Line Jumpers: How do you deal with it?

In My Humble Opinion
81

Near the end of my career working retail I was in a management position where my tolerance level for asshole customers was zero. I wouldn’t put up with crap from anybody and often had to escort people out of the store who didn’t get their way and wanted to cause a scene.
One of my favorite things to do was to go up to the registers to relieve the lines, click on the register light, and announce “I can help the next person in line here”.
Without fail it would never be the next person but somebody from the end of the line who darted in front of everyone else thinking they had gotten the upper hand.

I actually got a thrill from proclaiming loudly “You weren’t the next in line! That lady in the red shirt was next. Let her through. What are you doing?!” and giving them the old :dubious:.

Most of them got red faced, embarassed. angry, etc. but you always got a smile and a thank you from the other customers.

82

For anyone who flies on Southwest Airlines in the US, they have created their own special line-up fuster cluck hell. I am a frequent flier on Southwest and am constantly confronted by line jumpers.

A little background - They board the plane by groups, A, B, & C. When you obtain your boarding pass (online / at the airport) you are assigned into a group in order. The first 45 to obtain their boarding pass are in group ‘A’, etc. Then when you get to your boarding gate, there are signs indicating the beginning of each line - A, B, or C. You are expected to line up and wait to board the plane. So the first to arrive at the boarding gate gets to be first in line. Southwest has open seating so there is an advantage to being first in line A, you can choose the exit row seat with the extra leg room.

Depending on the configuration of the boarding area, there may be well defined areas for lining up - or not. The “or not” is where it gets fun. Some airports place seating around to create lanes for the line-ups. This creates confusion because there is dispute as to if you are in line while seated or only while standing right in front of the seated people. So there is that joy.

Then there are the garden variety line jumpers, arrogant business people, faux dotty pushy grandmothers, creepy looking “I no speak english” dudes with their polyester trousers and quiana shirts…the usual suspects.

Which brings me to - why I never challenge the line jumpers at Southwest Airlines gates. First off, everyone just wants to get to their destination. Whenever I have heard someone called on it, they usually say something like, “We’re all getting there at the same time anyway.” To which the proper reply would be, “Then you wouldn’t mind getting in the back of the line, yah?” But that never seems to work.

So, what do you do? Start a fight? Then airport security drags you away and you get put on a ‘no-fly’ list? Not bloody likely! Or you ‘win’ and the guy goes to the back of the line. Then he gets on the plane and sits right next to you. Oh, that’s going to be fun! And how about when we all get off the plane? {{{shudder}}}

So, that’s why I never challenge the line jumpers at Southwest Airlines.

Oh, I spoken to Southwest employees about this and they basically say they will not get involved. :rolleyes:

83

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Trunk, check your listed email.

Rico

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84

I run them over.

85

IME, people chime in and help when you speak up against rudeness. Not every time, but enough so that it makes it worth at least trying IMHO.

86

Line jumping is one of my pet peeves too. Sometimes I speak out, sometimes I do not. It depends on my mood and/or the situation. I haven’t had the experience of a group of people aggressively pushing their way to the front. If I ever did, rather than confronting them and risking an altercation, if there were security personnel close at hand, I’d talk to security about it.

I have, on occasion, firmly, calmly and simply told somebody that the line-up starts behind me.

People who’ve spoken about the stranger who suddenly appears, standing uncomfortably close to them, has been my most common experience with the line-jumper about to take action.

Here’s one example of the sneaky line-jumper in action. Last summer, while in line to buy a train ticket at Amsterdam’s Central Station, I noticed this elderly, haughty looking woman slowly sidling up the line of waiting passengers until she was standing right next to me. Nobody had said anything to her. The couple in front of me moved to the next available ticket counter and as they did so, I could see that the woman next to me was about to move ahead, so I simply said: “I am next in line so you’ll have to wait your turn.”

She said, in perfect English though with a German accent: “I am sorry but I do not understand.” So I just stepped ahead of her and then moved to the wicket when it became open.

You need to use common sense though and be careful. I obviously didn’t feel any personal threat from a haughty looking old German woman.

However, I had just come from London and had read in the news there of a guy, a family man, who had just died after he had, according to witnesses, politely confronted a woman who’d stepped in front of him at a grocery check-out counter. She reportedly glared at him, swore and called him down, left, and then returned only a couple of minutes later with her boyfriend who then, without warning, sucker-punched the guy. The victim went down and struck his temple on the concrete floor, dying on the spot.

There are nutters out there on crack or with serious anger issues who are ready to blow off at the least provocation so one always must exercise one’s judgement. Engaging the support of others, if you are alone, is always a good idea.

87

Zombie line jumpers are the worst! :smiley:

88

Naw, those you can just shoot in the head.

89

Are you guys still waiting in line? Y’know, the concert ended ended almost a year ago.

Closing thread.