To the woman who tried to cut me in line today: I curse thee.

[Mighty_Girl]

Verizon (largest telecommunication company here) has a stand at most supermarkets here. While I was shopping for grocery I decided to stop by and pay the incompetent bloosuckers (but that is another rant). A gentleman was paying his bills and I was the only other customer.

While I am waiting for the clerk to finish with the gentleman there comes rushing a very well-dressed lady, reeking money from a kilometer and crosses in front of me and without a word hands her bill and a cheque to the clerk. Actually the clerk didn't take it, just looked at the lady and said "please wait until I am finished with this customer". She seemed in a hurry.

The clerk finishes and there comes the lady again, the clerk tells I am first and in a series of groans she tells me "I'll go to the ATM, don't let anyone take my place". I look around, surely she must be speaking to her kid, or husband, or sex slave. She surely is not giving me orders in that tone of voice. But we were the only ones around. What a bitch!

Since I have three contracts with the telecommunication company from hell (that rant will come some day) I could pay all three in one go. But I wanted separate receipts as one of those is my business'. As the clerk was finishing with my first bill the bitch comes back again and tries to hand her her cheque again. I looked at her like I could melt her with my eyes and tell her that I am not done yet.

"What do you mean you are not done?"

"It means I have two other numbers to pay and I want separate receipts."

She starts protesting, but the clerk tells her I am within my right as I can pay up to three bills in one go. I noticed she was doing everything much slower than usual (I always pay my bills there).

The bitch stormed out mumbling something.

Here is my curse: May Verizon's be the very best service you get anywhere

[Mama Tiger]

Well, kudos to the clerk for not allowing her to cut the line -- and for slowing down. I'd say overall you had a supremely enjoyable experience; at least I would have if it had been me in your shoes!

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

She was probably in a hurry to leave her shopping cart in her parking space.

[Cowgirl Jules]

Yay for the clerk.

I stopped at a minimart Thrusday evening to get myself and my small son something to drink before we headed out to the barn. As I was standing in line to pay for my purchases, several people came in the store.

And right before my eyes, these jerks went over to the cooler, grabbed their 40 oz beers, and spontaneously formed a second line. For the one cashier. And she started alternating, taking them before those of us who were already in line before they even came in the store. Simple minded bitch.

Fortunately, one of the laborers saw my jaw twitching and the look of doom in my eyes when she turned to him when it would have been my turn, even by the "take turns" rule. And he told the cashier to take me before I had to get all loud in front of my son.

But damn! Raving morons!

[Mangetout]

See? The Customer Is NOT Always Right. Sometimes, the customer is a complete asshole.

[Starving Artist]

[quote=Cowgirl Jules]And she started alternating, taking them before those of us who were already in line before they even came in the store. Simple minded bitch./QUOTE]This is standard operating procedure at every 7-11 in the area where I live. I've been told they have been instructed to do this. It is too hard for them to try to keep track of where everyone came from and who's next and who else might be shoplifting the place blind, so they simply alternate from one line to the next. It isn't a perfect way of doing it, but it is probably the best they've been able to come up with to keep things from getting out of hand.

[Road Rash]

I too have an account with Verizon, and hated waiting in line, especially behind someone who may have had three seperate bills to take care of. But if the teller saw the expression on my face, I would assure her that it is nothing personal, I just get frustrated waiting in line, and would continue to somewhat impatiently wait.

But now they have this machine, where all you do is put in your phone number, your bill comes up, and you swipe a credit card into it, and your bill is quickly paid. For those with only cash, you can put your 1's, 5's, 10's, or 20's in, like a vending machine, and pay that way also.

[Jadis]

All line cutting peeves aside, it is beyond me why anyone on the planet would stand in a line to pay a bill that you can pay in 2 seconds online. Plus, you get 100 free minutes with Verizon if you use their online bill pay option.

[friedo]

Originally Posted by Jadis

All line cutting peeves aside, it is beyond me why anyone on the planet would stand in a line to pay a bill that you can pay in 2 seconds online. Plus, you get 100 free minutes with Verizon if you use their online bill pay option.

I concur. I pay nearly all my bills through my bank's website, or mail the ocasional check. The $0.39 stamp is worth the non-hassle.

[Joe Random]

Originally Posted by Starving Artist

This is standard operating procedure at every 7-11 in the area where I live.

What is? Allowing customers to form an arbitrary number of lines that is greater than the number of cashiers just because they're in a hurry and don't want to get to the back of the real line, and then rotating through the unofficial, impromptu lines as if they were actually valid?

[Mighty_Girl]

Well, it may be because I am not in the US and Verizon here is in the stone age. Just until last year we where talking over two tin cans tied with a string.

[Mighty_Girl]

The above was a reply to Friedo.

[racinchikki]

Originally Posted by Joe Random

What is? Allowing customers to form an arbitrary number of lines that is greater than the number of cashiers just because they're in a hurry and don't want to get to the back of the real line, and then rotating through the unofficial, impromptu lines as if they were actually valid?

I don't work at a 7-11, but at a copy center, where I'm not at the counter all the time and thus can't observe the line formation. However, I have to stick up for the counter clerk because any attempt to do anything besides rotate through all the lines, regardless of who was there first, is likely to cause an altercation with customers complaining about not being served promptly. If one customer who is in a legitimate line would like to complain to the line-butting customers in the illegitimate line, they can feel free, but it is in the clerk's best interest to get everyone out of the way as quickly as possible without arguing with anyone as to when he or she may have arrived in the store.

[danceswithcats]

An SDMB classic-well worth the search.

[Tony Montana]

I witnessed a neat trick the other day. I was in line at the bank behind two ladies. Lady one (first in line) was maybe 20yrs old. Lady 2 was maybe 40ish. Lady 2 struck up a conversation with lady 1.
Lady 2 then positions herself beside 1 and continues her animated conversation with 1, when the bank teller said "next" lady 2, without a moments pause, cuts in front lady 1. Lady 1 looked dumbstruck. I thought to myself: "Now that was slick"

[MissTake]

A few weeks ago I was doing my usual shopping at the Grocery-Mart-A-Rama. Full cart (which I placed properly in the cart corral afterwards, TYVM) full o' goodies.
As usual, 6 of the 20 possible check outs were open, so I steer my steel bucket into a line and prepare to wait.
A woman with a basket of maybe 10 things gets in line behind me. Knowing my stuff will take a while, I offer her to go ahead of me.

Stupidassed mistake, Misstake!

Time passes. The battle in Iraq is over, people are weaving daisy chains in the sun, the national debt is eliminated.

Finally, the woman ahead of me is next. She starts plonking her few precious purchases on the rollyscanner thing.

Then she calls over to her hubby/bf/gigolo that she's up next. He was a few rows over, unbeknownst to me. He hauls over a FULL FUCKING CART of stuff and tries to go ahead of me.

Uh. No.

I, in my usual quietness, gently asked the woman what was going on. Ok. I said "WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" She turned to me and expressed, in the same gentle tone that I did, afterall, allow her to go ahead of me. Ok. She said "What's your problem?!?!" I replied that I let her in front of me because she had so few items. Didn't want to make her wait behind me. Threw in a few words about kindness in an unkind world.

"That's your problem, not mine"

The cashier, of course hearing this whole exchange, would not let the lurker in. He gave her a choice to join her husband/bf/gigolo at the end of the line, or he could ring up her small basket of stuff. Either way, dude was not going to move on up. She paid for her basket of stuff, throwing gloating looks at me (hunh? What precisely did she win?) then perched on the bagging shelf waiting for her beloved.

Stupid people.

[Mighty_Girl]

Originally Posted by MissTake

Stupid people.

I disagree. I think of them as morally corrupt, but stupid? No way Jose.

Tony M. Thanks for the head up. I will make it a rule not to converse with anyone behind me in the line.

[danceswithcats]

Why hasstoning fallen from favor? At last, a chance for the common man/woman to exact justice against the malefactor.

[Lord Ashtar]

A little story of my own I'd like to share, and this seems as good a place as any.

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted pizza for lunch. I know of this little place near my work which does a pizza buffet with some chicken, pasta, meatballs, and unlimited drink refills for $4.95. As soon as I walked in the door, I was surrounded by kids between 8-14. Apparently, some local youth group had decided to lunch at the same time as I. However, I am a patient guy. So I got in line and waited.

Right behind me were three kids, probably around 12. One of them goes, "Fuck this!" and walks up to the front of the line, cutting in front of probably 15 people. He goes up and starts waving to his friends in the back of the line, "Come on up!"

I decide to let my powerful, resonating baritone voice do a little work and say, "Why don't you get in the back of the line, kid?" A good portion of the restaurant stops and looks over.

He seems startled. "Do I know you?" Implication being that if he doesn't know who I am, I have no right to be talking to him. Maybe he's the one of the Emperor of the World's sons that Sauron ran into that one time.

"No, you don't," I admit. "But you will get to know me very well if you don't get to the end of the line where you belong."

"Uh-huh." He's one cool customer though. The way he walked to the back of the line, you'd think that's what he meant to do all along. He happened to walk by my table on his way up to get seconds, giving me dirty looks the whole way. i just smiled and returned to my book.

[CanvasShoes]

Originally Posted by Lord Ashtar

..........................
"No, you don't," I admit. "But you will get to know me very well if you don't get to the end of the line where you belong."

"Uh-huh." He's one cool customer though. The way he walked to the back of the line, you'd think that's what he meant to do all along. He happened to walk by my table on his way up to get seconds, giving me dirty looks the whole way. i just smiled and returned to my book.

You rock.

[Strainger]

Originally Posted by friedo

I concur. I pay nearly all my bills through my bank's website, or mail the ocasional check. The $0.39 stamp is worth the non-hassle.

39 cents??? Did they fucking change it again? I hope that's a typo, otherwise, I'm going to be getting some returned mail.

[lezlers]

Originally Posted by racinchikki

I don't work at a 7-11, but at a copy center, where I'm not at the counter all the time and thus can't observe the line formation. However, I have to stick up for the counter clerk because any attempt to do anything besides rotate through all the lines, regardless of who was there first, is likely to cause an altercation with customers complaining about not being served promptly. If one customer who is in a legitimate line would like to complain to the line-butting customers in the illegitimate line, they can feel free, but it is in the clerk's best interest to get everyone out of the way as quickly as possible without arguing with anyone as to when he or she may have arrived in the store.

Yeah, but unless the cashier is stoned off his or her ass, I think he or she would notice a whole group of people that suddenly walked up and formed a second line when he or she was already cashing through one line. Your powers of observation would have to be pretty damned dull to miss that.

I was in a 7-11 the other day and some guy tried to pull that shit (forming a second line when there was already a line formed and only one cashier), the cashier totally ignored him and he eventually got into the actual line. Perhaps it was the Stare Of Death I was giving him.

I'd think satiating really rude customers that are destined to piss off a group of customers already waiting in line (what's more infuriating than a line cutter?) would be a bit more dangerous than just insisting everyone follow the same set of rules.

Honestly, it's not that hard. Most of us learn how to form a line in freaking first grade. Endorsing this kind of behavior just makes people do it more and I have never seen any other store that allows that kind of madness. Especially for the sake of "keeping order." It just doesn't make any damned sense.