Window Shopping Etiquette

When we venture out of the comfort of our rooms, we observe how incredibly hard it can be for some people to not be absolutely, utterly obnoxious. Never is this more evident than on shopping trips. Occasionally, observing these people is like observing the sun through a looking glass – it could possibly blind you. The following are some of the most incomprehensible things that the said people do; things when you try to explain provoke a swift “lol” with an outstretched palm as the response (I speak from personal experience).

It is NOT okay to hog the trial room
No. Please, no, especially when there's a sale or it's a holiday season. Don't take 10 different articles of clothing, take intervals between trying on each to show how the dress looks to those who accompanied you and discuss its pros and cons at length, all while taking dozens of near identical selfies of yourself – for every piece. Please don't be that person. If, in case, you are, please acknowledge the salesgirl's scathing look when you walk out buying nothing and leave a pile of unfolded clothing; or, in case you see her clenching her fists and rolling her sleeves up, run for it. 

No one is asking for an on-spot review
Imagine this – while browsing through clothes at your own pace, you pick up something for a closer inspection and you hear a glass-breaking shrill voice saying, “OMG! Look at that! I would NEVER wear something like that! I swear, I'm not even exaggerating, if I look at that one more time, I'll literally puke.” Then the minions next to the owner of the voice burst into the most repulsive form of laughter. First of all, that person is definitely not going to “literally” puke unless s/he had something s/he really shouldn't have had for his/her last meal and secondly, who in their right mind gave him/her the supreme authority of being the fashion police? Oh, and people who scan through all the shops might know the current trends better than others but that does not give them the authority to loudly proclaim the “knowledge” they acquired.

Realise you are not obliged to act as a potential buyer
In wholesale shops, the scenario is usually like this, the salespeople are busy drying their throats on why they can't lower their prices any further and the customers are looking to buy it at half the original price. After the whole intensely heated, time-consuming act of bargaining for everyone at the shop to witness, imagine the salesperson's frustration when the customer gets up and says, “Not today.” 

At fixed priced outlets, in a long queue with people waiting to actually purchase their desired items, don't be that person trying to blend in and then go up to the cashier just to have a conversation like, 

“I really liked this, but I can't buy it”

“Would you like to book it?”

“No, I'm just looking. But do you think I should buy it later?” 

As bewildering as it might sound, there is no binding contract that you have to pay the cashier a visit every time you drop by a shop.

Window shopping is a great way to pass a lot of free time but it should not be done at the expense of a good shopping experience for others around you.   

With a keen eye and a broken brain to mouth filter, Mahejabeen Hossain Nidhi has a habit of throwing obscure insults from classic novels at random people who may or may not have done anything to warrant them. Drop her a line at mahejabeen.nidhi@gmail.com