Autism at the supermarket

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It isn't an issue for me at all.

I don't mind it at all either but I will say I do get irritated when people (especially woman with kids) block the isle with their trolly and don't move it when people approach...

My pet peeve is people who park their cart on one side of the aisle, then stand next to it and look at something on the opposite side, effectively blocking the whole aisle.
Also people who reach in front of you. Also employees who ask if they can help you as an attempt to rush you out of their way.

I get distracted by the food items on the shelves I like looking at most things XD

I find certain stores overwhelming if I go during the busy times (such as Walmart or Kmart) but there is one grocery store I find okay and somewhat calming. I like to go in there and get what I need fairly quickly.

christmas season is unpleasant time for visiting the supermarket. Christmas songs blasting at loud volume,
kids crying/screaming, too much people pushing each other. an unpleasant place even for neurotypical people.

I am respectful of clever animals and children but find that lower management and loss prevention are usually an inferior grade of human being.

I am well-mannered, clean, prepared to pay, and keep my hands to myself.

You engage people needlessly, escalate, and won't cover life support. Who is the petty criminal.

I used to work at a Walmart in the bakery, and the noise and those godawful fluorescent lights were always hell. I had to buy tinted yellow lenses to wear at work just to keep the sensory overload at bay. So glad I don't have that problem anymore.

Now that I'm just a shopper and not an employee, things are a little easier, I can get in, grab what I came for, and get out, but I still hate the lights. Last time I went into a Walmart, they made me dizzy, which has never happened to me before. I also really hate that Walmart is famous for screaming obnoxious children. Literally every single day I was working, we'd have some kid screaming its lungs out that could be heard from across the store. I hate the way people obliviously block aisles too, and have learned to just push past them, because standing there waiting for them to move takes forever. I do appreciate the self-checkouts. After using them to buy my lunch almost every day for two years, I know how to operate them pretty smoothly by now, and it really beats the inane small-talk that cashiers feel obligated to put you through. Other customers generally move faster through the self-checkout too, because they don't have anyone distracting them and trying to strike up a useless conversation.

Generally speaking I see grocery shopping as a chore. In fact, really the only kind of shopping I like is souvenir or gift shopping, everything else kind of sucks (including clothes shopping, which, if done with my mom and sister, takes foooooreeeeever.)

Mall shops with loud music get to me. That type of music is easier to tolerate when I'm in a spin/bike class.

I get very overstimulated by the music in grocery stores. If it's not soft and soothing it can make me have a meltdown. Sometimes it can be visually overstimulating for me too. It can be a lot. I can't stay in many stores for too long. And some stores I can't even walk into at all. A couple of stores like Lush and Whole Foods will turn their music off for me so that I can shop. The smells can overwhelm me too. But the smells at Lush for some reason don't bother me but smells like the laundry aisle smells are too much for me. If Lush or Whole Foods turn off their music I can stay in there for a long time. The music is what really gets me and the artificial smells are really bad. If I am tired I can get visually exhausted.

last week when I was shopping one of those theft alarms went off for no reason. that was unpleasant.

Are you the girl in the video?

Having worked at walmart, it was living hell. The bright lights, the social interaction. They were going to fire me because of my customer service and I didn't know where anything was. In essence, I had no idea what was going on around me besides my job. I would have customers get right up in my face and wouln't even realize they were there until they actually got up in my face. I was so bad that someone i knew from my college actually showed up there that didnt like me just to shop right next to me. It was bad

I work in a supermarket, mostly it's OK. I had a proper meltdown there last Christmas Eve though, the crowds and sensory aspects were just too much. I'm really worried it will happen again this year, I was crying my eyes out and because I don't disclose I had to make up a toothache so I could go home.

I hate customers, like really hate them. I can relate to Jhob5 ^^ on not noticing them until they're right in my face. Often acquaintances will ask me why I ignored them when they came in to do their shopping; honestly I didn't register them, despite the fact they say they walked right by me.

I like being busy though, I need it.

I have taken seasonal work, at a store, before, and was told that I had to make eye contact with, and greet everybody. They knew it was forced, and acted uncomfortable.

If anyone is reading, who is cruel to menial labor, please keep in mind that it's probably not life-or-death, for the laborer.

Some will just take off the vest/apron/uniform-shirt, and deal with it as a member of the general public.

Yeah that is annoying.. I have to say the security guards do intimidate me, especially when they stand at the door staring at customers.