I was at a rather crowded grocery store yesterday, and the register lines were long. As I waited in line, I saw a woman near the head of another line gesturing to someone. A man came with a full shopping cart and joined her in line (she had no cart of her own).
This seems to me to be a kind of cheating, similar to cutting in line. As a single shopper, I had to start at the end of the line with my full cart. Why should someone be able to get in line ahead of me just because he has a partner to stake out a spot?
What do you think? Is it cheating, or is it acceptable?
Acceptable IMO, but still a little rude to push through a busy line with a big cart. The way it’s usually done is that one stays in line with an initally empty cart, while the other goes through the aisles and carries all the items to the front.
Dickish, perhaps, but I don’t think it’s as bad as outright cutting.
I’ve definitely been in situations where I’ve been waiting in queue and sent my shopping buddy off to get something I’ve forgotten. I’m sure I’ve even told someone else to wait in line and I’ll “come meet them when I’ve got X”.
A whole trolley? Dint think I’ve seen that. How long had she been waiting? If it was something like “run up and grab a spot, I can’t move quick enough with this”, it might be unfair but I think it’s acceptable. If it was a super long line and she had been waiting for a large proportion of the shopping… I don’t like it, but I guess they’re not doing anything officially wrong.
I had someone do that kind of cutting in front of me in an insanely crowded Costco (a woman used one of her kids to stake out a spot in line). I was miffed, but not as angry as I would have been if a full cart had just barged in front of me with no warning.
On the other hand, just about every time I go shopping with my wife she will run out for “just one more item” while I’m stuck in line waiting for her.
I don’t think it’s cutting, I assume they were shopping together, so technically it was her cart, too. Once in awhile, if my husband and I are shopping together and it’s very busy, we will each wait in a separate line to see which one moves faster. That being said, neither of us were ever at the front of the line, we just waited. Of course, it usually always ends up screwing us because the line we would finally end up in would end up moving slower anyway .
If the lines were long it sounds like the OP is suggesting that the woman stood in line for some time while her partner went and did the shopping. That sounds remarkably like cutting in to me. It sounds like a really dickish move. And I say this as someone who recently encouraged the woman behind me in line to go and get the paper towels she had forgotten, while I kept her place for her.
I wouldn’t say it’s “cutting in line”, but they’re sort of gaming the system, to borrow a term. It’s one of those things where you can come off petty for making an issue of it, but knowing this, it’s also a deliberate attempt to get over. You see the same behavior at the movies, amusement parks, etc.
It also depends how congested the lines were. I know people tend to choose lanes based on how many items they expect the people in front of them to purchase, and most shoppers generally try to minimize the time they or any individual person has to wait. So suddenly introducing a full cart of stuff, in front of other people who have been waiting, is a bit selfish. Again, not enough to confront someone over it, but an interesting social discussion.
I’m not sure I see a problem with this, but I’ll admit that I do this myself at a busy store. The fact is, if I wait in line, and you wait in line, we’re all waiting in line. There’s no reason for my partner to wait in line.
Well, it’s certainly annoying. People in grocery stores tend to choose lines based on the amount of stuff those already in line are purchasing. So if it looks as though someone is buying only a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter it would be quite frustrating to discover that in fact they have an overflowing cart. Not appropriate grocery store etiquette IMO.
OK, let me make sure I am understanding this. While shopping, you notice long checkout lines and either you or whoever you are shopping with goes and joins the line while the other person finishes shopping. When the shopper is finished he/she passes other people that have been waiting and goes into the line where their partner is waiting.
If this is the scenario then yes, this is line cutting. I am amazed that so many people here seem to think it is perfectly fine. What about the person who has no partner to hold a place in line. Fuck them, sucks to be you?
It is absolutely cutting in line. Everyone knows that the rules are that you go get the stuff you want to buy, then get in line to pay. If you forget a thing or to, sure, run back and get that.
But you don’t get in line with nothing and have your assistant go do all the shopping, then join up ahead of a bunch of people who did it the right way.
I’m not sure if it’s cutting but I would be annoyed. When you go to stand in line, you tend to scan for the one that’ll move quickest and think “Hey, that lady’s buying a pack of gum” and commit yourself to that line. Then someone shows up with a hundred items and you’re stuck.
I fall back to the amusement park standard:
“To be courteous of others, guests may not: Save places in line for themselves or others; let friends, family, or others later join them in line or take their place in line; push past or bypass others; or leave and return to “their space”. If you or anyone in your group leaves a line–for whatever reason (including the need to use a restroom)–then upon that person’s return, that person must go to the back of the line—no exceptions. Please understand that in order to prevent chaos and annoyed customers, we must have and enforce these strict rules.”
(From Kennywood’s posted version)
Outside of parks my opinion would be that people who violate this should be removed from the gene pool but I have a notoriously low annoyance factor.
If we’re talking about staking out a place in line while your partner continues to shop, then I think “gaming the system” is a good term. It’s jusssst okay enough that nobody is going to make a fuss, but it’s ethically* equivalent to cutting in line.
This is different then sending somebody ahead of you to navigate the crowds, find the shortest line, and grab a spot while you trundle up with your loaded cart.
The line is for people who are done shopping. If you’re not done shopping, don’t get in the line.
*For whatever definition of “grocery store ethics” we want to use.
File me in the “kinda dickish but generally acceptable gaming of the system” camp. Of course, the degree of dickishness can depend on various factors.
I can’t really recall a specific instance where my wife and I have done this, but ISTR it most often if there is a line - maybe to return something - and she wants to go and see about something before joining the line. I always HATE the “Let me run out and get one more thing.” I have a horrible fear that my turn will come, and we’ll obviously be inconveniencing others. At times like that I wish I were not as concerned about inconveniencing others as so many other folk seem to be. :rolleyes:
A singleton standing in like, joined by a partner with a full cart, is kinda pushing the boundary, as it will often require other folk in line to all move to allow the cart in.
I am frankly amazed that anyone sees anything wrong with this. Yes, having a partner makes some things easier. Go out and find yourself one! Team shopping with a good partner is always faster, whether one waits in a USSR-level line-up to save a place, or both work together gathering items from the list.
Either way, you get done sooner. But you also need twice as much stuff (if it’s groceries.) Yes, if I’d chosen the line based on the paucity of items this person seems to have, then I’m out five minutes I expected to save. Oh dear! :eek:
But seriously, that’s the joy of partnership. I say this as a single woman who fully expects to remain so. This is not the third grade folks; cutting in line is not the same as dividing tasks among adults.
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it would be quite frustrating to discover that in fact they have an overflowing cart. Not appropriate grocery store etiquette IMO.