Sideway’ers, the line starts behind the last person, parking your shopping cart off to the side of the line and trying to inch in or hope someone is slow to move so you can quickly merge in ahead of them is not joining the fucking line!
Opportunity grabbers, take any small chance to close the gap and then act shocked that the person ahead wasn’t leaving the line. Things like grabbing a soda out of the cooler next to the line or candy, unloading a cart full of groceries on the belt and pushing the cart away, or grabbing your child. I can understand the confusion though, lots of people pile their groceries on the belt and run away of course.
Screamers, shockingly in fast food joints yelling your order from the back of the line at the clerks is not how the line works.
Ignorers, These fucks just totally ignore the line and march right up to the clerk on the side of the person they are serving and order repeatedly and wave money around. They have figured out the secret and aren’t sheep like those other fools standing in line.
Millers, sadly even people who would normally take their place will mill if the line breaks down. You’ll sometimes see someone trying to instigate a mill by moving around and then getting back into place if it didn’t work. Sometimes they try to get back in place just to find a opportunity grabber has now claimed it.
Wow! You spent quite a bit of time ruminating on this particular issue.
I really like the fact that you broke out the offenders into separate categories.
I like what you did, and I agree with your sentiments.
I have never before encountered a ‘screamer’. Must be because we all carry guns here in Eastern Tennessee.
The cure is for the people in line to just keep on being civilized. Those barbarians will learn only if their silly tactics don’t work.
People in line, should not hesitate to helpfully point out where the end of the line is, to those obviously confused. People barging to the front, ignoring the line, or shouting from the back, are to be ignore by the service staff. Always. Every time. It’s the only way they learn. (If that’s not happening you should complain to management, cause their behaviour is just contributing to the chaos!)
Stuff like this happens, most often, in places transitioning from 3rd world to first, in my experience. I’ve seen a bank where everyone is issued a number, for service, and then everyone is milling around and pushing and shoving! To what end? The numbers are in order! The foreigners just sat down and waited for their numbers to be called and enjoyed the show. Within a few years they’ll get the hang of it.
I’ve also seen, in India, passengers released from the gate, race to the plane in a mob, as though there was no assigned seating! Sometimes all you can do is laugh. These people are used to over crowded buses and trains without assigned seats, is all. They’ll get the hang of it, just give them a little time.
20 people already in line for the bus this morning. Guy decides that’s a bother and he’ll just stand over here instead. And then push his way into the line when the bus arrives, giving everyone dirty looks and puffing himself up physically. Jackass. Do you know why no one said anything, asshole? Not because you were physically intimidating, Mr. Mid-40’s. It was because the bus seats 37 people and there were only about 25 people getting on it this morning and no one wanted to ruin their morning by arguing with a jackass who was clearly looking for a fight. Just like we don’t argue with the stupid bitch who does the same thing twice a week and then jumps up and runs to the door of the bus a block and a half from her stop while the bus is still rolling down the street.
Yeah, I did argue with one guy a couple of months back when he stood in line for a while then deliberately went out and stood where he could cut off the line. He made such a production out of it that I decided it wasn’t worth it after that. But I do notice he didn’t do it again. Stupid bitch above has been called out by other people and continues to do it anyway.
Queuing is not a universally practiced. Lack of a queue however shouldn’t mean that good manners and politeness need also be lacking.
My local coffee shop regularly has a line going out the door as the entry area is a horrible layout with most space away from the entry door and order point. Once there are more than 5 people in line it backs up out the door. If people milled around but were polite about it a dozen or more could easily be inside the shop waiting to order.
"English people apparently queue up as a sort of hobby. A family man might pass a mild autumn evening by taking the wife and kids to stand in the cinema queue for a while and then leading them over for a few minutes in the sweetshop queue and then, as a special treat for the kids, saying “Perhaps we’ve time to have a look at the Number Thirty-One bus queue before we turn in.”-Calvin Trillin
A breakdown in line-structure is a breakdown in society.
I almost bitch-slapped this girl today. Standing in line, waiting for fucking ever for the morons to figure out how to get their petri dish out of the plastic wrap, and this hoe-bag cuts in front of me. I’m not always so tempermental but Jesus 3 in the afternoon, stressed the fuck out and hungry, I could have killed her. I gave her a dirty fucking look that probably said “I haven’t had a stress-free day in 5 months, I’m about to stick this lit bunsen burner on your forehead and jab this inoculating loop through your eyeball if you don’t back the fuck away.” Scared no spine cutter ran away. I just love looking like the crazy rude one in these situations.
I like the queue jumpers who pretend like they weren’t trying to cut in when you tell them the back of the line is over there - yeah, whatever. We all know what you were trying - “Stupid Canadians - too polite to tell anyone to go to the back of the line.” Well, HAH! We’re not all polite!
Can we add driving line-jumpers in here, too? When I’m Queen of the World, that will be a hanging offense, and the people who let line-jumpers in will be hanged, too.
