# Is this the same as cutting in line? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2017, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193 "2017-04-25T07:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/61 "2017-04-25T19:49:05Z")
I’ve seen this before with a kind of twist. Lady is holding 2 items in her hands, so people with full carts say, oh thats all you got, go on ahead of us. Figuring 2 items wont take but a second, no big deal right. Then the lady with 2 items calls some others with 2 carts full and ZING! There they are, so much for a second. Stuff like that is why i go shopping at midnight and 2am. Entire store to myself. I have seen worse, i have seen people just come through the cross isles, and push into the line, bantering that they have less things or that they are old or that they are in a hurry, and flat out just cut in front of other people. I guess they bank really hard on the idea that the average person in line at walmart isnt going to mop the floor with your face for cutting in front of them. Until they run across the non average person that is? ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/62 "2017-04-25T19:53:49Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If I were in line behind her, I’d insist that she go to the back of the line. That’s interesting! As each person queues in line, they can claim that they are “ready” with items, “ready” to wait, and “ready” to pay. Since she is not “ready” (she can’t pay for what she doesn’t have) then she should go to the back of the line immediately as each person queues up who is “ready”. This is how queues currently work. Waiting in line is based upon the Scarcity Principle and the Social Proof Principle. If the end result is a scarce commodity, we agree to wait. If others wait, then society has decided that the end result is of value, so we also agree to wait. Cutting and Camping are allowed depending upon the degree of scarcity and value perceived. Black Friday-type sales, iPhone releases, Beany-Babies at Christmas, are all “scarce” items. Camping is expected; buying large quantities is restricted so camping doesn’t restrict others; Camping and letting latecomers in, along with Cutting, is a death sentence. Amusement parks and movie premieres are “scarce”-right-now items. Sure, you can wait longer and still get it, but the waiting until later is not what you are paying for. Saving one spot for a bathroom break, car parking, or other logistical necessity might be okay, but the more unique the experience, the less allowed that becomes. Camping and letting latecomers in, along with Cutting, is also a death sentence. In a grocery store, the “scarce” item is not time per se, but the length of the line. And the length is not the people, it’s the number of items to buy. We don’t choose our line saying “Oh, that’s got 4 people but this one’s got 3”. We use the volume-of-cart method. In a store with one or two long lines, the short line is more scarce. In a Walmart with 30 lines (but only 10 of which are open), the short line is harder to calculate and so you just choose and grumble. Similarly, highways with 5 lanes, traffic, and cars jockeying for place is annoying, but more tolerated, than the guy who passes in the turn-only lane only to cut back in where the off-ramp veers off. Another element is that waiting in line at a grocery store is a required activity. We have to eat and drink, we get these items at stores, so waiting to pay is a required activity. Waiting longer makes that negative experience more negative. Waiting in line for a park ride or a movie premiere is not required, it’s a luxury choice, and waiting more can increase the excitement and perceived value. Having finished shopping, moving to checkout, and the spouse scoots ahead to get a spot, waving the slower spouse in line is understandable. People see this is making the line long. Camping out for your shopping spouse is deceiving/robbing people of the scarce item - the length of the line. I with my cart of goods am “buying” my place in line and others who camp or cut are devaluing my investment. It’s a dick move 'cause you’re stealing my time and I didn’t volunteer to give it away, but I’ll give up my place for someone with a couple of items if I want to “buy” some good karma. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/63 "2017-04-25T20:02:13Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > There’s a restaurant in my home town, that you have to go to the counter and order before grabbing a table. The management even has signs explicitly saying that you must order your food before sitting at a table. It’s a pretty popular place to eat for lunch and around the noon hour the line to order can back up to the door. There’s always a couple or a foursome where one person will wait in line and the other(s) will attempt to grab a table and save it. The waitstaff is pretty attuned to this behavior and will tell people to get up as tables cannot be saved. I’ve also never seen the place so full and people lingering at the tables after they were done, such that there weren’t available places to sit after you ordered your food. I don’t understand this one. If I am eating with my kids, why do they have to stand with me while I order for them and then all go get a table while waiting for food? Why can’t they just find a table and wait there? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/64 "2017-04-25T20:03:25Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Not being in Northern VA, I’ll have to take your word on it. Never see it happen around here (probably rare exceptions). Yeah, come to think of it, I really can’t recall a time I’ve seen this happen at a supermarket (only the restaurant situation I mentioned, and I think in lining up for a concert before the doors open, I’ve seen parties “complete” themselves.) I personally feel weird about it even in those situations and just stand at the end of the line, even though those do seem to be tolerated here. I’d imagine it’d get a vocal reaction at a supermarket, though. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/65 "2017-04-25T20:03:29Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand this one. If I am eating with my kids, why do they have to stand with me while I order for them and then all go get a table while waiting for food? Why can’t they just find a table and wait there? Because the line is super long. Someone who just got their food could sit there and maybe even be done by the time you get your food. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/66 "2017-04-25T20:04:01Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > There’s a restaurant in my home town, that you have to go to the counter and order before grabbing a table. Mother’s in New Orleans? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/67 "2017-04-25T20:05:27Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand this one. If I am eating with my kids, why do they have to stand with me while I order for them and then all go get a table while waiting for food? Why can’t they just find a table and wait there? Yeah, meanwhile, grabbing a table while someone else in the party is ordering is pretty normal around here. I wouldn’t think twice about someone doing it, as that’s how I’ve always known it to be done. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/68 "2017-04-25T20:21:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Because the line is super long. Someone who just got their food could sit there and maybe even be done by the time you get your food. I guess. So you have to wait a long time in line just to order food, and then have to wait AGAIN after you get your food in order to find a place to sit down? Out of curiosity, what do all the people that have ordered do while waiting for a table? Just stand around? Is there a line for getting a table? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/69 "2017-04-25T20:35:51Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I guess. So you have to wait a long time in line just to order food, and then have to wait AGAIN after you get your food in order to find a place to sit down? Maybe you don’t have to wait to find a place to sit down if the tables aren’t taken up by people who don’t have their food yet? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/70 "2017-04-25T20:53:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Out of curiosity, what do all the people that have ordered do while waiting for a table? Just stand around? Is there a line for getting a table? Well, if you’d have managed to read all the way down to the bottom of Omar’s comment, you’d have found this nugget. > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I’ve also never seen the place so full and people lingering at the tables after they were done, such that there weren’t available places to sit after you ordered your food. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/71 "2017-04-25T21:32:29Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I guess. So you have to wait a long time in line just to order food, and then have to wait AGAIN after you get your food in order to find a place to sit down? > > Out of curiosity, what do all the people that have ordered do while waiting for a table? Just stand around? Is there a line for getting a table? How the fuck should I know? I’ve never been there. I was going off of the description of the place from the guy who posted about it. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/72 "2017-04-25T21:41:21Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I guess. So you have to wait a long time in line just to order food, and then have to wait AGAIN after you get your food in order to find a place to sit down? > > Out of curiosity, what do all the people that have ordered do while waiting for a table? Just stand around? Is there a line for getting a table? After you order, you get a number on a stand. You can then go and find a table, and wait for the waitstaff to bring you your food and drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/73 "2017-04-25T22:23:53Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > How weird. It does not happen in Texas. Maybe someone runs up with one item to add–which is fine. > > What do people do if they get to the head of the line and the cart hasn’t appeared? Do they go to the back, or do they wave just one person ahead of them? They almost always try to wave the shopper immediately behind them ahead, to preserve their place at the “on deck,” spot. I wonder if this is more common in suburban supermarkets with family neighborhoods vs supermarkets that serve younger/more single shoppers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/74 "2017-04-25T22:31:23Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > They almost always try to wave the shopper immediately behind them ahead, to preserve their place at the “on deck,” spot. > > I wonder if this is more common in suburban supermarkets with family neighborhoods vs supermarkets that serve younger/more single shoppers. My supermarket is almost all families. So that’s not it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/75 "2017-04-26T00:56:47Z")
I’m in Southern California and I’ve never seen this but there’s a good chance that I’d never notice, especially in the smart phone era. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/76 "2017-04-26T03:54:41Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Is she wearing anything other than the sandwich board? If she is then I object. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/77 "2017-04-26T03:58:15Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I’ve actually seen this several times. The person will stand aside and say, “Go ahead. I’m waiting on my [SO] with the cart.” > > For situations like this, I have to recall what my mother always said: “What if EVERYBODY did this?” If truly everybody did this, there wouldn’t be any real advantage. It would be like handing out numbers as people came in the door. Actually, it doesn’t have any real advantage _now_. If it takes 30 minutes to shop, and 10 minutes to stand in line, then it takes 40 minutes to shop, and the only question is, is it going to be 40 minutes of one person’s effort, or 40 minutes spread over two people. And standing in line is not the most efficient way of helping your friend/partner/parent shop - splitting the shopping is. Granted, there are then times when one person’s finished and the other has just a couple of items left … but in that case, why wouldn’t you send the shopping trolley with the finished person to the queue? And the other person can just run off for the one or two extra items without having to wrangle a full cart round the store. Most people don’t do the “lone waiter” act not because they’re being ethical, but because it’s actually a kind of dumb strategy ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/78 "2017-04-26T04:16:54Z")
This can be a common occurrence in my small corner of NYC. Yes, it’s annoying when the short line you’re on suddenly becomes longer, but them’s the breaks. That’s also the reason I like to shop when the store is first open, or the middle of the night. If I ever did this myself (not very likely, since I always shop alone), I would make it a point to tell others coming to the line that I was holding a place for someone. So, not wearing a sandwich board, but close… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/79 "2017-04-26T04:19:02Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Here’s a thought experiment. Suppose I go shopping by myself, and when it’s time to check out I go to the head of the line and tell people, “This is where my wife would have been if she were with me.” > > Actually, I don’t have a wife, but that just adds another element to the hypothesis (“This is where my wife would be if I were married.”) That’s cutting, because nobody stood in the line. What I think you are missing is that the lady whose groceries are being purchased DID stand in the line. It’s just that someone else had the cart. So sure, you may have chosen the wrong line. But in the entire human history of queues, has anybody ever walked away feeling they had picked the right one? 😛 > [@Weisshund](#): > > I’ve seen this before with a kind of twist. > > Lady is holding 2 items in her hands, so people with full carts say, oh thats all you got, go on ahead of us. > > . . . OK, no that’s cheating. Worse, it’s taking advantage of the good nature of others. It is wrong because, _she didn’t stand in the line the whole way through._ In all the other scenarios under discussion, _she stood in that line just like you did,_ to buy her groceries. The most regimented and policed line-ups I have ever encountered were at the PX (Army grocery store where food is cheap for military families) when I was a kid. On Saturdays, the lines were outrageously long, you really would think you’d been drop-shipped to Russia just looking at them. It was common procedure to send a child over the age of ten or so to stand in the line while Mama and the other kids shopped. It was just normal. Everybody hated to be the line kid. You just had to stand around bored, and you didn’t get to pick the cereal. So maybe that’s why I find this whole conversation so disorienting. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193/80 "2017-04-26T08:35:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > They almost always try to wave the shopper immediately behind them ahead, to preserve their place at the “on deck,” spot. > > I wonder if this is more common in suburban supermarkets with family neighborhoods vs supermarkets that serve younger/more single shoppers. Southern Maryland isn’t exactly your singles hotspot. Maybe it’s that there are a lot of upwardly mobile strivers in NoVa who think their time is more valuable than everyone else’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-same-as-cutting-in-line/785193.md?page=5)