Chances are, that when you go to the supermarket, you are in a hurry to get your groceries and get out. Unfortunately, everyone else is usually in the same boat, and in the process, good manners may be overlooked, or neglected altogether.

The shopping cart is not a battering ram to be used to forge your way down the aisle. Watch where you are going, especially at corners. Do not look the other way and take the risk of running over another cart, or a small child. Do not park your cart in the middle of the aisle while you are off comparing prices somewhere else. Just as on the road, pull over to the side.

Clerks and stockers do their best to make sure that you are happy and have everything you need. If for some reason the bargain that you came for in the first place is missing from the shelf, ask politely about it’s whereabouts, and do not give the stocker a lecture on inadequate supplies. He probably has no idea why the canned green beans are all gone, or how many were there in the first place. Ask the cashier about a rain check when you get to the checkout line.

Don’t park in front of the meat counter and assemble your entire family so that other people can’t see or get too what they came for. Be aware that other people are there to shop too. Step aside while you are deciding on ground beef or ground chuck.

If you take your children to the market with you, don’t let them play race course up and down the aisles. This can be dangerous for them, and hazardous for the stacks of goods. Likewise, if your children are tired and cranky, don’t expect them to be happy watching you calculate the family budget and telling them over and over what they can’t have. Do not spend an hour or more in the market screaming at your screaming children. This is unnerving for everyone.

When it is your turn at the cash register, don’t suddenly remember that you have 120 coupons that all need to be checked for expiration dates. Don’t ask the clerk to disappear for 15 minutes to check on something at the back of the store, and don’t get into the 10 item or less express lane if you have a cart full. If you have a line of people behind you, get your purchases onto the conveyor belt as quickly as possible, have your method of payment ready, and move along.

If you have someone take the bags to the car for you, be sure and thank them. If you are in a really good mood, you might want to tip them. They seldom get tips and this would make their day. If you take the groceries yourself, take the time to return the cart to a cart corral. Nothing is more frustrating that to find a runaway cart smashed up against your car door when you come out of the store.

Even grocery shopping can be an exercise in good manners and politeness, and it is something that we should all practice.