feels a bit like the wild west; people everywhere, lots of frustration. Then you see the staff member in charge and their stress levels as they sprint from issue to issue which I then take on and feel stressed myself. Earplugs help.
Defo think supermarkets needs to review their protocols to incorporate ND minds, it makes me to visit them.
I know Tesco's do an autism friendly session sometime but personally I'd rather not walk round with a (metaphorical) sign on
I seldom buy alcohol, but I do tend to purchase the likes of paracetamol. Also, if it wasn't for the fact that a brief glance from the assistant is sufficient to verify that I'm old enough to buy such items, I probably wouldn't hesitate to accept the flattery.
Also, I am sure you are your harshest critic and consider yourself to look older than other people think you look.
I actually do prefer self checkout too! Especially in the UK.
I never run into the age verification thing, maybe cos I’m teetotal. Or maybe the machine looks at me and goes ‘Damn, you old!’ Be flattered, Sparkly!
I actually prefer the self-service checkouts to the manned tills, just that I can find the 'Russian Roulette' somewhat irritating. If I'm not having to wait for assistance due to a non-existent unexpected item in the bagging area, then I can usually guarantee that I'll need an assistant to verify my age, or else remove security tags. A nightmare when it seems like the rest of the customers at the self-service checkouts are also waiting for assistance.
I’m in the minority it seems in preferring the automated checkouts precisely because it avoids awkward interaction and the weirdness of one’s personal selection being examined item by item by an (admittedly indifferent) stranger. But the iron price is the Russian Roulette of ‘will I have to ask for help anyway?’ When something goes wrong - about one in four times I’d say. The worst is when something is too light to register. A toothbrush or birthday card or something. Then you start uselessly trying it vertically etc. before succumbing to the inevitable choice between looking helpless in the hope that you are noticed or going ‘excuse me, sorry to be a pain but…’
Many moons ago I worked in Castle Court, in a shop that’s no longer there. one year, the actual grotto Santa was got rid of (or so I was told) on account of a … questionable history with children coming to light. It was put a little more bluntly I’m sure you can guess.
At Poundland, in Castle Court, last month, the automated voice had the worst attempt at Santa EVER!
Thanks for sharing that useful info Mariusz.
It's a bug, a metaphorical one
System mistakenly gives that error if you try to scan next item too soon after previous one. You can see on the screen that after you scan something and place it in bagging area, the name of it is in red for a shiort while after that, than it turns black and you can scan next item without triggering error.