How about if you took 10 numbers, and gave them to people who came in after those already in line? Would that be OK?
Maybe we should all do that.
Speaking of the DMV, and totally off topic: deejays in the DC area seem to have decided to refer to the area as ‘the DMV,’ like ‘the best rock in the DMV.’ (DMV standing for DC, MD, VA, I assume.) Give up, dudes: you’re not going to change the meaning of the acronym, it’s too well-established. (Even for those of us who are in Maryland, where it’s the MVA. We still know it’s the DMV almost everywhere else.)
Because it’s deceptive even if the intent wasn’t to deceive.
I doubt many here “care much” in that they need to take out the pitchforks to handle it but it’s still a dick move.
The “social standard” is that you get into line with your cart of groceries once you’ve completed your selections. If you’re waiving that standard, you don’t get to rely on another to justify it.
Annoying but not in the same league as the kind individual who pushes a loaded cart into the 10 items or less (fewer) line. That is just plain rude, and many cashiers won’t call them on it, possibly because of store policy.
If someone cuts in front of me to meet their waving partner with a full cart , I grumble a little, but that’s about it. This behavior is relatively rare, and I figure the person is a decent individual who had some unusual circumstances. Besides, one person did stand in line, and that’s enough for me.
If it were to become more common then I’d probably change my tune.
Not cutting in the sense that they waited, and really there should be no need for anyone to wait at all, just get to the register at the exact right time, as you have to go though that register at a exact time anyway, why wait for it, just be there when you need to be. The only downside to it is if you are getting a full load it is unfair to others as they can’t see that, you are causing them to wait longer, which is bad karma if done for normal grocery shopping, Karma neutral if done by mistake (didn’t know it would be so much), Karma positive if an emergency (as we all need this grace at times) or if you learned not to do it for normal shopping (because if we leanred from our mistake, it was not a mistake as the learning is more important).
As I said above, what is her plan if she misjudged and gets to the front of the register before the cart appears?
If it’s okay for her to hold a spot for a cart, does she get to keep it? Is it okay for her to hold that spot, letting people go ahead of her until her cart appears? I say no, because if lots of people did this it would be total chaos, as their carts appeared at random intervals and they tried to direct traffic. But some people would think yes, because they “earned” that spot. So it would be chaotic.
Even if there was a firm convention that if you got to the front of the line and weren’t ready to check out, you had to start over, people would resist–they’d argue and employ delaying tactics. “I see him right now! He’s almost here!” and try to call that person on the phone to hurry. And they’d get away with it because they’d be in a powerful position–at the front of the line, and no one can make them leave without physical force.
Clerks would have to function as referees a lot more as they dealt with competing claims of who was really here first, or if the guy with the cart 10 yards away was “close enough”.
The convention as it stands makes for the most predictable and uniform standard. I don’t see any reason it would improve people’s shopping to allow “camping”.
For all the good it would do you. And I bet she’d wave you through: the person who would fight with her would be the one there when the cart showed up. And at that point, with the cart there, I bet they’d ring up her stuff.
No it doesn’t. I’ve literally never seen anyone do this, and if they did, I think they’d get such the stink-eye. It may not be a explicit rule, but the vast majority of people understand that it’s not cool to do this–otherwise, you’d see it done.
And if you’re going to ignore such social mores, you might want to get used to being referred to as a bitch. The line is for people who have finished shopping.
Similar situation I’ve encountered: I got in the 15 items or fewer line behind 3 firefighters with a full cart. They then each put their 15 items on the belt as 3 different orders. Totally within the letter of the rule but when I walk up with my two items and see two carts in front of me in the express lane I don’t necessarily expect to be waiting behind 4 orders to be rung up.
But it better be conspicuous enough that before I get in that line, it’s obvious that I’d better ask WTF is going on with this lady before I do.
If it were a small sign on her back that only the person immediately behind her is certain to notice, then that wouldn’t be sufficient. It’s gotta be impossible to ignore from the end of the line.
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?
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.
On the other hand, my wife and I used to shop at a grocery store in Chicago when we were students and the lines were so long on Saturday that we would have to go get the frozen items right before we hit the register. It was not unusual to be in line for 30 minutes.
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.”)
It’s a dick move, and it’s cutting in line. Am I about to get into a shouting match with anyone that did it to me, no. I might say something to the manager of the store that they should police the lines a bit more, and leave it up to them to do so.
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.
