If they didn’t the first time, what makes you think they will the second love?
It’s still three items that they have to count, deal with and bag. My feeling is that unless it can be picked up as a single item (bag of apples, case of tomato soup) it’s more than one item.
Hell, one time I was in Winn Dixie with about fourteen or so items in my cart, and there were only two lines open: the empty express lane and a regular lane with four people already in it. I dutifully got into the regular lane, only to be told by the regular lane cashier that the lady in the express lane would be happy to ring me up. I got out of line there, and went to the express lane and started putting my purchases onto the belt.
“Ma’am, this is the express lane.”
She definitely attempted to enforce the limit, but didn’t push it when I told her I was sent over. Don’t know how she could even tell I was over by around four items when I didn’t even have it all on the belt; must have been part eagle.
I would go with the kiwifruit.
If it happens every time they try and take their weekly shop through the express lane they’re going to learn at some point, right? Or am i giving these people too much credit?
IMHO, Fuck yes.
It’s the principle of the thing. First it’s 15 items in the 10 item lane, next it’s WMDs and noncompliance with UNSC resolutions. Then we all know what happens!!!
Well, as a stay-at-home sort, I normally only went grocery shopping once a week. I wouldn’t fill up one of the huge carts, but that small one would get pretty full. On my limited income I begrudged the bus fare associated with going grocery shopping, and so tried to make sure that was as small a percentage of my spending that day as possible.
I have known cases where the checkers were forbidden to do this. Not sure why; perhaps the higher-ups are afraid that the checker will miscount, or maybe they really need to know that they sold four blueberry, two peach, and one raspberry Colombo fruit-on-the-bottom yoghurts and not seven blueberry…
JRB
My guess is the cashier didn’t mention anything to the customer with a surfeit of grocery items is because said cashier isn’t into getting “advice” from the supervisor for upsetting customers.
Kalhoun: Perhaps you meant quantitated?
That way lies retail chaos, my friend. Have you no respect for law and order? What about us humble clock radio purchasers who just want to go along to get along?
Oh, and for the record, even though I was sorely tempted by the Disney Princess model clock radio that projects stars onto the ceiling of your room while you sleep, I opted for the $11.99 basic Sony model in matte black.
If it makes certain people feel better, the big signs at the Whole Foods Market (at least the one in Union Square) have “Express–10 items or Fewer” in big letters.
And when did express lanes start to lose the “cash only” thing?
I had five items the other week, jumped from a regular lane to an express lane, and then got lane-fucked when the person in front of me decided to defeat the whole purpose of the damned thing. I think three people in the regular lane managed to check out before she found her checkbook and finished writing out the check.
Well, yeah- those are different items and need to be inventoried separately. Otherwise you end up ordering too much peach. Actually by my estimation, any quantity of peach yoghurt is too much peach yoghurt.
Now that you can zip your own credit card through, I think that’s the fastest way to pay.
Except for the old lady in front of me the other day who couldn’t, for the life of her, hit the right buttons. I hated to switch lanes on the poor ol’ gal, but it was driving me bonkers!!
Bless you, kind sir.
[Mind-blowing revelation] If more people would respond to seeing that a business is stressed beyond its capacity by either finding another business that is not, or else leaving and returning at a better time, then perhaps businesses would not be stressed beyond their capacity quite so often. [/MBR]
Now, if I may add to the OP’s most poignant rant…while most grocery store self-check stations have an item limit posted, some do not. Should this happen to you, here’s a helpful hint: if your grocery cart is filled with items piled to twice its height, the self-check station with two bag racks and a 2’ x 3’ bagging surface is not for you. People buying the functional equivalent of the gross domestic product of small island nations are recommended to make use of the lanes with conveyor belts, cashiers, and dedicated baggers, which are optimized for just such quantities. Thank you.
I’ve noticed that even when I have multiples of identical items the cashiers still scan each one individually. Which is why I end up with receipts as long as my arm when my purchase includes 15 containers of yogurt (five each of three flavors), five cans of chili, etc.
Oh, and I was not in the express lane with that order. Not that it really matters much because for some reason that store is never crowded when I go shopping, and sometimes even when I have a half-filled cart the clerk at the empty express lane will call me over when I head for another lane.
I’m going to solve both the grammar debate and the “how do you enforce the line” debate in one fell swoop. 
In the incredibly boring fantasy where I am the owner/operator of a grocery/retail outfit, the express lanes will be fitted with the following signage:
EXPRESS ONLY
NO MORE THAN
15 ITEMS
if item count exceeds 15,
a ten dollar penalty
will be charged for each
STRICTLY ENFORCED
I would also hire bouncers.
Well, I confess, not all stores do the multi-item. But if I’m paying attention, I’ll stack my 6 cans of beans together and just tell him, “Dude, that’s six of the same item” and they’ll press the multiplier button. Other places, like Walmart, will use the multiplier button on cat food, too.
But scanning, is so fast…I don’t see how 10 more items could add more than 10 or 15 seconds to your time in line. I’m not bothered by items as much as I’m bothered by debit card problems or the dreaded “sorry folks, I have to put in a new roll of tape.”