# "Because I'm busy waiting on the customers who are in line, Sir" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969 "2009-09-13T23:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/41 "2009-09-14T04:17:28Z")
For $20, I doubt very much that he needs to wait in line twice. Pay the money, pump the gas, go away. But I applaud **alphaboi687** for not allowing this self-entitled asshole to line jump. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/42 "2009-09-14T04:36:26Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Yea I tried that budget thing. Well more accurately I tried keeping things tallied in a ledger. One day I was 50 cents off, and pumped 50 more cents then I had. This was a different bank. By the time I found out that 50 cents had costs me $108 in over draft fees, and it cost that bank a customer. Things are very tight sometimes, so money in the bank is luxury. Over draft fees are fucking ridiculous. > > Anyway stuff like that has taught me debt is only for internet purchases, cash for everything else. Pay the bills, sort some money out for gas, then whatever’s left can food and what not. So use a credit card and pay it in full monthly. If you’re 50 cents off or whatever, no big deal, just carry a little balance and fix it next month. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/43 "2009-09-14T04:40:13Z")
But then he has to pay TWICE; once at the pump, and once at the end of the month!!! Can’t the guy get a break?! ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/44 "2009-09-14T05:35:00Z")
> [@TheScogg](#): > > \*There are exceptions to this if the reasoning is righteous. If I’m standing in line and a mother with baby in tow gets in line with formula and diapers and the cashier asks if she can cut, of course I’ll allow it. More than likely, I’d invite her to step in front of me. But good excuses like this are few and far between. Especially since this isn’t a good excuse, and people like you who think it is are why far too many mothers these days think they can cut in line because they have their children with them. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/45 "2009-09-14T06:17:42Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m amazed. I’d have found a different store to go to. I’m not going to wait in line twice just to get gas. Why twice? It was prepay. You hand the money to the attendant, he opens the pump for the money you handed in. The only way he’d have to wait twice in that case is if he’d overpaid. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/46 "2009-09-14T06:20:00Z")
Can’t remember the last time I had to do this but I’m going to go against the grain here and say you should have taken the two seconds it takes to turn the damn pump on. Jeez, you’re a cashier FCOL, ever hear of multitasking?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/47 "2009-09-14T06:43:34Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Can’t remember the last time I had to do this but I’m going to go against the grain here and say you should have taken the two seconds it takes to turn the damn pump on. > > Jeez, you’re a cashier FCOL, ever hear of multitasking?:dubious: Awesome – the cashier can multitask; I don’t need to wait in line for just this one candybar! I agree with the majority. The guy in the OP was a dick. And are we really getting on the “oh noes, I don’t know how much money I have, I overdrew, fuck the bank!” train again? ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/48 "2009-09-14T07:15:11Z")
A lot of places don’t allow cashiers to turn the pump on before a customer pays. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/49 "2009-09-14T07:17:48Z")
I don’t necessarily disagree, but I will say that the cashier has the luxury of valiantly upholding The Rules Of Standing In Line and the Justice of Not Giving In To Line Cutters when it’s not her store and she’ll draw the same paycheck anyway. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/50 "2009-09-14T07:19:35Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Can’t remember the last time I had to do this but I’m going to go against the grain here and say you should have taken the two seconds it takes to turn the damn pump on. > > Jeez, you’re a cashier FCOL, ever hear of multitasking?:dubious: Hey, good point. Screw lines. Everyone should just pile up their at once, the cashier just needs to multitask. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/51 "2009-09-14T07:26:14Z")
(too slow to) ETA: Also, the luxury of acting like a bureaucrat at a post office rather than a profit-making enterprise. Not smiling and saying “I’m sorry sir, but these customers have been waiting, if you could please stand in line I’ll get to you as quickly as I can.” Nah. Just a blank faced “Line’s over there sir. Next.” and then pointedly ignoring him. OP, have you ever considered applying for the Transportation Security Administration? Imagine the pleasure you got out of putting that geezer in his place, multiplied a thousandfold! It sounds like it might be just up your alley. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/52 "2009-09-14T08:57:04Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > So use a credit card and pay it in full monthly. If you’re 50 cents off or whatever, no big deal, just carry a little balance and fix it next month. I use a debit card because I have lousy credit. I can’t GET a credit card. Credit’s not the ideal solution for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/53 "2009-09-14T10:26:50Z")
I’m not with the OP on this one. It’s like people who buy the newspaper when there’s a line, it’s reasonably common for them to put a quarter on the counter, say “just the paper” and walk out. What is the purpose of making someone wait 5 minutes to conduct a 5 second transaction? You don’t significantly inconvenience the people in line, and get a paying customer out the door post haste. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/54 "2009-09-14T11:01:46Z")
I’ve done that a couple of times, but to me that’s not the same thing as what the guy in the OP was asking for. I don’t think it’s just a matter of turning on the pump. Since the pump shuts off after the amount paid has been pumped, the cashier somehow has to enter the amount of money he’s been given, which means he has to take time away from the people he’s waiting on which isn’t fair to those who’ve been waiting on line. Paying for a newspaper just means entering a transaction when things have slowed down. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/55 "2009-09-14T11:25:12Z")
A cashier may be able to multitask but the register often cannot. When I was using an older system you really could only do one thing at a time. The newer touchscreen system is better but still pretty stupid. On the system I am thinking of it is possible to preset a pump for a certain amount without actually running a transaction. However, I am with the OP that the guy is a jerk and should be treated as such. Even if he is a regular, there are regulars you’d rather not have as customers. I’m actually more amazed the that gas station the OP works at still has matches available. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/56 "2009-09-14T12:22:21Z")
Ah, one of the reasons I love the Dope is the insight into some of the amazing differences between the UK and US. Not just the fact that you have to pay cash to get a pump turned on (WTF?), but the fact that you are debating whether you would get change from $20 for a tank full of gas. Oh, how my sides ache. I don’t get change from £50 when I fill my car. Sorry for the thread hijack, just had to share. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/57 "2009-09-14T12:40:18Z")
Yeah, if gas were $6.77 a gallon in the States we’d probably get very little change from a C-note. Interesting comparison nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/58 "2009-09-14T12:42:47Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Yea I tried that budget thing. Well more accurately I tried keeping things tallied in a ledger. One day I was 50 cents off, and pumped 50 more cents then I had. This was a different bank. By the time I found out that 50 cents had costs me $108 in over draft fees, and it cost that bank a customer. Things are very tight sometimes, so money in the bank is luxury. Over draft fees are fucking ridiculous. > > Anyway stuff like that has taught me debt is only for internet purchases, cash for everything else. Pay the bills, sort some money out for gas, then whatever’s left can food and what not. In addition to a budget, you need a cushion that is bigger than $.50. And yes, if you found a way to pay $108 in overdraft fees, you can find money to create a cushion so you won’t face $108 in overdraft fees. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/59 "2009-09-14T13:03:18Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Anyway stuff like that has taught me debt is only for internet purchases, cash for everything else. Pay the bills, sort some money out for gas, then whatever’s left can food and what not. Just to nitpick- a debit card is not debt. A bounced check can also get you overdraft fees, and no one would argue that writing a check was incurring debt. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969/60 "2009-09-14T13:49:22Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > _shrug_ You’re forcing me to make it two transactions, including one that involves waiting for people who got there after me. Are you going to let me cut in line to get my change? Get a credit card, gramps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-im-busy-waiting-on-the-customers-who-are-in-line-sir/509969.md?page=4)