4 Questions You Should Never Ask When Shopping at the Grocery Store

Grocery stores can be rather stressful places. You’ve got to navigate the brimming aisle (possibly with kids in tow), dodge the allure of impulse buys and manage the frustration of standing in line — all while remaining conscious of your budget and mindful of needs versus wants. 

But no matter how broke or frustrated you are, there are some things you really should never do in a grocery store — especially when it comes to asking questions. Some can be rude or annoying even if you don’t mean them to be. 

Let’s dig into the top four questions you should never ask when shopping at the grocery store.

Unless someone is openly and on display touting samples in-store, you should never ask a store employee to try a product, no matter how eager you are to purchase it. 

“If there isn’t a free sample station set up for a product, don’t ask to try it,” said Julie Ramhold, consumer expert at DealNews. “Odds are good that associates can’t just open something so you can decide whether or not you want it, and if they can, the cost of said product will almost certainly come out of their own pocket.”

Most grocery stores have a reserve of items in the back of the store that is off-limits to shoppers. If you notice a product is out of stock, just let it go. Don’t ask a store employee to check the back. 

“The supermarket has a system to put items on the shelves and it doesn’t revolve around you,” said Todd Stearn, founder and CEO of The MoneyManual.

Don’t go asking any store employee when a specific product will be in stock. You’re just making more work for them, and/or asking a question they don’t even have the answer to.  

“Unless you ask a manager, you’re probably not going to get an accurate answer from an associate on when a product will be back in stock,” Ramhold said. “It’s highly likely that at best they know when the next truck will be rolling into the docks but not what’s on it, so you’ll have a vague idea at best. And if you do happen to ask a manager, they may not know about a specific item without taking the time to look it up or check their inventory order or something else that takes up their time and prohibits them from taking care of their other responsibilities.”

Do you only have four items in your cart when the person in front of you has what looks like 80? Be patient; it’s rude to ask to cut the line. 

“Nobody wants to stand in line, and even if the person in front of you has a full cart and you only have two things, it’s still impolite to ask,” Ramhold said. “If someone sees that you have fewer items than them and offers to let you cut, that’s one thing (and up to you on whether you accept or not) but they certainly don’t owe you anything. If they don’t ask, the best thing you can do is be prepared to wait it out or switch to another (shorter) line.”