Shopping is treated as a social activity and often the whole family or groups of friends tag along.

This is all lovely, except that some Malaysian shoppers have poor etiquette and think nothing of inconveniencing others.

Pretty much everyone has at one point or another encountered the bad behaviour of certain shoppers, so here are just some of the worst habits it is hoped Malaysian shoppers will stop displaying.

1. Dumping things where they don’t belong

It is quite normal to have second thoughts about a product already in your shopping trolley. The right thing to do is to return the item to the shelf it was taken from.

However, some people believe it is the job of store workers to return discarded items that are dumped anywhere and everywhere.

It is not unusual to find a slab of raw fish still in its plastic bag tucked away among the cartons of milk. Or leafy vegetables, weighed and sealed, left among tubes of toothpaste.

What a waste of perfectly good food if these are only found after a considerable amount of time has passed and the fresh produce is already turning bad.

2. Damaging goods

Some people do not seem to understand that supermarkets are not restaurants, and every food item on sale is not part of an all-you-can-eat buffet.

It is not uncommon to see people ripping the seal off containers of grapes to pop a few into their mouths before walking off with the container left open.

Another disgusting habit is squeezing the life out of a fruit to check for firmness and freshness. They do not seem to realise that what they are doing is tantamount to damaging property.

3. Ignoring personal space

In the age of Covid-19, it is important to keep a safe distance from one another to help reduce the chances of the virus spreading.

Some people seem to have not received the memo as they get a little too up close and personal for comfort or hygiene.

Shoppers are alerted to their presence when they feel a waft of hot breath on their neck as an arm reaches in front of their face to grab a tin off the shelf.

When turning around to shoot them a glare, expect to be rammed by their shopping trolley, parked barely a millimetre behind.

And, unfortunately, it also appears that the concept of saying “Excuse me” when they wish to pass through is quite foreign a term to many.

4. Hogging the aisles

The aisles in shops and supermarkets do not tend to be particularly wide, so it is inconvenient when a single shopper parks their trolley right in the middle of the path and blocks everyone else’s access.

They seem to be blissfully unaware that they are hogging the entire aisle, until they turn around to find a line of shoppers waiting for them to move.

Some are happy to move their trolley if necessary, but some do the bare minimum, forcing everyone else to squeeze by.

It also does not help when these obstructive shoppers come in big groups, walking in a row that blocks off an entire aisle.

More often than not, they take their own sweet time chit-chatting with each other, leaving everyone else to trudge slowly behind them.

5. Being rude

Malaysians are taught politeness and common courtesy at an early age. But, unfortunately, some people are inclined to blow their top at the slightest provocation, sometimes at people who do not deserve it.

While it is completely reasonable to be upset about poor goods or services, some shoppers take it a notch too high when they go beyond the boundaries of civility.

This can be seen when errant shoppers attempt to cut queues at the cashier, or scuffle for the last remaining item on a shelf.

Frighteningly, when told off, some of these shoppers can turn out to be less than apologetic and become belligerent and hostile to the people around them.

Turns out some people just don’t have a sense of shame.